Fantasy

Oz the Great and Powerful

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Oz the Great and Powerful
  • IMDB: link

Oz the Great and PowerfulThere’s no Scarecrow, Tin Man, or Cowardly Lion, but by the end of Oz the Great and Powerful the stage will be set for a young girl from Kansas to make her own journey to Frank L. Baum’s magical land of Oz. This completely original script by screenwriters Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire offers us the origins of the great and powerful Wizard of Oz (James Franco), who, as the film opens (in black and white), is nothing more than a traveling carnival magician and con man on the dusty plains of Kansas.

The first quarter of our story is centered around presenting Oz in his own world before whisking him away to the magical land of Oz via the most likely transport: a tornado. Franco is well cast as the smarmy, selfish, womanizing, con man wishing for greatness (but too lazy to work for it), with an unquestionable greed for fame and fortune and an uncomfortable relationship with the truth. Oz’s myriad of failings leads to a hasty escape from the carnival that traps the magician’s hot air balloon in the middle of a Kansas twister leading to a journey somewhere over the rainbow.

…

Oz the Great and PowerfulRead More »

Oz the Great and Powerful Read More »

Jack the Giant Slayer

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Jack the Giant Slayer
  • IMDB: link

Jack the Giant SlayerTurning fairy tales into big budget live-action CGI extravaganzas seems to be all the rage in Hollywood right now. Director Bryan Singer‘s Jack the Giant Slayer, the retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, is an inarguably flawed film, but it’s certainly a step up from similar recent films such as Snow White and the Huntsman, Mirror Mirror, and even Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.

Singer’s modest success comes from casting two likable young stars (Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson), clever work in the editing room, some (mostly) good special effects, and fun supporting performances from the likes of Ewan McGregor, Ian McShane, and Stanley Tucci as the film’s dastardly villain Roderick who plans to use the giants to seize power in the kingdom and beyond.

The plot to Jack the Giant Slayer is relatively straight-forward. We’re given a hero’s journey as Jack (Hoult) sets out to prove his worth by helping to rescue Princess Isabelle (Tomlinson), whom he secretly loves, from an army of human-eating giants at the top of Jack’s beanstalk.

…

Jack the Giant SlayerRead More »

Jack the Giant Slayer Read More »

The Hobbit: An Expected, and Familiar, Journey

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
  • IMDB: link

“I’m looking for someone to share in an adventure.”

hobbit-unexpected-journey-posterAfter several delays, including the director and the Tolkien estate both separately suing New Line Cinema and a brief flirtation with Guillermo del Toro taking over the project, Peter Jackson returns to Middle Earth for J. R. R. Tolkien‘s The Hobbit. Roughly one-third of the 300-page children’s fantasy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey feels far too familiar, somewhat less magical, and far more expected, than the title would indicate.

Our story, oddly, begins on the same day as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring with Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) beginning to chronicle his adventures for his nephew Frodo (Elijah Wood), while waiting for Gandalf (Ian McKellen) to arrive to celebrate the Hobbit’s 111th birthday. After this somewhat awkward (not to mention completely unnecessary) sequence, our story finally beings in earnest as the younger Bilbo (Martin Freeman) meets Gandalf the Grey and thirteen dwarves for an impromptu dinner which will forever change his life.

…

The Hobbit: An Expected, and Familiar, JourneyRead More »

The Hobbit: An Expected, and Familiar, Journey Read More »

Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and Jack Frost walk into a bar…

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Rise of the Guardians
  • IMDB: link

rise-of-the-guardians-posterBased on William Joyce‘s The Guardians of Childhood children’s series, Rise of the Guardians is an old fashioned tale of good and evil centered around an unlikely hero called to join the battle. The Guardians, a group of mythical beings who are sworn to protect children across the globe, are comprised of Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin), the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher), the Sandman, and the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman). Despite some infighting, the group works together to keep the magic and wonder of childhood alive across the globe.

When the villainous Pitch Black (Jude Law) returns to introduce nightmares and fear into the dreams of children, while making them begin to doubt the existence of the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, the Guardians rise to stop the Bogeyman before he can destroy the dreams and beliefs on children all across the globe. To do this they will need the help of the irresponsible Jack Frost (Chris Pine), a mischief maker with a shadowy past and a yearning to be recognized and celebrated the way children love the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.

…

Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and Jack Frost walk into a bar…Read More »

Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and Jack Frost walk into a bar… Read More »

Beauty and the Beast – Pilot

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Beauty and the Beast – Pilot
  • tv.com: link

beauty-and-the-beast-2012-pilot

The CW’s Beauty and the Beast is based loosely, very loosely, on the late 1980’s CBS show of the same name that starred Linda Hamilton as New York Assistant District Attorney Catherine Chandler and Ron Perlman as Vincent, the noble beast whom she fell in love with. Created by Ron Koslow, the 80’s show was a fairy tale love story between a spoiled rich girl turned crusader after a vicious attack and the man who became her protector. The show was filled with some terrific costume and set design including the world of “Down Below” where Vincent lived with outcasts from above. Did I mention how little the new version mirrors the original?

…

Beauty and the Beast – PilotRead More »

Beauty and the Beast – Pilot Read More »