Oz The Great And Powerful

I have notes.

Yes the Oz adaptation precisely zero people have talked about for over a decade now, so what did I think? I'll disclaimer this upfront, I don't think an origin for the Wizard is a bad idea really I don't, because it's been a question I'm sure many people have had and this is still during a time when prequels were frowned upon. It's really not bad crafting it's own mythos while taking a fair bit from the books and the 1939 film, with a circus magician getting whisked away in a twister and finds himself embroiled in a three way power struggle between witches as he is hailed as the Lisan al-Gaib despite multiple instances to the contrary. That's kind of an interesting premise seeing this conman get hip deep in this fantasy world between warring factions, and I do truly feel that while James Franco wasn't exactly a no brainer pick for Oz his charm and humor carried this film tremendously. He was a joy to watch and I appreciate the fact they don't go down some typical lame ass liar revealed trope, as he actually does let people peak behind the curtain to see his true self, it adds dynamic and even a sweet moment or two because of it. He's truly a great lead through and through. Also just need to shoutout Joey King as the China Girl, hands down my favorite character, would easily die for her, my heart and soul in this movie! This fairly hurts to say because we do have talented people on this cast, and it's not even that they did a bad job but it just missed something extra to make it come together. Rachel Weisz you rock, I'll never say a bad thing about your acting but I feel the script is at fault with most of the other characters not giving much for them to do cause she's one of the witches and has a semi-important role to play but the poor lady just has nothing to grasp onto. Michelle Williams as Glenda has a little bit to work off of, the dynamic with Oz and his lack of magic, the death of her father who was the last king of Ozdom, she at least has a direction to go in. And Mila Kunis as Theodora, this gets into spoilers but it's important to talk about, again not a first choice candidate to play the Wicked Witch but...oof. Okay I don't ever like doing this, I got nothing from her performance and feel this is where the writing took a horrid nose dive, essentially making one of the most iconic villains in cinema a spiteful ex-girlfriend who gets tricked into becoming the green skinned pyro thrower we know, and this is pure subjective taste by the way when I say her design was so not it looking more akin to The Mask than the Wicked Witch. Big letdown in my opinion overall for her character but you know what? It gave me a negative so I can walk into Wicked looking for a positive so even then it has a greater purpose. I was rather shocked to say the least knowing Sam Raimi directed this movie but I applaud him for wanting to put as much practical sets in as possible, it's a heavy ass CG movie because of the outlandish terrain of the world of Oz and indeed has moments of beauty to it yet I still strongly appreciate giving the actors something to work with. It also was made during that mini 3D craze so you get those certain shots that are noticeable but aren't completely egregious. And for a over 2 hour movie it doesn't feel that long yet simultaneously feels like it should be longer to get more connection to the characters which I feel is the Achille's heel of it all. The visuals are okay, the story has some intrigue, but I couldn't get completely invested. But hey, if something doesn't work for me it can work for someone! I liked seeing a different iteration of the land of Oz, I liked seeing James play this charming charlatan, the little China Girl is treasured and I will not hear slander against her or I will smite you, even the majority of the humor got me rolling! It's far from a waste even if not everything landed just right and it makes me all the more curious to see Wicked! Know next door to nothing about it aside from trailers, yet I'm walking in with an open mind. As for this I give it 2 stars, 6/10!

In Retrospect: Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

Please for the love of all that is magic, I better not have to wait another 6 years for the next Doctor Strange movie.




Not to say of course the wait wasn't worth it, I still very much enjoy Multiverse Of Madness but my opinion hasn't changed much since seeing it opening day. I think the movie has a solid plot that moves at a very good pace but I would have edited the sequence of scenes slightly different. Not really sure why there were so many fade to black moments like a made for TV movie but whatever, it doesn't hurt the film. What I did notice more this time around is, I would definitely say this is a movie that furthers the character arc of Stephen Strange. Obviously there was a big shift from the beginning to the end of the first film, but this movie progresses it even further with Stephen being more accepting of his emotions toward Christine, seeing other Doctor Strange's mistakes and learning from it, to be content with the life he has rather than substitute it for something "perfect". In fact the scene with Wong during the resolution I felt was immeasurably life affirming and something I'll take to my grave. Still feel completely apathetic to Wanda, hell more like I'm just over her shit and and have this contempt for her in all honesty. I'm sure I was supposed to see this as some horrible tragedy, that this character keeps losing and losing ones she cares about leading her to do some terrible shit but sorry (not really sorry at all though), she aggravates me. Which is beyond weird because my whole shtick is I'm a mark for villains, villains are infinitely more engaging and interesting than some goody two-shoed heroic ponce, but that is not so much the case for Marvel movies with ever so slight exception. But at the exact same time, I feel both this and Wandavision are more almost cautionary tales about living in denial when your reality faces a crushing blow and how you have to move on and better yourself, I understand that perfectly but woman.....GET OVER IT! Jesus H. jumping Christ on a fucking pogo stick! Elizabeth, may I call you Liz, you are acting your heart out here and performed amazingly, like strongest performance in this movie hands down! But oh my lord I cannot stand this character in any way. Awesome to see Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mordo, though a small part it is I hope we get to see him again soon. As for other familiar faces, let's discuss that shall we? So, did Marvel create the Illuminati? Cause I might need to punch them in the face for doing so, fuck your conspiracy theories and fuck your secret societies even harder. Humans. Why am I stuck with humans? I'm sure this was a pants jizzingly big moment for Marvel fans and while it was pretty awesome to see Professor Xavier in the yellow dodgem transport thingy, I can't fully attest my amazement at the other members, they were just kinda there. I can understand the sentiment however of introducing so many fan favorite characters for them to be axed not 10 minutes later, I know in the grand scheme of multiverses and the MCU it really doesn't matter much but even I was kinda surprised and a touch disappointed at that turn of events. But I got way more positive things out of this than negatives for sure, from magic casting and dimension jumping to overall direction and character moments, it still stands firm and easily is one of my favorites of this franchise that I sense is significantly losing steam. It only took 15 goddamn years apparently. DC isn't holding much high ground either at this point, I'll be amazed if even Shazam 2 gets to theaters at this point. I'm pretty much turning my back on comic book movies these days, I'll stick with the older movies and call it quits. And on that disappointing bombshell it is time to end, very good movie that I still give a 7.5/10 to, and I will catch you tomorrow.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

Ha, and you thought I forgot!

I got the 1 in 14 million and whatever the hell it was, and finally got to see the new Doctor Strange. I was pretty happy with what I got, had some things that could definitely be improved but overall a very good and enjoyable film. Now as you will see through my history, I haven't reviewed a Marvel movie since Endgame so I have no clue what transpires for Peter Parker after Homecoming. With that in mind, let's continue. So we pick up some time after No Way Home as Stephen is more or less dropped into this plot of a young girl who can traverse the multiverse and has to keep her safe from evil forces wanting to take her power, now obviously with such a mindwarping thing as the multiverse there is clearly going to be more than that. Which is one aspect I highly applaud, it is a multiverse of madness, it goes apeshit and gets wild quick which is what I loved most about the world of Doctor Strange, it cannonballs into the deep end of fantastical, escapist, beautiful nonsense and easily were my favorite parts of the film. Now there is one instance where I absolutely can see people getting pissed off and agravated at, but at the same time this does deal with alternate realities so I can excuse the stuff that doesn't work because that is how that universe works, it works in the film's favor. However what did not work for me is Wanda. Yeah, we're walking down this street again. However. However, Elizabeth Olsen's acting in this...10/10! She nails it, she's spectacular, she is not f***ing about, and I feel I need to make this point clear with my reviews. I don't hold grudges or hatred toward actors unless they have done some shittastic things in life, when I have a severe problem with a character, I have an issue with exactly that. The character. I could have written Wanda clean out of this movie and you wouldn't miss much besides a very strong performance, in fact it kinda drags WandaVision down even further for me. I never hated the Scarlet Witch until recently, so those parts actually took me out of the movie. The cast do very good work, and I like seeing them all again even with our new characters. I have no idea why but I just really loved that Wong was Sorcerer Supreme instead of Strange, it just made me happy. It almost feels odd to have Strange in his own film all the way through, I think he contracted a heavy case of sidekick-neosis but they focus on him in the right way and it reminded me of why I was pumped to see this. But the best of the best, man let me tell you what, Sam Raimi. God to the hell damn yes, this visual style...mm, it's sublime! Visuals alone, not just effects which were ropey at times but ultimately strong, but direction, framing, cinematography, editing, is king of the hill where this movie is concerned. I got a healthy bit of Evil Dead style, some highly recognizable Spider-Man moments, and he utilized the visuals to the best potential. Well done sir. And this movie actually reinforced something I was thinking about on my way to see it, I was having a rough day where nothing seemed to be going as planned, really got me bummed out man but on my way to the theater I was very happy because I got out of work and it was a lovely day and I was finally able to do the thing I like doing the most. You can't stress about that shit, life goes on man. Bad days pass, trials and tribulations end, and you still get to move on and enjoy something. 3 stars, a high 7.5/10 close to an 8, but still a recommended movie. Whew, what a week. You Marvel fans are superhuman I swear.

Army Of Darkness

Just what I needed after last night. So I was thinking of just how many damn sequels were coming out this year and ones I was gonna talk about, so I thought what are some sequels that are not well known or loved as much? So here we go.

Okay, Army Of Darkness. Classic cult movie made 5 years after the cliffhanger of Evil Dead 2, where Ash is stuck in medievel times having to retrieve the Necronomicon to get back to his own time while fighting an army of skeletons. It is as amazing as it sounds. You knew what blew my mind? You know, besides the quotability, good comedy, and great sets and effects? The movie is an hour and 15 minutes without credits. Hwhat? It's like...direct to video sequel, but awesome! I do love the evolution of it though, Evil Dead was straight up horror, Evil Dead 2 was horror comedy, and now we're at action comedy. Normally that does not bode well for a series, but it works here! And even despite it's more action forefront, the film never loses it's horror elements. They dig deep into the roots of gothic scenery in some instances, and the tension and sense of impending scares can still be found. The slapstick in my opinion is wonderful, Bruce Campbell gets to do so much both physically and come on, the lines are unforgettable. It does deserve more attention and love, I know it sounds far fetched, but I would not lie about a movie being good. Army Of Darkness is a lot of fun, it is fast, well done, good wit and acting is in it (though Bruce is the only person you will be able to name afterwards), it really is a diamond in the rough. Come on, you can spare barely over an hour of your life to judge for yourself. In other news, *BRIEF TANGENT ALERT* I am very excited to see Ash Vs. Evil Dead but it pisses me off at the same time. Why? Because it got cancelled 2 seasons in. Are you....breathe. Ffffffunkin' Family Guy can get to season 11 which is beyond bullshit already (and I got news for you pal, the only two things you got right now is Jack and shit. And Jack left town.) but Ash Vs. Evil Dead gets the ax 2 seasons in. And for all accounts I heard it was good, so why?? Why do the good die young? Ugh. This universe sucks.

Evil Dead 2

This movie is bat squeak insane.

I love Evil Dead 2 way more than the original Evil Dead for three reasons. One Bruce Campbell has gotten down his acting method which is made of pure awesome you just have to look at the scene in the work shed, it is surprisingly less scary and is way more comical, and last but not least the camera is still alive. Nearly every part of the original has been outdone, seeing as how this movie had a much better budget than the first one. The film is almost a parody of the first movie with outrageous amounts of blood and even a bit of slapstick but still treats itself seriously and still keeps the movie humorous. It also delves into a little of the psychological horror which I greatly appreciate and enjoy, like all this crazy stuff is happening in the cabin but all of a sudden shows Bruce Campbell just sitting in a chair screaming. My God this movie is bonkers and that is the best part. Also for some strange reason people have been considering this movie as a remake of the original. I kinda get why, but it has been explained that the first few opening minutes is a recap of the last movie but with different aspects to it so this film picks right up after the last one. This is a much more enjoyable horror movie than you would think, making it even more worth watching than the first. And the cliffhanger is great, but unfortunately I will not be reviewing Army Of Darkness just yet and it is due to my reasoning that Army Of Darkness is more of an action comedy not horror. So that is why I am excluding it from this month's reviews. So yeah definitely watch Evil Dead 2 even if you didn't like the first one that much.

Later this week, we shall continue to review some of the greatest cult monster movies of the 80's.

The Evil Dead

Jesus H. Christ, this movie is freaky scary.

Evil Dead is one of the creepiest, most well made horror movies ever, directed by Sam Raimi and starring Bruce Campbell. The film follows a group of young adults that go to a remote abandon cabin and soon discover that evil forces are brewing and it's up to them to survive. This movie scared me good, to the point where I didn't even want to look at it. I needed a strong drink to get through it. The acting is great, the atmosphere is fear inducing like no other, the music is eerie, and the best aspect that is the greatest part of the movie is the camera. The camera is alive. This is one of the most innovative and unconventional filming you will ever see in any movie except for the Evil Dead movies. Literally the first minute, the camera starts moving and unearthly so. I have no doubts in my mind that the camera in this movie is an entity. There is no way in hell that there is someone behind that camera, it moves too fast, too smooth over water, through the woods, glass and everything else. It creeps me out big time. The film is bloody as all get out to an almost comical degree, but the film is too scary to even notice how outrageous it all is. Bruce Campbell is really damn good in this movie, but he didn't discover his method of acting yet which I will talk about in the next review. And the ending....it goes exactly the way you think and then drops the hammer and ends. So bottom line, it's time to see The Evil Dead.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow where we look at the sequel.