The Witches (2020)

[txhorns79]

A "re-imagining" of the original story, and not a remake of the 1990 movie.  No movie theater release, for obvious reasons.  Instead it went straight to streaming on HBO Max beginning on 10/22.

[supposebly]

Every time a new movie with witches comes out, I'm reminded of what Meryl Streep said when she turned 40, all of a sudden she got offered a lot of witches and how she wondered about society's horror about older women.

Meryl Streep on being offered a lot of witches in one year. 

 

[Ravenya003]

4 hours ago, supposebly said:

Every time a new movie with witches comes out, I'm reminded of what Meryl Streep said when she turned 40, all of a sudden she got offered a lot of witches and how she wondered about society's horror about older women.

Meryl Streep on being offered a lot of witches in one year. 

 

I imagine the same thing happens when aging actresses get the call to play the Evil Stepmother in various Snow White and Cinderella remakes. Cate Blanchett, Julia Roberts, Diana Rigg, Miranda Richardson - there's no clearer of indicator of being a "beauty past her prime" than playing the evil stepmother.

Getting back to The Witches, the original film is notorious in our extended family, as my second cousin was taken to see it as a child and was so legitimately traumatized that she started having panic attacks whenever she saw elderly women; so convinced was she that they were witches. Eventually her parents had to take her to therapy, where she was given a "high-tech witch repelling charm" (there's no point telling a kid that what they fear isn't real, they need to have a tangible tool in order to fight it).

Needless to say, I was not allowed to watch this movie as a child, so I'll be interested to see if this tones down the horror elements in any way. And of course: the changed ending, which Roald Dahl famously hated, even though his conclusion was severely depressing the more you think about it.

[Robert Lynch]

1 hour ago, Ravenya003 said:

I imagine the same thing happens when aging actresses get the call to play the Evil Stepmother in various Snow White and Cinderella remakes. Cate Blanchett, Julia Roberts, Diana Rigg, Miranda Richardson - there's no clearer of indicator of being a "beauty past her prime" than playing the evil stepmother.

Getting back to The Witches, the original film is notorious in our extended family, as my second cousin was taken to see it as a child and was so legitimately traumatized that she started having panic attacks whenever she saw elderly women; so convinced was she that they were witches. Eventually her parents had to take her to therapy, where she was given a "high-tech witch repelling charm" (there's no point telling a kid that what they fear isn't real, they need to have a tangible tool in order to fight it).

Needless to say, I was not allowed to watch this movie as a child, so I'll be interested to see if this tones down the horror elements in any way. And of course: the changed ending, which Roald Dahl famously hated, even though his conclusion was severely depressing the more you think about it.

He was married to 50s actress Patricia Neal for quite a while before they divorced.

[txhorns79]

4 hours ago, Ravenya003 said:

 

Getting back to The Witches, the original film is notorious in our extended family, as my second cousin was taken to see it as a child and was so legitimately traumatized that she started having panic attacks whenever she saw elderly women; so convinced was she that they were witches. Eventually her parents had to take her to therapy, where she was given a "high-tech witch repelling charm" (there's no point telling a kid that what they fear isn't real, they need to have a tangible tool in order to fight it).

The 1990 version has some legit scary moments.  The little girl becoming trapped in the painting and visibly aging over the years until she vanished was chilling.  A girl being turned into a CGI chicken is not.  Anjelica Huston was menacing and scary, particularly when she takes her face off. 

I didn't love the 2020 version.  Octavia Spencer was very good, but Anne Hathaway was not.  She was too campy and her version of the Grand High Witch was more cartoon-ish than frightening.  I also thought it undermined the idea that a witch could be anyone by giving them those clearly visible giant mouths.  I can't even with Chris Rock's voice over narration.  To me, he sounded listless, like he got bored reading his script and refused to do additional takes.       

[Robert Lynch]

That Boris/Natasha accent on Anne was so horrible. Angelica had the charm and mystique that Anne lacked here. Anne was completely off her game here.

[Spartan Girl]

Yeah, I had no intention of watching this and now that I just watched the Cinema Snob's review, I know I made the right call. 

Poor Anne Hathaway, she's better than this. She was already set up to fail by following Angelica Huston's shoes, but the filmmakers obviously had to dumb everything down and add horrible CGI from what I can tell by the trailer.

And I don't give a damn about Roald Dahl going full-bitch about the 1990 movie changing the ending, it was fine. He always had a fit about the movies being different than the books, I doubt he'd like this version any better. And if this movie keeps the boy as a mouse, fine, but do they keep the part of the book ending where it's implied Bruno's parents kill him because they don't want a mouse for a son? That was just awful, even for Dahl.

[rwlevin]

19 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

but do they keep the part of the book ending where it's implied Bruno's parents kill him because they don't want a mouse for a son? That was just awful, even for Dahl.

Spoiler

No, but he does go to live with the others as they travel the country killing witches.

I didn’t like this movie. It was too cutesy and then the ending is a downer disguised to seem happy. And it felt like Octavia Spencer was just going through the motions. Plus, she had this menacing cough throughout the movie which ended up being a whole lot of nothing, unless it showed she was allergic to witches or something but it was never explained.

Also, I think getting stuck in a picture is a whole lot scarier than being turned into a chicken.

[Morrigan2575]

I loved the original and, was uncertain about watching this one. Thanks for the reviews, I'll give it a pass. I wonder if HBO Max has the original? I'd love to watch it again

[Spartan Girl]

1 hour ago, Morrigan2575 said:

I loved the original and, was uncertain about watching this one. Thanks for the reviews, I'll give it a pass. I wonder if HBO Max has the original? I'd love to watch it again

It's on Netflix.

[Morrigan2575]

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

It's on Netflix.

Thank You

[Wiendish Fitch]

Great, 2 shitty remakes of movies from my youth in one year; first Mulan, now this. To be fair, the 1990 version of The Witches absolutely has its flaws, but they don't feel as offensively egregious as the ones in this. I got halfway through the remake, gave up, then watched the remaining 10 or 15 minutes with Mr. Fitch (I don't feel I missed much). A list...

1. Let me be clear: I love Chris Rock. I think he's one of the greatest comedians alive, and he has proven more than once to be an effective actor... but I loathe his narration. First off, he does it in his comedic, "chainsaw set on 'high'" voice, which makes it hard to take the story seriously. Yes, I know, you could argue The Witches is a dark comedy, but there are stakes. The children of the world are in mortal peril, and we learn that witches have done away with kids in uniquely horrible ways, so when the narrator is Chris Rock, well, Chris Rock-ing it up, it detracts from the story. Second, it's intrusive as hell. There's a right way and a wrong way to utilize narration, and this is definitely the latter. Rock basically mansplains every. Damn. Thing that's happening onscreen, even though we can plainly see with our own fucking eyes what's happening! A sample (I'm not making this up):

"The sun was shining!" (As we cut to... the sun shining. Uh, thanks for that, bud).

"I decided to stay inside!" (We see the boy... inside. Oh, thank goodness Rock was around to tell us that, or I'd have been totally lost!)

"We walked away feeling triumphant!" (Really?! Ya don't say!)

SHOW, DON'T TELL, ZEMECKIS! WE'RE NOT STUPID!! WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!?

Ahem. Moving along...

2.

Spoiler

Fucking. Daisy. Good God, I can't remember hating a character on sight more. I have lived in the South nearly all my life, and I have met way too many Daisys for my liking: smug, pedantic, prissy, condescending Karens who bully and harass under the guise of passive aggression... I mean, "Southern gentility". Not only was she horrible, Daisy didn't even add anything to the plot, she's just clutter! Kylie and Kristofferson were also new additions in 2009's Fantastic Mr. Fox, but at least they were fun characters and contributed to the overall story! And, hey, Daisy? "Kid" is a perfectly acceptable term for a child, so go have a picnic on a mouse trap!

 

3. The corn pone dialogue poor Octavia Spencer was forced to utter.  Maybe I just live in the wrong part of the South, but I have never heard anyone talk like that.

4. Ugh, the CGI is butt ugly.

5. Double ugh,

Spoiler

Old Chris Rock Mouse is more grotesque than all the witches combined. Those teeth... *shudders*

6. There should be a law prohibiting the use of "We Are Family" for happy endings. Seriously, think outside the damn box.

7. The witches in the book and original film weren't perfect strategic geniuses, but they sure as hell weren't as sloppy as these idiots! Carrying snakes into public buildings, destroying furniture in the hotel, what the what?! Remember, they've apparently been getting away with this for centuries, but I don't believe for a second they'd get away with this shit after a day!

8. The new features of the witches' expanding mouths made me think of Venom. Shame on you, movie. How dare you make me think of Venom.

Okay, lest you all think I'm just a crotchety old fart, something positive:

This has been the shittiest year in my recollection, and I think we all deserve to have as much fun as Anne Hathaway is having as the Grand High Witch. And her purple snake dress is cool (though did they have to CGI the snake? Couldn't it just be an accessory?!).

 

20 hours ago, rwlevin said:

I didn’t like this movie. It was too cutesy and then the ending is a downer disguised to seem happy. And it felt like Octavia Spencer was just going through the motions. Plus, she had this menacing cough throughout the movie which ended up being a whole lot of nothing, unless it showed she was allergic to witches or something but it was never explained.

Gargantuan plot threads blowing in the wind seems to be de rigueur in screenwriting these days.

 

20 hours ago, rwlevin said:

Also, I think getting stuck in a picture is a whole lot scarier than being turned into a chicken.

Agreed. That part from the book unsettles me to this day.

Edited October 25, 2020 by Wiendish Fitch

[Spartan Girl]

@Wiendish Fitch I'm impressed at your stamina to actually sit through this. I don't have HBO max so I guess I got off lightly, otherwise I might have actually watched it because we don't have a lot of options right now.

To be fair to Anne Hathaway, she did look like she was having fun. I just wish they didn't overshadow her with the awful Venom mouth.

Edited October 25, 2020 by Spartan Girl

[Wiendish Fitch]

Just now, Spartan Girl said:

@Wiendish Fitch I'm impressed at your stamina to actually shit through this. I don't have HBO max so I guess so I guess I got off light, otherwise I might have actually watched it because we don't have a lot of options right now.

To be fair to Anne Hathaway, she did look like she was having fun. I just wish they didn't overshadow her with the awful Venom mouth.

I gotta say, the witches in question did a garbage job hiding their Venom mouths. Again, how the hell have they gotten away with this for so long?! Lord know I no longer underrate how dumb people can be, but still...

[Spartan Girl]

At least Bruno going to live with the boy and his grandma is better than how the book ended for him. And I really hated how the book version of them just shrugged it off like, "Poor Bruno, but not our problem." Geez! Bruno was a jerk but he didn't deserve that. Even the horrible kids in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory got off lighter than he did!

[Scarlett45]

On 10/22/2020 at 10:07 PM, txhorns79 said:

I didn't love the 2020 version.  Octavia Spencer was very good, but Anne Hathaway was not.  She was too campy and her version of the Grand High Witch was more cartoon-ish than frightening.  I also thought it undermined the idea that a witch could be anyone by giving them those clearly visible giant mouths.  I can't even with Chris Rock's voice over narration.  To me, he sounded listless, like he got bored reading his script and refused to do additional takes.      

I liked Octavia Spencer a lot. 

On 10/23/2020 at 7:29 AM, Robert Lynch said:

That Boris/Natasha accent on Anne was so horrible. Angelica had the charm and mystique that Anne lacked here. Anne was completely off her game here.

I agree with both of your points. I know Anne can do a lot better. 
 

I liked the CGI for the mice in the 2020 version but The Witches weren’t scary enough. I will still prefer the 1990 version. Yes they changed the ending- I like the “movie” ending better. My fav part was “Don’t forget Bruno”..... knowing there are good witches out there to right the wrongs of the Grand High Witch. 

On 10/25/2020 at 10:40 AM, Spartan Girl said:

@Wiendish Fitch I'm impressed at your stamina to actually sit through this. I don't have HBO max so I guess I got off lightly, otherwise I might have actually watched it because we don't have a lot of options right now.

To be fair to Anne Hathaway, she did look like she was having fun. I just wish they didn't overshadow her with the awful Venom mouth.

Lol. My mom really wanted to watch it and she’s recovering from a knee replacement so we watched it on my iPad. 

[Spartan Girl]

This was on TBS. All I can say is SUCKO.

[Scarlett45]

9 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

This was on TBS. All I can say is SUCKO.

Yeah it was BAD.