Oz- The Great and Powerful

Billed as a prequel to the classic 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz, this is the story of a small-time magician who is swept away  (yes, in a hot air balloon during a Tornado) to the enchanted land of Oz and has to battle three witches.

James Franco plays Oz and although he was good in 127 hours, he looked as comfortable in this as when he co-hosted the Oscars in 2011.  Perhaps he was comfortable but simply is not as good of an actor compared with the actresses that played the three witches: Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams.  Although the three women overshadowed the main actor, the reason to see this movie is because of the visual effects.  I like how like the 1939 classic, this movie starts off in black and white and then after the tornado, turns to color.  The vibrancy or the color when in Oz is simply spectacular.

I was disappointed in the movie but enjoyed it nonetheless giving it a near complete one thumb up pointing to the original classic or even the theatrical version of Wicked to watch instead.

Disconnect

Going into this movie, I had no idea what it would be like but it sounded interesting and Jason Bateman is an enjoyable actor.  Walking out of this movie, I was pleasantly surprised.

This is a drama about society's ability to communicate within today's wired world.  It contains simultaneous story lines dealing with the aforementioned communication issue, along with cyber-bullying, identity theft (not to be confused with that movie also starring Jason Bateman) and lastly child exploitation.

This hits on hot-button issues without lecturing or preaching and hopefully opening up dialogue among families and friends.

I give this a surprised 1 thumb up for the hope that viewing this leads to educated discussions and hopefully changes within our wired world.

Scary Movie 5

If you have enjoyed the first four of these silly parody movies, you will enjoy this too.  Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan are pretty funny like when Lindsay says "I pride myself in keeping a low profile, my private life is private."  Otherwise, Jerry O'Connell is funny as a Christian Grey type character and the other parodies (Black Swan, Paranormal Activity, Mama, Cabin in the Woods, Evil Dead, Sinister, Insidious, Inception and Rise of the Planet of the Apes) are funny too.

Silly thumb up as a budget theater or rental viewing.

Quartet

This is the directorial debut for legendary actor Dustin Hoffman.  This is the story of a home for retired musicians.  Every year on  October 10th, the musicians put on a concert to celebrate Verdi's birthday.  This year, there is an issue because the well-known diva Jean (Maggie Smith) is now a resident and she is the ex-wife of Reggie (Tom Courtenay).  Reggie and Jean's friend Wilf (Billy Connolly) and Cissy (Pauline Collins) provide hilarious and sometimes heart-breaking comic relief.

If you combine talented British actors/actresses and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra's Concerts on the square, this movie is the spark of their union.

The talent of the cast is so large that Dustin probably didn't have to direct much, just enjoy the ride which it seem all the cast did enjoy.

Be sure to watch the end credits for pictures of the supporting actors/actresses next to their performing career picture; I thought that was a beautiful touch.

I give this two thumbs up in an thumb standing ovation.

The Call

The Call is an intense film starring Halle Berry about a 911 operator.  This is a simple plot about how a 911 operator is affected by the calls she receives.  When a caller is an abducted girl (Abigail Breslin), the operator (Halle Berry) must come face-to-face with a killer from her past to help.  Halle carries the movie with her acting talent and Abigail shows much more than the funny girl from Little Miss Sunshine.

I would recommend this but at a budget theater or as a rental.  I give this one clenched fist up for suspense.