Saturday, November 13, 2010

365+ movies in 365 Days: Day 196 - Double Feature: Alice In Wonderland


I took another trip to "Underland" with Alice. This time on the HD Blu-ray. I found the film as magical as it was when I saw it in the theatres seven months ago. The second time around I was more aware of the art direction and visual design of the film. Tim Burton's Alice offers so much to look at.

The movie is a new take on the Alice In Wonderland story. All the familiar characters are there, but Alice is all grown up and this is her second visit to this magical place. 

Actress Mia Wasikowska carries the movie on her own. She gives Alice a kind of haunted feeling, yet she is strong-willed and empowered. her visit to Underland helps her tap into her inner independence and bravey.

Johnny Depp is the Hatter and he's as mad as any character Depp has played. Yet there is an inner sadness to him that is not typical of the character in other portrayals. Watching Depp is a hoot, especially since his his features change from scene to scene depending on his emotional state at the time.

Helena Binham Carter is a wicked delight as the tyrannical Red Queen. She plays the character like an over spoiled child, except that she has an immense head.

Imelda Staunton, Alan Rickman, Christopher Lee, Micheal Sheen, Stephen Fry, Paul Whitehouse and Micheal Gough all provide voice work for the assortment of weird and wonderful characters. My favorite were Rickman as Absolem and Fry as the Chesire Cat. Anne Hathaway and Christopher Glovin round out the cast of human characters in wonderland.

The ending chess match felt derivative of many CGI action scenes, but the movie itself is a visual wonder and a delight.

At the Movie House rating *** stars 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm baaaaack..recomendation....I saw a below the radar movie, which I actually rented out of one of those supermarket boxes, and it was quite powerful...the star gave a magnificent performance...that is all I'll say, the movie is called Winter's Bones...highly recommend,

Anonymous said...

Question....Mr. MH, I have a movie challenge that maybe you can help me with...I recently purchased a copy of the HBO series, the Pacific, which was magnificent...On almost the same day, my wonderful brother sent me a copy for my birthday, an awesome and thoughtful gift. I am extremely grateful for the gift but obviously there is no need for me to have two copies. I wrote him an email asking him to find out the process for sending his back, this way he can get a credit. I have not heard from him yet....What should I do?...Thanks Mr. Moviehouse!!!