OZ

[pieces o nine]

I have a soft spot in my heart for both Alice in Wonderland  and Wizard of Oz  inspired art, perhaps because they were among the first books I ever got to choose for my very own. (Black Beauty  was the third in that order, and I still have all three ancient paperbacks in a place of honor in my library.) But I digress.

The new release has been hyped to death of late, but I'd wanted to see it regardless, so I braved an opening weekend. It's been ages since I actually stood in line to see a movie, but I consider that part of the fun with this one. The theater was still packed at the last matinee showing, with two theaters and full schedules for both.

The previews were, overwhelmingly, for dystopian coming attractions, surprising for such a kid-oriented film. The couple behind me had a toddler inclined to kick the back of my seat and an infant which began wailing as soon as the main feature started, both of which were stopped before I had to turn around and glare untaddily at them. On the whole, a well mannered crowd with no ringing phones, shrieking kids, or queues of adults hauling children back and forth from bathrooms and concessions stand.

The opening titles are really beautiful! Based on antique card advertising with a little nod to classic circus and vaudeville billboards, they feature engraving-style graphics and antique typography, seemingly held before the camera with marionette rods. Cyclone effects in the sequence are created by a series of 'overlapping cloud cutouts' spun at slightly different rates, to create depth, drama, and a little homage to early Edison type moving pictures. I will probably acquire the dvd (once it drops from first release pricing!) just for the art of the title and credit sequences.

There were some nice bits for afficionados, such as the small, traveling "Baum Brothers Circus" venue for stage magician/fraud Oz. There was a bit about one of the girls he saw when in town on the circuit stopping by to announce her decision to marry local farmer John Gale. It was an entire scene, but not too heavy handed, and was, appropriately, never referenced again.

I wouldn't class this as a great film but I enjoyed it. I felt the production team did a nice job of creating a back story to the classic which hit all the right homage and style notes, and set the stage for the story to come. At the same time they presented a stand-alone story from some of the lesser known books and made good use of current technology to enhance their own vision.

I would recommend it.  

On a shamelessly self-promotional note, I'm going to change my desktop back to this.

[Griffin NoName]

On a shamelessly self-promotional note, I'm going to change my desktop back to this.

Spoke on Skype to my nearly 4 yr old grandaughter tonight. She is into stuff like Cinderella, and was heavily hinting that she would like to have glass slippers because two of her friends at pre-school have some........ what was most interesting was how someone that age can already hint without coming right out with it.

One of my favourite memories is going to a matinee of Jungle Book. The cinema was packed with children, and the constant sound of them "enjoying" the film was really moving.

[Opsa]

Th'Opsalette and I are dying to see Oz the Great and Powerful!

[Bluenose]

Mrs Blue and I went to see it yesterday, at least in part to take refuge from the heat.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I was a bit afraid it was going to be a re-hash of the original, a process that I usually don't enjoy, but this very well done and works excellently as a prequel.  I have never read any of the books although according to some of the reviews I have read over here the movie is faithful to them, I don;t know but it had the ring of authenticity to the storyline.  Regardless, it is a well crafted movie that does not trash its roots.  Recommended.

[Opsa]

The Ops family went to see Oz the Great and Powerful while we were at the beach this past Tuesday night, and I gotta say, I loved it.

The effects are lots of fun, but yadda to that. I don't really care about effects. I look for content, and I found it in this movie.

I believe that there is a whole message other than the misadventures of a would-be Wizard, when you read between the lines. I believe that the movie is really about relationships. Oz is an everyman. He thinks he is fooling everyone, and worries that he might be fooling himself, as well. He underestimates his talents because he thinks he is a phoney, deep down. The first two witches are the kind of people who expect too much of a mate. They want him to be their savior, to be perfect, and they want to control him. When he isn't perfect they punish him and destroy themselves. The last witch, Glinda, is an everywoman. She understands that Oz is not a wizard, that he is not perfect, that he cannot do everything and fix everything for her. But she also recognizes that he is wonderful for what he is and can do.

I love this message.