Return to ‘Oz’: Raimi’s Flawed Film Buoyed By Its Leading Ladies

March 8, 2013

By Tom Blunt

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James Franco and Michelle Williams in Oz the Great and Powerful © 2013 - Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Having written here about “Oz the Great and Powerful” since the project was just a twinkle in Disney’s eye, I was very curious to see whether they did better with this one than they did with Tim Burton’s execrable “Alice in Wonderland.” In the end, they have — and much better. Critics are coming after Sam Raimi left and right, but that’s inevitable when you try to recreate one of the most beloved cinematic landscapes of all time. James Franco may be woefully miscast, but everyone else in the film — particularly Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, and Mila Kunis — showed up to work. Throw in one of the best opening credit sequences ever filmed, and you’ve got a movie that’s worth at least one’s idle curiosity (even sparkles at times) despite its woes. And complain all you want about the proliferation of digital effects, but I’m pretty sure 1939 audiences would’ve been quite impressed!

Entertainment Weekly charged into battle this week with Matt Damon and Michael Douglas on the cover in full “Behind the Candelabra” regalia. Among the things we learn from reading the article? The two managed to film one of their sex scenes in one take. Says Damon: “Cut. There’s a long pause. And then you just hear Steven [Soderbergh] go, ‘Well… I have no notes.’”

The New York Times ran a great opinion piece this week wondering what it says about our progress as a society when Forest Whitaker is (falsely) accused of shoplifting in his own neighborhood deli. 2013 may not be the year we overcome racism, but it’s certainly the year that race relations get the honest examination that they’re due.

Ever since Joss Whedon announced that his idea of a vacation from filmmaking included directing a quick adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing in his own house, Shakespeare fans have been cautiously suspending their judgment. Now the trailer’s out, and people are chomping at the bit to see the rest. Is there anything this guy can’t do? Watch below:

Tags: joss whedon, Matt Damon, Much Ado about Nothing, Oz: The Great and Powerful.