![]() ![]() There are zombies, skeletons, a witch, and apocalyptic pocket dimensions - though claims that the movie is a full-blown horror film are greatly exaggerated, even if it's undoubtedly the spookiest Marvel project to date. Raimi injects more personality and playfulness into the film's style than the Marvel format typically allows, using creepy point-of-view camerawork, unusual visual compositions, and throwback crossfades to spice up the usual superhero formula. ![]() The more self-contained side of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness unleashes the director to do what he does best. The side of the movie that conforms to Marvel Cinematic Universe norms is a bit of a drag: cameos, ill-timed humor, long-winded exposition scenes, and obligatory references to past and future projects all give the impression that the movie is on its hands and knees begging you to like it. Raimi's sequel to Scott Derrickson's 2016 film Doctor Strange follows Stephen Strange ( Benedict Cumberbatch) as he travels through parallel universes with America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) and Wanda Maximoff ( Elizabeth Olsen) to protect Earth from a powerful threat. If you liked Spider-Man 3, you might also enjoy: Birds of Prey (2020), streaming on HBO Max. But at the end of the day, there was no moving past Tobey Maguire's cringe-worthy pseudo-villain arc (don't even remind us of that body roll montage) and ultimately struggled to be taken seriously even by avid fans. And it boasts some of the more decent action and special effects sequences of the trilogy - the creation of Sandman and Peter's dizzying airborne battle with Harry are exemplary pieces of stylish blockbuster filmmaking. It's worth noting that Spider-Man 3 gives Mary Jane ( Kirsten Dunst) more attention than either of its predecessors, treating her as a co-lead instead of a prize for Peter to win. The almost campily melodramatic film uses conflicts with three distinct villains to explore the dark side of having superpowers: vengeful Harry Osborn (James Franco) represents Peter Parker's past failures, Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) allows Spider-Man to unleash some newfound rage, and Venom ( Topher Grace) provides an amoral reflection of Peter's unchecked power. The uneven trilogy capper was largely dismissed as bloated and silly upon release, but it's not that much sillier than the preceding two movies. ![]() If you liked For Love of the Game, you might also enjoy: Field of Dreams (1989), streaming on Starz. Reilly could buoy it - which is seriously saying something. What's left over is a project so devoid of fun that not even Brian Cox, J. But the film dedicates much more attention to Chapel's rocky relationship with Jane Aubrey ( Kelly Preston) than to the game itself, which is a major problem since the actors have negative chemistry. If For Love of the Game was just a movie about baseball, we might have ranked it higher on this list, as Raimi shoots the game with fitting energy and romanticism. It's Costner's third and final baseball movie, and it can't hold a candle to Field of Dreams or Bull Durham. The result is the strangest - and one of the worst - outliers in his filmography, a failed, generic crowd-pleaser about Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner), a fictional Detroit Tigers pitcher reflecting on his career during his final game. If you liked Oz: The Great and Powerful, you might also enjoy: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), streaming on HBO Max.Īt the end of a tumultuous decade in 1990s Hollywood, Raimi briefly pivoted to more conventional journeyman work. The whole sequence feels like an immersive theme park ride, and it's the only moment where the movie lives up to its potential, combining the director's knack for energetic suspense with the magic and wonder of the original Wizard of Oz.ĭespite solid efforts from Rachel Weisz, Mila Kunis, and Michelle Williams, the rest of the movie is a chore to endure, largely thanks to Franco's bafflingly low-energy performance. Frank Baum's iconic fantasy world, where he tumbles down a waterfall and encounters bizarre wildlife. There's one promising, delightfully Raimian sequence near the beginning, in which a tornado hurls a barrage of circus debris at the eponymous magician ( James Franco) and whisks him away to L. Oz: The Great and Powerful ranks among the worst of them, with a needlessly convoluted plot, irritating characters, and ugly, flat-looking digital environments. In the early 2010s, studios were eager to capitalize on the surprising success of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, which resulted in an onslaught of CGI-heavy reimaginings of fairy tales and children's stories. ![]()
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