This week's new films - Sam Raimi's "Oz, the Great and Powerful" and "Dead Man Down" - were both admirable in their own right, but I can't wholeheartedly recommend either picture.
Raimi's "Oz" movie certainly had large shoes to fill. So, you have to give him credit for getting some things right, especially a clever ending during which nothing short of the magic of filmmaking itself is used as a weapon against some very wicked witches. I just wish the film were more, let's say, Raimi-esque.
"Dead Man Down," on the other hand, is a moody thriller that builds and builds, keeping us guessing in an intriguing sort-of way before culminating in a completely over-the-top action sequence. All in all, it's not a bad film. But it doesn't quite do the trick. The movie is the first English-language picture from Niels Arden Oplev ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo") and I'd compare his American debut to Chan-wook Park's first, the recent "Stoker," in that neither quite blew me away, but each had merits.
Here are my Patch reviews.
I'm very sorry to say that I did not catch Cristian Mungiu's "Beyond the Hills," but plan to do so during the week this week. Therefore, I'll include it in my roundup of next week's films, which include "Spring Breakers," "Reality," "The Call" and "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone."
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