The Cinema Lounge: Oz the Great and Powerful

JOKE ABOUT CONFUSING THIS WITH THE HBO SERIES. Now that that's out of the way, Oz the Great and Powerful stars James Franco as the main man himself known as Oz, Mila Kunis as Theodora, Rachael Weisz as Evanora, Michelle Williams as Glinda, Zach Braff as Finley, and Joey King as the China Girl. The movie is directed by Sam Raimi of The Evil Dead and Spider-man series fame and this is his best looking film yet.

I'm gonna start with the positives first because unfortunately there aren't many. The movie looks fantastic, I really love the effects used in this especially for Finley and China Girl. They really look great and seem like they totally belong in the world that they're in. As far as performances go, the voice over work is very very good for the CGI characters. This actually made me kind of like Zach Braff, which is no small feat mind you, and Joey King was perfect for the little China Girl. The live action performances were unfourtunatly not as good as the voice over work but Michelle Williams and Rachael Weisz both do a good job and the scenes with them together are some of the best.

The rest of the film goes downhill from here. The performances from Franco and Kunis are, just, bad. I suppose the characters that they are playing should be a bit over the top but it seems like too much. Franco really hams it up throughout the whole thing, never really letting up, although it does work in a few scenes but only a few. When Oz is putting on his show and is over acting  it makes sense but than he continues to act the same way for the rest of the movie. I really wish Robert Downy Jr. would've played Oz. He was lined up for the job but there was a scheduling conflict with Iron Man 3, so obviously he couldn't do it, but throughout the movie I just kept thinking that it would be so much better if he were in this. Shame.

Mila Kunis' character unfortunately never has a good scene. Ever. At least Franco was able to have two or three good scenes, but Kunis is just horrible in this. It's a shame really because she's proven that she can act. Whenever she's on screen though her performance is just so over the top it's not even funny, just annoying.

As far as the plot goes it is pretty much the same type of story as the original Wizard of Oz but with the wizard himself this time. It has a few twists and turns but they are so predictable. If you remember anything from the original movie than you will see all of the twists coming.

The movie as a whole works as a simple fun family film. As a normal film, it's kind of horrendous. But there definitely are moments in it that were able to recapture the magic that the original captured. This is mainly due to the wonderful effects and voice acting. Unfortunately the movie falls apart at when it comes to the story and acting, save for a few people. If you would like to revisit the world of Oz and really wanna see this than I'd say wait for it to come out on DVD and rent it. Otherwise, you wouldn't be missing much if you don't see this.

FINAL GRADE: C-

Top 10 Films of 2012

Alright, I know I'm kinda late on this list but not that late, I mean the Oscars did just happen. I also have finally seen every movie that has come out worth seeing, took me awhile to see Life of Pi and Cloud Atlas. So with that at of the way here is my list for the Top 10 Films of 2012. I'm going to start off with Honorable Mentions, just listing them in no particular order not going into detail, then I'll get to the list.

Each of these Honorable Mentions are fantastic films and I highly suggest all of them. In no particular order-
Honorable Mentions: Looper, , The Hobbit, The Hunger Games, Men in Black 3, The Woman in Black, 21 Jump Street, The Amazing Spider-man, Ted, The Expendables 2, Seven Psychopaths, Man With The Iron Fists, Les Miserable, Zero Dark Thirty, Chronicle, Dredd, Beasts of the Southern Wild

10.The Cabin in the Woods
Being a horror fan, I always try to see as many horror movie as I can every year. This is by far the one of the best horror movies in the past ten years. It's a movie where you really don't know where its going but when it gets there you are completely satisfied.

 9. Prometheus
This is a story that I have been waiting for since the first time I saw Alien. I've always been a huge fan of the series but there's always been one question, what's the deal with the space jockey? Prometheus answered this question, sort of. It's a great looking film with some very inventive story telling. It didn't drastically change the game but it's a welcome back for Ridley Scott to the genre that started his career.

8. Life of Pi
Took me awhile to see this one but I'm extremely glad I did. It's a beautifully crafted film with a heartwarming inspirational story and effects that look amazing. Going into it I wasn't sure if I was gonna like it but I'm very glad I took the chance on this. The only thing bringing this down is the ending which many people have complained about, but it wasn't that bad and I think it worked.

 7. Silver Linings Playbook
Defiantly had one of the best casts of the year and also a very well written film. The film also really shows the things that people who are bipolar go through and it does it very well. It was really great to see DeNiro in a good movie for once as well and he would have been well deserving of an Oscar for his performance.

6. Moonrise Kingdom
This is the film that got me into Wes Anderson and I'm extremely glad it did. It's a fun quirky comedy that also has the best script of the year, besides Django. After seeing this I watched all of Anderson's films and this easily sits as one of his best. I'd say its second only to The Royal Tenenbaums.

5. The Avengers
What can I say about this one. It was everything I had hoped for and more. The hype behind this one was so huge and it delivered on all aspects. The cast was amazing together, the story worked, it was fantastically shot, and it was filled with bad ass moments that a comic book movie fan would expect from this film. To me, this was the best comic book film of the year and delivered on things that fans were looking for, unlike some other comic book movies that came out this year that have the initails TDKR.

4. Cloud Atlas
This was another one that took me awhile to see but again I'm so happy I did. This was the must see movie of the year for the sheer scope and approach of it. This left many critics divided with some hating it and others adoring it. Obviously I'm on the latter's side. I've been waiting for a film like this to happen for a long time. I just love the idea of a genre crossing anthology type movie, and the idea for using the actors as different characters in the stories was genius, I think it really works. It looks stunningly beautiful and it's definitely the Wachowski's best film to date.  

3. Django Unchained
It was inevitable that the new Tarantino flick would find it's way onto my list being that I've loved everything the man has made so far. While Django isn't his best it is still a step above everyone else and that's what's great about Tarantino. His worst film could be considered someone elses best. This is one that you can really tell he's been wanting to make for a long time being that he is such a fan of spaghetti westerns, and his love for them really shines through. Its a very fun and well made film. If you are a Tarantino fan, you won't be disappointed.

 2. Lincoln
It's a bit surprising even to me that this isn't my number one pick because it is Spielberg at his best. This is another one that I was destined to love right from the start simply because it's Spielberg. His ability to capture a character's essence shines through in this love letter to his hero Abraham Lincoln. The decision to focus on just the one moment in time of the mans life really works and the decision to cast the great Daniel Day-Lewis as the man himself was also a brilliant move. It's been great to see Steven Spielberg bounce back from Indiana Jones 4 and the last three years have been very kind for the man putting out two very fine films, War Horse and The Adventures of Tin Tin, and one truly great film in the form of Lincoln.

1. Skyfall
This is the greatest Bond film ever made. Yes, better than Goldfinger. I never thought I'd see the day that a Bond movie would beat out Goldfinger as my favorite, but then I saw Skyfall and it blew me away. The action, the story, the cast, the beautiful cinematography, Sam Mendes's  direction, I mean everything was pitch perfect and this is is also the best performances by both Daniel Craig and Judi Dench of the series. It also has the greatest Bond villain as well in the form of Silva played tremendously by Javier Bardem, who was robbed an Oscar nod for his performance. It also delved way deeper into the Bond character than any other one of the franchise ever has. All of this put together is what makes this not only the best picture of the year, to me, but also the best Bond movie ever.