The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

The Avengers



Comic book movie. Good guys with big muscles and cool gadgets. Sexy female prtagonist with skin tight black jumpsuit. Scary villains. Many explosions. Lots of fighting. Some talking. A few jokes. CGI everything. World is saved.



Film 4/5
PQ 4.5/5
AQ 4.5/5

The most accurate review I've ever read

[legendarymatt92]

For such a much-awaited and momentous film, I don't feel that a short, snappy review would do it justice; instead, I'll be delineating from my form (stolen from Jvince ) and utilising the longer method.

What I first want to say that Oz shouldn't be judged on what came before in the classic 1939 Wizard of Oz; it cannot compete with such a highly-acclaimed masterpiece and never even tries, instead taking the homage route. It is in this, therefore, that I feel Raimi's project should be judged on its own merits and not on what has come before and what might come after, as it's severely unfair to base a review solely on the highs a film is trying to match.

The film opens, in black-and-white and, more importantly, academy ratio, with Oscar Diggs (Franco) failing desperately to make it as a carnival magician, in Kansas. It's in this choice of opening that I believe Raimi has achieved a certain level of perfection; whilst the story may run too thin, it's his visual treatment of it that requires the viewer's minute attention, and the first act is no exception to that. It perfectly sums up the dreary, boring and barren landscape that Fleming's original so masterfully placed in front of us; we, as an audience, long for something more, a better environment in which Oz and his "powers" can flourish and provide more wonder than they're currently doing.

We shortly get our wish in wondrous and sumptuous colour, as the ratio opens to widescreen and Raimi wows us with CGI everything. It may look more fake and glossy than the original, but there's little doubt that the Land of Oz is the same bold and beautiful landscape that we've seen before. As with Burton's Alice in Wonderland and Sanders' Snow White and the Huntsman, which both put visual flourish before any concrete story-telling, Oz just doesn't have enough in the thin narrative to wow anyone -- in fact, the pacing is so terrible and the plot so woefully uneven (it almost feels like different entries in an anthology) that, if this film was based on the story alone, most people would probably outright hate it. It's an unnecessary prequel that has been put together haphazardly, thinly stretched over an extended runtime and bloated with a sense of its own self-satisfaction (much like Franco's Oz).

And, yet, I liked it...no, I adored it. It's no masterpiece -- it's not even close -- but, beyond all its faults, Oz The Great and Powerful manages to capture the whimsical highs of the original with such intense and excited fervour that it's almost like watching the film through a child's eyes; the jokes, the occasional slapstick, the easy-to-follow story, all work to the true intention: to just make it fun. It's a sequel that knows it'll never be as good as the original, so it doesn't even try; it just works to pointlessly explain the back-story and give the audience enough eye candy and emotion for them to at least walk away with something.

Overall, it's just pure, innocent and engaging fun; if you're wanting solid, intelligent storyline or great acting (wow, Franco is terrible in this!) then you're better off looking elsewhere. But, if you're one of those people who can truly appreciate a good, mindless visual treat, this is probably the thing for you -- and the legacy it manages to uphold is enough of a reason to check this flawed gem out.

"Aren't you the great man we've been waiting for?"

7/10

[jvince]

After Earth (2013)
dir. M. Night Shyamalan

The Good: That whole speech about fear? It's a pretty good message, I must admit. The movie has traces of nice ideas.

The Bad: Bland. Silly. So. F*cking. Contrived. Fake-looking sets. Fake-looking CGI (This cost $130 million? No... Really?). Fake-sounding accents (Seriously, why?). Wooden Jaden Smith. Messy pacing. Rancid dialogue. Terrible ending. A few unintentionally funny moments. Mostly just bored the shit out of me.

The Bottom Line: Mr. Shyamalan, could you please make another good movie? You know, like The Sixth Sense? I know you still have it in y... "Denied! Sit down!"

[Abdrewes]

Jvince, Squid, can you guys see these 2 and a half stars on your Pc?

½

1) this one?

2) this one? ✰

3) this one? ☆

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by KilloWertz

Sam Rockwell's ending to the story had me nearly rolling.

Yeah, he was SOOOO hung up on "The final shootout". LMAO

Originally Posted by Diesel

The most accurate review I've ever read

Thank you, I worked very hard on it.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by legendarymatt92

The film opens, in black-and-white and, more importantly, academy ratio, with Oscar Diggs (Franco) failing desperately to make it as a carnival magician, in Kansas. It's in this choice of opening that I believe Raimi has achieved a certain level of perfection;

I did not know that. That's one heck of a cool nod.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Jvince, Squid, can you guys see these 2 and a half stars on your Pc?

½

1) this one?

2) this one? ✰

3) this one? ☆

They look like the little squares that replace characters from a foreign alphabet that my PC does not recognize.

Even when I quote your post.

Are you copy/pasting them? Because I dont see the [img] [/img] thingy.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

They look like the little squares that replace characters from a foreign alphabet that my PC does not recognize.

Even when I quote your post.

Are you copy/pasting them? Because I dont see the [img] [/img] thingy.

Yeah, I'm copying and pasting them maybe I should try to find jpgs

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Yeah, I'm copying and pasting them maybe I should try to find jpgs

Where do you copy them from? Let me look at them there.

My PC is the problem, or my OS, not the symbols.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Where do you copy them from? Let me look at them there.

My PC is the problem, or my OS, not the symbols.

http://www.sherv.net/symbols.html

Or I can just draw them

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

http://www.sherv.net/symbols.html

LOL. Even at that website they ALL appear as squares. Weird.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

LOL. Even at that website they ALL appear as squares. Weird.

Maybe I should just change to the 10 star/10 square system or just write them out like Christy Lemire does: ("two and a half stars out of four")

[legendarymatt92]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I did not know that. That's one heck of a cool nod.

It is nice; it might be a tiny bit contrived, but it still allows for that magical moment where everything goes widescreen and the colour just bursts into life.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by legendarymatt92

It is nice; it might be a tiny bit contrived, but it still allows for that magical moment where everything goes widescreen and the colour just bursts into life.

Nice review I definitely liked it less than you as I thought only the effects carried it just above average. But yes, Franco completely phoned it in. I noted in my Spring Breakers review that its funny that in the span of two weeks, Franco had delivered one of the best performances of the year and one of the worst

I would have given the film two squids out of four

[legendarymatt92]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Nice review I definitely liked it less than you as I thought only the effects carried it just above average. But yes, Franco completely phoned it in. I noted in my Spring Breakers review that its funny that in the span of two weeks, Franco had delivered one of the best performances of the year and one of the worst

Completely; what was up with that stupid grin he did all the way through? For a lead character in a children's fantasy film, he was pretty much just an unlikeable, immature and inconsiderate jerk, especially when his womanising and lying ways are taken into account.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by legendarymatt92

It is nice; it might be a tiny bit contrived, but it still allows for that magical moment where everything goes widescreen and the colour just bursts into life.

True story. Growing up as a child, we had a 13 inch B&W TV. Color TVs had not been invented yet. I watched the Wizard of Oz every year at Thanksgiving time. It was always a magical experience. I'd sit two feet away from that box and adjust the "Fine Tuning" ring that surrounded the channel changing knob. And i'd play with the rabbit ear antenna trying to get the picture as good as possible for when the FLYING MONKIES ( ) appeared.

Many years later when I was 14 and a freshman in high school, my uncle was taking my little cousin to the theater to see The Wizard of Oz for his first time. He invited me to come along. Meh.... "I'm a teenager now and way too cool for that kid stuff" I said. He twisted my arm and I caved in.

So I am sitting there in the theater, watching the opening in Kansas and it looks the same as always. B&W with a rusted sepia tone. Big whoop. The house crashes in Munchkinland, big whoop. The door opens and Dorothy looks out into Munchkinland and it is in

[Show spoiler]MEGA VIBRANT COLOR

My mind was blown because I had no idea. I thought the whole movie looked like Kansas...but NO!!!! I had seen the movie a dozen times, but now it was an all new movie. I was so overwhelmed, happy and excited.

That deliberate effect, the jarring shift from B&W to color, was what made me see that movies could do magic in addition to tell stories.

The Flying Monkies were extra badass that year. :-)

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Nice review I definitely liked it less than you as I thought only the effects carried it just above average. But yes, Franco completely phoned it in. I noted in my Spring Breakers review that its funny that in the span of two weeks, Franco had delivered one of the best performances of the year and one of the worst

I would have given the film two squids out of four

When critiquing properly, one uses the five squid scale.

[legendarymatt92]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

True story. Growing up as a child, we had a 13 inch B&W TV. Color TVs had not been invented yet. I watched the Wizard of Oz every year at Thanksgiving time. It was always a magical experience. I'd sit two feet away from that box and adjust the "Fine Tuning" ring that surrounded the channel changing knob. And i'd play with the rabbit ear antenna trying to get the picture as good as possible for when the FLYING MONKIES ( ) appeared.

Many years later when I was 14 and a freshman in high school, my uncle was taking my little cousin to the theater to see The Wizard of Oz for his first time. He invited me to come along. Meh.... "I'm a teenager now and way too cool for that kid stuff" I said. He twisted my arm and I caved in.

So I am sitting there in the theater, watching the opening in Kansas and it looks the same as always. B&W with a rusted sepia tone. Big whoop. The house crashes in Munchkinland, big whoop. The door opens and Dorothy looks out into Munchkinland and it is in

[Show spoiler]MEGA VIBRANT COLOR

My mind was blown because I had no idea. I thought the whole movie looked like Kansas...but NO!!!! I had seen the movie a dozen times, but now it was an all new movie. I was so happy an excited.

That deliberate effect, the jarring shift from B&W to color, was what made me see that movies could do magic in addition to tell stories.

That must have been a helluva moment! It's amazing how movies can shape and affect entire lives, especially when something about them is rediscovered like that. Do you still watch it every year?

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by legendarymatt92

That must have been a helluva moment! It's amazing how movies can shape and affect entire lives, especially when something about them is rediscovered like that. Do you still watch it every year?

Every year! And it's still has that magical moment. Plus, now it has a nostalgia impact too.

I remember going home and telling my Mom how super radical awesome fantastic it was. She looked at me like "Huh? You have seen it a zillion times?"

[legendarymatt92]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Every year! And it's still has that magical moment. Plus, now it has a nostalgia impact too.

I remember going home and telling my Mom how super radical awesome fantastic it was. She looked at me like "Huh? You have seen it a zillion times?"

That is a really great story, and an interesting one about the impact films can have on younger audiences. You should definitely check out Oz The Great and Powerful because it has that nostalgia factor going for it, too -- you'd most likely end up loving its references and homages, and the way it neatly slots itself into the Wizard of Oz canon.