ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

I tried going last weekend, but it kept being sold out. So I went this weekend instead. And my showing was still relatively full, but it didn't get that way until right before the movie started, so it was easy enough to get it early. Anywho... let me prelude by saying I have no deep connection or obsession with the original cartoon movie or the source material. I also do not obsess over Tim Burton, though I do enjoy (most of) his movies. And it didn't bother me in the slightest that this one followed his formula: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, twisted designs, and black and white juxtaposed against brighter colors. In other words, what every other movie blogger/review has been bitching and moaning about for the last year hasn't bugged me whatsoever. In fact, most reviews I've read have focused on the fact that it's Tim Burton being Tim Burton, while I looked at the movie purely as a movie and not as a "Tim Burton" movie. That being said, let's get into it.

This film acts like a sequel of sorts where Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is grown up and about to be proposed to by a Lord. But when she runs off to go think about it, she falls down the rabbit hole yet again. Despite growing up with strange dreams of Wonderland, she doesn't recognize any of it and can't figure out what to do, which causes some of its bizarre characters to wonder if she's truly "the" Alice. You see, Underland (not Wonderland) has been taken over by the tyrannical Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) because she controls the dangerous Jabberwocky. But it is apparently Alice's destiny to regain the Vorpal Sword, return it to the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), and become the champion that will slay the Jabberwocky and return peace to Underland. To help her are some memorable characters including, but not limited to, the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Matt Lucas), the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), and Absolom the Blue Caterpillar (Alan Rickman). Other actors to grace this film include Crispin Glover, Michael Sheen, and Timothy Spall.

There's not a whole lot to say about the movie. Let's start with the positive. Visually, the movie is magnificent. There are a couple issues here and there, but for the most part, the CGI is wonderful to look at. The story itself is also interesting, though there are a couple logic holes here and there. For instance, if the Cheshire Cat can evaporate and do whatever he wants, what stops him from just destroying the Red Queen himself? He's already damn near invincible. Also (bit of a spoiler here), there's kind of a leap of faith to take that the Bandersnatch will change sides just like that (end spoiler here).

Acting-wise, it was about half and half. Mia Wasikowska does pretty good as Alice, and Johnny Depp, Stephen Fry, and Matt Lucas are the next stand-outs. In fact, I really only had three issues with certain characters. First was Crispin Glover's character. Something about how he moved really irked me and just came off as overly fake, like they weren't done with the CGI but released the film anyway. I really didn't care for that character overall. The next big issue I had was with Anne Hathaway. I don't know whether to blame Hathaway or Burton, but the way the character was portrayed was just... stupid. It was overly regal and just plain silly. Her hands wear always up like a drunken T-Rex, and she had to flow about and spin around to make any kind of basic movement. It was all incredibly annoying to watch. Luckily, though, she's not in the movie all that much. The last little irksome bit was actually with Depp. I'm sure it was to help portray his character as, well, mad... but his constantly changing accents bugged me. Sometimes he'd be British, sometimes Scottish, sometimes... well, who knows? It was more of a subtle thing, but it still bothered me a bit.

Those were actually my biggest issues with the movie. It didn't blow me away, but I didn't hate it. The visuals were outstanding, and most of the acting was pretty well done. The story was engaging, though it did start to drag a bit near the third act. I just wanted to get on with the battle already. Again, I'm not sure how one would take it if you're an Alice fanatic or if you have a bias against Burton for being too similar in all his movies, but if you aren't those types, then I'm sure you'll find it at least pretty good and enjoyable.


I Am McLovin!

(P.S. The 3D aspect of it was pointless. Besides maybe a couple scenes here and there, there wasn't any point to having it in 3D).

GET SMART.

The movie is based on an old TV show of the same name, and I refuse to pun the name in this review (such as ‘Get Smart and Go See This!’) or whatever. So I’ll just get into i… wait, did I just pun the name in my explanation not to pun it? DAMNIT! Anyway… Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) is an incredibly smart desk-bound agent for CONTROL, head up by the Chief (Alan Arkin). After all the agents are compromised in names and looks, including Agent 23 (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson), CONTROL is forced to make Max into a full-time field agent, Agent 86. Now in his dream job, Max teams up with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), who is able to work the job because she had recently gotten facial reconstruction, and goes to Russia to find out what the evil KAOS group is doing with some nuclear materials and stop them.

I have to say, this movie was pretty funny. The first half, though, tended to be either hit or miss. What I mean by that is, some of the jokes were set up to be great and then they ‘missed it by that much.’ They were still funny, but not as funny as they really could have been. However, as the movie goes on, it gets better/funnier. And while the majority of the jokes are predictable (because you know what to expect from a slapstick comedy), they’re still effective and funny. And I loved the entire bit with the plane bathroom and the parachute stuff soon after.

The acting was done pretty well, even by Miss Hathaway. And I must say, she’s a great deal of eye candy in this movie. Though The Rock’s character was a bit underused in the middle (I don’t care if he’s trying to be more serious by going by his real name… he’ll always be The Rock to me). Oh, and there’s a great small/secondary role by Heroes’ Masi Oka that’s really fun.

I actually don’t have much more to say about it. I thought the movie was really funny, and Anne Hathaway was really nice to look at. There are some cool action stunts toward the end, too. Overall, a really good movie. It’s pretty much what I expected it to be (a fun, goofy, slapstick comedy). Oh, and look for a brief cameo appearance by Bill Murray, too. It’s pretty funny.

I Am McLovin!