Veronica Mars (2014) Review

Veronica Mars

In the arena of moviemaking, the “Veronica Mars” film is something of a game-changer with it being the first feature-length film to be funded by Kickstarter. Less than a day after it went live, the page for the cult television series follow-up had met it’s goal of $2 million and eventually nearly tripled that number by the time production went underway. Now almost a year later, the film has made it to a limited number of theater screens alongside video-on-demand outlets for those who would prefer to watch at home. Those are the facts of the case. Looking at the film on its own terms is a whole other matter.

As her 10-year high school reunion approaches, Veronica Mars is in no hurry to return to her California hometown of Neptune as she gets ready to take an attorney job in New York City. She wants nothing to do with the place, and seems to be happy living with college boyfriend Piz. But trouble comes a calling when her old flame Logan is accused of murdering his singer girlfriend, and Veronica is pulled back into the seedy world of Neptune.

What’s most apparent from the start of “Veronica Mars,” after a quick recap of the basic story beats from the show, is that Kristen Bell’s talents have been totally under-served in the years since the show ended. Returning to the character that made her famous does wonders to show off her range as she effortlessly balances sarcastic wit with more dramatic situations. Underneath her miniature stature and good looks is a force of will ready to bring the claws out if necessary.

Seemingly everyone with a major role on the show returns here also, with some exceptions. Enrico Colantoni provides further proof of the unbreakably heartfelt bond between Keith Mars and his daughter, while Ryan Hansen’s Dick Casablancas is often around the corner to provide a good laugh. Given the story, Jason Dohring expectedly gets the most to do of the supporting cast. Logan has always been an enigma, someone who has a short fuse and keeps his motives close to the chest, and Dohring’s internalized performance holds that cloud of mystery.

It’s a shame that the actual mystery doesn’t carry the same weight. Series creator Rob Thomas and frequent writing partner Diane Ruggiero can spin a good yarn as it moves along, punched up by their snappy dialogue. However, the seams begin showing as Thomas indulges in character cameos, with the most egregious being a subplot for Weevil that is simultaneously rushed and awkwardly scotch-taped into the film to leave threads dangling for a sequel.

Giving old favorites their due is fun and all until it begins to get in the way of the important stuff, leaving the mystery resolution flat even as it serves up a tensely directed final encounter. More interesting is how the film handles Veronica’s character arc and how that fits into her larger story. As a narrative that takes place nearly a decade after the show ended, the film ends up feeling more like a return to the status quo than it does a full-on advancement.

However, a big part of Veronica is her addictive personality, always needing to scratch that itch fed by helping people out with their problems. Even when her actions turn self-destructive there’s an innate compulsion to dive back into a hairy position. The “Veronica Mars” movie generally feels like it’s dealing with a similar problem as it serves the fan desires that pushed forth its creation. Sometimes what a fan needs is more important than what they want, and Thomas often finds himself favoring the latter.

2.5/4

Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013) Review

“Oz: The Great and Powerful”

Prequels to classic movies are all the rage these days. There is plenty of them out there, but the problem is that few of them are complete successes. For every unquestionably good one, like “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” there are at least a few less-than-fully-satisfying ones like “Hannibal Rising” and the new “Star Wars” entries. This is understandable, as it is much harder to create the buildup to an already existing movie than it is to continue off said movie in a sequel. Still, Hollywood keeps on trying, which leads us to the most recent inclusion in the craze, “Oz: The Great and Powerful.”

Positioned as a prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” “Great and Powerful” follows the story of how the wizard himself came to power in the eternally green land. It turns out he was not really a wizard, but rather a magician at a traveling circus. His womanizing ways get him in trouble with the other circus mates, and in the midst of chase, a tornado arrives to pull him away in a hot air balloon. Once the storm dies down, he finds himself in the strange fantasy land of Oz (which is also his name), where he is greeted by the witch Theodora. She reveals that a great wizard was prophesized to save the land from destruction, and that he must be that very wizard. Reluctant as he is, Oz plays along with this, until he soon realizes that he will have to step up and be the hero of Oz everyone hopes him to be.

The basic storyline is nothing new; prophecies in fantasy plots, especially ones with witches, have been done to death. The real thrill is in the details that update the famous world for the 21^st century. The Oz land presented here is much more detailed than the one imagined for Dorothy Gale in 1939, and while plenty of it is done with (impressive) computer effects, the use of real sets and props whenever possible grounds the movie in its established reality. From a technical standpoint, between the special effects, costumes, and art design, “Oz” is near perfect.

When it comes to the casting, things get a little uneven. All of the supporting players are great in their roles, notably Rachel Weisz as the evil witch Evanora and Michelle Williams as Glinda the Good Witch. Williams arguably has the tougher job, since she has to compete with Billie Burke’s portrayal in the ’39 movie. She acquits herself well though, displaying both innate sweetness and wit as Glinda sees through Oz’s sham attitude. For Weisz, given that her character is not in the original film, she is able to act free of expectation and provides a sense of seething menace.

This a slight heads up, as the next paragraph will have some spoilers, so if you want to go into the movie completely blind then you can skip to the end of this review. I’m thankful that Weisz was present on villain duty, as Mila Kunis (Theodora) is not able to convey the same evil presence. She is fine at first, where her wide-eyed persona fits Theodora’s naïve nature very well, but once her character transforms into the Wicked Witch (yes, THAT Wicked Witch), her performance is less than convincing. Even without unfavorably stacking her against Margaret Hamilton’s iconic iteration of the character, Kunis is simply miscast for this part. She never quite finds the right tone in her voice to be a considerable threat, and the post-transformation makeup is less than great.

Meanwhile, James Franco, as the titular Oz, is the opposite of Kunis. Oz is meant to start out as a fake and a put-on, but Franco overplays the smarminess to a degree where it is hard to get into the character. Although as the movie and Oz’s character arc moves on, Franco settles into the role with his easy charm and humor. As good he gets, he is often upstaged by the sidekick characters, who are perhaps the best part of the movie. They may not be as memorable as the Scarecrow, Tin Man, or Cowardly Lion, yet Zach Braff’s flying monkey Finley is a consistently funny comic relief and Joey King’s China Girl provides an emotional backbone to the grandly surreal visuals.

Speaking of flying monkeys, the evil ones make a return here, and will most likely terrify children even more so than before. They also signify another successful part of this prequel, which are the references to the classic film. While most prequels crowbar in references as pure fan service simply to get reaction out of the audience, director Sam Raimi and writers David Lindsay-Abaire and Mitchell Kapner manage to successfully integrate them into the story without feeling forced. The sleeping poppy field is neatly incorporated into the third act conflict, the yellow brick road is ever-present without a character awkwardly pointing it out to the audience, and the wizard’s smoke illusion has a clever setup along with many more Easter eggs to find.

All in all, even with a couple acting issues, few prequels are as good as “Oz: The Great and Powerful.” It manages to both avoid the trap of predictably linking up perfectly with the original and at the same time setting up many of the elements that will come into play later in the story of Oz. Although it has the impossible task of living up to an untouchable piece of cinema, “Great and Powerful” is a competent follow-up that finds the right tone to appeal to both audiences young and old. It is certainly better than 1985’s disturbingly traumatic “Return to Oz.”

3/4