I enjoyed the magic in this movie and the fascinating characters. Alice Englert and Alden Ehrenreich are perfectly cast as the young leads. They are well supported by likes of Emily Rossum (a sexy bad ass), Emma Thompson and Jeremy Irons. Young Alden particularly impressed me with his effortlessly engaging style. I hope there are more in the series to come. 4 stars
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This is the prequel to the Wizard of Oz. Oscar Diggs (Oz) is played by James Franco and he is an untrustworthy charlatan circus magician in Kansas. He is launched into the beautiful Land of Oz in typical Dorothy fashion. The magical land is bursting at the seams with amazing creatures and is visually spectacular. I enjoyed the new and improved touches like the teapot village and the magical flowers and fairies. The budget seems a lot larger than the original and the special effects are great.
The three witches have interesting characters and it is unfortunate that the letdown for me was the Oz character. He fails to engage and develop the audience support. The storyline is missing the joy and cheerfulness that made the original so special. It does improve as it goes along and once you reach the end, you immediately want to revisit certain secenes with a new perspective. Oz needs a heart, so perhaps more singing Munchkins would have helped. I'd still recommend a look. 3 1/2 stars
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I was really looking forward to Stephanie Meyer's Sci-Fi about alien 'souls' taking over Earth and the plight of the last few resisting humans. The captivating vision of the book unfortunately was a little lost for me in this film interpretation. I was worried that my movie viewing companion had fallen asleep halfway through.
The positives were the lead actress Saoirse Ronan and the Seeker who pursues her across the desert, played by Diane Kruger. The love interests were rather like Edward from Twilight, which is great, if you like that kind of thing. The young girls in our row were giggling and swooning in equal measure and provided additional entertainment for us.
I guess it was a difficult movie to make, as most of the action occurs inside Melanie's head. I will have to content myself with a re-read of the engaging book and the promise of more books to come. Recommended for teenagers and fans of the book. 3 stars
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