Movie of the Week: Oz the Great and Powerful

Given that this (at 2 hours and 7 minutes) was too long by about 20 - 30 minutes, it might have been quite good if condensed. The effects were fine and it says something that you no longer wonder about live actors performing with CGI monkeys and china dolls, but James Franco failed to totally convince as Oscar, an untrustworthy second-rate carnival magician with a penchant for the ladies who is whisked off to the land of Oz in a twister while trying to escape a jealous boyfriend. In Oz he meets three witches where he's expected to fulfill a prophecy and rescue the land of Oz from the wicked witch. But just who is the wicked witch? There are three of them and things are not what they seem. Eventually he sorts out the good from the evil and uses his arts of carnival illusion to save the day and more or less redeem himself.

I'd put it in the same category as the recent Alice in Wonderland. Pretty but pointless. Sorry.