Tin Man Details

[Highly rated reviewer]

WE'RE DEFINITELY NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE...

One of the reasons I have been asked in the past to give back my pink membership card is the fact that I have seen no more than a maximum of 15 minutes of the original Wizard Of Oz. I'm also no good with musicals. You get the picture. (I was dragged into seeing a panto production of it with my kindergarten group- early traumatic experience and apparently does not count).

So for me, who does not care much for the technicolor singalong antics of Garland and co, this is refreshingly right up my street. And it's brilliant. Why?

First of all, there's no singing, this is definitely not a musical number. Phew. Secondly, the filmmaking is just beautiful without being paint by numbers. The tone shifts between, for comparison, Star Wars, Lord Of The Rings, Harry Potter, Spiderwick Chronicles and Lone Ranger Western. These are just touchstones of course, Tin Man has its very own distinctive style, but its the diversity of the nuances that make it much more than a two dimensional walk along some old road.

Then there is Zooey Deschanel. While sister Emily comes over all tough and business in Bones, Zooey's performances have got an air of innocence about them, without being too cute. (In 'The Happening' she felt like cheating on her husband, just because she'd had desert with someone.) Her wide eyed, yet tough when she needs to be, delivery of DeeJee (that'll be Dorothy's new format) is just pure joy. She is supported by a great motley crew, including Alan Cumming, who is indeed watchable in this. Kathleen Robertson as Askadelia, the Sorceress, is outstanding. She incorporates the many facets and layers that make Tin Man such a joy- using elements that are known, such as the Storm, the companions, the flying monkeys etc. but mixing them up, twisting and turning the original story and keeping you hooked.

Tin Man is a three part affair, clocking in at a beefy 270mins total. It is a whole evening's worth of entertainment, but I would suggest it as the perfect Sunday afternoon chill out movie.

EXCELLENT!

better than expected.

This series was brilliant, just like Wizard of Oz in the future and no gingham dresses for Dorothy! It has lots of twists and turns and they have brought it up to date with effects that were so good for a mini series.