MyRating: YYDirector: Tim Burton
Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Matt Lucas
MPAA: Rated PG for fantasy action/violence involving scary images and situations, and for a smoking caterpillar
I am not a fan of Tim Burton. It's not because I do not like his works or the genre he makes, because I do love fantasy, I grew up reading Hobbit. That book gave such a big influence that makes me falling in love with the world of fantasy. However, I seldom can enjoy Burton's movies. I feel most of his movies are too surreal and childish in a strange way, even though I did love Sleepy Hollow and quite enjoying Sweeney Todd.
When I went to the theater to see Alice, I thought I will like this movie, because I knew Alice has made a lot of money in the US the first week it was released. People must have loved it. But after watching it, I have to say that I was not really enjoying it.
The story is about a 19-year-old Alice who accidentally returns to a peculiar world named Wonderland, while chasing a white rabbit and falling into a rabbit-hole. This is the world she has visited before as a child, but oddly she doesn't have any memory of it. While exploring the new world, she meets again with her old friends one by one, Mad Hatter (Depp), the White Queen (Hathaway), Tweedledum & Tweedledee (Lucas) and many other talking animals. All of them are trying to convince her the same thing, that her returning to their world has a destined purpose, to save Wonderland from the wicked and iron-fist reign of the Red Queen (Carter) and her cruel troops. So, Alice begins a journey with her friends to fulfill her destiny.
The mood of this film is a bit dark, awkward and gothic. It's Burton! The Wonderland is beautiful and colorful, with many strange-looking characters, the most memorable are the two funny little fat guys. But the 3D is nothing special. And there are some dull moments in the movies, except the scenes with Carter in it.
Helena Bonham Carter, with her big-headed character, is the screen-stealer. In my opinion, she outshines Depp in this movie. She is just hilarious in every scene she is in. Her acting is very good and also the only thing that I really enjoy in this movie. (MJ)
