Tag: Evan Rachel Wood

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Sterling K. Brown And Evan Rachel Wood Might Be Joining Cast Of ‘Frozen 2’

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If you think Sterling K. Brown has been all over the place lately, it’s because he has. After showing himself to be the best actor on ‘This Is Us,‘ Hollywood has opened the door for him and he’s getting role after role.

According to a report from Variety, the 42-year-old actor is in talks with Disney to join the voice cast of Frozen 2, the sequel to the 2013 smash hit. In addition to Brown, we are hearing that Evan Rachel Wood is also in talks to co-star.

For those who don’t know, Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel and Josh Gad have already agreed to return as Anna, Elsa and Olaf. Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck will also return to direct this sequel, which is scheduled to be released November 27, 2019.

We’re sure the studio is itching to release this film. The original movie made over $1 billion at the worldwide box office, and there is no reason this sequel can’t match those numbers.

We will keep you posted as more information becomes available about the cast.

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Movie Review: Strange Magic – A confusing score and an even more bewildering plot line.

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STRANGE MAGIC

I’m really looking forward to the day when movies go back to being movies and stop being musicals. I’m not a very big music girl. In fact, despite the fact that I am a fan of Glee, I don’t watch it for the music. I actually fast forward through the music and watch it for the storyline.

Without the music, it’s approximately 7 minutes long.

So generally, I try to avoid movies that feature a lot of singing in them. Heck, I’m the one person left on the planet who hasn’t seen Frozen and never intends to see it. With how much I’ve been forced to listen to the song Let It Go, I already feel like I’ve caught all the high points anyway.

But I decided to give Strange Magic a shot. Not because it’s a musical, but because it’s by George Lucas. This is a mad cap fairytale that is loosely based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Nights Dream. This is a land divided. On one side, there is the beautiful fairy kingdom, ruled by a King (Alfred Molina) with two daughters. The oldest is Marianne (Evan Rachel Wood), who is still recovering from getting her heart broken by Roland (Sam Palladio), the man she was getting ready to marry. On the flipside, Dawn, the youngest daughter, played by Meredith Anne Bull, is the exact opposite and spends her time flirting with her best friend Sunny (Elijjah Kelley). The other side is made up of the Dark Forest, which is kind of what you’d expect a dark forest to be. The evil Bog King (Alan Cumming) has kidnapped the sugar plum fairy (Kristin Chenoweth), and now the fairies are fighting to get her back.

The movie is a bit convoluted and I had a bit of a hard time seeing any inspiration from A Midsummer’s Nights Dream, with the exception of a fairy who makes love potions. It was a bit confusing, which isn’t really good when your target audience is under 12.

I will say the movie had a few laugh out loud moments. While critics have been panning it widely, I won’t call it terrible. The scenery is beautiful, the animation excellent and the characters are intriguing. The problem comes for the labyrinthine story line and the music, which felt a bit too Moulin Rouge for a kids movie.

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It’s a bizarre film but again, it’s not terrible. It’s just a bit drawn out. Dare I say it? I think this would have been way better without the music. When watching, you’ll repeatedly wonder why a specific song was chosen at a particular time. It’s like the person who chose the music hadn’t watched the movie.

A Midsummer’s Night Dream is already a convoluted story. Adding even more to it makes it far too messy. I mean, it’s Shakespeare. Why improve on Shakespeare? Just do the movie based on the original plot, without adding in a bunch of stuff or some important life lessons about how beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

A confusing score and an even more bewildering plot line don’t really make this movie the best it could be. I think the creators would have benefited from a ‘less is more’ stance on this one. If it had been simplified, I think the movie would have really shined. As it stands now, it’s a bit of a forgettable effort.

WE GAVE IT: 2.5 Stars

2.5 Stars

 

 

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MOVIE REVIEW: Barefoot (2014)

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Barefoot 1Light Comedy + Light Romance = A Decent Watch

3.5 stars

Barefoot, the latest indie romance, might have had a disappointing opening weekend, but it does have its own unique charm.

Barefoot tells the story of Daisy (Evan Rachel Wood) a mentally ill young woman who has been institutionalized after being raised by a reclusive helicopter mom. At the hospital, she meets Jay (Scott Speedman) the black sheep of a WASPy upper-class family. In order to hit up his dad for cash, Jay takes Daisy with him to his brother’s wedding, to prove how responsible he is.

The movie is a bit predictable. Of course, it is learned that there is more to Daisy than meets the eye and it all gets resolved when Daisy shows how stunning she is in an evening dress. But it’s a cute, not entirely light comedy, which is worth a few laughs.

Wood makes this movie sparkle, with her portrayal of the incredibly naive and inexperienced Daisy. She plays the part with childlike innocence, while at the same time bringing seriousness to the part with flashbacks.

The fact that Daisy is mentally ill is a bit sugar coated, and the movie makes metal illness seem like it could just be a quirk rather than a serious problem. Among other problems is Speedman’s character.

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As a recent parolee with a gambling problem, Speedman has a lot to overcome to make his character likeable. Unfortunately, he didn’t and Jay comes off as a real jerk. You almost want him to fail, because he is that unbearable. It would have played better if the character was a bit more sympathetic. Instead, they made the guy the requisite dirt bag, which made it hard to root for him

I’m a little bit reminded of the 90’s cult hit Bennie and Joon. Of course, that one approaches the issues faced with a mentally ill couple a little bit more seriously, but it’s the same general idea. While Barefoot is nowhere near as fantastic as Benny and Joon, and is too formulaic to have the same unique charm, it is a watchable movie.

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It’s a little too sugary sweet to make it a compelling classic. Despite that fact that it is a reasonably unique story, it does follow a lot of the same clichéd plot lines of any romantic comedy. But it is not a bad movie, just a bit predictable. In addition, the secondary characters weren’t really fleshed out like they should have been.

Sometimes, Daisy is a bit too naive and sweet, to the point where it gets a little irritating. Like when she keeps asking people; ’why do you wear shoes like that?’ Yeah, we get it. Daisy likes to go around barefoot, hence the name. Now move on.

The direction is reasonable, with good transitions between flashbacks and current events. The movie is a bit like a 1930s screwball comedy, with a bit of light romance thrown in. While it is hardly going to light the world on fire, clever timing and the sweetness of Woods’ character give the movie real heart.