Oz: The Great and Powerful

SF: A prequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, I fully expected to hate this but thankfully I didn't. The intro is one of the few that looks good in 3D and overall the film isn't bad. However it is not that great either, just alright. The effects are hit and miss, in that most of it looks great but there was loads that looked a bit unfinished. Maybe that was intentional. It deserves credit for keeping in line with the classic film and the cast do a fair job too. Good for a Sunday afternoon but a tad long for kids 6.5/10

50 Eggs: I liked this! It's an enjoyable adventure film, equal parts colorful, scary and funny. It's not a complex film but it's not as lightweight as most Disney, and it also contains enough odes to the original to make it feel like a genuine prequel, rather than a spin off. The pace does dip a little in the middle, but the finale is rousing and it's hard not to root
 for the good guys. Zach Braff makes a great monkey too. 8/10

DonkeyB: It felt very long to me. We saw a 3D screening and while as SF correctly points out the intro (another pop-up book style- layers of flat planes application) looks great [see also Beauty and the Beast], 3D presents a very serious problem for a film which is attempting to reproduce the almost psychadelic technicolor of the original film. Several times I removed the glasses and the screen was gloriously bright and vibrant, then I put my glasses back on and it was dull and had a slighlty green cast (no pun intended). I'm not sure why Mila Kunis had to wear leather effect leggings and rip off her bodice (to reveal another piece of ultra supportive female undergarment, its a family film), other than the fact that they had cast her. It lacked the magic of the original which I has the pleasure of watching on Friday afternoon, on a rare day off. As I commented to SF if you sat down with mummy on a Sunday afternoon to watch this Wizard of Oz, it would be bedtime by the time it finished. 5/10

Overall: 6.5/10

Project Jen- Leprechaun

Here we are it is finally time for the first exiting installment of Project Jen.

For more information on Project Jen head over to our Project Jen page at the top of the page, or click here or there.

Love Film have excelled themselves. Despite the fact that Leprechaun was the only high priority title in my rental list; they have instead sent me The Deep Blue Sea.

As you know from our review readers- I liked The Deep Blue Sea. In fact I liked it much more than the 8/10 I gave it. This is reflected in the fact that it won Best Film in the Prestigious 1st Annual Three Reviews for the Price of One Awards 2011, Terence Davies was my pick for Best Director, Rachel Weisz was robbed for Best Actress etc etc. It is a film which really sticks with you. I found myself thinking about it quite frequently over the following weeks. It was marvelous darling.

Then I see dispatched today is Marley and Me on Blue Ray.

I have already seen Marley and Me. I don't really need to see it again to tell you is is awful. I have already said it is One Green Dress. It really isn't even a green dress; I can't think of anything Ms Aniston has ever worn which would compare to how bad it is.

However, I will watch it.

I want it noted that it is not my fault that I didn't start at the beginning though.

I will leave this here as a place marker for Leprechaun until Love Film get their act together and send me a film about little Irish Men in Green outfits.

The Bourne Legacy

SF: This was as enjoyable as the Bourne Identity. Thankfully the plots of the old films aren't rehashed, Aaron Cross knows who he is and who he works for, queue action. Though you can see things coming and I'll concede it is a tad formulaic, at least I didn't find myself bored at any point. The actions fairly cool to watch, realistic and Jeremy Renner manages to pull it all off in the believable way we expect from the Bourne franchise. It was nice to see some actual character development for a change. SPOILER - I count 5/6 Outcome agents accounted for so there is one more unseen out there? 8/10

DonkeyB: Wow that's a high mark! It's nothing like as good as that, or any of the first three Bourne films. There are a lot of plot holes and the first 30 minutes is all cutting and captioning to try and shoehorn the film into the same time space as the last Bourne; quite irritating. Once it got going its not bad. Renner might be more believable as a super soldier (SPOILER ALERT- I thought he gave good stupid) than Matt Damon, but he's not as cuddly. Consequently Rachel Weisz's character's development isn't that believable. Plot device stolen from Limitless. 6/10

50 Eggs: I'm not a fan of the first 3 Bourne films. The plots didn't grip me and the action was fairly mundane. Bourne Legacy had the whiff of wringing the sponge one last time, so it was a surprise to me that this turned out to be my favourite. The story is less convoluted and talky, whilst the set pieces upped the ante without totally disregarding the fact that the franchise is supposed to be realistic. 6.5/10

Overall: 6.8/10

The Deep Blue Sea

SF: I can't say I liked or enjoyed this film. It was nothing short of emotional turmoil. It was agongy to watch. This was probably Rachel Weisz's best ever performance. My heart was broke right along with Hester. Almost too well written. 8/10

50 Eggs: There's no genetically modified sharks in this so I'm not going to watch it. n/a

DonkeyB: Well I almost cried, which is not that unusual. I think Weisz will win the Bafta she is simply superb. Terence Davies deserves some major credit for adaptation and directing too. 8/10

Overall - 8/10