into the woods, magical, musical

Even better than I imagined, Into the Woods is the perfect holiday film. Full of wonderful music by Stephen Sondheim, a cast that is not only stellar, but can sing well, and enough joy and gloom to balance out the roller-coaster emotional terrain that accompanies the holiday season. And if there was any doubt that the movie was a hit with my ten year-old daughter, the evidence was her singing the songs in the car on the ride home, and her ultimate thrill when looking up the lyrics on the internet to discover that I had downloaded the soundtrack from iTunes for her continued enjoyment. How cool is that?

The movie, directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha), is great to look at, and uses its CGI to wonderful effect, just to add a little magic when needed. Hollywood, take note, CGI should be used as a tool, not an excuse for a whole movie. But what really enchants are the songs. The original fairytale mash-up, Into the Woods loosely follows the stories of Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy), Jack and the Beanstalk (Daniel Huttlestone) and Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), while introducing a couple that yearns for a child, The Baker (James Corden) and his Wife (Emily Blunt), who, may see their wish to become parents granted if they can help reverse a curse by the local witch (Meryl Streep).

Meryl Streep makes a wonderful Witch

Emily Blunt is a stand-out, her performance shining whether she is singing or speaking. Johnny Depp delivers an (appropriate for a change) over-the-top cameo as The Big Bad Wolf ("Hello Little Girl"). But Streep is also wonderful, and aces all of her songs, especially "Children Will Listen." She brings a touching quality to her Witch, who is not quite wicked, if not entirely nice, either.

Everyone in the cast shines. An especially fun surprise is Chris Pine as Cinderella's prince, who states, in maybe his only honest moment, "I was raised to be charming, not sincere." He takes preening and posing to a whole new level, to hilarious effect. His duet mid-way, with his equally humble-brag brother (Billy Magnussen, who has eyes for Rapunzel), "Agony," energizes the film and provides the first clue to the uninitiated that this won't be a completely traditional take on fairy tales. The kid sang "Agony," her favorite number, as we walked out of the theater — for quite a while before asking me what "agony" meant. "Oh! That makes sense!"

[Cinderella's Prince]
Did I abuse her
Or show her disdain?
Why does she run from me?
If I should lose her,
How shall I regain
The heart she has won from me?

Agony!
Beyond power of speech,
When the one thing you want
Is the only thing out of your reach.

[Rapunzel's Prince]
High in her tower,
She sits by the hour,
Maintaining her hair.
Blithe and becoming and frequently humming
A lighthearted air:
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-

Agony!
Far more painful than yours,
When you know she would go with you
If there only were doors.

The Baker and his wife bargain with Jack for his cow

Parenthood, especially motherhood, is a theme that twines through the story, from the Witch's strange interpretation of a doting parent - kidnap a beautiful child and lock her up in a tower away from the world — to The Baker and his Wife being willing to do anything to become parents — to Jack's abusive mom (Tracey Ullman) and the few fleeting moments he feels of love in a Giantess's embrace, as he tells the Baker in "Giants in the Sky."

A big tall terrible Giant at the door,
A big tall terrible lady Giant
sweeping the floor.
And she gives you food
And she gives you rest
And she draws you close
To her Giant breast,
And you know things now
that you never knew before,
Not till the sky.

There are many wonderful set pieces, from Cinderella's freeze-frame number "On the Steps of the Palace" to the cast singing "No One is Alone" and the title song. But it is Blunt's Baker's Wife who touched me most deeply, especially in "Moments in the Woods."

Just a moment,
One peculiar passing moment...
Must it all be either less or more,
Either plain or grand?
Is it always "or"?
Is it never "and"?
That's what woods are for:
For those moments in the woods...

I have yet to see the play in live performance, but I have seen a filmed version, featuring original Broadway cast members Bernadette Peters (Witch) and Joanna Gleason (Baker's Wife), which was aired originally in 1991 on American Playhouse. It was very good, and I loved the music, but I found it a bit more sarcastic in tone and the characters not as sympathetic. Big screen close-ups probably help create a more intimate atmosphere in this current version, as do a few judicial trims of reprises, etc. that would work well on stage, but not necessarily on film.

Red on her way to Grandmother's house ...

The woods are a magical place, where anything, good or bad, can happen to these characters, and to the lucky audience. Can't wait to see Into the Woods again.

cumberbatch into darkness

Warning: spoilers abound, for those of you who haven't already guessed, viewed, or Googled Benedict Cumberbatch's true identity in the film.

J.J. Abrams's second entry in his rebooted Star Trek franchise, Star Trek Into Darkness, warped into theaters last week and did pretty well — over $164 million worldwide earned at the box office so far. Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), and the rest of the gang were back, but there's no denying that what made Star Trek even more fun and fascinating this time around was the arch-villain played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Abrams & Co. are undoubtedly big fans of the original series and its subsequent films, as there were many shout-outs to fans peppered throughout the film.

Cumberbatch made a swell villain, and the film-mmakers definitely wanted to tweak the fans by revealing him to be ... Khan, but ... by making him Khan they have really messed with what had come before, both in the original series episode, "Space Seed," and the film, Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan with Ricardo Montalban playing the Indian Sikh super-warrior Khan Noonien Singh. It is undeniable that as gorgeous and kick-ass as Cumberbatch may look on the widescreen, he is quite the pale fellow. Khan's ethnicity and the series' historic nod to Genghis Khan went right out the window. Reportedly Benicio Del Toro was originally slated for the role, but Cumberbatch was great, one of the best things about the movie.

A super-man who can take out an entire army of Klingons? Yes, please!

Spock and Kirk work on their relationship

Uhura is not only fluent in Klingon, but can save her man at the end of the day

Having Kirk go into a radiation tube so that Zachary Quinto could yell, "KHAN!!!" after his friend had seemingly died, and then go after him for revenge was a nice switch. A cameo from original Spock Leonard Nimoy was also fun, although it smacked of not only deus ex machina, but that wacky LOST sideways universe, which is not necessarily a good thing.

Dr. Carol Marcus, (of Genesis project fame) played by Alice Eve, made an appearance, mostly so that we could see her in her underwear. Oddly, bra and panty design doesn't seem to have changed or improved much in the future. How a British-accented lassie could be the daughter of the very American Admiral Marcus, played by Peter Weller is anybody's guess.

There were definitely some great set-pieces:

The opening sequence on the planet Nibiru, was visually stunning and exciting, as Spock tried to save a primitive civilisation from an about-to-erupt volcano, while Kirk as usual, broke every rule in the book to save him from being blown up with the volcano.

The banter between Kirk and Spock, Kirk and Scotty (a very funny Simon Pegg), Spock and Uhura, Kirk and Khan — all great stuff. The relationships, as always, are the heart of these movies. The CGI pyrotechnics are just window dressing.

Kirk and Khan teaming up (temporarily) and hurtling through space together, to save the Enterprise and its crew was a great sequence.

The overall experience of watching the film was a fun one, but Star Trek Into Darkness was one of the noisiest damn movies ever. So many things exploding in space, with tons of gray metal junk flying all over the place. Whatever happened to no one being able to hear you scream in space? There will undoubtedly be a sequel, although which aspect of the Star Trek legacy the filmmakers will choose to plunder next time around remains uncertain. The fate of Khan and his companions wasn't left ambiguous enough to really register as clever, or a twist in storytelling. I wouldn't mind at all seeing Cumberbatch again, but is that really a story that needs to be (re) told?

catching up with ... bottle shock

Watching the delectable Alan Rickman in The Deathly Hallows Part 2 recently reminded me of a little film I caught with him, Bottle Shock, a little "true story" film set in the 1970s, about the wine industry. Rickman plays Steven Spurrier, who is worried about the survival of his wine shop. His American pal and wine lover Maurice (Dennis Farina), one suit louder than another, suggests that he could save his business by traveling to the United States and sponsoring a blind taste test/contest. Spurrier is doubtful, "No offense, but I don't foresee the imminent cultivation of the Chicago vine."

He does follow his friend's advice and travels to California's Napa Valley, where he meets Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman), owner of Chateau Montelena. Barrett has no interest in the gimmicky contest, the "Judgment of Paris" - Paris wines vs. CA wines, in 1976. But Barrett's son Bo (Chris Pine, in a very unfortunate and distracting wig) is eager to take part in the contest, as hopeful that it will help save the family winery as Spurrier is that it will save his shop. But Barrett is very difficult to convince:

Jim Barrett: Why don't I like you?
Steven Spurrier: Because you think I'm an arsehole. And I'm not, really. I'm just British and, well ... you're not.

Adding to all of the local color is Gustavo, (Freddy Rodriguez) a worker at Barrett's vineyard and son of a Mexican field hand, who is also trying to perfect his own wine and a girl named Sam (Rachael Taylor), who, in a perfect '70s movie fashion, likes both young guys, Gustavo and Bo, and doesn't see why she should have to choose between them. She also get sto play a sexy female empowerment twist on Claudette Colbert's famous hitchhiking technique from It Happened One Night.

Alan Rickman, Rachael Taylor and Chris Pine

There is quite an amusing scene where Bo and Spurrier ask passengers at the airport to help them carry bottles of wine aboard the flight to the competition in Paris. Apparently only one bottle per customer was permitted on flights at the time, and they need to transport at least a case of wine to the "Judgment of Paris." Luckily, their fellow passengers are only to happy to help, but wonder who he is exactly, "Your last name Gallo?"

The film also imparts some lessons about wine and oxidation (who knew white wine could temporarily turn brown?) Even my parents 1970s unsuccessful attempts with the home wine-making kits never revealed this. Of course all they were able to produce was some vintage vinegar. Pullman is great in the scene when he realizes he is still a vintner and should never have thought about going back to the cubicle world.

With so many wines at our disposal these days it's easy to forget how once French wines ruled the world, and people's eyes were opened in (bottle) shock as they realized, "We have shattered the myth of french wine ... we'll be drinking wine from South America, Australia ... this is just the beginning." Rickman and Co. are quite enjoyable and it will be impossible not to want to break open a bottle of Napa Chardonnay while watching Bottle Shock, which was part of the 2008 Sundance film festival. Cheers!

Related articles

• Chatting with Stephen Spurrier about the 2011 Decanter Wine Awards (winesleuth.wordpress.com)