Movie Review: Into the Woods

Movie: Into the Woods
Genre: Fantasy Musical
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Meryl Streep, Chris Pine, and so many more!
Rating: PG (though I think it should be PG13)
My Rating: Two thumbs up

We've loved this musical at our house for years. In fact about 18 years ago when we went on a road trip with our little kids, we had these songs on a tape and they begged for it to be played NON STOP that whole trip. Whenever we think about that trip now, these songs are the soundtrack that goes with it!

We have the DVD of the stage production, which we have watched over and over. We've also seen it live several times. Yes, we love it and so when it was made into this movie with all these stars, we were fascinated. A little nervous too. Similar to when they did the same thing for Les Miserables awhile back. Cool idea, but could they REALLY do it justice?

Jack was the boy Gavroche from Les Miserables. He's amazing.

So that being said, I think they did a wonderful job. The singing was awesome. The cinematography was fabulous. And the casting was spot on. I loved seeing real kids in the kid rolls (Jack and Red Riding Hood). On the stage they usually cast adults like for everything else.

And I quite liked how they toned down the second half... the half wherever everything goes wrong and all the world comes to an end. In the play it's even worse, but they made it not quite so bad in this movie version and they took out a few things. Which was good I thought. I didn't miss that stuff.

The Agony song with the two princes was fabulous! With all the splashing in the water and baring of chests? Ha! I loved it! And who knew Chris Pine could sing? Ah, the secrets some of these actors have!

Chris Pine was great, but I actually really quite liked the other guy!

Meryl Streep did awesome as the witch too. They changed her rap song up a little, but not enough to mind. And Johnny Depp. Creepy! (But we KNEW he could do that gig!)

Perfect, no?

But my very most favorite thing about this musical is the combining of so many fairy tales into one tale that totally makes sense. It's genius. And you get a great sense of that in this production.

And not only is it just a fairy tale retelling, I think it makes a lot of points that make you ponder, for instance: be careful what you wish for, let you children grow up, children will listen and understand, the grass is not greener on the other side, money and wealth and fame don't buy happiness, nice is different than good, etc etc etc. If you seen it, what other lessons do you think it's touching on?

Anyway, I loved it. I do think it's a bit dark for young-ish kids and I'm surprised that it's only rated PG.

Here's one of the trailers:




And if you want, you can listen to ALL the songs here! You know you want to! The first song is epic and is pretty much the whole first twenty minutes of the movie, including the witch's rap... our favorite.

Edited to add: I guess the person who put up the soundtrack on YouTube got nabbed! So now I've replaced this video with the prologue song, which I've mentioned above. And here's a link to the whole list of songs on YouTube.

Book Review Discussion: To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Book: To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
Genre: YA Romance
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
For: Fun
From: the library

Short Synopsis: Lara Jean has written letters to all the boys she's loved in her life and put them away. Until one day somehow they get mailed. Ooops. This causes all sorts of awkwardness that she is bugged to have to deal with. But in the process she has a chance to truly fall in love.

My Response: It's a cute story and I totally enjoyed it. Besides the love story there's the family issues which Lara Jean is also dealing with, as is usually the case. This is one of those books that I gulped down in a day and had a blast reading, but now that it comes to writing the review, there's not really much to say. It was totally what I was in the mood for and so I'm glad I was spontaneous and grabbed it from the library when I saw it. Also, if you are into adding to your diverse reading, this book would fit the bill.

Bottom Line: Cute fun and mostly fluffy!

Let's Talk About: I think many of my favorite books are contemporary YA. What's your feeling on this? Do you like real life stuff, like this book deals with, or would you rather escape into fantasy  non-real worlds? I like 'em both, but I need to read more contemporary!

Other Reviews:

If you are expecting a romance, then you'll be disappointed. The novel's focus is Lara Jean and her personal journey. Boys are involved, but they're secondary. From In Bed With Books

Funny, tender and true, this romantic family drama mash-up will be cherished by fans of Judy Blume, Gayle Forman and Sarah Dessen. From Reading Rants

I also appreciated the strong family message that was present throughout the book, and that Lara Jean’s character was a mix of strength, smarts, and quirkiness. From Attack of the Books

The real highlight of this book for me, though, is that it features fake dating. FAKE DATING. I love fake dating stories. Because I know that eventually one or both of them will fall for the other, and it is glorious figuring out the moment it goes from fake to real. I LOVE IT. From The Englishist

Movie Review: Unbroken

Movie: Unbroken
Genre: Memoir/Drama
Starring: Jack O'Connell, Takamasa Ishihara, Domhnall Gleeson
Rating: PG 13
My Rating: Two thumbs up

As you know, this movie, based on the book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, portrays the experiences Louis Zamperini has when his plane crashes during WWII and he is taken prisoner by the Japanese.

I must admit, I was very nervous to see this movie. I've just read the book and I knew what to expect and it's not pretty. I was worried about sitting through a movie that portrayed such terrible things.

And for the most part, I was right. I squirmed a lot during the movie and felt tense and anxious. That's not to say it wasn't a good movie. They did an awesome job, but it was so hard to watch this stuff! I told everyone afterward I would so much rather read it than watch it. Plus, in the reading you get so much more. Sadly, as well as the movie was done, it had to leave so much out and you only got a glimmer of some of the best (ie. more positive) stuff. That was frustrating to me.

Also, I was disappointed at where the movie ended and it felt very abrupt. I wanted it to go into his issues after he got home and how he got through all that. Sigh. Maybe part two? :)

The key moment of the movie when he proves
he can't be broken! It's gut wrenching!

But that being said, the guy they got for this part was phenomenal. Loved him! And the guy who played the bad Japanese guard? Wow... he was also awesome, but how hard that must have been for him? I mean, we'll all hate him for life now! (Or love him.) I can't even imagine what that was like for him.

I was fascinated enough to look up an interview. It's awesome. You should watch. (I guess he's a famous rock star too? Who knew.)




Anyway, in the end, I really did enjoy the movie. But as is usually the case, the book is better!

Here's the trailer if you haven't seen it yet:

Book Review Discussion: As You Wish by Cary Elwes

Book: As You Wish by Cary Elwes (subtitle: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
Genre: NF Memoir
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ★
For: Fun
From: Bought at the book signing

Short Synopsis: If feel like I've talked your ear off about this book already, but have yet to do an official review. So, as you know I'm sure, this book is about Cary's experience being picked for and then acting in the wonderful 1987 movie, The Princess Bride. It starts when he describes how he got chosen for the part and all the feelings he had. He was a mere 23 years old or so! And then he describes meeting all the other actors and what they were like. Of course, he tells many interesting incidents and stories about shooting the movie and what life was like on the set. Awesome!

My Response: Awesome! Ha. I have gushed and gushed already about this book, but this is all mostly because I've been such a huge fan of this movie from day one when it came out in the theater. So to have this behind the scenes look has been a blast for me and then on top of that to have met and seen this actor twice this past year and get a feel for what he's like (which is way different from what I'd thought all these years by the way!) has just been stuff to gush about.

Some fun stories I loved from the book to tease you with:

• when Cary broke his foot and limped through a few scenes.
• when Cary meet and fell instantly in love with Buttercup
• when Andre let loose some gas during a scene and everyone couldn't stop laughing
• when Mandy (Inigo) and Cary practiced their guts out for the "world's best sword fight."
• when one of the ROUSs was arrested the night before his big scene
• the awesomeness of filming in a real life castle
• the not so awesomeness of filming in English weather
• singing on the set with Mandy, Rob Reiner and Chris Sarandan
• when Cary laughed so hard at Billy Crystal that they had to bring in his rubber dummy to stand in for the scene
• how the Fire Swamp is the first scene they shot and the sword fight is the last. Interesting.

And on and on it goes. 

Bottom Line: I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you love the movie, you'll love this book. I promise.

Let's Talk About: What's your opinion on actors writing a book on their experiences? I must admit, when I first heard he was doing this, I sort of rolled my eyes and felt skeptical. Well, in the end, it was too fun to pass up!

Other Reviews:

As You Wish is a love letter to a film that really has stood the test of generations - and as a fan myself, that made this audio a great listen. Knowing what I know now, I have to go watch the movie again. From The Book Nest

His book is not a self-serving bit of megalomania (a worry I had since it is written by a Hollywood star!) but more of a tribute and a very touching personal recollection of what could be described as the best job of his life. From Beth's Book Nook Blog

One of the things that shines through the pages is how beloved André the Giant (André Rous­si­moff) was. The author seems to genuinely like André, as well as much of the crew, and the stories about him are both endearing and entertaining. From Man of la Book

The biggest surprise for me was how much training the actors had to have for the big sword fight scene. From At Home With Books

The sword fight, just for fun:

Winter 2015 Mini Bloggiesta Coming Up Soon!

Hey fellow bloggers!

I just wanted to be sure you all knew that we have a Mini Bloggiesta coming up in just under two weeks on January 17 through 19! If you want to spend some time working on your blogs this new year, come and do it with us! We'll have a handful of new mini challenges and one Twitter chat is scheduled for Sunday January 18 at noon Mountain time. Normally mini challenges are just a weekend, but we decided to let this one go clear through the U.S. Martin Luther King holiday on January 19. Let us know how that works for you all!

For more info, check out the official blog post here. Follow us on Twitter at @Bloggiesta. Join the Facebook group here... and the Google+ community here! Whew! You have no excuses to not know what's happening with Bloggiesta! :)

Be thinking about your To Do Lists and be sure to check back on the Bloggiesta blog next week to link up.

See you there!

Book Review Discussion: Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

Book: Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
For: book club
From: bought on Kindle

Short Synopsis: Joan lives in the 800s during a time when it's majorly frowned upon for girls to learn. But all she wants to do is learn. Read, and write and learn. She manages to get accepted to a school and seems to be overcoming the problems with being a girl in school when one day, tragedy strikes. In the spur of the moment, she decides to "become" her brother which lets her into many doors previously closed to her. She rises through the ranks, and as the title suggests (so I don't think it's too much of a spoiler!) she ends up as Pope!

My Response: This was the second time I've read this book. I read it back years ago when it first had some buzz (which was also WAY before blogging thus I decided to add a review here!) and loved it. Sadly, I didn't love it quite as much this second go around. Why? Because wow, but there were a lot of slow boring parts! And so much shop talk that I totally didn't understand even given context. Dang, but have I gotten stupid over the years or what? That being said, I still love the story and am fascinated by the fact that there is much speculation and some pretty good evidence that this actually happened. How cool is that? If you do read this book, don't skip the author's note at the end. Just sayin'.

Bottom Line: A very interesting take on what might have happened if there had really been a woman pope.

Let's Talk About: So, do you care how much of stories such as this are based on truth or not? Does it matter to you? Or do you just enjoy the story for what it is...a story? How do you like your historical fiction?

Other Reviews:

Do I think Joan really existed? I don't know. It is interesting to think about though. There are some substantial things to support that there was a female Pope, but it still makes me wonder. From Kami's Library Thoughts

Simply put, the book was compelling and I did like it. I just didn’t love it. I would, however, give Cross another chance and read another one of her books. From Jenni Elyse

Full of twists and turns, and a bit of romance, Pope Joan will have you wondering if there ever really was woman who sat on the Papal throne. From Attack of the Books

I really enjoyed learning more about this time period. The utter brutality and injustice toward women that was described made me so mad, the corruption and politics discussed were very interesting, and the love story is heartfelt. From Good Clean Reads

Bout of Books Reading Pile

The wonderful intense and very fun readathon known as Bout of Books starts today! Here are the books I hope to read this week:

Also, I have a couple on my Kindle I wouldn't mind getting to:

Coldest Girl in Cold Town by Holly Black

Cress by Marissa Meyer

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (which I'll be working on slowly for our read along!)

Check back here for updates on my progress!