"Oz: The Great and Powerful" Film Review

This week is March Break so I took my niece to see Oz: The Great and Powerful, which she had been dying to go see.  We arrived 45 minutes before the film was supposed to start, and it was ALREADY sold out.  I couldn’t believe it!  I guess everyone had the same idea as I did.  So we waited an hour for the next show time, which was unfortunately in 3D.  I’m not a fan on 3D movies AT ALL.  First of all, it’s like 4 dollars more just to wear the stupid glasses to see it in a third dimension.  Secondly, I always end up leaving the theatre with a huge head afterwards.  But I’m glad we decided to see it anyways because it was a really mesmerizing film.

Oz: The Great and Powerful is a prequel to the ever so famous classic, The Wizard of Oz (1939).  This film has a stunning cast, which consists of James Franco, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams, and Rachel Weisz.  Oscar Diggs is a small-time circus magician with questioning ethics.  He is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, where he meets three witches, Theodora, Evanora and Glinda.  Oscar presents himself as “the great and powerful Oz”, but the witches are not entirely convinced that he more »is the great wizard everyone's been expecting.  The Wicked Witch has been wreaking terror onto the land, and Oscar reluctantly agrees to help the people of Oz defeat her.  He must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late by putting his magical arts to use through deception, ingenuity-and even a bit of wizardry. 

The film is a little over 2 hours long, and it is rated PG.  I don’t know who was responsible for this rating, but I really thought that this movie was still too scary for some kids, even with parental guidance.  I saw some kids in the theatre who had to of been around 3 years old!  I’m sorry, but I find that age to be too young.  The Washington Post even said that some of the scarier parts make the film a little much for children younger than 10- especially if it’s in 3D.

Overall, I have to say that my niece and I both enjoyed the film.  The graphics were magical, and Director Sam Raimi takes you on a magical journey through the Land of Oz that you didn’t get to see in the original Wizard of Oz.

Take a look at the trailer below, along with a behind the scenes featurette!

 

Warm Bodies

So this week I saw “Warm Bodies”, which was a very unusual film.

It stars Nicholas Hoult, who is also starring in the upcoming adventure/fantasy film, “Jack the Giant Slayer”.  He plays “R” who is a very uncommon zombie.  The film is set sometime in the future after there has been a huge zombie epidemic, where the remaining humans are fighting for survival.  But unlike “The Walking Dead”, this movie has some cute humour to it by adding a funny twist on a classic love story.  During one of his zombie escapades, R meets Julie who is a human survivor, and he saves her from an attack.  This is very strange because zombies don’t have thoughts or emotions, and it doesn’t take Julie long to discover that R isn’t like the rest of the zombies she’s encountered.  She spends some time with him, and he shields her from the dangers outside, and they begin to form a special relationship.  R increasingly becomes more human, and it seems to have awoken something human inside of a lot of other zombies.  R and Julie believe that they may have discovered a cure to this epidemic, but they need to convince her father— who is kind of like a commander in chief to the zombie battle on the human side.

I’ll admit that this film is a little weird, but it touches base on some more important values, such as love, human connection, and hope.  There was a lady sitting in front of me who repeatedly kept commenting on how “silly” this film was.  Yes, it may be a little out there, but I think that’s what makes it good.  It’s quirky, original, and I can’t compare it to any other movie I have seen before.  I would recommend you all give it a shot and see this movie!  Maybe it doesn’t seem like your cup of tea, but you may surprise yourselves!

Here is a four minute clip from the beginning of the movie! It’s pretty funny!

Oh and be sure to check out the 85th Academy Awards, this Sunday on ABC at 7pm! Hosted by Seth MacFarlane!

 

Warm Bodies Clip

Oscar Promo