Oz: The Great and Powerful

[El Dingo]

So a company that somehow works with my company dropped off a bunch of invites to a free screening of "Oz: The Great and Powerful" Saturday morning. It included a free soft drink and popcorn (which is exactly what one craves at 10:30 AM) but hey, free food, right?

I won't reveal any plot twists because if you've seen the poster and trailer, you've seen the movie. Neither Dee Dee nor I cared for the two leads (James Franco and Jackie - I mean Mila Kunis). Franco seemed bored most of the time and didn't do well interacting with his CGI costars and sets. Kunis was, well, "Jackie" (That 70's Show); a whiny, bitchy, needy female with anger issues. The supporting cast was very good and deserved a better Oz/Wicked Witch pairing.

The FX were uninspired. I've seen better in made-for-TV productions. Saying the plot was thin is an understatement. The dialogue frequently strayed into Ed Wood territory.

Danny Elfman's music was fantastic and pretty much saved the movie from forgettable mediocrity.

This should have been a Tim Burton/Johnny Depp vehicle. Depp would have really given some quirky depth to Oz, and Burton's imagination would have made the world much more engaging. I'm not fluent enough in current actresses to venture a better Wicked Witch (what's Christina Ricci up to these days?)

3D does nothing for the movie. Except for a couple 'in your face' bugs and spears, it is just "there".

We spent a good hour after the movie coming up with a better cast, director and plot which is never a good sign.

Meh - whatever. It was free.

[Drunk Monk]

My kid and folks wanted to see it so it wasn't free for me. At least it was a matinee.

I agree with ED on all points except for the 3D which wasn't that bad, especially in the beginning with the opening credits. Also, there were plot twists? You mean those painfully obvious moments that even my kid could predict? I did like the China Town bit as that was sort of original, but it wasn't developed near enough, which made it disappointing in another way. The CGI characters were far more interesting than the live actors, and the CGI characters weren't all that interesting. Franco was so flat and unengaged - he just couldn't sell that he was in anything but a green screen room. Mila can go down on Padme in a tutu, but will always be Jackie to me. Michelle Williams may always be a bad Marilyn for me too. Rachael, well, she should have wound up with the ruby slippers - I know, spoiler w/out warning but after ED and I trash this, who of you will bother to see it? The missing ruby slippers was the only prediction I made that didn't happen. No sword fights, a munchkin dance number that was thankfully cut short, no blood spitting. T wasn't impressed either. My mom was amused, but she's easily amused by movies that aren't complicated. My dad probably took a nap.

Wicked kicks this film's ass every day and twice on Sunday.

[thatguy]

Franco seemed bored most of the time and didn't do well interacting with his CGI costars and sets.

I thought he was staring into the chins of his non-CGI costars. He really didn't seem to be present with anyone in the same scene. I shelled out a number of clams for this. I really liked the opening credits. But that's about it. Ok...I liked the effects for the China girl, too.

--tg

Question: Are the Quadlings modeled after present day hipsters?

[cranefly]

Wow. So I'm not alone in thinking James Franco is hugely over-regarded. He's always struck me as placeholder handsome, a seemingly safe leading man, but empty as a box of crackerjacks in a safecracker warren.

I've always wanted to like him, and see him successful, because the clay-sculpting teacher I had a year ago said he was teaching James Franco's kids. But the more I think about it, that's a stupid reason to be rooting for someone.

[thatguy]

--tg

[cranefly]

Great one, TG. I could have saved myself a lot of words with that one image.

I forgot to mention another reason I'd been rooting for James Franco. I once had lunch with his dad. Yep. This was circa 2001. I was early into my contracting phase, doing various software programming gigs. The senior Franco needed help with some of his gigs and was interested in me as a subcontractor. Shortly after that lunch, he emailed me and wanted me to take a gig in Ireland. That was just a bit too big a jump for me, and I passed on it -- though in hindsight maybe I should have leaped in with both feet. Anyway, at that time a TV movie about James Dean was about to be telecast, and yes, it was starring James Franco as James Dean. So I was thinking, holy shit! He must be good if he's playing James Dean!

Within a couple months after that lunch, we had the dot-com crash. As for mister big fuddy duddy superstar James Franco, he has -- to my mind -- crashed as well.

[Drunk Monk]

I don't know if I can watch Springbreakers. My kid grew up watching Selena and Vanessa. Well, maybe not Vanessa so much, but when she had her nude pix scandal, I couldn't but wince. T watched a lot of Wizards of Waverly Place, but Selena has always be precocious and I always thought she'd make it as the next Disney ingenue to go naughty. So maybe I could watch Springbreakers. But then there's Franco. Yea, he sux. Besides I doubt Selena and Vanessa get into a sword fight, so what would the point be?