This Oz film is a prequel to the original Wizard of Oz. Being made today, it’s packed with cutting edge CG effects that create the world of Oz and lead the audience through the tale of how Oz became The Wizard of Oz.

It’s a pretty good story with some outstanding visual effects! I can’t shake the view that it’s uneven film from start to finish though. For every good piece, there’s a bad or at the very least a misaligned one. The cast is good, (Michelle Williams doing the best work I think) but the performances suffer from some really awkward dialog and delivery. I blame the writing more as the actor(s) are really just working with what they are given. It takes place in 1905, but there is a lot of weird, contemporary, aggressive/edgy lines that just sound forced and don’t fit (Knuck is the biggest offender, I’m not sure what the writers were going for).

The story fits well, but the movie is a bit long in the tooth. Two hours and fifteen minutes is a long time for this kind of tale. I felt like the end was far and away the most cohesive and best paced (it had the best ideas and follow through with some amazing special effects). The beginning is good as we watch as Oz gets to the land of Oz the same way Dorothy does and understand what kind of man he is. He’s a bit of a cheat, but he is a good person at the core. He meets all sorts of colorful characters (really great work on Finley and China Girl, fantastic animation and detail) and Oz really pops as a fantasy place. The middle is very rocky. The set up for The Wicked Witch to become Wicked is my biggest complaint. It’s stupid and isn’t good enough to have a character become a heel. Yes she’s tricked, but the trick was so vapid and simple that it’s too unbelievable to take seriously. There’s a better way to do it; some restructuring could have gone long way and it isn’t like they were pressed for runtime at over two hours. She looks fantastic though (the costumes are fantastic and the sound design is outstanding as well)!

It’s a striking move visually, there is a lot of camera movement. There are a lot of Raimi tells (especially during action scenes that involve witches). No complaints on the production front from me.

The Great and Powerful is a fun movie, it is PG and there are some visuals that I think could freak out a younger (less than 6) child. I wasn’t too sure what to expected but I came away with mostly positive vibes from it. I think it’s a better movie than Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.

Great documentary recently hit Netflix Instant. Side by Side did its rounds on the film fest circuit, got a great response and is now easy to see for everyone.

It’s a discussion on the warp speed that digital film making is over taking traditional celluloid film and techniques (many Cinematographers feel threatened). Film stock has been in use for more than 100 years and it’s only been about 13 years since digital has hit the professional scene to slowly claw it’s way into favor. In fact. traditional film cameras stopped being manufactured in 2011.

This is really a story of the inevitable. Digital was vastly inferior to film, but that is quickly changing. Equipment and workflow is changing to almost all digital, with many cost, speed and versatility for production benefits. There’s a few steadfast film makers who are holding on to film and Side by Side gets their side as well as the more forward thinkers. It’s an even movie where the pros and cons of each side are given equal time and consideration. While the conclusion seems pretty clear to anyone right at the start, this docu is a great history lesson with some fantastic interviews from some of the biggest names in cinema. A must watch for movie buffs.

It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a cop movie, so it was nice to visit the genre again. End of Watch is the story of two young Los Angles cops on the beat. Following them for about a year, Brian and Mike are not only partners on the force, but really good friends. Through their everyday job the stumble upon a very deep rooted and dangerous criminal organization that does not want anyone disturbing their business.

End of Watch is shot documentary style and that’s my biggest problem with it. There’s no need for it as the filmmakers didn’t stick with the idea. It’s set up so that Brian is going to school on the side and one of his electives is a film class, so he has a hand held camera and two cameras that he has pinned to the chest of himself and Mike. So that’s where most of the footage you see “comes” from. Sometimes other people have cameras too, like a gang banger sitting in the back of a car on their way to a drive by. But throughout the movie, you see camera angles that don’t fit this set up. Cameras disappear and come back, traditional steady cam shots are used in chases…it doesn’t make much sense to me. A few lines of dialog are said to explain the video camera footage, but what for? It wasn’t used and there was no benefit to it. I might be over reacting, but it stuck out to me for the entire film.

Aside from that, I thought it was a great movie. I’ve heard a lot of grandiose praise for this flick which I think is a bit much, but it’s defiantly worth a watch. I like Jake Gyllenhaal a lot and he’s got great chemistry with Michael Pena. It’s well made all around, the banter between the two leads is fun even if there are a few dips into douchey bro cop territory.

Good times, I recommend it.

Part 2 was just released and looking back, I don’t think I talked about the first one!

Put simply, TDKR is one of the cornerstones of Batman lore. Written by Mark Miller and released in 1985 , Returns takes place 10 years after Bruce Wayne has hung up the cowl. Gotham is over run by gangs, the worst of humanity is eating the city from the inside. A weathered Bruce Wayne decides he can’t sit by any longer. Old foes re-emerge along with The Bat and the authorities are none to happy about any of it.

Returns has everything that makes Batman a fan favorite. Intensity, brains, brawn and honor. Even long past his physical prime, Bruce Wayne is a force of nature than no one can match. Having just watched Part 2, it’s the freshest in my mind. It is the strongest of the two with the stakes at the highest. Joker comes out of retirement and the carnage is legendary. The fight he and Batman have is the stuff of legend, and the dialog! Just dripping with brilliance (fantastic voice acting from everyone). The set up and follow through for every piece of this tale are just some of the best story telling around. The battle with Superman? Get outta here! Just tantalizing and euphoric action. Batman is the definition of bad ass.

Warner Brothers takes a lot of pride in their properties and they let this production team go to make the best Batman they could. The animation is fantastic (I can think of only one quick action that was really awful) and the soundtrack is simply epic in scope and scale.

The Chris Nolan pulled a lot of things from this source (and Year One for Batman Begins) and while there is a lot of questionable decisions in those movies for fans, Returns can be called the uncut Batman. The power and awe of one of America’s favorite heroes. Let me be clear; this is a story that is for adults. There’s a lot of grown up stuff in here in theme and violence. I’ve glossed over a lot of the details, if you’ve never read the book it’ll be a whole new world and fans can be assured that it does the source material justice.

Arguably perfect.

Seth MacFarlane successfully parlays his TV career to film with Ted, a fun story about two long time friends. One being Mark Walberg, the other a teddy bear come to life.

Ted holds a lot of ties to Family Guy, with a lot of the same cast and a similar sense of humor. There’s not as much “cut away to random act” for laughs and there are zero show tunes which probably explain how this movie did so well (half a billion world wide). It’s a good story that’s held together with great and funny characters. The idea is goofy but the filmmakers know this, acknowledge it and make it work. The CG effects that bring Ted alive onscreen is also a huge factor. He looks like a real character interacting with real people in the real world which can’t be understated at how important that is. If he looked fake it would have been distacting and taken a lot away from the movie since he’s in almost every shot. There’s a handful of weird looking parts where he doesn’t match the lighting in the room, but on the whole he’s really impressive.

I’m a fan of Seth MacFarlane for the most part, some of his shtick is dumb, but there is some hilarious stuff in this movie. It’s not gross out humor, but there is plenty of cursing, insults, sex and drug humor. Some of it is played out, some of it hits the mark. It’s one of the better comedies I’ve seen and even outside of that, it’s a great movie. It won’t appeal to everyone, but those people probably aren’t much fun to be around anyway.

The art of stop motion animation! True beauty in motion. I’m a big fan of the art form and the animation in ParaNorman is just eye popping.

Norman is a 11 year old who is special. He can see ghosts. His grandmother floats about the house and talks to him, much to the dismay of Norman’s father. “It’s one thing to be weird around your family, but in front of the whole town!?” Norman is an outcast, a loner, no one understands him. Except for Neil, who is also picked on and just won’t stop trying to be friends. Neil is the first out stretched hand to Norman.

With Norman’s gift, he’s given the task of saving the town from a 300 year old witch’s curse. She is going to raise the dead and Norman is the only one who can stop it. It’s a spooky and funny adventure that walks the line of horror and children’s story. There’s a certain amount of Ronald Dahl and Tim Burton approach to complex themes and visuals.

It can get pretty intense for younger viewers, but there is a really good story and message (bullies, stereotypes, judging others based on how they look) in ParaNorman. I’d say a kid 10 or older wouldn’t be freaked out and would really enjoy the ride. There’s some creepy moments followed by some good laughs, I’m really impressed at how well this movie walks a very precarious line. The animation really sells the tone of the movie.

Highly recommended.