video review : Oz The Great And Powerful

video review : Oz The Great And Powerful

This is a Disney prequel to The Wizard Of Oz that focuses not on Dorothy but The Great And Powerful one himself. It’s a story that didn’t need to be told; I would’ve preferred a sequel; but it’s nonetheless a wondrous one.

The fun begins when Oz, a full-time magician and part-time casanova, gets caught in a Kansas twister and conjured off to Oz. The land shares his name by chance, but the people there think he’s the awaited King, so he plays along.

The plot is a little cartoony at times; the Knuck character is particularly annoying; but it’s mostly an adventure as Oz, like Dorothy before (after) him, is joined by a cast of eccentric friends on his way to kill The Wicked Witch.

my rating : 4 of 5

2013

video review : Black Swan

video review : Black Swan

I don’t get the aesthetic allure of ballet. What I appreciate on a sexual level is watching dainty girls parade around in tights. If Black Swan is a realistic representative of the ballet world, I’m not alone in my perversion. Lewd sex is a major theme here. It’s a driving force for nearly every major character. Even the relationship between mother and daughter had me anticipating a sex scene between the two.

The problem is that the story is too ambiguous. The diegetic reason for that is because Nina, the dancer it revolves around, tends to hallucinate. She apparently has a major mental disorder, perhaps brought on by said Mommy, whom she still lives with and clings to at the age of twenty-something. Black Swan, a movie that wasn’t really engaging in the first place, soon loses its way in a barrage of horror-flick clichés.

my rating : 2 of 5

2010