Open Letters Monthly: Oz the Great and Powerful

Just in case you thought that there were still some sacred things out there, Disney popped out a prequel to the 1939 classic (and perennial top 100 movie) The Wizard of Oz this past weekend. While Oz the Great and Powerful is questionable to overtake the popularity of the film and book series that inspired it, I have to admit a certain fascination with the world and wonders of Oz, and even if you're a movie purist you have to admit some of your own. The real question is whether it makes James Franco worth watching.

Carnival magician Oscar Diggs wants to achieve greatness, to be one of the greatest men of all time. Unfortunately, he's a two-bit philanderer and actor, with his true self nowhere near the surface. When a twister violently whisks him to the world of Oz, he is immediately assumed to be a wizard of great power, tasked with ridding the land of the mysterious and evil Wicked Witch. But while he at first is only interested in riches, he quickly learns the benefits of his abilities, and strives to be the great and powerful wizard the people of Oz imagine need him to be.

Oz the Great and Powerful is directed by Sam Raimi and stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff and Joey King.

Click here for the full review at Open Letters Monthly.

Open Letters Review: The Bourne Legacy

I love the Bourne films. Starting with 2002's Bourne Identity, we were introduced to Jason Bourne, an amnesiac, kick-ass super-agent played surprisingly by Matt Damon (remember, this is back when people thought his running Ben Affleck would be a bigger star), and the movie featured twists, action and excitement on unprecedented levels for the time. After the conclusion of Damon's trilogy, the studio decided to look into the fallout of Jason Bourne's actions by telling the story from another genetically-modified agent, this time Jeremy Renner's Alex Cross.

When Jason Bourne threatens to expose the actions of the United States black ops group Treadstone, it sets off a domino effect. Outcome, and its chief Eric Byers, decide to play it safe and liquidate the program, to take the accumulated data and start over elsewhere. Unfortunately for people who work at Outcome, that means murdering agents, scientists and support staff to wipe out all record of the program. Two people who refuse to go down are agent Alex Cross and virologist Dr. Marta Sheering, who find they need one another's help if they're going to survive this government coverup.

The Bourne Legacy is directed by Tony Giltroy and stars Jeremy Renner, Edward Norton, Rachel Weisz, Louis Ozawa Changchien, Stacy Keach, Joan Allen, David Strathairn, Scott Glenn and Albert Finney.

Click here for the whole review at Open Letters Monthly.