3 Razors

Oz the Great and Powerful

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Oz the Great and Powerful
  • IMDB: link

Oz the Great and PowerfulThere’s no Scarecrow, Tin Man, or Cowardly Lion, but by the end of Oz the Great and Powerful the stage will be set for a young girl from Kansas to make her own journey to Frank L. Baum’s magical land of Oz. This completely original script by screenwriters Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire offers us the origins of the great and powerful Wizard of Oz (James Franco), who, as the film opens (in black and white), is nothing more than a traveling carnival magician and con man on the dusty plains of Kansas.

The first quarter of our story is centered around presenting Oz in his own world before whisking him away to the magical land of Oz via the most likely transport: a tornado. Franco is well cast as the smarmy, selfish, womanizing, con man wishing for greatness (but too lazy to work for it), with an unquestionable greed for fame and fortune and an uncomfortable relationship with the truth. Oz’s myriad of failings leads to a hasty escape from the carnival that traps the magician’s hot air balloon in the middle of a Kansas twister leading to a journey somewhere over the rainbow.

…

Oz the Great and PowerfulRead More »

Oz the Great and Powerful Read More »

The Lone Ranger #13

/ / Comics

The Lone Ranger #13In another stand alone tale, the Lone Ranger and Tonto’s travels take them to the Northern Colorado Territory where the pair take on Melton Coy who makes his money by selling Chinese women to the discerning buyer, for the right price. After scoping out the operation undercover, the Ranger and Tonto ride into town to take down the entire operation.

Before the day is done the women will be freed and on their way with enough silver to begin their new lives far from the town which allowed such wickedness to continue and is burning to the ground behind them.

The issue works well providing a villain that almost makes the Lone Ranger loose his temper. There’s also a couple of nice scenes where the Lone Ranger earns the womens’ trust first through his badge and later through a single silver bullet. That final piece also ties into the issue’s opening scene at an Antiques Roadshow where a woman with family heirloom and a legendary story about her grandmother’s grandmother adventure with a masked man helps set the stage for what follows. For fans.

[Dynamite, $3.99]

The Lone Ranger #13 Read More »

John Dies at the End

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: John Dies at the End
  • IMDb: link

john-dies-at-the-end-poster

Based on the comic-horror novel of the same name by Cracked editor David Wong and brought to the screen by writer/director Don Coscarelli, John Dies at the End is a bizarre dark comedic horror film about a powerful hallucinogenic drug known as Soy Sauce, parallel universes, time travel, the heroic nature of dogs, and an alien invasion that threatens all life on the planet Earth.

We’re introduced to our main character, David Wong (Chase Williamson), as he tells his unbelievable story to reporter Arnie Bloodstone (Paul Giamatti). Through long flashbacks we see the events that have led David to a Chinese restaurant to unburden his soul. Of course by the time we meet David he’s already addicted and high on Soy Sauce, which makes him the definition of an unreliable narrator whose words (and, at times, admitted lies) can only be taken at face value.

The story really begins with David’s best friend John (Rob Mayes) who scores some Soy Sauce off a fake magical Jamaican (Tai Bennett) one night at a party and changes both their lives forever.

…

John Dies at the EndRead More »

John Dies at the End Read More »

Jack the Giant Slayer

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Jack the Giant Slayer
  • IMDb: link

Jack the Giant Slayer

Turning fairy tales into big budget live-action CGI extravaganzas seems to be all the rage in Hollywood right now. Director Bryan Singer‘s Jack the Giant Slayer, the retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, is an inarguably flawed film, but it’s certainly a step up from similar recent films such as Snow White and the Huntsman, Mirror Mirror, and even Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.

Singer’s modest success comes from casting two likable young stars (Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson), clever work in the editing room, some (mostly) good special effects, and fun supporting performances from the likes of Ewan McGregor, Ian McShane, and Stanley Tucci as the film’s dastardly villain Roderick who plans to use the giants to seize power in the kingdom and beyond.

The plot to Jack the Giant Slayer is relatively straight-forward. We’re given a hero’s journey as Jack (Hoult) sets out to prove his worth by helping to rescue Princess Isabelle (Tomlinson), whom he secretly loves, from an army of human-eating giants at the top of Jack’s beanstalk.

…

Jack the Giant SlayerRead More »

Jack the Giant Slayer Read More »

The Lying Game – Bride and Go Seek

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: The Lying Game – Bride and Go Seek
  • tv.com: link

The Lying Game - Bride and Go Seek

Everyone gathers for Theresa (Yara Martinez) and Dan’s (Tyler Christopher) wedding, everyone except for the missing bride-to-be who no one has seen since she left her engagement party early for her late night stakeout. Dan and Ethan (Blair Redford) begin searching for Theresa, but all they find is an empty apartment, her wedding ring, and other signs which point to her leaving town. Tensions continue to rise between both Ted (Andy Buckley) and Kristin (Helen Slater) and Alec (Adrian Pasdar) and Rebecca (Charisma Carpenter) as each man continues to spend time with each other’s wife.

…

The Lying Game – Bride and Go SeekRead More »

The Lying Game – Bride and Go Seek Read More »