Steve and Dan Podcast #011: 2015 Movie Preview

This week, Dan and I return from our winter hiatus to discuss the upcoming films of 2015 that we’re interested in seeing. These run the gamut from children’s films (Paddington and Minions), to spy films (Kingsmen: The Secret Service and SPECTRE), to big action blockbusters and sequels (Jurassic World and Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens). I’ll put the links to the podcast below, and if you want to take a look at the trailers for these films, as well as a complete list of all those we talk about, click through after the break where I’ve listed them based on release date.

 

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Once Upon A Time: A Review of Into the Woods

Director: Rob Marshall
Writers: James Lapine (Screenplay), James Lapine (Musical), Stephen Sondheim (Lyricist)
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Chris Pine, Christine Baranski, Lilla Crawford, Daniel Huttlestone
Release Date: December 25, 2014
Runtime: 2 hrs. 4 min.
MPAA Rating: PG

 

 

Hollywood has made it a habit in recent years to take successful Broadway shows and adapt them for the screen. This has led to a resurgence of that lost gem of Hollywood films: the musical. Beginning approximately with 2002’s Chicago, the twenty-oughts saw a steady stream of musicals, including film adaptations of The Phantom of the Opera and Mamma Mia! Going back and looking at box-office records, you’d be hard-pressed to find a date that didn’t have at least one in wide release, something that couldn’t be said for the previous two or three decades (despite the occasional A Star is Born or Victor/Victoria). Turn to the current decade, and the musical seems well-ensconced as a theater regular. In fact, last year’s third highest grossing film domestically, number one overall worldwide, was Disney’s musical Frozen (read my review here). It’s the first musical to crack the top ten all-time list, sitting at number five with over a billion dollars in revenue. Now, Into the Woods is not about to break any records, but it is a part of this everything old is new again trend. And it’s a pretty good movie to boot. Click through for my full review.