March 11, 2013

Movie Review: OZ—THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

Hooked up with a my friend Les from The Fellowship of the Geeks and hit the Spring Valley Studio Movie Grill today for a matinee. Today we saw OZ—THE GREAT AND POWERFUL and was pleasantly surprised.

Oz The Great And Powerful Cast PosterGoing into this, I didn’t really know what to expect as far as storyline except what we know from the original books, movies, and commercials. The wizard is a huckster that gets to Oz by balloon in a thunderstorm. Once there, the citizens believe he is a great wizard who is there to fulfill a prophecy.

I won’t go into the actual story so as to not reveal any of it, but it is an interesting one and should delight a lot of folks. The beginning introduces all the characters and does so in black and white, just as in the original movie. You’ll find other little easter eggs throughout if you keep your eyes open. One other bright spot was the addition of Danny Elfman as composer for the score. Not usually seeing him on anything without Tim Burton, he was a welcome addition here. Speaking of Tim Burton, there are parts of the film where it seems that Tim may have had a hand in it’s creation. What does come out as Sam Raimi is the occasional odd camera angle. Not too much to make you leave, but enough to make you ask why it was even added. The visuals are stunning and some have said that it’s better than Tim Burton’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND, but I wouldn’t go that far. There were a few scenes where it was obvious that they were standing in front of a green screen.

Oz The Great And Powerful James Franco Michelle WilliamsThe characters are fun, though James Franco and Mila Kunis could have added a little more acting. You’ll understand when you see the movie. If you don’t get it or don’t want to see the movie, just email me and I’ll tell you. Rachel Weisz was a little better, but Michelle Williams was hands down my favorite actor our of all of them and it doesn’t hurt that she is beautiful. You’ll also get a double dose of cute from the little China Girl. And if you watch it in 3-D, watch out for the flying baboons! You might wanna take a change of underwear. And on that note, it might not be appropriate for children under the age of five or six. There are some scary scenes and the baboons and witches can be downright terrifying. Tracking in at over two and a half hours, be sure and potty first or get the small soda.

All in all, an entertaining movie but not one that I would have to add to my collection. For that, there is always the 1939 classic! Enjoy, and let me know what you thought.

4 comments:

  1. The film is a visual marvel, i felt like i was in heaven while watching the breathtaking scenes . it takes your imagination to unexplored depths. Brilliant use of technology.

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  2. Visually exciting, but it stops just about there. I was expecting much more of a story line, this seemed a tad corny, but that’s probably because it was mostly for the kiddies really. Good review James.

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  3. Thank you, Dan! Yes, the story line basically does just enough to get us from point A to point B to point C. I appreciate you stopping by.

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