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Reviews
The Big Family Cooking Showdown (2017)
Season 2 is a total disappointment
I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of this show. The presenters and judges were excellent and the structure of the show was exciting and different. I loved that one of the challenges took the families and judges to their own homes. The new season has a totally different format and it might as well now be "Chopped: Family Edition". I've only watched two episodes of the new season and I may not bother to finish the series.
I give the first season a solid 8 and the new season a 1. Netflix, you screwed this one up big time.
Into the Woods (2014)
Not as good as the stage show but it has its moments
I had to jump on here to clear up so much of the confusion surrounding the 1star reviews. People complaining about the suggestive undertones (adultery, rape, pedophilia). Yes, those are dark thematic elements, but they are not made up for the sake of this movie. Disney has cornered the market on fairy tales with a "happily ever after", but the originals were not always so. When James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim set out to write this musical, they mined the original tales from the Brothers Grimm, which are far more dark than the Disney tales we have all be raised on. Fairy tales were originally meant to be a morality tale (don't talk to strangers, obey your parents, avoid illicit relationships, etc.) Little Red Riding Hood WAS a tale about pedophilia, as uncomfortable as that makes us as a modern audience. This was never meant to be a "happily ever after" story.
Now, to the actual merits of this film. The film was exceptionally well cast (well, except for Chris Pine. I normally love him, but I feel he was a weak link. Cinderella's Prince is one of my favorite characters from the show and I just do not feel he was strong enough). Anna Kendrick and Emily Blunt were truly standouts from a very solid cast. Where I take issue with the film is in the transition between Act 1 and Act 2. The first half should end with the loose ends being tied up and the brilliant "Ever After" bringing the act to a close. All that is left is the main theme of "Ever After" played for a few moments before the giant comes down the beanstalk. There are so many plot holes that are left with the elimination of this song. The second act feels like a muddled mess because we don't really know what happened to everyone. There are too many omissions and the second act feels hurried to get to the end. The whole point of "children will listen" is just totally lost. I could go on, but there is no need to rehash the entire stage play. In the original, the second act is supposed to take on a much darker tone from the first; I just feel that the movie missed the mark with this.
The film had its moments, but it is far from perfect. However, the 1 star reviews lobbed at this film are not justified. They tried to justice to the source material, but just cut a few too many things to make the story consistent and coherent.