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Alice in Wonderland
Yeah, I know, I'm kind of late with my review. Which is a weird review. Naturally.
First I must point out that I am not an Alice fan. And I am not really a giant Tim Burton fan. I do like his movies, but I don't absolutely love his movies. It's like when you have a friend who is 90% interesting and 10% annoying. That's Tim Burton's films for me.
Okay, that's out of the way. Anyway, Husband is a huge Alice fan, and quotes it occasionally. He feels the same way I do about Tim Burton as well. So he really did want to see the movie, so we went last Sunday. You're probably getting the feeling that I wasn't really expecting much, and you're right.
For some reason, though, this film held my fascination in the strangest way.
Let me digress for a moment. If I read a book, watch a movie, TV show, whatever, I have different reactions. Sometimes I am engrossed by the main characters. Or plot. Or the side characters. Sometimes I want to insert myself into the action. Sometimes, though, I become completely enamored with the backstory.
That's what happened here. I was not exactly engaged with the Alice character, and I was turned off by the do-you-see-Johnny-Depp? DO YOU SEE HIM?!! LOOK AT HIM!! stuff. I do enjoy him as an actor, but this was a little much. And the plot was wafer thin and painted by the numbers in most ways.
Which apparently left me free to wander around and think about all of the characters and their backstories and heartbreaks and triumphs. I was very much fascinated by Stayne. His line about liking big things made my toes curl, and I just kept thinking and thinking.
And then the White Queen showed up, with her veneer of civility, and yet--she is sister to the Red Queen, and there is that hint of bitterness in her look. And I was completely fascinated with her. There were a couple moments that felt off or look-at-me but overall I was just thinking and thinking about her and her words and what her life was like. And she was such a great subversion. Loved her so much and I just kept thinking.
The Jabberwocky showed up and I was bored with him, but then he went on about fighting with the Vorpal Blade over the centuries, and I kept thinking about that, their relationship, etc. And then Stayne and the Red Queen are locked together, and I kept thinking about that.
I wouldn't recommend this as anything more than a visually interesting way to spend two hours, but for me, it was two hours of very delicious and highly entertaining brainspinning. I had a silly grin on my face throughout half the movie, and it's hard to do that anymore, let me tell you.
First I must point out that I am not an Alice fan. And I am not really a giant Tim Burton fan. I do like his movies, but I don't absolutely love his movies. It's like when you have a friend who is 90% interesting and 10% annoying. That's Tim Burton's films for me.
Okay, that's out of the way. Anyway, Husband is a huge Alice fan, and quotes it occasionally. He feels the same way I do about Tim Burton as well. So he really did want to see the movie, so we went last Sunday. You're probably getting the feeling that I wasn't really expecting much, and you're right.
For some reason, though, this film held my fascination in the strangest way.
Let me digress for a moment. If I read a book, watch a movie, TV show, whatever, I have different reactions. Sometimes I am engrossed by the main characters. Or plot. Or the side characters. Sometimes I want to insert myself into the action. Sometimes, though, I become completely enamored with the backstory.
That's what happened here. I was not exactly engaged with the Alice character, and I was turned off by the do-you-see-Johnny-Depp? DO YOU SEE HIM?!! LOOK AT HIM!! stuff. I do enjoy him as an actor, but this was a little much. And the plot was wafer thin and painted by the numbers in most ways.
Which apparently left me free to wander around and think about all of the characters and their backstories and heartbreaks and triumphs. I was very much fascinated by Stayne. His line about liking big things made my toes curl, and I just kept thinking and thinking.
And then the White Queen showed up, with her veneer of civility, and yet--she is sister to the Red Queen, and there is that hint of bitterness in her look. And I was completely fascinated with her. There were a couple moments that felt off or look-at-me but overall I was just thinking and thinking about her and her words and what her life was like. And she was such a great subversion. Loved her so much and I just kept thinking.
The Jabberwocky showed up and I was bored with him, but then he went on about fighting with the Vorpal Blade over the centuries, and I kept thinking about that, their relationship, etc. And then Stayne and the Red Queen are locked together, and I kept thinking about that.
I wouldn't recommend this as anything more than a visually interesting way to spend two hours, but for me, it was two hours of very delicious and highly entertaining brainspinning. I had a silly grin on my face throughout half the movie, and it's hard to do that anymore, let me tell you.
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This was a wonderful adaptation, with interesting twists on the characters. I particularly adored Hatter, even though his make-up was so off putting. By the end of the movie, I really wanted Alice to stay in Underland and marry the Hatter. He obviously loves her. Or at least, they could have kissed!
As a former theatrical costumer, I also really liked that Alice had so many costume changes--they were all fanciful and pretty
Loved the Cheshire cat so much that I bought a shirt that says "We're all a little mad."
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I also loved how clever Alice's outfits were. I was very intrigued by how they'd pull off her changing size, and I thought they did a great job with it!
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Anyway she said it was terrible, except for Johnny Depp. But I know what you mean about the "LOOK AT JOHNNY DEPP" thing, it was the same in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
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