What Movie Did You Just Watch? ...Rises

[Chernabog_Rocks]

I actually have all of the suggested films, save for maybe the 1925 Phantom, on a large 50 Classics set. Hoping to get around to them soon.

I have so much trouble picking what movie/tv show to watch, I finally said 'Screw it' and entered everything I have into a website and had it randomize my list. Much easier.

Today I watched "The Giant Gila Monster" and was rather sad to see it had quite a few artifacts and the like. I guess it's one of those films that didn't quite get special treatment before release.

The ending made me laugh a bit, but still enjoyed it overall.


One film I started to watch recently is "Snow Shark" and found it so unbearable that I had to turn it off 5 minutes in.

[PixarFan2006]

I should watch my copy of Phantom of the Opera sometime (it's the Blu-Ray with BOTH the 1929 and 1925 versions).

I watched parts of Monty Python's The Meaning of Life of ShowTime last night, I came on around the time the Galaxy song started. It's pretty raunchy as far as Monty Python goes.

[BelleGirl]

Ghost 1990
I must have seen this movie multiple times on TV, after my first viewing in cinema. Now I finally bought in on dvd. You cannot put the movie in a specific genre; it's a romance, supernatural thriller and a comedy all in one. Still love it, though you may describe it as a 'guilty pleasure'. Whoopie Golberg is unforgettable as Oda Mea, the fake medium who discovers she really does have the gift after all, thanks to the ghost of Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) who searches her help to warn his girlfriend Molly (Demi Moore) for murderers.
Dont' try to look to deep in some illogicalities such as: if solid objects are like thin air to a ghost, how is possible that the floor holds him and that he can sit down in a chair?


Arbitrage
In short: the downfall of a businessman. Richard Gere in the leading role. The guy (forgot his name) commits fraud and has a mistress. When she dies in a car crash while he is driving, he tries to cover it all up. In the end he does manage to keep up appearances for the outside world, (still I feel it has an open ending)but has alienated his wife and daughter. Seldom seen a movie with such an asshole as protagonist, but Gere plays him convincingly.

[dvdjunkie]

Oz, The Great and Powerful Warren World Class IMAX Theater

I know, I said that I would stay as far away from this movie as I could, but when someone offers to pay for your ticket and provide the transportation I just couldn't say "No!"

First on a positive note I would like to say that the IMAX 3-D is an amazing process and this film uses it to the maximum capabilities, and is one of the first 3-D IMAX films to utilize the whole screen since "Avatar". The cinematography is excellent, and the CGI looks amazingly real. The movie literally jumps off the screen at you, some times, and other times it takes you right into the story as one of the characters. For this I will give Disney a great big "Hell Yeah" and well-done. The choice of Sam Raimi as the director was a big plus for this film. The screenwriters Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire manage just enough whimsy to make the two-hour running time smoothly fly by without irritation. Raimi, who cut his teeth on the horror genre and brought "Spider-Man" to life, was the perfect man to make this emerald-tinted world pop-off the big screen.

Now for just a few of the negative things. The cast, plainly second or third choices is a total let-down. James Franco struggles with his role as Oscar and makes you wonder who thought he could carry such a great film as this. Is there anything in Franco's past that suggests a larger-than-life, fast-talking, womanizing con-man?

And the three witches, Theodora, Evinora, and Glinda, are bland, blander, and Blond Bland! Mila Kunis has never looked lovelier as Theodora, and is smitten with Oscar, while Evanora, played by Rachel Weisz is jealous. Together they want Oscar to get rid of Oz's great menace, Glinda, played by Michelle Williams, which easily bridbed, Oscar agrees to do.

The story begins, like "The Wizard of Oz" from 1939, in black and white in a little town in Kansas. Oscar Diggs (Franco) is a magician who escapes the cut-rate Baum Bros. circus, only to be swept up by a tornado to the Merry Olde Land of Oz. Where things aren't very merry. The 'king' is dead and prophecy says that only a great wizard can replace him. Plainly the guy with a name that resembles the place he has landed is the right man for the job. Wrong! Franco lets all of us down with his inability to carry his new title and be believable as he does so.

I won't go into more of the negatives, but I can say that I am glad that I didn't pay the $15 to see this movie. While I laughed a lot, and enjoyed the movie as a whole, I can't honestly recommend it to my friends without a smirk on my face. They could just as easy just give me the money and I will tell them the whole story.

[TheValentineBros]

Mouse Hunt.

A very good movie I've seen since my childhood.

Speaking of which, this video is so hilarious when it comes to that movie.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WD_HJl70Scg" frameborder="0"></iframe>

[Dr Frankenollie]

The Silence of the Lambs - Strangely and surprisingly evocative of Hitchcock, in the sense that, much like Psycho and Strangers on a Train, it has a rather appealing mixture of dark humour and intense, pulse-racing suspense. But this evocation makes sense when you consider that it was Psycho that set the ball rolling for the silver screen's propensity to present complex sociopathic with Norman Bates, paving the way for Alex DeLarge, Annie Wilkes, Frank Booth and of course the double helping that SotL serves us, in the form of Hannibal Lecter and Jame Gumb. Jodie Foster's performance is the standout and - although Gumb and Lecter are both frightening - it's her character that works the best. Not only is she a romantically unattached 'strong woman' type character, she is still a clearly human, sympathetic character that works well as audience surrogate. Perhaps the frequent focus on her gender weakens the impact of her character by concentrating on it so much, rather than just nonchalantly displaying (as with Marge Gunderson), although I suspect the film has an under-the-surface narrative about gender and the journey to equality for women that isn't fully clear to me yet. I might be deluded, but I'm guessing that the salience of the slaughtered lambs is meant to symbolise not only Gumb's slaughtered female victims (with Catherine obviously being the lamb that Clarice saved, and the climax being a repeat of Clarice's experiences as a child with a happier ending; this is even made explicit when Catherine clutches Gumb's white puppy to her as she is helped by police), but also symbolises the plight and oppression of women in general. Everyone - outside of surrogate father figure Jack Crawford - from the loathsome Dr Chilton to the doctor on insects, and even Hannibal Lecter himself, treats Clarice differently simply because of her gender, and perhaps the film isn't merely a brutally realistic portrayal of serial killers/sociopaths/psychopaths et al, but also meant to be a story showing how women can do the same things as men and should be viewed as equal.

One more thing to note: I never fully understood why Hannibal Lecter was so well-regarded amongst villains until I properly watched the film and 'got it', so to speak. He's an evil Sherlock Holmes. Considering Holmes' skills of deduction and observation, he would doubtlessly make a very deadly and formidable criminal. Hannibal is a realisation of a possibly evil Sherlock, which makes him both a chilling creepy villain and one we can't help but root for, just a little bit.

[disneyboy20022]

Oz The Great and Powerful

It was a great movie and the 3D was amazing. It certainly went above my expectations. In a way I hope Disney is able to make a sequel with Dorothy. I like the way how some characters from Kansas had carbon copies in Oz like the other movies that have come based on Oz which I'm guessing is in the book.

I do want to see more of these characters so I hope Disney is able to make a sequel to this or a franchise

Also this was the best 3D effects I've ever seen in a live action Disney film. It was definitely worth the extra money.

[Linden]

Hey dvdjunkie, are you plagiarising Roger Moore, or is he plagiarising you?

Last movie I saw was Waterworld (1995). Interesting concept, poor execution. Very sexist too. I don't understand how on earth they expected the audience to like the Mariner. I hated him long before the halfway mark. The overall experience of watching it is very similar to watching the Waterworld stunt show at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Before that, it was The Cove, a documentary about dolphin and small cetacean slaughter in Taiji, Japan. I was burning up with a fever while I watched it, and it still managed to hold my interest. Even if some things in it might be exaggerations, I really think everyone should see it.

Oh, also, Wreck-it Ralph for the second time. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first time, probably since I had to have the subtitles on for the benefit of someone else. As a result, I caught so many more bathroom jokes than I did before. I still like it though, and I definitely think it gets better as it goes on, until it has a perfectly sweet ending.

[PeterPanfan]

I saw Oz: The Great and Powerful tonight and have to say that I really enjoyed it. The performances were not spectacular, but the direction, cinematography, and special effects were. Visually, it was one of the best films I've ever seen. Stunning. I wish there was more of a tie-in to the original (though I realize it was next-to-impossible for them to have done so), and I really didn't like the ending (the Glinda/Oz kiss), but I still had a great time and encourage all to go see it!

[dvdjunkie]

You can tell that the owners of the rights to "TheWizard of Oz" are keeping close tabs on Disney to make sure they don't cross the line into trying to do a remake or something.

1939's The Wizard of Oz is the one movie that should NEVER be remade. It is a classic story and done very well, with great music, great direction and, for the time, great special effects.

I don't know why some of you are surprised that some of the characters from Kansas are in OZ, but that is the way the books are written. These are just dreams and not a reality.

I hope that Disney leaves this alone. "OZ, the Great and Powerful" stands well on its own, and despite the hokey ending, I am not begging for more. Just want this to come on Blu-ray soon to watch both movies at the same time.

[BelleGirl]

You can tell that the owners of the rights to "TheWizard of Oz" are keeping close tabs on Disney to make sure they don't cross the line into trying to do a remake or something.

1939's The Wizard of Oz is the one movie that should NEVER be remade. It is a classic story and done very well, with great music, great direction and, for the time, great special effects.

I wonder dvdjunkie...
How do you feel about the remake "The Wiz" from 1979, starring Diana Ross (Dorothy) and Michael Jackson (scarecrow) among others?

[JiminyCrick91]

Since early February when I last posted I've watched lots of movies on DVD, Blu-ray and TV but I don't keep a log of them so I don't remember them all. In theatres however I saw these new and classic features:

Warm Bodies (2013)
American Beauty (1999)
Identity Thief (2013)
Oz, The Great And Powerful (IMAX 3D) (2013)
Superman: Extended Edition (1978/2001)
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (1980/2006)

I've got to say I adore seeing classics in cinemas. So much of what a movie IS at it's core missing when you watch at home no matter how good your set up is and you don't even know it until you see for yourself.

-Skyler

[kbehm29]

DVD Junkie - I'm interested in hearing how you feel about this movie despite the 1939 Oz classic. Have you read any of Baum's other Oz material?

How did you feel about the introduction of the China Doll girl into the movie? I thought that added a lot, and always missed the inclusion of the Chinatown scene in the 1939 movie. I did wish Oz: The Great and Powerful were a musical. I loved the opening title sequence and the way they presented the beginning in b&w. Unlike you, I loved James Franco's performance as Oz (he plays a "humbug" after all, and I thought he pulled off the character nicely). I guess I am able to look at it as a separate creation based off the Oz source material by L. Frank Baum and do not associate it with the 1939 classic too directly. There will NEVER be a movie that can replace the greatness of that movie, and nothing can detract from it no matter how many Oz movies are made.

SPOILERS:



One of the things that disappointed me about this movie is the Munchkin scene. I wish they had used real acrobatics instead of such obvious fake CG acrobatics. It was the only "song" sung in the movie and I thought the scene was disappointing. Also - I hated the way Theodora looked when she turned green. I thought the make-up could have been done better than that, she was too evenly colored green - she almost looked like an alien. Also, again, I wish it would have been a musical.

Other than that, I liked the movie a lot. I saw it in 2D, and will be seeing it in IMAX 3D this weekend, if it's still available in that format.

[dvdjunkie]

BelleGirl wrote:

How do you feel about the remake "The Wiz" from 1979, starring Diana Ross (Dorothy) and Michael Jackson (scarecrow) among others?

"The Wiz" was a musical version based on the '39 movie NOT a remake. Just as the television movie of "The Muppets - Wizard of Oz", which didn't even come close to resembling the original classic.

kbehm29: I have own and read all the L. Frank Baum books and am enjoying reading them to my grandchildren.

If you read my review you know that I thought the production, the direction, the cinematography, and the 3-D were especially great, and that made all of the weak spots in the script negligible.

I will stand on my belief that all of the stars of the movie were second and third choices, and unfortunately detracted from such a beautifully made film. Have never liked anything Franco has done, and the three fairies were totally miscast in my eyes.

Disney's hands are tied about how far they can go with the storyline, that is why I don't think we will ever see a remake of the 1939 classic. Again, why would you want that movie ever made? Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, and Jack Haley were all so great in the film.

[BelleGirl]

So the definition of a 'remake' is: an exact copy of the original? Indeed, I hardly see a point in such an enterprise. But I guess it's okay if someone would plan another movie-musical about the Von Trapp family for instance? Maybe it has already happened?

[dvdjunkie]

Why would anyone want to have a classic film like The Wizard of Oz remade? Knowing how Hollywood has screwed up so many remakes lately they would probably want to have some sort of a sex scene involving Dorothy and the Munchkins and things like that.

My thought is that should leave the classics alone. I don't see Hollywood jumping to remake "Sunset Boulevard" or "The Caine Mutiny" or the best western ever made "Shane".

A classic film like "The Wizard of Oz" defies remaking in my eyes. We don't have people with the talents of Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, and Mildred Natwick in Hollywood anymore. Anyone they would choose for any of those parts would be terrible.

[PeterPanfan]

I totally understand complaints about Franco, Weisz, and Kunis (all of whom I liked in the film, by the way), but how could anyone dislike Michelle Williams' performance? I thought she brought an old-Hollywood vibe to her acting and no other current actress could have played Glinda as well as she did.

[Pokeholic_Prince]

Just saw "Oz the Great and Powerful"

Here's the review http://theconnoisseurreviews.tumblr.com ... ful-review

“Oz the Great and Powerful” deals with the themes of believing and how powerful faith can be. The story handles the theme very well with clever writing and homages to the older film (keep in mind that this is a prequel to the actual story and not the 1939 classic film by MGM). Sam Raimi does a good job of directing the film. He mixes humor with the more semi-serious moments. There are moments of excitement that gets the blood going and legitimately scary moments that make you jump out your seat. However, the story mainly in the middle gets a bit confused on what it is about and what’s happening. Along with that, certain things feel a bit rushed particularly when Oz arrives in Oz.

The acting and characters for the most part are decent. Oz, James Franco, is pretty much the scene stealer as one would hope from a movie titled “Oz.” Franco brings a lot of charisma and charm to the character along with being relatable. He sometime goes a bit over the top, but when he puts on his big cheesy smile almost everything is forgiven. Mila Kunis is okay in the movie at best, but half way through she become not so good. Her character feels forced and any emotion she tries to convey comes off as trying too hard. There’s a flying monkey and little porcelain girl that bring a lot of the heart to the film. They’re incredibly likable and help show off some of the humanity in Oz.

I particularly like the visual effects. The backgrounds are well detailed and immerses the viewer into the world. There are some moments were you can tell it’s CGI and the character don’t blend well with the background, but they don’t appear very often. The musical score by Danny Elfman is effective, but not too memorable until the third act.

Overall, “Oz the Great and Powerful” isn’t great, but it is still pretty good. The special effects are great, but have some spotty moments, the score my Elfman is solid, and James Franco’s performance steals the show. However, there are some minor story issues in the first two acts and the acting by the rest of the cast, especially Mila Kunis, leaves more to be desired. The final act of the film is spectacular though and sums up everything great about the film incredibly well. I give it an incredibly high 3.5/5, acting could use some work, but Franco and the third act make this a really good experience.

To sum it up, I quite like this film.

[disneyboy20022]

I just got done watching Rise of The Guardians. I Love it more than ParaNorman.

It's too bad it didn't do well enough in theaters to get a sequel, but it works well as a stand alone film too.

[Pokeholic_Prince]

I just got done watching Rise of The Guardians. I Love it more than ParaNorman.

It's too bad it didn't do well enough in theaters to get a sequel, but it works well as a stand alone film too.

I totally love "Rise of the Guardians." It was my 2nd favorite animated film and 7th overall. It's a shame that it didn't get nominated for animated feature or score, which it beautiful.