“What has one thumb and looks like it’s bored to be in this movie?”

There are some really great things about Oz the Great and Powerful and some really bad things, but at the very least, it’s not the forgettable trifle I expected it to be.

I liked Oz the Great and Powerful, and I mean that only in the most defensive-sounding way possible. It’s hard to even write this review without coming off a huge Sam Raimi apologist. Raimi has this highly-saturated, schlocky aesthetic that’s a little melodramatic and not quite realistic, but never quite camp, which a lot of people understandably hate. Whereas Tarantino almost always puts clear signposts to indicate when he’s being serious and when he’s being tongue-in-cheek, Sam Raimi’s scenes are always sort of breakdancing on the line between the two. To me this approach has always seemed a bit rock n’ roll, a way to say “yeah, this is silly but I’m doing it anyway because it’s fun.” He seems so blasé about whether you think his films are “Important” or not, and it’s refreshing.

Oz the Great and Powerful is not a great movie, but I don’t think anyone set out to make a “great movie.” I usually hate when critics use this excuse to give a movie a pass. Just because you made a bad movie on purpose I’m supposed to ignore that it’s bad? But if I look at any “comparable” title – Alice in Wonderland, The Hobbit, Snow White and the Huntsman – Oz is just much better. Even the simple idea that “Oz” might all be a figment of James Franco’s character’s imagination gives it a subtextual richness that the aforementioned films all lacked. All of them, Oz included, are essentially about magical faeries punching each other. But Oz at least hints at the idea that it’s not just about magical faeries punching each other.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yale doctoral candidate and award-nominated entertainment blogger James Franco stars in the just-released trailer for Oz, the Great and Powerful, from Sam Raimi. Franco, in the Johnny Depp role, plays a Kansas magician who gets transported to the mythical land of Oz, where the inhabitants come to believe he’s a great wizard come to save them. Will he succeed, or will he dicknose them all?

When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot–fame and fortune are his for the taking–that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity–and even a bit of wizardry–Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well. [Apple]

Read the rest of this entry »

At some point today, we’re going to get a trailer for Oz: The Great and Powerful, the highly-anticipated film that asks the question: “Hey, how did that dude behind the curtain get to run that crazy land anyway?” Starring James Franco and directed by Sam Raimi, the prequel to the classic, The Wizard of Oz, introduces us to Oscar Biggs, who is whisked away to the magical land and decides that he can really make a difference by conning everyone into thinking he’s a wizard.

Standing in his way, though, are the three witches – played by Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, and Michelle Williams – and they’re not really buying his BS. Williams will play Glinda the Good Witch, and I’m predicting that Weisz will play the Wicked Witch. That leaves Kunis as, I’m guessing, the Smoking Hot Witch. At least that’s how my whole casting process would go. That’s not to take anything away from Weisz, who is also quite the looker, but she’s had a kid, so I assume she’s cranky.

Speaking of Kunis, here’s a clip of her talking about Oz. I’d probably watch her talk about paint drying. And after the jump, you can check out Entertainment Tonight’s rehind behind-the-scenes look at the film, which hits theaters next March.

UPDATE, MY PRETTIES: Here’s the trailer for Oz.

Read the rest of this entry »

Oscar-nominated director Jim Sheridan is known for movies like My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, In America, and Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (one of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn’t belong).  He seems to be continuing his “lol wut” career trajectory with Dream House starring Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz, and Elias Koteas, all of whom deserve better than this.  The film releases September 30th, one year after it was supposed to come out.  The delay was for reshoots (always a good sign), which had to be delayed a year because Daniel Craig had better sh-t to do.

Kind of sad that the guy who made My Left Foot is now making a horror movie reminiscent of cheesy ’70s gimmicks like haunted houses, secret dwarf hookers, “it was all a dream OMGZORS”, and “the killer was you the whole time”.  Let’s just plow through this depressing development and describe this awful, movie-spoiling trailer.

Daniel Craig quits his “high power job in Manhattan” to relocate his hot wife and two adorable, never-bratty kids to a “quaint New England town”.  This never happens in cinema.  Soon weird things go down and they find out a murder occurred before they moved in, which they weren’t informed of by the realtor because laws don’t exist in this movie universe.  The wife and two kids who used to live in the house were murdered and the only suspect was the husband, who was institutionalized because deinstitutionalization never happened in this universe either.  Craig goes to the mental institution to talk to the guy for some reason, and he finds out *record scratch/spoiler alert* he is that guy and his family was dead the whole time. WHAT A TOTALLY ORIGINAL CONCEPT, AND PERFECTLY BEFITTING INCLUSION IN THE TRAILER.  Gaaah, f–k you, Dream House trailer.  I hate you so much.

Read the rest of this entry »

Confession time: I love 8 Mile.  I watch it every damn time it comes on HBO and have half the rap battles memorized (“This guy’s a gangsta? His real name’s Clarence.”).  The only non-actor I can remember who basically played himself as well as Eminem did in 8 Mile was Howard Stern in Private Parts.  Yes, I realize that’s a pretty small list. But dammit, Eminem is coming back to movies, and that makes me happy.  …No, no, that’s okay, I’ll stuff myself in the locker.

Eight years later [after 8 Mile], Eminem is primed to make his return — a sexy return at that. It’s not a highly personal tale, nor an ’8 Mile’ sequel, but rather Fernando Meirelles’ upcoming sex-themed drama, ’360,’ placing him face to face with some of Hollywood’s best talent. Meirelles is the man behind ‘City of God,’ ‘The Constant Gardener’ and ‘Blindness,’ and he’s already tapped both Rachel Weisz and Anthony Hopkins for roles. Now, with the latest report from Production Weekly’s Twitter feed, we’ve got Eminem and Frances McDormand circling. [Moviefone]

City of God might be in my all-time top 10, but I don’t even want to see this movie. I just want visit the set and see B Rabbit and Tony Hops have a rap battle in front of the lunch truck.  And then maybe have France McDormand tell Em he’s a “dope rapper” in her Fargo voice.  …Yes, a boy can dream.  Oh would you look at that, spilled nacho cheese on my shirt.