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Fangirl Adventures

OZ: The Great and Powerful

OZ: The Great and Powerful

I love when movies surprise me.

I really had no expectations for OZ: The Great and Powerful. I was interested in seeing it, but I expected not to be impressed.  As a child, I never missed the primetime yearly showing of the The Wizard of Oz; however, I was never in love with it.  I never wanted to be Dorothy or wear her slippers, but I did love Toto. 

What I really loved about the new OZ is that it’s a nice throwback to what a family film used to be. It was fun, entertaining, well told and the visuals alone were worth the ticket price.  I don’t want to give any spoilers about the plot, but the film does a nice job paying homage to the original film by starting in sepia tone and moving into glorious color. Adults will love it because of the winks and nods to the original and just for the sheer journey back to OZ to see how it all began.  Kids will love it for all the reasons you loved the original, the magic, the world and the characters. 

 The performances are great all around, including James Franco as the Wizard, which I was the most concerned with, but he really proved himself to me in the last 45 minutes of the film.  I know originally the role was supposed to go to Robert Downey Jr. and, although I would have loved to see what he would have done with the role of the Wizard, Franco was good in the end.

Sam Raimi does a nice job directing, but don’t expect too many Raimi touches.  You can however expect a Bruce Campbell cameo, but I’m not saying where.  

Overall, if you’re at all curious about this movie, I recommend going to see it. It’s definitely a great family film and a nice way to introduce the kiddies to the wonderful land of OZ.  The 3D was nice, but I’m not going to say you have to see it that way.

Han Solo vs. Indiana Jones: Who would you choose?

With the recent rumors of a possible Han Solo origin movie, it got me thinking what’s my favorite Harrison Ford role, Han Solo or Indiana Jones?  

How can this Fangirl decide?  I can’t base my decision on which one’s better looking. This is Harrison Ford we’re talking about and both characters are easy on the eyes. They both have incredible charisma and charm, who could say no to either of them, especially when they flash that smile and say “Trust Me”.  I think I prefer Indy’s whip to Han’s gun…wait that kind of argument could get me into trouble and it won’t help me decide between the two. 

Looks like I’m back to square one, how can I choose?  When it comes down to it, if I were a damsel in distress, which one would I want to save me, Indy or Han?

Han would face the entire imperial fleet, go into a Carbonite freeze and take on a Death Star to save you all while giving great one-liners that would only make you love him more.  

 

Indy would travel through rat-infested sewers, take on a snake pit and fight the entire Nazi Army to save his treasure.  With that hat and whip he’d look damn fine doing it too. What girl wouldn’t swoon?  

Well, that decides it. I love them both!  I can’t choose between them.  Who could? 

What do you think? Men want to be them and women want to love them, but if you could only choose one, who would it be and why?  Leave your comments below. 

Till next time,

Lisa

Bullet to the Head - Rated R

 

I’m a child of the 80’s and as a result I love me a good action flick. The kind of movie with lots of shooting, swearing, killing, and no thinking required. Bullet to the Head is just that, a straight forward action movie that has a clear beginning, middle and end with no crazy plot twists in between to muck it up.  

Walter Hill has directed some of the more memorable 80’s movies like 48 Hrs., Southern Comfort and Brewster’s Millions (ok so the last one is not an action film, but I still love it).  Hill can still deliver a good action sequence and I enjoyed his no bullshit approach concerning the plot. It is what it is: an action movie.

 

Sly does a good job with his character Jimmy Bonomo, a tough New Orleans hit man out to avenge his partner’s murder.  I was a bit apprehensive about there being too many old man jokes, but they were kept to a minimum (unlike in Expendables 2) and it never distracted from the story.  Overall, he still looks good for his age, aside from some facial plastic surgery that may have gone wrong. Sly can still kick ass with the best of them.

I thought this was way better than Expendables 2 and if you’re a fan of Sly and have a soft spot for 80’s action then go see this movie.  If nothing else be sure you put it in your Netflix cue so you can rent it when it comes out!

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters rated R

Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton star in Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

There are three reasons I went to see Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

1) Jeremy Renner

2) Jeremy Renner

3) Exclusive IMAX poster. I’m a sucker for movie posters!

I really wanted to like Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.  Normally I never put any faith into movies that come out in January.  The studios release them during this month for a reason, but I let the trailer and the HOT Jeremy Renner cloud my judgment.  

You know the story. Poor Hansel and Gretel are left in the woods to fend for themselves when they stumble upon a house made of candy, what child could resist all that sugar?  Long story short, they slay the witch that tries to eat them.  Being orphaned, they become famous witch hunters traveling the land ridding it of witches that practice black magic and try to eat children.   A little different take from the original Brothers Grimm story but there you have it.

I thought the premise had potential. I have no problem with making fairytales into action movies. I loved the new version of Snow White and the Huntsman.  The look and grimness of that world would have worked well with Hansel and Gretel.  The issue I have with movies like this is I want the writer and the director to commit to the story.  Just because it’s based on a Fairytale or say a video game, does not mean you have to put extra gags in there so the audience knows that you’re not taking the story too seriously and if they’re not taking it seriously neither should you, the audience.   The director never commits to telling Hansel and Gretel’s story.  By the time we know the real back story of Hansel and Gretel I didn’t care because I had gotten there 45 minutes prior to the big reveal.   I’m still not sure what the director was going for. Was it supposed to be a serious movie or a spoof of the story?  As I described the movie to a friend of mine, he said it sounded like the director was going for an Army of Darkness kind of movie but just never achieved his goal.

Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton and Famke Janssen do their best with what they were given to work with.  One thing the director did right throughout the movie was Hansel and Gretel look hot kicking the witch’s asses!  If for nothing else, the ladies will enjoy a scene or two with a shirtless Renner and the men get to see Arterton in skin tight leather pants.  Poor Famke Janssen, she is so beautiful and we only see her for a short time that way, she spends most of the movie as a hideous witch.

Whether intentional or not, the movie did make me laugh out loud a few times.   The opening shot of the town is of a man selling bottles of milk with hand-drawn pictures of the villages missing children on them, but the biggest laugh of all:  “Spoiler Alert” we find out that Hansel suffers from the sugar disease, aka Diabetes!! Apparently he ate too much of the witches candy when he was a youngster and now has to live out his days making sure he takes his medicine every few hours or he will die!  I can see it now, Hansel and Gretel 2: The search for the sugar cure!  The best line in the movie, hands down, was at the end when the story comes full circle and they find themselves back at the original candy-covered cottage.  Hansel stares at the house and turns to his companions and says “Whatever you do, don’t eat the candy!”  I laughed so hard! 

Don't worry Hansel, it's diet!

If all you’re looking for is some sweet eye candy, then you’ll eat this movie up.  Just do it in moderation as to avoid getting the sugar disease!  This movie is a rental at best.  

Split vote! 1 thumb up for eye candy, 1 thumb down for everything else.