| Author |
Message |
Rissa
Member
03-19-2006
| Sunday, March 17, 2013 - 7:25 am 
So I am trying to decide if I was just not in the mood for this movie or if I had set my expectations too high (because I truly was excited about seeing it). Really didn't enjoy it, had a few moments but on whole I was just bored. Actually my 16 yr old kept nudging me from drifting off for a while in the middle. James Franco does nothing for me and perhaps because of that I thought he was poorly cast. That every woman in the film thinks he is the cats meow just baffles me. I think Glinda (Michelle Williams) did great, Rachel Weisz was good but Mila Kuniz left me cold. The action scenes were hardly pulse raising, perhaps because the whole movie seemed geared towards a much younger audience than I was expecting.
Anyone want to tell me I was just being grumpy and it actually rocked? LOL
ETA: One of my biggest disapointments was when they switch to colour (that's not a spoiler since it's in many of the commercials). Instead of beautiful, full colour it looked like someone had crayoned on the film. It was garish and artificial looking. I know there is a 3D version out there so perhaps thats why but whatever the reason it sure ruined those scenes with panoramic scenery.
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Sunday, March 17, 2013 - 7:51 am
It's on my must-see list, so I'll report back once I've had a chance to see it. Thanks for your review, Rissa.
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Brenda1966
Member
07-02-2002
| Sunday, March 17, 2013 - 9:36 am
I kind of felt the same way Rissa and I love James Franco.
I found the film quite slow moving and a bore at times. And it's not that I need fast past action, I just need something interesting going on, some stimulating dialogue or something.
I also found the color scenes, while very pretty, way too fake looking. It's so obvious it's all CGI and it all looked cartoonish. I want Oz to look like a place I could walk through, not like I've been plopped down in the middle of a Rainbow Bright cartoon.
LAstly, as huge fans of Wicked, I found myself comparing the stories and frankly prefer the storyline of Wicked more.
Overall, I paid $7.50 to get into this film and I wish I'd gone for the $5 early bird rate. LOL.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Friday, March 22, 2013 - 9:52 am
We're seeing Oz tonight even though I have a feeling that I may be in bad mood afterwards, lol, since I love the original movie & Baum books. Wicked, not so much - though I agree the musical was better than the book. I read another of Gregory Maguire's books, Lost, to see if it was just Wicked that bugged me, since I'm an Oz fan, but that second book was even worse. Guess his work isn't my cup of tea.
Return to Oz was okay, despite its misguided need to "darken" Oz and Dorothy's story.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Friday, March 22, 2013 - 10:10 am
Oh, I should have said the "1939 original movie"!
P.S. A couple years or so I read a bio of Baum that touched on the racism charges over what he wrote in his paper about Native Americans. I still think he was wrong but it was good to get more details on what prompted him to write that.
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Brenda1966
Member
07-02-2002
| Friday, March 22, 2013 - 10:38 am
I'd be interested to hear if this film follows any of the books. I have not read the books.
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Friday, March 22, 2013 - 10:48 am
Calamity, I'm seeing it with a galpal tonight too. We should check back in here and compare notes later!  We are planning to see it NOT in 3D if at all possible.
I HATED the Wicked book/s. But enjoyed the stage-musical immensely.
Brenda, I'm cashed in some 'air-miles' and have a voucher for a 'free' movie for 2 with 2 drinks and 1 popcorn. So if I hate the film, at least something good will have come of it. And if I like it, BONUS! ;)
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Rissa
Member
03-19-2006
| Friday, March 22, 2013 - 11:07 am
Of course you will enjoy it Mame, now that Brenda and I have lowered your expectations. 
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Rissa
Member
03-19-2006
| Friday, March 22, 2013 - 11:12 am
Brenda, I am curious about that too because I read somewhere that the studio (that owns the original movie) would not allow them to show or mention the ruby shoes. Does that mean the ruby shoes were not in the original books? I did read them as a child but I can't recall one way or another.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Friday, March 22, 2013 - 11:20 am
Low expectations are a good defense against disappointment, lol!
The ruby slippers were silver in the original book. The studio wanted to take advantage of Technicolor though, so that was changed. The WB movie stuff (such as the ruby slippers and "Over the Rainbow") are still protected by copyright so Disney couldn't use them but the original Baum story is public domain so the characters of Glinda & the Wizard, the Yellow Brick Road and those bubbles were available.
It's a deal, Mameblanche! We're seeing it in 3-D (not my choice).
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Brenda1966
Member
07-02-2002
| Friday, March 22, 2013 - 12:57 pm
Possible spoilers....
Does she wear ruby slippers in Wicked? I don't remember. But she does wear the stripped socks so you make the connection via the socks.
When I saw Wicked I felt the connection to the Original OZ movie -- like you could watch Wicked and then go watch The Wizard of Oz and it all fit together and flowed together, cleverly. this movie didn't feel like it fit to me. I don't feel like I could watch it and then go watch the Wizard of Oz and feel like they go together.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Saturday, March 23, 2013 - 6:46 am
Does she wear ruby slippers in Wicked? I don't remember.
I don't remember either but probably not due to the copyright. (To clarify, the '39 film was by MGM but is now controlled by Warner Bros.)
I'd be interested to hear if this film follows any of the books.
There were elements from the books but it didn't really follow them. Actually, one reason I was really wary about this movie is that the plot line about a prophecy of a wizard who'd free Oz seemed lazily lifted directly from the Johnny Depp Alice in Wonderland.
My capsule review:
All hail low & lousy expectations. Pleasantly surprised to find I quite liked this movie, albeit with some reservations. I'll post what I liked later, when I'm on a proper computer but here are the main problems I had with it.
- the Wicked Witch of the West was a woman scorned (by someone she barely knew)? A broken heart could be a legit motivation but the way it was played in this movie just seemed clumsy.
- couldn't they have walked through a real sunflower field?
- yikes, those songs! Harburg & Arlen can rest easy
- James Franco does not have a reassuring smile.
- some of the allusions to the '39 film were too calculatingly corny.
- it did drag in parts.
Still, all in all, I liked it. Being a fan of classic movies (there were nods to other films beside the '39 one), loving the Oz movie & books, & having a fascination with World's Fairs & Expos are probably factors in that.
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Saturday, March 23, 2013 - 7:12 am
5.5 - 6 out of 10. It took me at least a third of the film to 'get into it'. I kept thinking it was such a dreadful script (it DOES pick up, thankfully) and while both Franco and Kunis have gotten crappy reviews, I thought she was fine. But he was WOEFULLY miscast. He has ZERO Charisma and that character is all about charisma!
And maybe I'm the wuss of the universe, but even in 2D that film would have been too frightening for me, as a kid. As an adult, I am VERY THANKFUL I didn't see it in 3D, or I wouldn't be here to write this review, I'd have had a heart-attack. There are AT LEAST 3 scenes that are ferocious, and IMHO unsuitable for small or sensitive kids.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Saturday, March 23, 2013 - 7:10 pm
I went with my nephew and we enjoyed it. I didn't love it and it did drag at times but we liked seeing different little things like the lion turning coward or the horse of a different color. I loved the opening credits in 3D. It was like a Disneyland ride.
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Konamouse
Member
07-15-2001
| Sunday, March 24, 2013 - 4:50 pm
In Wicked the sister (was in the wheelchair) got white sparkly slippers (assumed they turned red afterwards).
Agreed that the scene with the big scary eyes scared me a bit - too much for little kids.
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Ketchuplover
Member
08-30-2000
| Monday, June 24, 2013 - 4:03 pm
7.77/10
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