Oz the Great and Powerful [PG]

When womanizing and cheap rate carnival magician Oscar, better known as Oz, hops into an hot air balloon to avoid the wrath of an angry husband it seems that he has made a clean escape. But then the balloon gets caught in a horrendous twister and Oscar finds himself being buffeted and blown far away, finally arriving in a beautiful and magical land called Oz. Once there he discovers that the inhabitants of the land have been long awaiting the prophesised arrival of a wizard bearing the name of the land. Eager to gain the thrown and the riches that come with it, Oscar goes along with the charade, but things soon turn serious when he learns that, in order to be King of Oz, he must kill the Wicked Witch that has cast a shadow over the land. Things take an even more downward spiral when Theodora, sister of the Wicked Witch and former victim of Oscar’s charms, learns of his dishonesty and turns green with jealousy and rage. 

Based on the immortal works of L. Frank Baum and providing them with an excellent twist, Oz the Great and Powerful is a visually STUNNING movie, the stuff that dreams are made of. It was sort of a cross between Mirror Mirror and Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland in that it’s a great twist on a classic story and it was also visually beautiful and dark in terms of special effects and music (keeping in mind that the music was done by Danny Elfman who did provide the latter with its beautifully haunting score). At the end of the day I really loved this film and cannot wait to add it to the collection. 

When womanizing and cheap rate carnival magician Oscar, better known as Oz, hops into an hot air balloon to avoid the wrath of an angry husband it seems that he has made a clean escape. But then the balloon gets caught in a horrendous twister and Oscar finds himself being buffeted and blown far away, finally arriving in a beautiful and magical land called Oz. Once there he discovers that the inhabitants of the land have been long awaiting the prophesised arrival of a wizard bearing the name of the land. Eager to gain the thrown and the riches that come with it, Oscar goes along with the charade, but things soon turn serious when he learns that, in order to be King of Oz, he must kill the Wicked Witch that has cast a shadow over the land. Things take an even more downward spiral when Theodora, sister of the Wicked Witch and former victim of Oscar’s charms, learns of his dishonesty and turns green with jealousy and rage. 

Hands down all the rounds of applause have to go to the people in the art department, hair and makeup teams, costume designers, creature effects department, and general special effects department. Everything visual about this movie was absolute astounding! It really was like floating through the best of dreams! 

The basic screenplay and cinematography of the film is very clever and quite in keeping with the original classic. The film begins in black and white and switches to colour as soon as we land in Oz, just like Dorothy’s own adventure. Throughout the film we see quite a few characters play dual roles of symmetrical significance just like in Wizard of Oz, Jumanji, and Peter Pan. And then there are some very funny modern references as well as some great puns that come into play, be sure to keep an eye out for those when you go to see it. 

James Franco delivers a very gorgeous and grandiose performance as the Great and Powerful wizard himself. Throughout the film he miraculously never loses that indefatigable charm that he has, but when he does scenes that are more emotional he excels. Not to mention he proves to be very funny when the mood is right. I LOVE JAMES FRANCO it has to be said, I’ve always had a crush on him! 

Featuring memorable performance from Mila Kunis (who I think is the most beautiful woman in the world right now), Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zack Braff, Bill Cobbs, and Joey King, Oz the Great and Powerful is a beautiful movie packed with amazing special effects, action, adventure, suspense, darkness, drama, comedy, and romance. I really loved it!