Max Simkin repairs shoes in the same New York shop that has been in his
family for generations. Disenchanted with the grind of daily life, Max
stumbles upon a magical heirloom that allows
Director:
Thomas McCarthy
Writers:
Thomas McCarthy,
Paul Sado
Trailers
Stars:
Dan Stevens,
Adam Sandler,
Steve Buscemi|
See full cast and crew »
Storyline
Max Simkin repairs shoes in the same New York shop that has been in his family for generations. Disenchanted with the grind of daily life, Max stumbles upon a magical heirloom that allows him to step into the lives of his customers and see the world in a new way. Sometimes walking in another man's shoes is the only way one can discover who they really are.
User Reviews
I'm
really surprised at the low rating! I thought the plot idea was very
original for a movie. I thought it was a good idea to involve his
heritage too. My only critique is that the love interest was too young
for him. But I also liked how the humor was less silly than some of
Sandler's other movies- simply because I like to see man of his age
mature and transition. I mean, I enjoyed many of his other movies, but
I'm happy to see him transition to other forms or levels of humor. Some
of the previous moves he made were rough, namely Click, Spanglish, and
Punch Drunk Love- I still enjoyed them but I thought they were a little
out of touch of his spark. I hope to see more movies of the caliber
coming from him, very good and entertaining movie.
Bilbo and Company are forced to engage in a war against an array of
combatants and keep the Lonely Mountain from falling into the hands of a
rising darkness.
Director:
Peter Jackson
Writers:
Fran Walsh (screenplay),
Philippa Boyens (screenplay), 3 more credits »
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies TRAILER
Stars:
Ian McKellen,
Martin Freeman,
Richard Armitage|
See full cast and crew »
Storyline
After the Dragon leaves the Lonely Mountain, the people of Lake-town see a threat coming. Orcs, dwarves, elves and people prepare for war. Bilbo sees Thorin going mad and tries to help. Meanwhile, Gandalf is rescued from the Necromancer's prison and his rescuers realize who the Necromancer is.
User Reviews
What
a difference an Extended Edition makes. For the first part we got some
jolly embellishment. For The Desolation of Smaug we got bags more depth
and character. For The Battle of the Five Armies, it may - I hope
be transformative. Because right now this feels like An Unfinished
Journey.
It's
as if, after all the complaints about splitting a pamphlet of a novel
into three parts, Peter Jackson is playing a joke on us: This is what
you get when you ask for Middle-earth-lite. Characters we've come to
love or loathe arc into nothing; others (e.g. Beorn and Radagast) are
given literally seconds of screen time; and for the first time in this
prequel trilogy, a whole chapter (The Return Journey) is pretty much
elided entirely.
I'd like to be clear on my admiration for what
Peter Jackson has done with The Hobbit so far. For all The Lord of the
Rings' mythic grandeur and complex world-building, there's a warm
geniality and brisk impetus to these lovingly crafted films. And those
qualities are married to a thematic depth missing from its bedtime story
source. Home and borders are themes that have run through this trilogy,
from Bilbo's (Martin Freeman) heartfelt declaration of solidarity at
the end of An Unexpected Journey, to Kili's (Aidan Turner) fevered
speech to Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) as she heals his wounds in
Desolation, when they realise reconciliation is possible. Heck, I even
like the addition of Tauriel - though her unsatisfying conclusion is
perhaps typical of a final chapter that too often fails to tie up its
loose ends.
The movie kicks off from precisely where the second
ended, with the dread dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch) descending
upon Laketown. The citizens flee but nothing can stop the cataclysm -
until a certain someone finds an ingenious way to pierce the beast. Then
there's nemesis #2: Sauron (also Cumberbatch). We get to see some
familiar faces face-off with this faceless monstrosity.
The story
then enters its most intriguing phase: a kind of psychodrama involving
Thorin (Richard Armitage) and his sickening relationship with gold and
power. It's the one time we really glimpse that signature Jackson
oddness, in a wonderful hallucinatory sequence where Thorin imagines
he's sinking in a lake of gold.
The narrative follows the book
fairly closely. This was, after all, the stage of the story where
Professor Tolkien finally foregrounded politics and ethics and the
machinations of characters ahead of adventure. The film is at its most
successful in the quieter moments, as Thranduil (a subtle Lee Pace)
ponders the duty of the elves; as Bard (a brooding Luke Evans) comes to
the gate of the mountain to plead for peace; and as Thorin struggles
with his "dragon-sickness" (i.e. greed), while Bilbo wrestles with the
dilemma of what to do with a certain stolen gemstone.
Thorin was
presented at first as this trilogy's Aragorn. But over time we've
learned of the dangerous pride that ruined his grandfather. Thorin's
hubris and arrogance is in stark contrast to Bilbo's very relatable and
achievable traits of decency and humility. The gulf between them is
intriguing and wisely plundered for drama. Armitage and Bilbo provide
the best performances of the film - mostly internal; mostly in the eyes -
and their farewell is one of the more moving moments in a trilogy that
has largely prioritised humour over pathos.
The battle itself is
undoubtedly impressive - great roaring hordes punctuated with
spectacular giants - but in a sense it compounds the problem of the
relatively truncated runtime. What was already the shortest Middle-earth
film is rendered artificially even shorter by the fact that there's 45
minutes of virtually wordless fighting. By now we should all be braced
for Super Legolas and his physics-defying fighting style. That reaches
new heights here; as he sprints up a crumbling bridge like he's on the
wrong escalator, it's like some sort of visual satire on the
weightlessness of CGI.
With its last bastion and swarming armies,
the titular battle resembles The Return of the King's Pelennor finale -
yet that movie took breath between its showdowns. Galadriel vs. Sauron;
Legolas vs. Bolg; Thorin vs. Azog... it's like we're watching someone
finish off a video game but we're powerless to stop them skipping the
tension- or character-building cutscenes. Moreover, the dubious editing
decisions create some strange and jolting juxtapositions and tonal
lurches, and negate the sense of time passing or of great distances
being crossed.
The result is a film that really earns its status
of "theatrical cut", insofar as it resembles many a boisterous
blockbuster. This is fairly damning criticism for a Middle-earth movie,
usually so luxurious and layered in its sense of a unique world. There's
plenty of meat here - but where are the bones that hold it all
together? 11 months away, perhaps.
A witch tasks a childless baker and his wife with procuring magical
items from classic fairy tales to reverse the curse put on their family
tree.
Director:
Rob Marshall
Writers:
James Lapine (screenplay),
James Lapine (musical), 1 more credit »
Stars:
Anna Kendrick,
Meryl Streep,
Chris Pine|
See full cast and crew »
Storyline
Into the Woods is a modern twist on the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales in a musical format that follows the classic tales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel-all tied together by an original story involving a baker and his wife, their wish to begin a family and their interaction with the witch who has put a curse on them.
User Reviews
If
I could vote -10 out of 10.. That still wouldn't be a accurate rating
for this Musical/Fantasy film. Honestly I'm not going to go into to much
detail about why this movie is beyond awful, cause honestly I'm
completely drained after seeing it and the movies soundtrack/music
torture list is still corroding my mental state 50 minutes after I left
the theater. Story, BAD..like really bad...It's almost like halfway
through the film the Director and Writer got fired and they brought
somebody else in that hadn't even seen the first half of the film.
Soundtrack...dear lord... I had to come home and throw Sweeney Todd in
to get the taste of Into the woods "Musical" out of my mouth and ear
drums, honestly my entire body ached after the film from tensing up to
every excruciating song in the film, which coincidentally all sound the
same. Acting, Meryl Streep did a great job, but even she couldn't save
the soundtrack or make sense of the jumbled story, Emily Blunt does a
great job as the comedic relief, Johnny Depp, in his very short and
minimal role on screen reminds me of a child rapist/predator who was
just released from prison and spent what little money he had on candy.
Miscast plagues the film. Special Effects.. None... Plays out like a
play/opera..nothing, absolutely zero special effects worth mentioning
which made it hard to get lost or enveloped in the world. Picture a
forest....a very generic boring forest...you have just seen 90% of this
films setting/locations.
Go support a local theatre, opera, anything..But do yourself a favor and avoid this movie.
Young Thomas is apprenticed to the local Spook to learn to fight evil
spirits. His first great challenge comes when the powerful Mother Malkin
escapes her confinement while the Spook is away.
Director:
Sergey Bodrov (as Sergei Bodrov)
Writers:
Charles Leavitt (screenplay),
Steven Knight (screenplay), 2 more credits »
Stars:
Ben Barnes,
Julianne Moore,
Jeff Bridges|
See full cast and crew »
Storyline
John Gregory, who is a seventh son of a seventh son and also the local spook, has protected his country from witches, boggarts, ghouls and all manner of things that go bump in the night. However John is not young anymore, and has been seeking an apprentice to carry on his trade. Most have failed to survive. The last hope is a young farmer's son named Thomas Ward. Will he survive the training to become the spook that so many others couldn't? Should he trust the girl with pointy shoes? How can Thomas stand a chance against Mother Malkin, the most dangerous witch in the county?
User Reviews
Not even A-listers like Jeff
Bridges and Julianne Moore can save this under-developed and
under-directed fantasy epic wannabe from its own tedium and mediocrity
Hollywood
has of late had a lousy track record of fantasy action epics, and
'Seventh Son', which arrives just in time to close off the year, is yet
another blemish to add to that list. Delayed nearly a year while its
production company Legendary switched studios, this Universal release
assembles A-listers Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore with 'The Chronicles
of Narnia' star Ben Barnes for an expensive big- screen adaptation of
the first book of Joseph Delaney's 'The Wardstone Chronicles' against
tawdry sets and second-rate visual effects.
We aren't usually
that critical of a film's production design, but there is just something
awfully dreary about the widescreen world of Russian director Sergei
Bodrov's debut English-language feature. Indeed, the only human city
where any of the action takes place looks like it was rented right after
the cast and crew of 'Game of Thrones' abandoned it, while the mountain
fortress which principal villain Mother Malkin makes her not-so-humble
abode seems like it was designed for some 1960s B-grade science-fiction
movie. The ugliness of these green-screened sets is even more obvious
against the occasional picturesque Canadian backdrops, which
cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel ably captures to evoke a majestic
'Lord of the Rings' feel.
Alas the unattractive visuals are just
one of the litany of complaints that you are likely to have. What
production designer Dante Ferretti fails to accomplish in sets, visual
effects designer John Dykstra also fails to make up for in
post-production. Whether the oversized orcs or shape-shifting witches
(Moore and her fellow consort Djimon Hounsou transform into dragons,
while others transform into creatures with reptilian-like tongues or
Hindu deity-like arms), the CG effects for what was once intended to be a
franchise tentpole are both unimaginatively conceived and poorly
executed, even more appalling when viewed in post-conversion 3D or worse
on an IMAX screen.
And yet to fault its technical shortcomings
seems at least a tad unfair, in particular because the movie's problems
are much more fundamental. For one, despite boasting an impressive team
of screenwriters including Matt Greenberg, Charles Leavitt and Steven
Knight, there is hardly a story here. Without any context, we start with
a younger Jeff Bridges imprisoning the Queen Witch, Mother Malkin
(Moore), up in the mountains. The impending dawn of the once-a-century
blood moon lends her strength to break out of her metal confines, and in
an early sequence, confront her jailer Master Gregory (Bridges) and his
not-so-lucky apprentice Billy (Game of Thrones' Kit Harington). When
that reunion ends with Billy dead, Gregory sets out recruiting a new
"seventh son of a seventh son", Thomas (Barnes), who so happens to be
suffering from elliptic visions of Gregory and Malkin.
In
narrative jargon, Thomas is The Chosen One, the anointed protégé who
under the tutelage of Master Gregory will become his very equal and take
his place among the elite group of knights who call themselves the
Falcon. There is no doubt during the movie, even when his life seems to
be in mortal danger, that Thomas will live to see the death of Mother
Malkin and perhaps even the light of another sequel. There is also no
doubt, despite Gregory's initial reservations, that Thomas will be ready
within the span of just seven days to defeat the evil that Malkin
possesses within her goth-like getup. And for that matter, there is no
doubt that Thomas will find true love in Alice (Swedish actress Alicia
Vikander), a witch whom he rescues from the town mob and who turns out
to be the daughter of Malkin's younger sister.
The plotting is as
straight-forward as it gets, and functions no more than to connect the
numerous noisy action sequences together. There is also hardly any
character to speak of, each one of them leading or supporting mere stock
types that you would be familiar with from countless other such fantasy
flicks. The latter is also why we feel sorry for Bridges, a fine actor
who's played the grizzled veteran one too many times of late in
'R.I.P.D.' and 'The Giver' and is here trying not to sound condescending
while delivering lame one-liners with a distinct twang. Moore too is an
equally fine actress in her own right utterly wasted in a thankless
role, and together, what chemistry the pair had in 'The Big Lebowski' is
sorely missing in their first reunion since.
If the decision to
cast two acclaimed actors to lend legitimacy to the project does nothing
to help the film, the casting of its younger actors also fails to do it
any favours. Barnes tries his best to project fresh-eyed enthusiasm,
but the late decision to cast the 31- year-old actor in the role of a
17-year-old – instead of 'The Hunger Games'' Sam Claflin is ultimately a
misguided one. He also shares too little chemistry with Vikander, who
looks appropriately beguiling but is little much else. Barnes and
Vikander are also stuck in an awkward romance which is bound to inspire
some unintended giggles especially for a sequence where the two
supposedly exchange loving glances while lying together in bed.
There
is hardly anything fascinating about 'Seventh Son', whose title belongs
better in a tongue twister than in an expensive and extravagant
swords-and-dragons epic. Yes, there is good reason indeed why former
studio Warner Bros had dragged its feet in releasing this, and what a
relief it must have felt that it need not try to justify why it decided
to do so when it already has an entire trilogy in 'The Hobbit'. No
matter that the director is a two-time Academy Award nominee for his
Russian films 'Prisoner of the Mountains' and 'Mongol', his Hollywood
foray is an embarrassing misstep that he would no doubt want to be
forgotten as soon as possible. He needn't worry; to spare yourself the
agony of sitting through yet another disappointing fantasy wanna-be
epic, go find any one of the other sons and just avoid the Seventh.
