A Touch of Magic

Let’s start with a confession. Forgive me cinema fans for I am not a fan of 1939’s The Wizard of Oz.  It’s not an anti-classic thing because many of what are considered classics I throughly enjoy. Casablanca, Bridge on the River Kwai, All About Eve to name a few and all are watched with a good bit of regularity.  The fact is the movie failed to grab my attention and bored me.  I do give the movie a lot of credit for being a movie that has a bit of magic to it.  That magic is one of the many reasons I love the movies.

However I eagerly awaited the prequel Oz: The Great and Powerful the following reasons:

1. Sam Raimi’s directorial work tends to excite me. Spiderman, Army of Darkness, Drag Me to Hell to name a few.
2. I enjoy James Franco as an actor. 127 Hours, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Milk all good flicks.
3. I got to do a midnight movie party.

The movie disappointed me.  Gone is that magic that I found in the original.  I didn’t expect it to have the same magic but still have a touch to it.  

The CGI was just badly done, James Franco, and the rest of the cast, miscast, and segments felt forced.  It seemed obligatory to feature a musical sequence by the munchkins and an over emphasis on the Emerald City felt unnecessary.  The point is I didn’t like the movie and I’m going to harp on that because I don’t like the critical aspect of movies.

However the experience of going to the movies is what I love.  Gathering with friends, old and new, passing the evening away in good company is what I enjoy doing.  

I could say that it was a blast having everyone over and that would be true but this one was a bit more special.  It was a great night discussing movies, life, and the universe with friends.  

What I’ve come to realize is that my friends who don’t know each other tend to become friends because of nights like this and that is what creates the magic of going to the movies.  That’s why I put on the midnight gatherings and hope to continue to do so.

Whether the midnight movie is one I love -Skyfall, Prometheus - or one I’m not to fond of -Oz The Great and Powerful, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - being able to bring people together for a night of merriment is the real magic trick.