"A visual treat from Master cliche filmmaker Tim Burton"
- Rated PG for fantasy action/violence involving scary images and situations, and for a smoking caterpillar.
- Who's going to like it: Pretty much everyone who sees it, but mostly little emo kids wearing Jack Skellington shirts.
- Who's going to like it: Pretty much everyone who sees it, but mostly little emo kids wearing Jack Skellington shirts.
Alice in Wonderland is the latest of the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaboration and I think one of the better recent ones. The movie stars Mia Wasikowska as Alice, but not the Alice we grew up with. This is an older Alice who has dreams of a place with cats that can smile and blue caterpillars, who is pulled back into "Underland" once again. After falling down the rabbit hole she meets a host of characters who seem to be trying to decide if she is the "real" Alice or not. Before too long Alice meets that blue caterpillar from her dreams who tells her of her destiny in "Underland" and is interrupted by a hunting party sent by the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter).
This film while fun, isn't without its annoying flaws. Johnny Depp has played so many stupid characters for Tim Burton, that it felt like he forgot which character he was doing and dropped into Willy Wonka or Jack Sparrow. Most of the time he was switching between two different characters shouting inaudible words. Most of the dialogue in scenes with the mad Mad Hatter I couldn't understand. Now I don't feel Johnny Depp is to blame as much as Tim Burton. Tim Burton over the years has created a giant cliche film standard he has to fall into every time. Zany characters, black pointy things, Johnny Depp, it all has to fit. His influence is so noticeable you can see when the actors don't believe what they are doing. The best example is Anne Hathaway as the White Queen. Watch her as she tries to keep up the "dainty princess" look when she really wants to dive into the character. However you can tell that Mia Wasikowska is totally comfortable in Alice's shoes. She takes Alice from confused to determined flawlessly. Crispin Glover also stands out with his overly dramatic performance as the Red Queen's right hand man.
So, should you see this movie? Yes. I walked into this movie hating it and pissed that I was going to miss a great episode of Lost, but was pleasantly surprised at how good the movie was. I hated the 3D and felt it was totally a waste of technology and money (if I had paid) but overall a solid film with really good CG. My prediction is all of those Nightmare Before Christmas Emo kids will turn in their Jack Skellington swag and replace it with Cheshire Cat shirts and hoodies.
This film while fun, isn't without its annoying flaws. Johnny Depp has played so many stupid characters for Tim Burton, that it felt like he forgot which character he was doing and dropped into Willy Wonka or Jack Sparrow. Most of the time he was switching between two different characters shouting inaudible words. Most of the dialogue in scenes with the mad Mad Hatter I couldn't understand. Now I don't feel Johnny Depp is to blame as much as Tim Burton. Tim Burton over the years has created a giant cliche film standard he has to fall into every time. Zany characters, black pointy things, Johnny Depp, it all has to fit. His influence is so noticeable you can see when the actors don't believe what they are doing. The best example is Anne Hathaway as the White Queen. Watch her as she tries to keep up the "dainty princess" look when she really wants to dive into the character. However you can tell that Mia Wasikowska is totally comfortable in Alice's shoes. She takes Alice from confused to determined flawlessly. Crispin Glover also stands out with his overly dramatic performance as the Red Queen's right hand man.
So, should you see this movie? Yes. I walked into this movie hating it and pissed that I was going to miss a great episode of Lost, but was pleasantly surprised at how good the movie was. I hated the 3D and felt it was totally a waste of technology and money (if I had paid) but overall a solid film with really good CG. My prediction is all of those Nightmare Before Christmas Emo kids will turn in their Jack Skellington swag and replace it with Cheshire Cat shirts and hoodies.
(3 1/2 out of 5)
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