Consciously evoking the structure and iconography of MGM’s classic The Wizard of Oz without attempting to rival its impact, Disney’s Oz the Great and Powerful can be enjoyed, up to a point, on its own colorful, diverting but finally rather futile terms. Offering an eye-tickling but gaudily depersonalized Land of Oz populated by younger, sexier versions of well-known characters (most incongruously the Wicked Witch of the West), this elaborate exercise in visual Baum-bast nonetheless gets some mileage out of its game performances, luscious production design and the unfettered enthusiasm director Sam Raimi brings to a thin, simplistic origin story. more »
Guess who's not in Kansas, anymore? That would be James Franco in Oz The Great And Powerful. He plays two-bit magician Oscar Diggs who rides a hot-air balloon into a cyclone and travels from a dusty black-and-white world into a vibrant colorful one populated with munchkins and witches, played by Rachel Weisz, Mila Kunis and Michelle Williams. more »
If you’ve seen the red band trailer for Ted, in which Mark Wahlberg plays a grown man whose best friend is his talking teddy bear, you may think you’ve seen the whole thing: Beware the comedy trailer that’s so packed with hilarity that you just know it’s cobbled from the best bits in the movie. But miraculously, Ted manages to sustain itself.
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Patricia Clarkson is hot, and proud of it -- just don't call her a cougar. The veteran actress addressed the plight of the older woman (and older actress in Hollywood) while playfully discussing her latest film, Friends with Benefits, in which she co-stars as Mila Kunis's free-spirited, sexually aggressive mother.
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This Marine Corps. Ball business is getting out of hand! A week after Friends with Benefits stars Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake received their invitations to various Marine Corps. Balls from members of the armed forces, Betty White was asked out by Sgt. Ray Lewis. Sadly, White declined, leaving poor Sgt. Lewis dateless. And that's when Linda Hamilton stepped in.
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Speaking with press over the weekend in Santa Monica to promote his new romantic comedy, Friends with Benefits, Justin Timberlake almost got away without answering questions about his latest venture -- the still-mysterious rebirth of social networking site MySpace. Despite journalists being asked not to pose personal questions to the star, the inquiry was put to Timberlake: What exactly is going on with MySpace?
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Disney's fantasy prequel pic Oz, the Great and Powerful has set its final witch, Glinda: Michelle Williams, who will team up with James Franco's snake oil salesman/"Wizard" to vie against evil sisters Rachel Weisz (the Wicked Witch of the East) and Mila Kunis (The Wicked Witch of the West) for control of Oz. Word on the street has Franco's salesman as a ladykiller who breezes into Oz and finds himself in the middle of a magical power struggle with romantic plot threads. In other words: Ding-Dong, the Wizard is a pimp. [Variety]
Rachel Weisz may be filling up her dance card with a role opposite Jeremy Renner in the Bourne spin-off The Bourne Legacy, which films this September. But she's also set to play Mila Kunis's mean older sister witch in Sam Raimi's Oz: The Great and Powerful. Here's to hoping it works out with her busy slate, which has her set to open at least six other films in the next two years. (That's a whole lotta Weisz, but who's complaining?) [Deadline]
Backstage at the Spirit Awards Saturday afternoon, Darren Aronofsky was in a jaunty mood. And why not? With Black Swan's two biggest Oscar rivals, The Social Network and The King's Speech, absent from competition at the penultimate awards show of the year (TSN excluded by budget, TKS relegated to the foreign film category), the night belonged to Aronofsky's stylish psychological ballet thriller. So after Black Swan took home Best Cinematography (Matthew Libatique), Best Actress (Natalie Portman), Best Director, and Best Feature, Aronofsky took to the winners' room to have some fun with the press.
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