Why would a movie studio try to stop critics from reviewing movies? It's called a review embargo -- and it seems a little self-explanatory. But still, I'd like to take this opportunity to discuss a little movie-critic inside-baseball stuff. Perhaps we can get a larger discussion going.

The women of Oz: The Great and Powerful may have serious issues in how they are written and presented, but at least Oz: The Great and Powerful has women (plural) in it at all.

Narrative, dramatic tension and character development are often overshadowed by look-at-me CGI. Beautiful and impressive, especially the use of 3D. At other times, its a bit like the later wizard who wanted Dorothy to focus on his smoke and mirrors.

While Oz: The Great and Powerful has its writing issues, it's far more satisfying than Alice in Wonderland and I can confirm that it went over like gangbusters with the packed general audience crowd I saw it with. All the signs indicate that it is in it for the long haul.

This movie will be a classic; one our children, our children's children, and even their children will enjoy and talk about for years to come. The movie is a prequel at its best, laying out for us everything we would need to know to understand L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

LOS ANGELES — Returning to the mystical land of "The Wizard of Oz" took more than 70 years and several hundred millions dollars. Disney release...

It's every screenwriter's nightmare. To be in the office of one of Hollywood's most powerful producers, pitching all of your script ideas. Only to then have that mover-and-shaker repeatedly say "Nope. Not interested." But that's exactly what happened back in 2009 to poor Mitchell Kapner.

As any good Mary Poppins fan will tell you, when the wind shifts from the East to the West, it's then time for that practically perfect nanny to pack up her carpet bag and fly off for parts unknown.

LOS ANGELES — Disney is mining The Force for even more new films. Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger said Tuesday that screenwriters Larry Kasdan and...

"I've done voicework for animated features before. You can hear me voicing minor characters in three of the four Ice Age movies. But King Candy is the first character that I've had in an animated feature which has some real meat on his bones."