Annie (2014)
Annie is a young, happy foster kid who's also tough enough to make her way on the streets of New York in 2014. Originally left by her parents as a baby with the promise that they'd be back for her someday, it's been a hard knock life ever since with her mean foster mom Miss Hannigan. But everything's about to change when the hard-nosed tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks—advised by his brilliant VP and his shrewd and scheming campaign advisor—makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in. Stacks believes he's her guardian angel, but Annie's self-assured nature and bright, sun-will-come-out-tomorrow outlook on life just might mean it's the other way around.
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Fantastic!
Beautiful, moving film.
As Good As It Gets
A different way of telling a story
I really wanted to like this movie, partly because of nostalgia and partly because of the actors' charms. But it was not good. There were far too many awkward and obvious moments between those poorly dubbed musical numbers with loud drum machines. They somehow managed to make this story even more cliche...which is pretty darn impressive. I loved my Annie; my kids will love this Annie. Me? I pass.
Not an all black cast! I was surprised and pleased by that. Once I got over the initial fact that there "ain't no freckle-faced redhead" in the lead, I tried to gave the movie a chance. I really didn't like it very much. The 11-year-old playing Urban Annie can sing but is a weak dancer! However, some of the songs are almost "thrown away". I just didn't like some of the lead actors. A cell-phone magnate is a far cry from an industrialist or real estate tycoon. As it was set in the present day, it lost all all of its 1930's period charm. I suppose that today's orphans might be called Foster Children? "Opportunity" is the only decent new song and several familiar ones are missing. Jamie Foxx sings surprisingly well. Cameron Diaz does Miss Hannigan as an ex-pop star and there are only 4 kids. What happened to "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile? It plays over the end titles. Otherwise, it stands alone as a "different" musical remake but it seemed like a cheaply-produced TV movie. A penthouse view is not The Warbucks Mansion. Disappointing but it was a box office success! It only played 2 months past its Christmas Debut. For another bad "remake" see "Annie-A Royal Adventure", from many years ago.
When I first saw the previews for this film, I was far from interested. But when my curiosity got the best of me, I decided to give it a chance. Although I wasn't totally impressed, I do believe the film had its fair share of cute moments. You should know that this is nothing like the 1982 original. So if you're expecting the characters to be anything like Aileen Quinn, Albert Finney or Carol Burnett you will be extremely disappointed.Our new Annie is played by Hollywood newcomer Quvenzhane Wallis. As the lead, she is an admirable young girl with a perky attitude who helps those around her see the bright side of life. Annie lives in a Harlem apartment with her mean, snotty foster mother and four foster sisters. Hoping to reunite with her parents, she goes to an Italian restaurant called Domani where her parents abandoned her leaving behind a note. While rescuing a stray dog, Annie's life gradually changes for the better when Will Stacks a billionaire and mayoral candidate agrees to take her in to help further his chances of getting elected. Although not right away, Will eventually warms up to Annie and the two develop a strong bond.Quvenzhane Wallis is absolutely adorable as the lead. The movie is definitely worth watching for her performance alone. The four girls were cute at times but they don't have much to work with as far as screen time and dialogue. Cameron Diaz was far from believable as Miss Hannigan. She's no Carol Burnett but this is by far one of her worst performances ever. Jamie Foxx was goof and quite comical as the cocky, future mayor and cell phone mogul. Many of the scenes he shared with Wallis later on in the film are heartwarming and fun to watch. However, there are certain plot points that the film could've done without. The dancing scene between Bobby Cannavale and Cameron Diaz was just plain dumb. The singing was bad and it had nothing to do with the theme of the movie and therefore seemed pointless. The "auditioning parents" scene was just as bad. Auditioning random strangers to pretend to be Annie's parents was a horrible idea. Perhaps Mr. Gluck could've brought out the worst in Miss Diaz's character through better directing and dialogue. Not to mention the whole "I used to be a bright star"/member of C&C Music factory was a complete joke. I mean talk about unbelievable!!!!! Jamie Foxx, Rose Byrne,Bobby Cannavale, Cameron Diaz and David Zayas are all good actors. But they don't have much to work with to really shine. Aside from a few catchy tunes, cute kids and an impressionable lead actress, "Annie is good, but not great.
This version of Annie is truly awful. I have seen the two previous version several times, and there was no need for another, especially given the treatment this time around. Can you imagine a hip hop version of the Sound of Music or My Fair Lady? Some respect should be shown to the originators of these pieces of work. This Annie is merely a distortion of an iconic show and it appears the public agreed it wasn't worth the effort.While the part of Annie is played by a very talented girl, other roles were so bad that it is doubtful any actor could have made it palatable. I particularly disliked Miss Hannigan in this movie, and her version of Little Girls was plain angry. And the movie completely destroyed "I'm Going to Like It Here," especially with the new lyrics. Annie was never a perfect musical, but compared to this version, the original sure seems that way.