2013 prequel
Rating: 9/20 (Jen: 13/20; Emma: 11/20; Abbey: 11/20; Buster: no rating)
Plot: The titular philanderer plummets to the land of Oz, a land he coincidentally shares a name with, after a tornado bitch-slaps his hot air balloon. A hot witch assumes he's the chosen one or prophesied one or just a guy whose pants she can easily get into and takes him to the Emerald City. He meets a short guy, a simian bellhop, a creepy china doll, another witch, a black guy, another witch, and a bunch of other short people as he tries to make up his mind about whether or not he's actually a wizard. [Spoiler Alert: Nobody gives a flying monkey's ass!]
A good prequel should enhance the original movie. It should not pull down its computer-generated pants and crap all over it. This one's somewhere in between an enhancement and a crapper. The low score is because the movie looks so ugly and plastic. It was almost like a bunch of special effects were thrown in a blender with James Franco and the aforementioned hot witches. With the original movie, there's a sense of wonderment when Dorothy sees the colors of Munchkin land for the first time. Here, although there are some creative landscapes and dazzling colors, it just looks like James Franco is walking around in a cartoon. Heck, Mary Poppins walking around in cartoon land with that chimney sweep looks more like she's in areal place than James Franco does. The other characters manage to only make everything a lot creepier. The lovable Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion are replaced with a terrifying doll and an expressionless little flying monkey voiced by Zach Braff. And the ubiquitous Bill Cobbs and the diminutive Tony Cox somehow work themselves into the mix as well. Seems like the makers of this thing--and I'm looking straight at Disney on this one--wanted to unleash another Wizard of Oz movie on the masses more than they wanted to tell a good story. Obvious attempts to make folks with 3D glasses spill their popcorn buckets failed to impress me, too. I'm expecting a sequel to the prequel detailing the events that made all the normal-sized people in Munchkin land somehow disappear. They'll have to work the Tin Man in there somehow as well. Oh, one more gripe--shouldn't all Wizard of Oz movies be musicals? This felt weird because it was without songs except for one erection-inducing scene where some Munchkins--aided by a computer--start flipping all over the place and singing something.
Just a miserable movie, with nothing redeeming about it. You have academy award winner Rachel Weisz playing supporting actress to one note schreech mistress Mila Kunis. James Francos unrivaled ability to smirk is put to its greatest challenge. There doesnt seem to be a single scene that takes place anywhere other than in front of a green screen. A loud, grotesque mess of a film that nobody will remember in a year or two.
ReplyDeletebut did you see it in 3D?
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