This six-hour SCI FI Channel miniseries reworks L. Frank Baum’s WIZARD OF OZ into a darker adult adventure, which transports a young woman into the mysterious Outer Zone known as the O.Z. Overcoming some clunky moments, the story clips along on good performances and the inherent desire of the audience to see how the next element of the OZ world will be reworked.

DG (Zooey Deschanel, THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY) is a bored 19-year-old girl who dreams of something bigger in life than living on her parents’ farm and working at the local diner. However, unbeknownst to her, she holds a key role in the future of the O.Z., where Sorceress Azkadellia (Kathleen Robertson, BEVERLY HILLS 90210) is trying to locate a powerful emerald, which will give her the ability to plunge the realm into complete darkness. After a storm transports DG into the O.Z., she befriends Glitch (Alan Cummings, X2), the former advisory to the queen, whose brain was removed for knowing too much. Along the way, she will also meet Cain (Neal McDonough, FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS), a former Tin Man (aka the police of the O.Z.) and Raw (Raoul Trujillo, APOCALYPTO), a lion-like psychic whose overly kind heart makes him very fearful. As DG tries to uncover the secrets of her past, the foursome must find the emerald before Azkadellia.

Deschanel’s dry wit fits this post-modern Dorothy well. As the comic relief, Cummings hits the film’s best lines, while still making the more obvious jokes humorous. McDonough is given the title character role, which is an interesting twist on the character. The cool law enforcer is just, despite a tragic past that could have made him bitter and vengeful. His story fits nicely in with DG’s theme of finding her true home. While Trujillo’s character is a 180 from his role in Mel Gibson’s Mayan adventure, his character is the least interesting, having little to do until its time for him to make a change in character. As for Azkadellia, the character is a collection of villainess clichés until about midway through the second episode when a twist on the character is presented that is a nice surprise, adding more emotional weight to the conclusion. Another notable performance comes from Richard Dreyfuss (JAWS) as the doped up Mystic Man (aka Wizard of Oz).

While not the production values one expects from a theatrical release, the film’s world is brought lavishly to life as a cross between WILLOW, DARK CITY and the WIZARD OF OZ we know. The visual effects work is solid for TV, with some impressive character animation when it comes to the Sorceress’s bat monkeys. While the costume design is derivative of decades of sci-fi films, the settings and backgrounds reminded me of a Howard David Johnson illustration with its fantasy setting in bold, lush colors.

Over the course of three two-hour installments, the story picks up steam. The beginning of episode two drags its feet with some misdirections that only the youngest viewer in the audience will be fooled by. Despite some bumps along the yellow brick road, the entertaining adventure keeps the viewers’ attention throughout its fantastic journey. TIN MAN puts an interesting new twist on the concept of “there’s no place like home.”

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This is one of the best films to come out this year. In a fairly disappointing theatrical year, it takes HBO to make something important and put it on TV. This is director Spike Lee’s best film in 14 years.

Lee took his cameras to New Orleans soon after Hurricane Katrina to chronicle what happened and what caused the worst civil engineering failure in U.S. history. He interviews dozens of people from all walks of life and color who live and work in New Orleans. In addition, he brings in experts to comment on the disaster as well as politicians and news reporters that covered the storm.

The most amazing thing we learn is how many people who lived there differ somewhat on their opinions, but for the most part they all agree that they were grossly let down by the governments that are supposed to protect them. For the most part, Lee uses talking head interviews of his various subjects, but weaves them together with news footage, creating one of the most compelling documentaries I’ve ever seen.

Does Lee have an agenda? Most certainly. He wants us to not forget what happened. He wants us to get angry at what did happen. Yet, this is not a slanted Michael Moore doc. Lee doesn’t just point blame at one place. He finds the fault and success in the government response on the local, state and federal level. However, he is most critical of the federal government. He presents a compelling argument that they just didn’t care enough. They were asleep at their post and it’s criminal.

You cannot watch this film and not be moved and angered. The ordeal these people went through is staggering. However, the worst part was all the uncertainty. Another remarkable thing Lee does is explain how certain sentiments are formed. Some people believed that the levees were bombed by the government. Lee addresses the issue with experts who don’t believe the conspiracy theory. However, Lee doesn’t stop there — he takes us back to the ‘20s when the government did dynamite the levees and flood the Lower 9th Ward. He shows us how past wrongs still influence people’s trust of their government. When you see the images of the people suffering, you will know that these misgivings are not going to change anytime soon.

The four acts of the film consist of the storm, the rescue, the aftermath and what is being done to rebuild New Orleans. As the saying goes, follow the money. Lee shows how many of the problems stem from under-funding. A small country like the Netherlands can have a high-tech levee system to protect its citizens, but it seems that the U.S. government can’t find anything outside of Lincoln Logs to fix the levees in New Orleans. This is not just a great film, but an important one as well. Everyone needs to see it. This is why you order HBO. If you miss the reruns, check to see if you have HBO On-Demand in your area. When it comes on DVD, buy it. This gets my highest recommendation.

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Richard Russo adapted his own novel into this HBO mini-series. Miles Roby (Ed Harris, APOLLO 13) is a mild-mannered diner manager in the depressed town of Empire Falls, Maine. His eccentric father Max (Paul Newman, NOBODY’S FOOL) is allows hitting him up for money — or just stealing it. He has separated from his wife Janine (Helen Hunt, AS GOOD AS IT GETS), who is now engaged to slimy, gym owner Walt “Silver Fox” Comeau (Dennis Farina, SNATCH).

Janine is loud, combative and likes to flaunt her recent loss of 50 lbs. His teenage daughter Tick (Danielle Panabaker, forthcoming SKY HIGH) has just broken up with her violent football playing boyfriend Zack Minty (Trevor Morgan, MEAN CREEK), who is the son of dimwitted police officer Jimmy Minty (William Fichtner, BLACK HAWK DOWN), who was only an acquaintance of Miles when he was a kid, but thinks they were friends. Tick feels sorry for John Voss (Lou Taylor Pucci, PERSONAL VELOCITY), a poor kid who Zack mercilessly picks on.

Miles’ brother David flips food for the diner and is sweet for the waitress Charlene (Theresa Russell, WILD THINGS), who Miles has had a crush on since high school. David has been in and out of trouble, but now makes a sensation on weekends at the diner with his specialty menu. He wants Miles to team up with his former mother-in-law Bea (Estelle Parsons, BONNIE & CLYDE), turning her saloon into a bar and grill. He has long worked for Francine Whiting (Joanne Woodward, RACHEL, RACHEL), who pretty much owns and controls the town. Francine’s emotionally starved, handicapped daughter Cindy (Kate Burton, SWIMFAN) has always loved Miles, but he never loved her.

Miles dreams of the day Bea will die and bequeath the diner to him so that he can buy his dream bookstore. Miles also has troublesome memories of his beloved mother Grace (Robin Wright Penn, FORREST GUMP) and her relationship with the mysterious Charlie Mayne (Philip Seymour Hoffman, BOOGIE NIGHTS).

In being adapted into a four-hour mini-series, the story is allowed time to develop slowly and gets into the real complexity of these characters. A two-hour film probably could have been made out of this story, but you wouldn’t have felt the weight of these people’s lives.

The entire cast was amazing. Harris’ performance is so subtle that he gets overshadowed by some of the more flashy roles, but he is still the heart and soul of the film. Newman keeps saying he’s going to retire, but after seeing his work here that would be a loss to society. He’s still got the stuff. His wife Woodward also crafts an intriguing “bad guy” who subtly enjoys her evilness, but in a natural realistic way. Another major standout is Fichtner, who elevates what could have been a one dimensional “stupid jock” type character into a tormented and lonely soul.

The story is so engaging that I sat through the entire film in one sitting without ever looking at the clock. I liked the ways the film layered the theme of us not being able to choice who we love into every nook and cranny of the film. This engaging, funny and subtle ode to life is well worth every minute.

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Epic and gothic  — the second half of Mike Nichols miniseries based on Tony Kushner’s play is fulfilling and maddening and wonderful.

Joe Pitt (Patrick Wilson, THE ALAMO) has left his wife Harper (Mary-Louise Parker, FRIED GREEN TOMATOES), who floats around in a Valium daze, to strike up an affair with Louis Ironson (Ben Shenkman, ROGER DODGER). Prior Walter (Justin Kirk, LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION!) has been visited by The Angel of America (Emma Thompson, MUCH ADU ABOUT NOTHING), who wants Prior to become a prophet. Belize (Jeffrey Wright, ALI) worries about Prior’s struggle with AIDS and that he may be having delusions. He also has to deal with the foul nature of Roy Cohn (Al Pacino, HEAT), who has been secretly admitted to the hospital to treat his AIDS.

The first part of the series is a set up for the conclusion, which deals with issues of abandonment, living life to its fullest, compassion and friendship. The most interesting friendship the film looks at is between Prior and Joe’s devote Mormon mother Hannah (Meryl Streep, ADAPTATION). What I liked about the film is that it really doesn’t judge Prior or Hannah as good or bad guys, but rewards them for being themselves.

The acting is phenomenal across the board. Some actors play multiple roles. Streep also plays the ghost of convicted spy Ethel Rosenberg who haunts Cohn. Thompson also plays Prior’s nurse Emily. Wright also plays Mr. Lies, a vision that Harper sees when strung out on Valium. The film is life-affirming and bold. It makes you sit up and think about what you believe in and cherish. What could be better than that?

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Based on Ursula K. Le Guin’s book, this Sci Fi Channel miniseries tells the tale of Ged (Shawn Ashmore, X2: X-MEN UNITED), a young man who dreams of becoming a wizard. Ged displays great gifts of wizardry, which attracts the attention of wizard Ogion (Danny Glover, LETHAL WEAPON), who has little patience for the young wanna-be wizard. So Ged heads off to a wizard school where he meets his good friend Vetch (Chris Gauthier, FREDDY VS. JASON) and causes himself a lot of trouble.

In the meantime, Ged dreams of a beautiful priestess named Tenar (Kristin Kreuk, TV’s SMALLVILLE), who trains under the tutelage of High Priestess Thar (Isabella Rossellini, BLUE VELVET). What the priestesses don’t know is that one of their own – Kossil (Jennifer Calvert, THE WAITING ROOM) – has teamed up with the warring King Tygath (Sebastian Roche, 15 MINUTES), who wants to unleash the power of the Nameless Ones to make himself immortal.

The first episode takes a little while to get started, but after a half hour the story kicks into high gear. The plot does barrow a lot of elements from other fantasy stories, but presents them in an interesting new way. I enjoyed the tale, but I felt some moments got short changed due to time. The film builds up crisis and then just abandons them. This could be the same in the book, but I do not know.

I won’t comment on the visual effects, because I saw a rough cut of the film, which contained only 70% of the final effects. I will say that from the finished work that I did see, television production values continue to get more and more impressive. Another highlight of the film was the performances of the young leads, who actually outshine the star names Glover and Rossellini. Ashmore is convincing and likable as the rash, young wizard. Gauthier as Vetch is supposed to be the comic sidekick, which can sometimes be a deadly role. He, however, aided by solid writing, makes the role believable and funny, but in a very natural way. But the real stand out for me was Kreuk. She is a superstar in the making. I’ve never seen her work before on SMALLVILLE or EUROTRIP, but she can really act and her beauty is astonishing. She is a name to really watch out for.

In the end, the film was an enjoyable fantasy that brought me into its world with likable characters and an interesting twist on the world of wizards and dragons.

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