Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) / afternoon in the land of Oz

"How hard can it be to kill a Wicked Witch?"

I was one of the seven people at the 3:45 pm showing of Oz the Great and Powerful last Friday. I hoped I'd be all by myself; in the last couple of months I have, a couple of times, come very close to attending a private screening, but unfortunately that luxury is still waiting to happen. I bet the cinema staff knows me as the poor lonely girl who goes to unpopular matinees all by herself. Haha.

I had no great (or powerful) expectations towards the movie, but I like the stories about Oz and I like Kansas and there's Mila Kunis, so I decided I'd go see it. And, yes, all the Wizard of Oz references were awesome, I loved how much good old Kansas sucked, and Mila Kunis and her character were pretty much the best thing about the whole thing. On the other hand, it was pretty Disney (in both good and bad ways, mostly bad), and it relied far too much on CGI and bright colors and fancy, made-up creatures. And even though I love all that, from bright colors to Disney (even bad Disney), you need more than that for a movie to be great. They won't be still watching and making origin story prequels to this one in seventy years...

The thing about prequels is that it's pretty much impossible to live up to the original. There is no true suspense because we know how things will turn out in the end, more or less. The climax is not truly satisfying, because it's not a happy end, it's a happy middle, and we know that in a few decades all hell will break loose again, and that's when the real hero arrives and saves the day for real. This Oscar person has got nothing on Dorothy: she killed two Wicked Witches, while he kind of just created one. Granted, he does own some nice machines that make pretty illusions.

The acting was somehow really awkward, or at least a bit strange, but then again, maybe it was supposed to be. I definitely got a very strong Wizard of Oz vibe every now and then, so maybe the acting wasn't bad, maybe it was just somewhat weird to see all these famous, modern (and great!) actors like James Franco and Michelle Williams go all 1930s. I don't know.

What I did love about the movie was the feeling of good old nostalgia. It's not that I am completely entitled to feel huge amounts of nostalgia about a film I have seen only twice in my life, both times within a few years, but you know me. I have nostalgia for dinner. The transition from black and white to rich, bright colors was expected, but still very cool. I was hoping they had included a change from 2D to 3D to the transition as well, because that would've added greatly to the effect, but I guess the Kansas part was too lengthy, and if it had been all 2D, they couldn't have charged the whole 3D extra for the tickets. Hah.

I also liked that the China girl was from Chinatown. I liked the Munchkin song. I liked the Yellow Brick Road and the poppy field and the lion, and the flying monkeys that were so scary I felt sorry the kids, and myself. I liked that a villain got a backstory, proving that everything is evil for a reason. I love when they do that. I liked the fireworks and Oz's final trick gave me goosebumps. I wanted to see some ruby slippers, and was a bit disappointed when I didn't.

Oz the Great and Powerful is essentially a Disney adventure, and we have to take all the good and bad things that come with that. At least the lion is far less annoying in this one, compared to the original.

"Kansas is full of good men. I don't want to be a good man. I want to be a great one."

(Nah. You just go stand behind your curtain, while we go back to 1939 to see someone save Oz for real.)

Black Swan (2010) - release the darkness from within

directed by Darren Aronofsky / starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassell, Mila Kunis

 I had better luck today: the projector at the cinema actually worked! So now I've finally seen Black Swan. Before the praising commences (I've been reading Jane Eyre again and that old English is quite catchy!), I want to complain about something. I often go to movies alone, like, I'd imagine, many people do. So I went to see The King's Speech, alone. This is the dialogue that occured at the counter. Me: "Hi, The King's Speech, please." The girl at the counter: "One?" Me: "Yes." Okay. Then, yesterday. Me: "Hi, ONE for Black Swan, please." TGATC: "Anyone coming to sit next to you?" Me: "... No." Today, the girl at the counter gave me one ticket without asking questions. Then I get to my seat and a couple of rows below me there is a girl from my year and the first thing she says is: "Are you alone?" Me: (sigh) "Yes, I am." Just let me go to movies by myself, okay? It doesn't bother me, it shouldn't bother you. Gee...

And actually, I'm very happy I went to see Black Swan by myself. I hate that awkward moment after a film like that ends and you quickly try to sweep the awe off your face and start casually chating with your friends. Now I got to stay in awe all the way back home. I still kind of am.

Black Swan is about Nina, an ambitious, passionate and talented ballerina, who lives to dance and settles for nothing less than perfection. She is cast as the Swan Queen in a production of Swan Lake, dancing the roles of both swans, the black and the white. The White Swan comes naturally for Nina, as she's reserved, graceful and vulnerable. Problem is the Black Swan, whose seductive, decadent and bewitching presence Nina finds hard to assume. Then there's Lily, the new girl who seems to have everything Nina lacks: she's loose, care-free, open and naturally flirtatious. The director of the ballet, Thomas, tells Nina the only person standing in her way is herself, but she's not so sure.

(OOOOH holy mother of... My flatmate just came to my door and said my name in a normal voice and I literally screamed and jumped about five inches to the air. I guess I'm still a bit paranoid after the film. I better sleep on it and continue tomorrow.)

Black Swan is... impressive. Very impressive. The haunting music and the camera angles create an ominous and oppressive mood that keeps you on the edge of your seat all the way through. There are hardly any lighter scenes or comic reliefs. The world from Nina's point of view is a cruel and selfish place, lacking love and compassion and kindness. She is fragile and insecure and as she tries to search her mind for its darker side, it slowly begins to fall apart. It is done very well and I might have had a few minor heart attacks because of the scariest scenes. Creepy, but brilliant.

Let us praise the female leads, then! Nina might've had trouble in finding the evil twin from within, but Natalie played both the White and Black Swan perfectly from the beginning. Enjoy that fully-deserved golden statue, momma! And Mila Kunis fits wonderfully in the role of the playful Lily. I also liked Winona Rider's minor role as the bitter ex-superstar ballerina.

It was fun watching the scenes with Natalie and her then-choreographer/now-fiancé Benjamin Millepied. I kept a hopeful eye for some secret mutual glances and lingered touches, but unfortunately didn't spot any. Natalie was right, he is a good actor! I totally believed he didn't want to sleep with her!

 Ballet is such a beautiful form of dancing and the Swan Lake is such an emotional and powerful story, with score to die for. Just a few tones of the melody of that final act gives me a huge rush of goosebumps. The last scenes of the film kind of blew me away and there's just one word to describe it: perfect. Black Swan is an impressive film that will linger in your mind long after the last frame fades away. (And I bitterly add it to the list of films that I think would've deserved the Best Picture Oscar more than you-know-what. (No, I'm still not quite over this.))

"How about I dance the Black Swan for you?"