If you like big spectacles and great special effects, this is the film for you. But if you're looking for a film that hits the heart like the original The Wizard of Oz, keep looking.
Oz The Great and Powerful is a prequel to the original The Wizard of Oz and uses the latest technological tricks to make this a eye filling movie. The film isn't bad. In fact, it is an entertaining romp with good performances by the three women who play the witches (Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams).
The story focuses on Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small time magician who uses an air balloon to escape enraged circus people who don't take kindly to his attempts to seduce a young woman. Once he gets the balloon into the air, Oscar loses control and gets whisked away by a tornado . Oscar winds up in the enchanted Land of Oz and must decide whether to be a good man or a great man. With a little help from a few friends, he opts for the latter and sets about to help the inhabitants of this strange land.
Kids will enjoy this film, as long as they are not too young and aren't easily frightened by witches and other strange creatures. And the 3-D effects are really interesting at times.
The best acting is done by Zach Braff, who plays a talking monkey with wings. The special effects team gives this monkey the most emotive face of all the characters in the film and the monkey steals every scene he is in.
A cute and effective twist to the film is the opening scenes which are done in Black and White and are shown on a small screen, very much like the opening scenes of The Wizard of Oz. Once Oscar arrives in Oz colour is introduced and the screen expands to its full size.
The biggest problem with this film is that it will always be compared to the original, and there is just no comparison. James Franco is no Judy Garland and this film is no The Wizard of Oz. Franco just doesn't have the charm and screen presence that Judy Garland had and he just can't match Judy's heartfull performance.
I would say that if you're going to see this film, go see it on a big screen. I don't think it will be quite as spectacular on a television or computer screen.
And talking about the small screen, the documentary, Searching for Sugar Man, was released recently. For some reason I kept avoiding this film during its theatrical run. Everyone told me it was a great film and that I shouldn't miss it. They were right.
I don't want to give away too much, but the film tells the true story of Rodriguez. In the late '60s two record producers saw Rodriguez perform in a Detroit club and immediately signed him to a recording contract. Rodriguez recorded two LP's, but nothing happened. They just didn't sell.
The record company cancelled the contract and Rodriguez disappeared without a trace.
A little later a bootleg copy of one of the recording surfaced in South Africa and Rodriguez became a phenomenon. His records received a lot of radio air play and they sold like hotcakes.
This film follows two South African fans who set out to find out what really happened to their hero. It's a terrific story and the music, taken mainly from Rodriguez's first two recordings, is just great.
Be sure to see this film. For once the Academy got it right and gave the Oscar for Best Documentary to the right film.
Larry Anklewicz. B.A., LL.B., is a lawyer, writer and film and video reviewer. Mr. Anklewicz is author of “A Guide To Jewish Films On Videos” and has been a columnist for Canada Free Press, the Canadian Jewish News, and other local newspapers. Mr. Anklewicz worked with the Toronto Jewish Film Festival for thirteen years, the last eight years of which he served as Program Coordinator and Program Director.
