Movie #740 ........................."Oz: the Great & Powerful"

Movie #740 "Oz, the great and powerful" is not all that great or all that powerful, or even all that entertaining.Franco is .....well, how can I put this.....um....can I say awful? in it! and I like James Franco, sometimes. He recites his lines, esp. in the opening ---- the women work hard at getting their characters across from the get go (and the first actress he tries to charm), but he just delivers one bad line after another. The effects are cheesy --- I remember turning to Dave and saying, "now that effect was even better back in 1939" -- BUT, I have to comment on the little 5 year old girl next to me who squealed and squirmed and hid her head sitting next to us. First, she was too young to see this --- the bad guys get way up into your face and they are very scary. But it is appropriate and probably would be liked by the middle 7 and up group, I'm thinking. The dresses are pretty, some effects do work, and it goes with the original story kind of nicely. Let's just say all the ends are tied up by the end, and we are back to where we started ---- a reminder of just how great and powerful the original Wizard of Oz movie was back in 1939. Oz The Great and Powerful 2013 PG 2.5 stars out of 5 In this prequel to The Wizard of Oz, circus magician Oscar Diggs is magically transported to the Land of Oz, where he deals with three witches and uses his illusionist skills and resourcefulness to become the wizard the residents have been expecting. Cast:James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff, Bill Cobbs, Joey King, Tony Cox, Abigail Spencer, Martin Klebba, Bruce Campbell Genre:Family Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Family Adventures, Book Characters, Children & Family