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, Grace and his shrewd and scheming campaign advisor, Guy – 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.
Directed by Will Gluck and stars Quvenzhané Wallis, Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale.
To view the film’s trailer, click here.
Movie Review
There’s been mixed reactions from those who are staunch fans of the original. Whilst some people love the new modern take on this beloved musical, others are disappointed some of the songs they know and love have been modernised. Personally, we are huge fans of musicals and we loved it and have been enjoying the soundtrack since watching the movie. The new take on some of the songs is something a bit different if you’ve heard all the songs from the original movie a thousand times before. The collaboration with Sia is original and has a distinct Sia edge to them. It’s also fabulous to have a link to Adelaide as Sia was born here! She puts her own style to the favourites, ‘You’re never fully dressed without a smile’, and ‘I think I’m gonna like it here’, plus there’s a few new original tracks including ‘Opportunity’, also written by her.
It’s a clever take on the story with social media used as a tool to help rescue Annie. I noticed that unlike the original movie where Annie was showered with new clothes and gifts when she arrived at Daddy Warbucks, in this version she still wears all her own hand-me-down clothes. It seemed to say that she was not persuaded by material things and that her affection for Will Stacks was not influenced by this. A nice touch to the story. It also highlighted the importance of reading (rather than the importance of learning to play tennis as was in the 1982 movie).
It’s a fun movie if you’re into musicals and it’s definitely worth watching to decide for yourself if you like this modern take or not.
What: Annie
When: Opens 18 December 2014
Where: Selected Cinemas (check your local guide)
Who: Rated PG
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