Now Playing: Oz, the Great and Powerful

I’m not entirely certain why it took us three weeks to get to Oz the Great and Powerful but there you have it. After frolicking bunnies and resurrected hippies, Easter Monday saw us back in the theatre. We had taken so long, that we were relegated to the smallest screen at the multiplex.

A word of advice: if you haven’t watched The Wizard of Oz, you should. As Jadek can attest, half the movie’s suspense and drive comes from the watching the 1939 classic. So, once you ‘ve watched that, you’re good to go.

I liked the homages to the original (starting out in black-and-white, going from mono to full-on digital audio, the gingham and the bubbles) and I really liked the “twists” in the story. What I loved was the constant lookout for a certain green-skinned lady: she doesn’t show up for a while and when she does… boy, was I surprised. The one thing I didn't ever understand about Oz is this: why put this inept man in charge of Oz when there's a perfectly good Glinda around?

Well shot, well-paced, well-acted, and well worth your money. I’d go see it. 3.5 out of 5 stars.