A year after the advent of Wicked comes Wicked: For Good, the spectacular second half of the epic musical tale about the two witches from The Wizard of Oz.
Even better than the first film, here we find good witch Glinda (Ariana Grande) and allegedly wicked witch Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) locked in a romantic contest over Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), head guard for the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum).
That’s but one of the storylines running through this marvellous big-screen musical, crammed full of great songs – the best being No Good Deed – and stunning visuals, including one remarkable sequence that travels in and out of mirrors.
The tone is darker, and even Glinda gets a bit snarky, yet it delivers exactly what Wicked fans, who took the first film to a billion-dollar take, want.
Over at the other end of the movie spectrum is If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, a searing, no-holds-barred drama about Linda (Rose Byrne), a therapist and middle-aged mother enduring several levels of stress.
Dealing with an ailing daughter, a leaking ceiling, a cheap hotel, an absent husband, alcohol addiction and hallucinations, she’s so off-the-rails she needs guidance from the therapist next door (Conan O’Brien).
Byrne puts in a riveting, career-topping performance, anchoring the film with a visceral portrait of a woman being pulled in all directions.
It’s tough viewing, sure, but very worthwhile.
Folks, what is going on in Hollywood? With The Running Man – a terrible, overlong remake of the gloriously cheesy 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger action film – we get yet another sign the joint is out of ideas.
In a grotty future, a big-mouthed guy who can’t hold down a job (Glen Powell) lands a spot on a lethal game show to win money for his starving family. But can he survive 30 days on the run while everyone is trying to kill him?
Woeful performances, terrible dialogue and erratic pacing are bad enough, but what really hurts is watching mediocre action scenes that look like so many other action scenes from the past 20 years. And despite their volume, they’re tiring to behold.
For a much better action jaunt check out Sisu: Road to Revenge, the snappy sequel to the 2022 Finnish film about Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila), a very angry Finnish soldier.
Set in the messy aftermath of World War 2, Korpi is chased by Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang), the man who killed his family, while hauling the lumber of his family home across the border.
Enjoyably over-the-top, the soiree is dispatched with straight-faced conviction, very little dialogue and plenty of inventive, well-staged mayhem. A must for action fans.
And now, two treats for those who just can’t get enough of Woody Harrelson.
In Now You See Me: Now You Don’t he returns with the rest of his magical gang (Jesse Eisenberg; Morgan Freeman; Isla Fisher; James Franco) for a pretty good second sequel that has already hit big at the box office. So, you know what that means – at least one more movie to come!
If you prefer staying on the couch, head over to Netflix and order up Last Breath, a terrific survival drama in which Woody plays an ageing deep-sea diver.
Based on a remarkable true story, Woody and his team race the clock to rescue their pal Chris Lemons (Finn Cole) who has run into trouble at the bottom of the treacherous North Sea.
A dramatisation of the 2019 documentary, the film tries making sense of how the human body can withstand extreme deprivation of light, heat, communication and, most of all, oxygen.
A truly remarkable tale.
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