The 2003 Broadway musical "Wicked" has been turned into a movie musical, but the cinematic "Wicked" is just Part I and Part II arrives a year from now. Although HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano agree that the 2-hour, 40-minute run time of Part I is excessive and, indeed, Mike grouses about franchise expansion, they also agree during this podcast episode that this movie has crowd-pleasing appeal. Yes, there is special effects-driven spectacle in Oz, but the movie is really driven by the central performances by Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. Marie and Mike also discuss "Gladiator II," a much-belated sequel to the 2000 "Gladiator." Director Ridley Scott is now 87 and yet he brings a youthful vigor to this immersion in decadent imperial Rome. Although our critics agree that "Gladiator II" has some dramatic shortcomings, they concur that there is much to savor in this sword and sandal epic.
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