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Reviews
The Witches of Oz (2011)
Worst Oz Adaptation of all time
This is just so awful I can't even begin to describe it. This is BY FAR worse than Return to Oz, The Tinman, The Wiz and all the other horrendous Oz adaptations I've seen outside the 1939 film. If you are an Oz purist - I suggest staying clear.
Cheap budget (I think someone just took some Mortal Kombat arcade animations and shoved them in here), wooden acting, atrocious dialogue and a story that defecates all over the Oz universe.
What began as a promising story (picking up where Return to Oz attempted) with Dorothy going about her life in the "real world" thinking that Oz was only a fantasy, turned into a complete farce with Dorothy becoming Uncle Henry's Aunt in one of many ridiculous plot twists.
If you want to see your original favourites turn into your worst nightmares, a scarecrow who resembles a man with a paper bag on his head with a crayon face, Dorothy hitting on one of the Hobbits from Lord of The Rings in a Manhattan bar, and the death of Uncle Henry, go ahead... otherwise, AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
L. Frank Baum is turning in his grave.
The Kings of Mykonos (2010)
Beautiful scenery with paper thin plot
I attended the premiere last night. I was a big fan of the first, so I knew this could never live up to it - I still enjoyed it.
The Kings of Mykonos clearly had a higher budget than the original, but a lot of charm was lost in this. The plot revolves around Steve & Frank heading to Mykonos to claim an inheritance from a long lost relative and the predictable hi-jinx ensue.
I don't think anyone was expecting an Oscar quality movie here, and it won't exceed those expectations. There are still sufficient laughs to be had, but it is certainly not the laugh-out-loud-only-in-Australia humour of the original Wog Boy.
Nick G & Vince C are starting to show their ages, but it works in the context of the film.
The two female leads are absolutely stunning in any language but you never quite buy the chemistry on screen. Kevin Sorbo has an amusing role as the King of Mykonos, and Alex Dimitriades's Mihali character had so much potential but barely has a line in the film considering the pivotal role.
The ending of the film was confusing and abrupt and I'm not quite sure what was supposed to go on there. It might be worthwhile waiting for the DVD version to see if there was an alternate ending. I also read that there was a sex scene filmed, but this certainly wasn't in the edit I saw last night.
All in all, I recommend it - particularly if you enjoyed the music and oh-so-Melbourne "wogginess" of the original. The scenery is breathtaking which is a nice change for the film. Don't have exceedingly high expectations and you won't be disappointed.