vinyarb

This prequel / origins story is set 20 years before Dorothy Gale blew into the mystical land of Oz. This time, the story centres around Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time magician in a travelling circus, and how he comes to be the titular Oz in the land coincidentally named after him.

There it is! The entrance to OooOoooOz

A serial playboy, Oscar inadvertently hits on the circus strongman’s wife. Escaping in a hot air balloon, he gets twirled into a tornado, and winds up in the Land of Oz. Once there, he is received by the witch Theodora (Mila Kunis), who is certain he is the wizard prophesied to be the wizard to overthrow the wicked witch.

He immediately assumes the position, not knowing the true extent of the wicked witch’s power. Along the way, he enlists the help of a flying monkey Finley, and a living china doll. He also meets the other witches Evanora and Glinda, as well as the folks in Oz. Over the course of the film, we go over the predictable arc of Oz’s character transforming from a selfish charlatan to a responsible and mature man.

The film is directed by Sam Raimi (Drag me to Hell, Spiderman 1 2 3). But it feels like he is channeling Tim Burton, albeit with much less flair for the quirky and colourful.

At the end of it all, the only thing great and powerful is Rachel Weisz’s ability to look so good at 43.

Rating: 5/10

Definitely, a witch.. and she’s been very, very wicked.

I have a huge soft spot for Actor-Director Extraordinaire Stephen Chow, and grew up mostly on his slapstick antics such as the “Fight Back to School” and “God of Gamblers” franchises.

Proving that he wasn’t just a funny actor, he went on to direct himself in God of Cookery and King of Comedy. Since then, it seems the directing bug’s caught on for good, and he went on to find huge success in Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle, both of which got rave reviews in Hollywood.

Long time fans will know that he played the role of Monkey King in 1994’s two-part film A Chinese Odyssey. He returns this time to the source material, but stays completely behind the scenes as director.

Not exactly the threesome i was hoping for…

In this prequel/re-imagining/origins story, Chen Xuan Zang (Wen Zhang), a pre-enlightened Tripitaka, is a newbie demon hunter, our to change the world and rid evil with nothing but his positivity and a book of 300 Nursery Rhymes.  Along the way, he is assisted by a real demon hunter Bai Gu Jing (the ever lovely Shu Qi), who will help in capturing the 3 core demons in the film; a water demon, a pig demon, and the Monkey King (all 3 of whom will eventually escort Tripitaka to collect the scriptures in India)

The film structure is thus segmented into 3 distinct parts, each with its own setup. The opening sequence is especially riveting, centering on a remote fishing village and its brush with the water demon, followed by a visit to a restaurant where the pig demon is the head chef, and a final showdown with arguably the most fearsome demon in the entire Journey to the West folklore, the monkey king. (And Stephen Chow is not afraid to make the monkey king ugly and loathesome)

I’m warning ya, don’t make fun of my costume..

Stephen Chow, while noted for his brand of physical, slapstick comedy, has in recent years shown a lot more heart in his films, and here, its shown in the movie’s final moments as Xuan Zang shares a tender moment with Shu Qi, referencing an oft used line in his 1994 A Chinese Odyssey films.

An entertaining film, but it could be so much better, if he’d star in it.

Rating: 7/10