In Theaters This Weekend: Reviews of ‘Into the Woods,’ ‘The Interview’ and More

A witch, a dictator and a prisoner of war are heading to theaters this weekend with the releases of Into the Woods, The Interview and Unbroken.

Find out what The Hollywood Reporter‘s critics are saying about the new offerings (along with which film will top the weekend’s box office).

Read more ‘The Interview’ Released on VOD: Twitter Explodes With Reactions

Into the Woods

This adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical stars Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, James Corden, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine and Johnny Depp in the story of a witch who forces a couple to track down magical items. Rob Marshall (Chicago) directed. THR film critic David Rooney writes in his review that Marshall’s film “hits a sweet spot between cinematic and theatrical with his captivating film adaptation.” 

Related Stories

Movies

Venice: 25 Films That Could Be Heading to the Film Festival's 80th Anniversary Edition

Movies

Johnny Depp's Cannes Starrer 'Jeanne du Barry' Lands Domestic Distribution  

The Interview

Maybe you’ve heard a little something about this movie in the past few months? In case you’re out of the loop, the film stars Seth Rogen and James Franco as two guys who are sent to North Korea to assassinate Kim Jong Un. “As political satire goes, The Interview has the comic batting average of a mediocre-to-average Saturday Night Live sketch,” writes THR chief film critic Todd McCarthy in his review. 

Watch more Seth Rogen Cheers On First ‘Interview’ Audience: “Thank You So F—ing Much”

Unbroken

Angelina Jolie directed the adaptation of Lauren Hillenbrand‘s book about Olympian Louis Zamperini enduring a prison camp during World War II. Jack O’Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Miyavi and Garrett Hedlund star. “Jolie’s accomplished second outing as a director slowly loses steam as it chronicles the inhuman dose of suffering,” according to McCarthy’s review. 

American Sniper 

Based on Navy SEAL Chris Kyle‘s book about balancing his life as the most prolific sniper in U.S. military history with raising a family, director Clint Eastwood‘s film stars Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller and Luke Grimes. McCarthy writes in his review that American Sniper is “taut, vivid and sad” and is Eastwood’s “best [film] in a number of years.” 

See more Making ‘Into the Woods’ With Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt

The Gambler

Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Michael Kenneth Williams and Jessica Lange star director Rupert Wyatt‘s remake of the 1974 James Caan film about a professor who needs a big score to pay off a loan shark. McCarthy writes that the film is a “slick and efficient remake of the superior 1974 original, and “Wahlberg carries off the central role with what could be called determined elan.” Read his full review here. 

Email: Ryan.Gajewski@pgmedia.org
Twitter: @_RyanGajewski