Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Oz the great and powerful

Oz the great and powerful is a story of a small time magician who landed in Oz to fight the evil witch occupying Emeral City.

This another adaptation from children's fairy tale "Wizard of Oz" but this time, centering on the wizard and the question of his authenticity and his capacity to kill the wicked witch.  Meanwhile, Oz really seemed like a beautiful magical place.

Much of it really has to do with demythologizing the wizard.   Who is he in daily life, a man who makes empty promises?    When one finally accepts his finiteness and works from there, all potentials are unleashed, only to be used for good.

Rating: 3.5

Jack the giant slayer

Jack the giant slayer is a film about a poor young man who has to rescue the fair princess after a magic bean sprouted into a plant and at a rapid pace, uproots the whole house and takes it to the land of the giants.

Adapted from a fairy tale, this film seeks to explore more the world of children's fantasies on what lies above the heavens and to discover whether people up there are good or bad, or they are giants or little people like us.  It's interesting to put a twist in a fairy tale and develop it into a set of people, giants, who since time immemorial, have conflicts of power with people of the earth.

This film does not in any way offend the Christian concept of heaven and earth.  Human reality points to people as they use and abuse power.  Sooner of later, even "giants" submit to a higher power while One using power should at all times be just and responsible, all for the greater order of things.

Rating: 4/5