"Oz the Great and Powerful" aims for nostalgia in older viewers who grew up on "The Wizard of Oz" and still hold the classic dear while simultaneously enchanting a newer, younger audience. It never really accomplishes either successfully.

The Oscar season is customarily kicked off by the Academy President and a random star solemnly announcing the nominees in a drab ceremony. The Academy decided to shake up tradition this year however, in one of the most cheerful Oscar mornings we’ve ever had.

In the eight years I’ve taken on the regular duty of reviewing movies, 2012 just might have been the best.

Salome Canyon, Ariz. - I was about to follow a man I’d just met through a sweltering desert, into the crevices of a canyon, over wet boulders, down a waterfall, through a bone-chilling creek, down rock faces and up through the desert again.

Let's not panic. We all know that Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Wonder bread and the rest of Hostess Brands' oddly everlasting foods aren't going away any time soon, even if the food culture that created them is gasping its last.

‘Silver Linings Playbook’

Year after year, I find myself complaining about the state of love stories in the movies. From those damn “Twilight” pictures to the countless vehicles starring the showboating Katherine Heigl, inspired romance has become difficult to come by in this day and age. 2012 however, has exhibited an unexpected change of pace in the romance department. With “Safety Not Guaranteed,” “Rudy Sparks,” “The Sessions,” “Hope Springs” and “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World,” this has proven to be a reassuring year for movies about unlikely people coming together and having a meaningful connection. Even several major action blockbusters, such as “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Looper” and “The Amazing Spider-Man,” have managed to incorporate smart, believable relationships that do not just feel tacked on.

“That movie would have been infinitely better if it had been shown in 3-D.” I cannot speak for the rest of the movie going population, but this is one sentence I will never utter walking out of a cineplex. That is not to say 3-D technology is completely expendable. With the right movie, 3-D can be effectively exploited and have an enriching impact on a cinematic experience. In a majority of cases though, 3-D merely acts as a shameful method for the studio to increase the ticket price. Some people buy into the assumption that 3-D makes a movie appear more realistic and integrates the audience into the action. When not properly executed, however, 3-D can have dark, dreary and distracting consequences on a film originally shot in 2-D. In that sense, 3-D not only robs the audience of an extra $3, but also takes them out of the motion picture.

“That movie would have been infinitely better if it had been shown in 3D.” I cannot speak for the rest of the moviegoing population, but this is one sentence I will never utter walking out of a Cineplex.

Tom Kenny is a man of a thousand voices -- or so it seems.

On June 1, “Snow White and the Huntsman” was known as the second Snow White movie in as many months, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were still married, and it seemed as if “The Dark Knight Rises” would give “Marvel’s The Avengers” a run for its money.

Let's just be glad Smell-O-Vision never caught on.

Does anyone else find it ironic that a production company named “Original Film” made the remake of “Total Recall?” This isn’t the first revamp of a beloved Arnold Schwarzenegger movie to come out recently. Just last year, James Momoa starred in a remake of “Conan the Barbarian,” which received poor reviews and box office totals. The new “Total Recall” suffers from many of the same problems as the new “Conan,” namely that neither film is very entertaining.

A good trilogy centered on a superhero has yet to be accomplished. Some series, such as “Superman” and Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man,” have come close to having a great trilogy. But whether it’s due to Richard Pryor or an idiotic dance sequence, they always seem to screw up the third installment. Christopher Nolan is the first filmmaker to completely nail a superhero franchise from beginning to end. “The Dark Knight Rises,” his grand conclusion to the Batman saga, is a film well worthy of its two exceptional predecessors. To call this the pinnacle collection of superhero pictures goes without saying. But “The Dark Knight Rises” additionally engraves Nolan’s take on the Batman legend into the history books as one of the best movie trilogies of all time.

A good trilogy centered on a superhero has yet to be accomplished. Some series, such as “Superman” and Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man,” have come close to having a great trilogy. But whether it’s due to Richard Pryor or an idiotic dance sequence, they always seem to screw up the third installment. Christopher Nolan is the first filmmaker to completely nail a superhero franchise from beginning to end.

A good trilogy centered on a superhero has yet to be accomplished. Some series, such as “Superman” and Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man,” have come close to having a great trilogy. But whether it’s due to Richard Pryor or an idiotic dance sequence, they always seem to screw up the third installment. Christopher Nolan is the first filmmaker to completely nail a superhero franchise from beginning to end.

If you’re staying in town this weekend and are looking for an activity that requires less cash than your July power bill, head to Tempe Marketplace where you can take your pick of restaurants, pubs and sweet shops, enjoy free live music while the kids cool off in the splash pad, paint a gnome or catch a movie.

It’s impossible to avoid the comparisons, so we may as well just get them out of the way early so we can move on.

There have been some arguments that it’s too soon for a brand new “Spider-Man” franchise. The original “Spider-Man” is only a decade old and the final installment to that series came out five years ago. At this rate, we’ll have multiple “Spider-Man” trilogies by the 21st century’s halfway point.