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Disneys fantastical adventure Oz The Great And Powerful, from the director of the Spider-Man trilogy, follows Oscar Diggs (James Franco) , a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics. When Diggs is hurled away to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks hes hit the jackpot - until he meets three witches (Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams) , who arent convinced hes the great wizard everyones expecting. Reluctantly drawn into epic problems facing Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before its too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity - and even some wizardry - Oscar transforms himself into the great wizard and a better man as well.
AMAZON.COM
For sheer visual splendor, Oz the Great and Powerful is hard to beat. Even before the hot-air balloon of carnival magician Oscar "Oz" Diggs (James Franco) gets swept up in a tornado and hurled to the Technicolor land of Oz, the sepia tones of Kansas have a lush, almost velvety texture. Once Diggs arrives in Oz, he learns of a prophecy that he might be the wizard to free the land from the grips of a tyrannical witch--and from there, the movie juggles visual delights with a story that is regrettably half-baked. Some sequences and characters are skillfully realized (a little girl made of china is perfectly developed, both visually and narratively) , while others seem propped up like cardboard cutouts. (Unavoidable comparisons to The Wizard of Oz, a masterpiece of vividly drawn characters, dont help.) Franco doesnt have the theatricality one might want for a carnival huckster, but fortunately his low-key performing style helps to ground the bright spectacle in human emotions. As witches wicked and good, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, and Michelle Williams all display charm and verve. The movie is flawed, but when Oz the Great and Powerful hits a right note, merging wonder and fear, dazzle and darkness, its easy to forgive the weaknesses. --Bret Fetzer
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About the Author
James Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, film producer, author, and painter. He began acting during the late 1990s, appearing on the short-lived television series and starring in several teen films. In 2001 he played the title role in Mark Rydell's television biographical film , which earned him a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film. Franco achieved international fame with his portrayal of Harry Osborn in the trilogy. Since then, his films have included the war film (2005) , the 2006 romantic drama , and Justin Lin's drama (2006) . In 2008, Franco starred in the comedy stoner film and received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. He played a prominent role in the 2008 biographical film . In 2010, he played the lead role in as Allen Ginsberg, and , a film about Aron Ralston, an American mountaineer who cut off his own arm to free himself after he was trapped beneath a boulder. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance. In 2010, Franco published a collection of short stories called The book is named after the California city where Franco grew up and is dedicated to many of the writers he worked with at Brooklyn College. The book has received mixed reviews; called it "the work of an ambitious young man who clearly loves to read, who has a good eye for detail, but who has spent way too much time on style and virtually none on substance". said that "The Hollywood star's foray into the literary world may be met with cynicism in some quarters, but this is a promising debut from a most unlikely source. "
