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Reviews
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005)
A sad state of affairs
This is definitely the worst Muppet movie I've ever seen. Not only does it contain inappropriate material for children but the story is hardly recognizable (excuse me, this is supposed to be the "Wizard of Oz"?) and even when it is, it's not very entertaining. Have the Muppets lost their way without Jim Henson at the helm?
Apparently Hollywood defines a "family film" as containing entertainment on both child (silly stuff) and adult levels (sex, innuendo and violence). I'd argue that a good family film finds creative ways to engage the audience without the unnecessary elements so common in entertainment today. Do they really need skin and innuendo to sell a family oriented movie? I think not and past Muppet movies have done a much better job at this. We still quote "The Muppet Movie" around my house. Who could forget the following lines?
El Sleezo Tough: Hey, hey! Have you messed with my girl?
Kermit: Uh, I...
El Sleezo Patron: He did so. He touched me.
El Sleezo Tough: Uch. Wash up, you'll get warts.
Kermit: That's a myth.
El Sleezo Tough: Yeah, but she's *my* "myth"!
Kermit: No, no, myth, *myth*!
Myth: Yeth?
On top of that, "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz" just wasn't very entertaining. There were only a few scenes that actually generated laughs in my household. One of those was the quite entertaining scene in which Quentin Tarantino is describing how an upcoming Muppet fight scene should be filmed. Fast forward to that scene; press stop when it's over. Overall, there were far more groans and mutterings about inappropriateness in my living room than laughs.
-dougl
Beat the Devil (1953)
Unimpressive
I wouldn't say this was a bad movie, but rather uneventful in my opinion. The only thing that kept me watching was the screwball element. You never knew what might happen next, esp. with Jennifer Jones (Gwendolen Chelm).
Overall, I wouldn't recommend this as one of Bogart's best works. And poor Peter Lorre is old and fat in this one!