Liked:
- All the wonderful colors
- Female protagonist with no romantic imperative
- Subtle (inappropriately?) dark moments
- Outrageous grotesquerie
- The costumes, especially Alice's
- The March Hare
- The pleasant demeanor of the Cheshire Cat
- Johnny Depp's switching accents
- Anne Hathaway's gagging
Did not like:
- The use (perhaps the misuse of or the lack of use of) of 3D in the 3D version (I think 2D was better)
- The futterwhacking dance
- The lame music that went along with the futterwhacking dance
- The overall mellow vibe (would have preferred a bit more crazy of a pace for such a mad story world)
Overall I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this most recent version of Alice in Wonderland. Much serendipity came from the details and not the overall story. From The Cheshire Cat "breading" when he lands on Hatter's hat in the prison cell to the subtle yet impossible stretching of the Knave's arms and legs, I found details throughout this film that made me happy to be paying attention.
Also, I was so so pleased that the fantasy of the story turned out to be traveling to a place where you can figure out the answers to your most crucial, puzzling life questions on your own, instead of a fantasy where morals are handed to you neatly by a prince in shining armor or are revealed by a convenient metaphor mirroring your own predicament.
Definitely worth watching.
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Well well well.
ReplyDeleteWhere should I start with this one? I guess I could say that I went into this movie with a very negative attitude due to my deep hatred towards Tim Burton and his dark and creepy imagery that is portrayed in nearly all of his films. Thus, this particular version or Alice in Wonderland had a lot to prove and a lot to live up to from the hype it received from many friends, the media, and the constant praise by die hard conformist followers of "Tim Burton is hip and weird, thus awesome… so I'll believe he is hip and awesome too!" crowd. However, knowing the bizarreness naturally associated with the Alice in Wonderland saga, I couldn't bring myself to hate this movie but at the same time, I wasn’t overly captivated or wowed by it.
I agree with you that this movie was not well done at all in 3D. I found myself several times taking off my 3D glasses and finding that the images could have been just as captivating in 2D. By this point, I cannot say I was really amazed by the special effects either. There are just so many movies over exploiting the use of a green screen and really taking away from the magic of acting in an actual movie set. The call of going above and beyond and really creating a graphically amazing setting was just unoriginal and pretty much looked like every other bizarre Tim Burton flick. However, I can say I am still new to the realm of 3D movies and I must mention…. FOG! Loved the use of it!
On a positive note, I did love the actors and their portrayal of the several Alice In Wonderland characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the makeup (yes, even the eccentric Tim Burton version of the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts). I especially enjoyed the transformation of Alice from this sleep deprived girl from England with BAGS under her eyes to a character full of color and boldness towards the end of the movie. I also found myself captivated with each character and easily emotionally attached to their roles in the movie. The overall story was well written and I must agree with your appeal to the “traveling to a place where you can figure out the answers to your most crucial, puzzling life questions on your own, instead of a fantasy where morals are handed to you neatly by a prince in shining armor or are revealed by a convenient metaphor mirroring your own predicament”.
Well said, Caitlin!
Woah, I really disagree with some of the evaluations in your review, C.
ReplyDeletePrimarily the assumption that there was no obvious moral handed to the character. The moral was TOTALLY handed to Alice! How about the part where she is told by Mad Hatter that "if you face the jabberwocky, you face him alone. No matter who else puts pressure on you or offers advice, it is only between you and the creature, and the choice is yours". (I'm paraphrasing slightly here but I swear it's phrased like this). Totally a metaphor for her facing that dude under the altar and having to make the choice on her own. Her slaying the jabberwocky becomes this big lame metaphor about freeing herself.
Also, I loved (sarcasm) how the knowledge she gains in Wonderland leads her to further British colonialist power by embarking on a new imperialist trade route. Oh, the magic joy of British imperialism.
Also disagree that there was no romantic interest. They clearly made her older than she is in the book so that there could be some weird romantic tension between her and Depp/Mad Hatter. He keeps talking about how she needs to be "the right size" for him, which she is at the end, but then chooses to leave him for the aforementioned masculine pursuits of capitalism.
There was also some lesbian under-tension between her and the White Princess (Alice becomes the princess's "champion" and the two exchange some weird longing glances).
Finally, I think my favorite part was the futterwhacking dance. Only because it looked like a bizarre ridiculous Wii-game cut-scene that someone slapped together drunkenly in the middle of the night. Really gave a beautiful visual metaphor for the "WTF?" I felt while watching this film.
:)