The Date: early evening showing of the new Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland, with Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway
She Said:
I was highly anticipating this one- the previews really piqued my interest, and basically any collaboration with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp has my immediate thumbs up, sight unseen (I mean, I think I am the only one, but I am a huge fan of their Sweeney Todd movie!).
Unfortunately, Alice wiped away that assumption and trust.
This film was visually lovely, but ultimately pallid. The story was very played out- we've seen this all before, and there is truly nothing exciting in an older Alice having the exact same adventure (including the shrinking potion and enlarging cake!). What happened Tim Burton? Where is your mark? I feel that Disney had a heavy hand in script, and kept it very watered down to the basic tenets of the Disney cartoon version. Alice arrives, grows smaller and larger while meeting some strange creatures, has to get her wits about her and duke it out with the red queen. The END.
The only redemption was, naturally, in Johnny Depp's portrayal of the Mad Hatter. He was eerily costumed, had a brilliant Scottish brogue (that was perfectly indecipherable at times), but still made you fall for him. There was a strange pseudo-incestuous chemistry between him and Alice, and I almost found myself rooting for a little more spark there, almost. Ultimately, he is her navigator and helps her find her reason in Under Land while being a beguilingly strange, asexual friend. I definitely could have done without a bizarre end sequence that has him in a CG dance- UNCALLED FOR!
The actress playing Alice is lovely enough as well, but very unengaged and unengaging. I really had NO connection with her whatsoever, nor did I care much what happened to her. Enough said. She is supposed to be the heroine!
Verdict: in a word- disappointing. except for the fact that it is in 3D- definitely a wait for DVD.
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