In Theaters This Weekend: 'Oz the Great and Powerful', and More!
by Zack Wells
1. “Oz: The Great and Powerful”
Rated PG.
When Oscar Diggs, a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he's hit the jackpot – fame and fortune are his for the taking – that is until he meets three witches, Theodora, Evanora, and Glinda, who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity – and even a bit of wizardry – Oscar transforms himself not only into the great wizard but into a better man as well.
Starring: James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz, and Mila Kunis.
Directed by Sam Raimi.
2. “Dead Man Down”
Rated R.
In New York City, a crime lord's right-hand man is seduced by one of his boss's victims, a woman seeking retribution. The two strangers are irresistibly drawn to one another by their mutual desire for revenge.
Starring: Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Dominic Cooper, and Terrence Howard.
Directed by Niels Arden Oplev.
3. “The ABCs of Death”
Rated NR.
Twenty-six directors. Twenty-six ways to die. “The ABC's of Death” is perhaps the most ambitious anthology film ever conceived with productions spanning fifteen countries and featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world's leading talents in contemporary genre film. Inspired by children's educational books, the motion picture is comprised of twenty-six individual chapters; each helmed by a different director assigned a letter of the alphabet. The directors were then given free rein in choosing a word to create a story involving death. Provocative, shocking, funny and ultimately confrontational, “The ABC's of Death” is the definitive vision of modern horror diversity.
Starring: Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Iván González, Kyra Zagorsky, and Lucy Clements.
Directed by Kaare Andrews, Angela Bettis, Hélène Cattet, Ernesto Díaz Espinoza, Jason Eisener, Bruno Forzani, Adrián García Bogliano, Xavier Gens, Lee Hardcastle, Noboru Iguchi, Thomas Cappelen Malling, Jorge Michel Grau, Anders Morgenthaler, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Banjong Pisanthanakun, Simon Rumley, Marcel Sarmiento, Jon Schnepp, Srdjan Spasojevic, Timo Tjahjanto, Andrew Traucki, Nacho Vigalondo, Jake West, Ti West, Ben Wheatley, Adam Wingard, and Yudai Yamaguchi.