JACK AND THE BEANSTALK (2009)
Most everyone grew up with the familiar tale of Jack and the Beanstalk. And over the years many version of the story made it to both the big and little screens. This particular movie is just one of two more recent renditions we're looking at today.
In this one, Jack (as portrayed by Colin Ford of The Dome fame) sets out to prove he is hero material. Although the plot broadly follows the accustomed recipe it has some interesting twists to the usual spiel. For instance, the "cow" Jack trades for the magic beans is not quite what you'd expect and neither is the goose that lay the golden eggs. In fact, the whole thing is done very tongue in the cheek and one gets the impression that the star studded cast had much more fun making the film than those who are intended to watch it.
Although it is clearly aimed at the little ones, you might enjoy it as well, especially if you are in the mood for a bit of silliness. And it is with that intended audience in mind that I rate this movie 3 out of 5 stars.
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Chloe Grace Moretz, Gilbert Gottfried and Colin Ford
JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (2013)
This second rendition is a bit more serious and a lot more violent (no pillow fighting ninjas in this one!). And with a PG rated age restriction it is obviously also aimed at an "older" audience.
Again, this film follows the basic premise of the original fairy tale but here too artistic license is liberally applied. In this version, Jack (here portrayed by Nicholas Holt) volunteers to help rescue the princess after she has been spirited away up into the heavens by the magic beanstalk. Once the rescue party reaches the top, they find themselves in the Land of the Giants. However, this is not the first encounter between man and giant. Legend has it that they clashed before and it was then that man banished the giants to dwell in this place in the sky. Obviously this does not bode well for our intrepid hero's as giant has an ax to grind, so to speak.
As mentioned above, this movie is much darker and contain some real grizzly moments. But overall it was done very well with epic battle scenes and impressive special effects. This film too has a stellar cast with the likes of Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci and Ian McShane. I rate this one 3 out of 5 stars as well.
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Ewan McGregor, Nicholas Holt and Eleanor Tomlinson
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