Epic

 My Rating:

IMDb Users:

(2013)

Genre: Animation/Fantasy

Director: Chris Wedge

Writers: James V. Hart, William Joyce, Daniel Shere, Tom J. Astle, Matt Ember, Chris Wedge

Producers: Jerry Davis, Lori Forte, James V. Hart, William Joyce, Michael J. Travers

Synopsis: EPIC is a 3D CG adventure comedy that reveals a fantastical world unlike any other. From the creators of ICE AGE and RIO, EPIC tells the story of an ongoing battle between the forces of good, who keep the natural world alive, and the forces of evil, who wish to destroy it. When a teenage girl finds herself magically transported into this secret universe, she teams up with an elite band of warriors and a crew of comical, larger-than-life figures, to save their world...and ours. --(Written by Twentieth Century Fox)

Cast:

• Amanda Seyfried
• Josh Hutcherson
• Beyoncé Knowles
• Colin Farrell
• Aziz Anzari
• Chris O'Dowd
• Pitbull
• Jason Sudeikis
• Steven Tyler
• Christoph Waltz

IMDb - Epic

Beautiful Creatures

 My Rating:

IMDb Users:

(2013)

Genre: Drama/Fantasy

Director: Richard LaGravenese

Writers: Richard LaGravenese, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl

Producers: Brad Arensman, Yolanda T. Cochran, Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, Molly Smith, Erwin Stoff, David Valdes, Steven P. Wegner

Synopsis: A supernatural love story set in the South, "Beautiful Creatures" tells the tale of two star-crossed lovers: Ethan (Alden Ehrenreich), a young man longing to escape his small town, and Lena (Alice Englert), a mysterious new girl. Together, they uncover dark secrets about their respective families, their history and their town. -- (Written by Warner Bros. Pictures)

Cast:

• Alice Englert
• Alden Ehrenreich
• Jeremy Irons
• Viola Davis
• Emmy Rossum
• Emma Thompson
• Margo Martindale

IMDb - Beautiful Creatures

Oz the Great and Powerful

 My Rating:

IMDb Users:

(2013)

Genre: Adventure/Fantasy

Director: Sam Raimi

Writers: Mitchell Kapner, David Lindsay-Abaire, L. Frank Baum

Producers: Debbi Bossi, Grant Curtis, Joshua Donen, K.C. Hodenfield, W. Mark McNair, Palak Patel, Joe Roth, Philip Steuer, Tamara Watts Kent

Synopsis: Disney's fantastical adventure "Oz The Great and Powerful," directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum's beloved wizard character. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he's hit the jackpot-fame and fortune are his for the taking-that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity-and even a bit of wizardry-Oscar transforms himself not only into the great wizard but into a better man as well. When small-time magician Oscar Diggs (James Franco) pulls one flimflam too many, he finds himself hurled into the fantastical Land of Oz where he must somehow transform himself into the great wizard-and just maybe into a better man as well. -- (Written by Walt Disney Pictures)

Cast:

• James Franco
• Mila Kunis
• Rachel Weisz
• Michelle Williams
• Zach Braff

IMDb - Oz the Great and Powerful

Cloud Atlas

 My Rating:

 IMDb Users:

(2012)

Genre: Drama/Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Comedy/Thriller

Directors: Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski

Writers: David Mitchell, Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski

Producers: Stefan Arndt, Alex Boden, David Brown, José Luis Escolar, Grant Hill, Philip Lee, Marcus Loges, Roberto Malerba, Gigi Oeri, Alexander Rodnyansky, Uwe Schott, Pearry Reginald Teo, Tom Tykwer, Alexander van Duelmen, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski

Nominee

Synopsis: Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave dramatically through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future. Each member of the ensemble appears in multiple roles as the stories move through time. -- (Written by Warner Bros. Pictures)

Cast:

• Tom Hanks
• Halle Berry
• Jim Broadbent
• Hugo Weaving
• Jim Sturgess
• Doona Bae
• Ben Whishaw
• Keith David
• James D'Arcy
• Xun Zhou
• Susan Sarandon
• Hugh Grant

**Note: An interesting fact - each of the above cast members play approximately 6 different roles throughout the film. Spanning different times, races and even genders. This was achieved through incredible makeup, prosthetics, wardrobe and tight production times to switch actors between units. I found this so incredibly interesting, and was one of the main reasons why I wanted to see this film.

IMDb - Cloud Atlas

Hotel Transylvania

 My Rating:

 IMDb Users:

(2012)

Genre: Animation/Comedy/Fantasy

Director: Genndy Tartakovsky

Writers: Peter Baynham, Robert Smigel, Todd Durham, Dan Hageman, Kevin Hageman

Producers: Lydia Bottegoni, Michelle Murdocca, Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel

Nominee

Synopsis: Welcome to the Hotel Transylvania, Dracula's (Adam Sandler) lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up, free to be the monsters they are without humans to bother them. On one special weekend, Dracula has invited some of the world's most famous monsters--Frankenstein and his bride, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, a family of werewolves, and more--to celebrate his daughter Mavis's 118th birthday. For Drac, catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem--but his world could come crashing down when one ordinary guy stumbles on the hotel and takes a shine to Mavis. -- (Written by Sony Pictures)

Cast:

• Adam Sandler
• Andy Samberg
• Selena Gomez
• Kevin James
• Fran Drescher
• Steve Buscemi
• Molly Shannon
• David Spade
• CeeLo Green
• Jon Lovitz
• Chris Parnell

IMDb - Hotel Transylvania

ParaNorman

 My Rating:

IMDb Users:

(2012)

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Fantasy

Directors: Chris Butler, Sam Fell

Writer: Chris Butler

Producers: Matthew Fried, Travis Knight, Arianne Sutner, Carl Beyer

 

Nominee

Synopsis: The new 3D stop-motion comedy thriller from animation company LAIKA, reteaming the company with Focus Features after the groundbreaking Academy Award-nominated Coraline. ParaNorman is, following Coraline, the company's second stop-motion animated feature to be made in 3D. In ParaNorman, a small town comes under siege by zombies. Who can it call? Only misunderstood local boy Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee), who is able to speak with the dead. In addition to the zombies, he'll have to take on ghosts, witches and, worst, of all, grown-ups, to save his town from a centuries-old curse. But this young ghoul whisperer may find his paranormal activities pushed to their otherworldly limits. -- (Written by Focus Features)

Cast:

• Kodi Smit-McPhee
• Anna Kendrick
• Casey Affleck
• Christopher Mintz-Plasse
• Leslie Mann
• John Goodman
• Jeff Garlin

IMDb - ParaNorman

Fallen

 My Rating:

IMDb Users:

(1998)

Genre: Thriller/Fantasy

Director: Gregory Hoblit

Writer: Nicholas Kazan

Producers: Robert Cavallo, Elon Dershowitz, Patricia Graf, Nicholas Kazan, Ted Kurdyla, Charles Roven, Kelley Smith-Wait, Dawn Steel, Richard Suckle

Synopsis: Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style. -- (Written by IMDb Editors)

Cast:

• Denzel Washington
• John Goodman
• Donald Sutherland
• James Gandolfini

IMDb - Fallen

Brave

 My Rating:

IMDb Users:

(2012)

Genre: Animation/Fantasy

Directors: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell

Writers: Brenda Chapman, Mark Andrews, Steve Purcell, Irene Mecchi, Michael Arndt

Producers: Pete Docter, Mary Alice Drumm, John Lasseter, Katherine Sarafian, Andrew Stanton

  

Nominee

Synopsis: Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin (Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh (Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (Robbie Coltrane). Merida's actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric old Witch (Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it's too late. -- (Written by Walt Disney Pictures)

Cast:

• Kelly Macdonald
• Billy Connolly
• Emma Thompson
• Robbie Coltrane

IMDb - Brave

Practical Magic

 My Rating:

 IMDb Users:

(1998)

Genre: Comedy/Fantasy/Thriller

Director: Griffin Dunne

Writers: Alice Hoffman, Robin Swicord, Akiva Goldsman, Adam Brooks

Producers: Bruce Berman, Denise Di Novi, Mary McLaglen, Robin Swicord

Synopsis: Sally and Gillian Owens have always known they were different. Raised by their aunts after their parents' death, the sisters grew up in a household that was anything but typical--their aunts fed them chocolate cake for breakfast and taught them the uses of practical magic. But the invocation of the Owens' sorcery also carries a price--some call it a curse: the men they fall in love with are doomed to an untimely death. Now adult women with very different personalities, the quiet Sally and the fiery Gillian must use all of their powers to fight the family curse and a swarm of supernatural forces that threatens the lives of all the Owens women.-- (Written by WARNER BROS.)  

Cast:

• Sandra Bullock
• Nicole Kidman
• Stockard Channing
• Dianne Wiest
• Goran Visnjic
• Evan Rachel Wood
• Camilla Belle

IMDb - Practical Magic

Snow White and the Huntsman

 My Rating:

 IMDb Users:

(2012)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy

Director: Rupert Sanders

Writers: Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock, Hossein Amini

Producers: Laurie Boccaccio, Gloria S. Borders, Sarah Bradshaw, Helen Hayden, Sam Mercer, Palak Patel, Joe Roth

 

Nominee

Synopsis: In the epic action-adventure Snow White and the Huntsman, Kristen Stewart plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Charlize Theron) out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) dispatched to kill her. Sam Claflin joins the cast as the prince long enchanted by Snow White's beauty and power. -- (Written by Universal Pictures)

Cast:

• Charlize Theron
• Kristen Stewart
• Chris Hemsworth
• Nick Frost
• Toby Jones
• Ian McShane
• Bob Hoskins
• Sam Claflin
• Brian Gleeson
• Lily Cole

IMDb - Snow White and the Huntsman

Beetlejuice

My Rating: 

 IMDb Users:

(1988)

Genre: Comedy/Fantasy

Director: Tim Burton

Writers: Michael McDowell, Larry Wilson, Warren Skaaren

Producers: Michael Bender, Richard Hashimoto, June Petersen, Larry Wilson, Eric Angelson

Synopsis: A couple of recently deceased ghosts contract the services of a "bio-exorcist" in order to remove the obnoxious new owners of their house. -- (Written by IMDb Editors)

Cast:

• Alec Baldwin
• Geena Davis
• Michael Keaton
• Catherine O'Hara
• Jeffrey Jones
• Winona Ryder

IMDb - Beetlejuice

The Witches of Eastwick

My Rating:

 IMDb Users:

(1987)

Genre: Comedy/Fantasy

Director: George Miller

Writer: John Updike, Michael Cristofer

Producers: Neil Canton, Rob Cohen, Don Devlin, Peter Guber, Jon Peters

Synopsis: Three single women in a picturesque village have their wishes granted - at a cost - when a mysterious and flamboyant man arrives in their lives. (Written by IMDb Editors)

Cast:

• Jack Nicholson
• Cher
• Susan Sarandon
• Michelle Pfeiffer
• Veronica Cartwright
• Richard Jenkins

IMDb - The Witches of Eastwick

Miracle on 34th Street

 My Rating:

 IMDb Users:

(1994)

Genre: Drama/Comedy/Fantasy

Director: Les Mayfield

Writer: Valentine Davies, George Seaton, John Hughes

Producers: William S. Beasley, John Hughes, Bill Ryan

Synopsis: A little girl discovers dreams do come true if you really believe. Six-year-old Susan has doubts about childhood's most enduring miracle - Santa Claus. Her mother told her the "secret" about Santa a long time ago, so Susan doesn't expect to receive the most important gifts on her Christmas list. But after meeting a special department store Santa who's convinced he's the real thing, Susan is given the most precious gift of all - something to believe in. (Written by Robert Lynch)

Cast:

• Richard Attenborough
• Elizabeth Perkins
• Mara Wilson
• Dylan McDermott
• Allison Janney

IMDb - Miracle on 34th Street

The Tempest

 My Rating:

 IMDb Users:

(2010)

Genre: Drama/Comedy/Fantasy

Director: Julie Taymor

Writer: Julie Taymor, William Shakespeare

Producers: Ronald M. Bozman, Anthony Buckner, Beaux Carson, Robert Chartoff, John C. Ching, Lynn Hendee, Rohit Khattar, Deborah Y. Lau, Jason K. Lau, Phyllis LaVoie, Tino Puri, Greg Strasburg, Julia Taylor-Stanley, Julie Taymor, Stewart Till

Synopsis: Shakespeare's epic play is translated from page to screen, with the gender of the main character, Prospero, changed from male to female. Going back to the 16th or 17th century, women practicing the magical arts of alchemy were often convicted of witchcraft. In Taymor's version, Prospera is usurped by her brother and sent off with her four-year daughter on a ship. She ends up on an island; it's a tabula rasa: no society, so the mother figure becomes a father figure to Miranda. This leads to the power struggle and balance between Caliban and Prospera; a struggle not about brawn, but about intellect. (Written by IMDb Editors)

Cast:

• Helen Mirren
• Felicity Jones
• David Strathairn
• Alan Cumming
• Chris Cooper
• Ben Whishaw
• Djimon Hounsou
• Russell Brand
• Reeve Carney
• Aflred Molina

IMDb - The Tempest