Oz the Great and Powerful

Oz the Great and Powerful is a prequel to the iconic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and is also based on the novels of Frank L. Baum. It's set 20 years before the events of Wizard and follows Oscar "Oz" Diggs (James Franco) as he follows the same path to Oz that Dorothy would later take; that is, in a tornado. Once in Oz, he meets a variety of fantastical creatures, including a talking monkey, a girl made of porcelain and, of course, the infamous flying monkeys. We are also introduced to Glinda the Good Witch (Michelle Williams) and the bad witches (Rachel Weisz and Mila Kunis). So, where do I start on this one...this was not a good film. James Franco was woefully miscast. Though he perfectly conveyed the lying huckster side of the wizard, he couldn't sell his more redemptive qualities. As much as I like Michelle Williams and Mila Kunis, they both left me feeling cold. Michelle was a bit of a deer in headlights for the entire film and Kunis reverted to Meg (her character on Family Guy). There was one bright spot, though, Zach Braff voicing the talking monkey assistant.