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The Force Awakens Into The Woods

First things first: I've got a backload of films I've seen that I need to review, including Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, David Fincher's Gone Girl, and The Judge, among others. There's also Marvel's Phase III lineup that was announced last week and how excited I am over two new heroes entering the fray, its significance, and what it means going forward & preparing my annual list of the Best and Worst of 2014. Today is a day for celebration for both Star Wars fans, and fans of musicals and/or Stephen Sondheim.

J.J. Abram's Star Wars Episode VII (due out December of next year) has a new title! And....

.....yeah.

That's the title, folks. Star Wars: The Force Awakens. What, did the Force get smashed last night and now it has a massive hangover? Did it awaken only to learn that it had a one-night stand with a Trekkie cosplayer at a sci-fi convention? Or did it wake up in a musical with Rapunzel, the Big Bad Wolf and Cinderella? Elaborate, Mr. Abrams! Sure, we're going to take shots about how generic and bland the title to the eagerly awaited seventh chapter to the space opera is, but at the end of the day, it's still a better title to a Star Wars movie than The Phantom Menace. Though, I do like the idea of the Force waking up in the middle of an enchanted wooden forest with singing and beanstalks and peasants. It might make for a more interesting movie than Into the Woods!



First, there's dialogue in this musical; second, I don't see any shaky camera work or poor editing cuts in the frames; and lastly, I think it's painfully obvious that there's not a Russell Crowe in this cast who sings like a drunk man at a karaoke bar has the voice of an angel calling from the Heavens. If I want to watch a real musical, i'll stick with Tom Hooper's Les Miserables, thank you very much!

Ok, now that I've gotten my inner Cinema Snob out of the way, I'll say that the trailer looks really good. The production values look stunning as one would expect. Meryl Streep has a really good singing voice, and there's a nice blend of talent here, from the three-time Oscar-winning actress herself, to Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, and Johnny Depp as The Wolf. But I will be the first to say that I'm not sure i'll be rushing to see this on Christmas Day (mostly because i'll be seeing Seth Rogen's new comedy, The Interview on that day), partly because I'm just not the biggest fan of musicals, and partly due to me believing that Rob Marshall is a one-hit wonder who got lucky with Chicago and hasn't made anything decent since. Still, will I give this a shot? Eventually yes.
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