Tale of Tales

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BRizz 2 Tale of Tales (2016) is a fantasy film rooted in the world of kings, queens, and mythical creatures—but let me save you some time: this movie is terrible. You can keep reading for the details, or just stop here and know that I absolutely do not recommend it. Now, I love Salma Hayek—she’s an incredible actress—but not even she could save this film. She plays a queen with intensity, but even her performance couldn’t hold this strange mess together. And then there’s John C. Reilly as the king, which was the first major casting mistake. Let’s be honest: he’s got a great presence for comedy and voice work (Wreck-It Ralph proves that), but he just doesn’t have the commanding presence or vocal authority to convincingly portray a powerful royal figure. He came across more like a bumbling side character than someone with actual weight in the story. The film is filled with bizarre characters and moments that seem to exist just for the sake of being weird. The bug-like creature, the king who’s obsessed with a giant flea (played by Toby Jones in high heels, no less)—none of it connects in a meaningful way. It just ends up feeling awkward, creepy, and off-putting. The direction? Questionable at best. Some camera angles felt amateurish, the pacing dragged, and visually, the movie often felt disjointed—like it didn’t know what tone it was going for. The writing didn’t help either, with scattered storytelling that made it hard to stay invested or even care about what was happening. Overall, Tale of Tales is one of those movies that tries too hard to be “artsy” and ends up being a mess. Weird for the sake of weird, with weak storytelling and miscast roles. I didn’t enjoy it at all, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend it. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 06/23/25 Full Review Georgan G These overlapping tales are horrific. The fact that the plots are based on the earliest recorded European fairy tales make it all the more unique. The acting is top knotch and the film itself is beautiful. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/24/24 Full Review Bruce L Slow, disjointed, uninteresting characters that I didn't care what happens to them and unfinished storyline. Terrible. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 07/13/24 Full Review Marion W Visually very appealing, and an aspect of gruesome and gothic style horror, but the narrative also left me wanting. A lot of the stories felt disjointed, and loosely chopped together with no one story being long enough to really engage the audience in the way other gothic horror or gothic fantasy does. It left me rather unsatisfied by the plot lines. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 05/21/24 Full Review Rachel I wish they could have spent more time on each individual story, it seemed a bit chopped together and disjointed for me. Otherwise, I really enjoyed it. I do think this idea would have been much more better suited for a TV series. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/07/24 Full Review Logan D A queen that will go to any lengths to have a child, a beloved flea, and a pair of old crones wooing a king. Based on a collection of fairy tales by Italian poet Giambattista Basile, titled Pentamerone, these are from the days when fairy tales were for adults. I found the film far more enjoyable than I predicted. The stories are just so weird and disturbing. There doesn't seem to be an overall point to the film as a whole and I do wonder how it would've appeared if each tale was told and resolved individually. Oftentimes the jumps from one story to another was awkward. If you're looking for something different, here it is. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/03/24 Full Review Read all reviews

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