IllinoisJones
Displaying My Ears
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2009
Oz The Great And Powerful: Sam Raimis approach on the wonderful wizard is entertaining despite some not so wonderful acting. Its a film more directly related to the 1939 Victor Fleming MGM masterpiece rather than to the early 1900s Frank L Baum books with plenty of call backs and hidden gems. I loved the use of black and white and different aspect ratios. I enjoyed most of the performances and pretty much the entire ride, however I had problems with James Franco. He just felt forced at times with some very odd facial expressions. The cohorts that join him on the journey are likeable and drew many awwws and laughs from the full theater I was in on opening night. I thought the witches were interesting and engaging. Its a beautiful movie with all the colors youd expect from an Oz film. Green and yellow dominate of course. At times it IS scary, but my 7 year old boy thought it was awesome. Overall, a pretty good prequel to one of the most legendary films of the twentieth century and despite the daunting task, I believe Raimi captured the spirit and overall feel of the first trip to the merry old land. 3 yellow bricks out of 5.