Task 37 - Oz The Great and Powerful

Task 37 - Watch a movie starting with every letter of the alphabet.
I recently went and saw Oz The Great and Powerful 3D at the Imax in Natick and have mixed feelings about if I liked it.

It started in black and white, set in a dusty mid western town and chronicled the life of a traveling circus magician (James Franco) who dreamed of greatness but was nothing more than a womanizing con artist. After wooing one too many girls he find himself being chased by the circus strong man who wants his head. As he narrowly escapes the clutches of that dangerous situation he finds himself in another as he escapes in hot air balloon that is being pulled directly into the vortex of a menacing tornado. 

The black and white fades to color as he returns to consciousness in the world of Oz. While the colors and beauty of the world of Oz were well done this is where the movie lost its appeal . After crash landing he meets Theodora (Mila Kunis) who explains to Oz his destiny as the wizard and would be king who will save the people of Oz defeat the evil witch that she and her sister Evanora (Rachel Weisz) are protecting.

After his grand entrance and introduction he is sent to kill Galinda (Michele Williams) in order to fulfill his destiny in order to be king as he was instructed by Evanora. Along his way to break Galinda’s wand he comes upon the broken china town. With the addition of the China Doll they continue on and find Galinda in a cemetery where he discovers that Galinda is not the evil witch but rather the last glimmer of hope for the people of Oz. Enraged by his fascination with Galinda Theodora is conned by the real evil witch to eat an apple which turns her green. Together they seek to destroy boy Galinda and Oz to finalize their control.

The acting by all 4 main characters seems primitive and hardly believable. Instead the corny commentary distracts from the story and leaves its viewers disappointed. The quirkiness of Oz distracts rather then adds to the appeal of the story. It just felt all too playful but perhaps it was my fault expecting a little more adult storyline. Sure, everything on screen is colorful, and the special effects are often beautiful to look at (especially during the film’s climax). But there’s nothing else about Oz that really hooked me in. Somewhere between that first hot air balloon ride and the film’s decent final moments, I nodded off as I learned about witches, talking monkeys, china dolls, and a quest to free the land of Oz from an evil witch’s curse.

This one for me was a disappointment and a waste of 13$.

Task 37 – “Tornado Alley” Movie Review

(37) Watch 26 Movies (8/26)

Movie: Tornado Alley

Rating: 3-Stars

Tornado Alley is currently playing at the Museum of Science's Mugar Omni IMAX Dome Theater. Dan and I decided to check it out and enjoy a beautiful sunny afternoon in the city. It was also an opportunity to use our Groupon tickets for the Mugar. This giant-screen adventure-film features a group of scientists and daredevil storm chasers. They chase a cast of swirling black tornadoes that leave swaths of destruction in their wakes in hopes of being able to better understand them.

It opens to the sound of driving rain and the solemn voice of Bill Paxton  saying "There is a place with more storms than anywhere on Earth." Then the title, "Tornado Alley," flashes across the screen above a scene of homes and businesses crumbled like doll houses. Tornado alley is a swath of North America between the Rocky and Appalachian mountains where three-quarters of the world's tornadoes occur.

It was filmed over eight years, most of the movie occurs in the tornado-prone states of South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
 

This movie is more a scientific exploration documentary then major motion picture action movie like the Hollywood blockbuster Twister in which Bill Paxton stared. The film has the same general ideas as Twister. Both followed a team of scientists trying to learn more about storms by capturing as much data as they can. It also features two teams one more disciplined and one more Wildman.
 

The disciplined storm chaser is Karen Kosiba who along with her team of researchers and scientists is part of a crew called VORTEX 2. They number over 100 with weather researchers from around the world. The VORTEX 2 team was looking more for elusive data than thrills like Wildman Casey and his crew who race after and into tornados in a seven-ton Tornado Intercept Vehicle (TIV-2) that looks like an armored car customized by Mad Max. The TIV-2 is equipped with a 92-pound IMAX camera inherited from his father and fitted into the TIV-2 like a cannon in a tank's turret.
 

The movie follows each team as they move a fleet of Doppler on Wheels radar trucks and pod teams in position to capture as much information about the storms as they can.
 

Tornado Alley doesn’t have a plot beyond the science and focused more on the downtime and the vehicles then on the action and what makes tornados an example of Mother Nature’s ultimate power. There was also an opportunity to dramatize a stylistic clash between scientists and thrill seekers but "Tornado Alley" doesn't capitalize on that drama and instead focuses on the science of chasing storms.

Dan and I both commented that we would have liked to learn more about the storms then on the people chasing them and as a result we were left with a feeling of having missed something and that the actual real dangers of "Tornado Alley" are less photogenic than portrayed in Hollywood movies.

Task 37 - "Sucker Punch" Movie Review

(37) Watch 26 Movies (5/26)

Movie: Sucker Punch

Rating: 4-Stars

Dan and I went and saw Sucker Punch at the Verizon IMAX Theatre at Jordan’s Furniture in Natick.  First let us talk about the theatre. The Verizon IMAX theatre features a screen that is seventy feet high, 12,000 watt surround sound, & 272 Tempurpedic seats with "butt-kicking" sub woofers built in to help you feel the action. This is definitely the way to see an action movie.

Now the movie. Sucker Punch is an epic action fantasy that takes the audience into the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality. It begins with the death of Baby Doll’s (Emily Browning) mother and the murder of her sister at the hands of her evil stepfather. A traumatized Baby Doll finds herself committed to a mental hospital where she is at the mercy of an unscrupulous orderly named Blue (Oscar Isaac) who arranged an unnecessary lobotomy to protect the stepfather in exchange for money.   With five days until the procedure she begins a journey to find freedom for her and fellow inmates Rocket (Jenna Malone), Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Blondie (Venessa Hudgens), and Amber (Jamie Chung). 

With the help from a Wise Man, their unbelievable journey…if they succeed…will set them free. The wiseman tells her that she must acquire 5 items to achieve freedom:  a map, fire, knife, a key, and finally an unknown item only Baby Doll can find. Each will require her to fight to get and to survive. She is convinced they work in a brothel where Blue is the Club Owner/Pimp and they are just tokens to satisfy the wealthy visitors he brings in.  When Baby Doll dances her audience is transfixed and she believes she and the girls engage in fantastical warfare against everything from samurais to serpents to capture the next piece of the puzzle.

The plan sadly unravels and three of the girls end up dead as their hits a roadblock and Blue discovers they are plotting an escape.  With only two girls left and one final roadblock to freedom Baby Doll realizes she must sacrifice herself to save Amber. The movie ends with her lobotomy completed and Amber finding freedom.