The sheer magnitude of getting Jim Carrey and Steve Carrell on screen as dueling magicians would seem to be a magical pairing destined for comedy gold. “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” brings them together for their second big screen outing — “Bruce Almighty” being the first — and unfortunately, while there are some extremely funny moments, there is a lot more hocus than the movie has focus.
Now before you go rushing to judgments and condemning Disney for have the brash to reboot, remake and/or prequelize one of Hollywood’s all-time classics. L. Frank Baum wrote fourteen novels, one of which was the basis for the 1939 classic, “Wizard of Oz”. Sam Raimi (“Spider-Man” trilogy, “Evil Dead” trilogy) re-introduces that magical Land of Oz and does it in spectacular fashion. With some amazing visuals, a solid cast and a mix of humor throughout, the return to Oz is a welcome one.
Adapting fairy tales is all the rage these days. From the recent “Snow White and the Huntsman” and “Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters” to the upcoming “Maleficent” and “Cinderella”, Hollywood is having no problems coming up with old stories to retell with sweet special effects. Now, we get “Jack the Giant Slayer”, based on the fairy tales “Jack and the Giant Killer” (1711) and “Jack and the Beanstalk” (1807). This wouldn’t be a bad thing if the whole movie weren’t so…plain.