Escape to the Movies: Alice in Wonderland
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I am having similar feelings. Maybe I'm not going for the movies themselves anymore. I am increasingly impressed with Johnny Depp and I like seeing who he manages to pull out of the hat for each movie he is in.Skeleon said:
That aside -
I somehow imagine the hatter using a spiked chain, or caltrops, or ... well... something really unique. Maybe an atlatl.
I just saw the movie last night, and I thought it was good. There was nothing really wrong with it. If you saw the first one it was pretty much the same thing, just a bit revised. Visually the movie looked really clear. (saw it in 3D) There wasn't a noticable difference between the computer animation and the actors. The acting was not extremely great or anything, but the whole movie was entertaining at least. I liked it.
I might be confused on this part, but didn't Carrol write a sequel to Alice in wonderland called through the looking glass? So wouldn't what bob said in his review about making up a sequel be wrong? I know I read that somewhere when I heard about the movie last year.
Personally I liked it, I didn't think it was one of Burton's best films but I felt it was decent enough. At worst I would call it mediocre due to constantly being pulled out of the immersion by a scene where you can tell the actors were standing in front of a green screen. If I had to pick a point where it failed completely it was keeping the viewer fully immersed throughout. Just when you'd start to really get into it they would do something that would jar you back into reality (like Depp changing his tone of voice, poor green screening, or the deliverance of Alice's lines by her actress.)
-EDIT-
I did a little research into that second book (yeah I've never read either...sue me) and well Burton's film is definitely a very loose adaption and merger of both books to suit his needs. While the second book is indeed treated as a sequel to the first it didn't take place in Wonderland.
Personally I liked it, I didn't think it was one of Burton's best films but I felt it was decent enough. At worst I would call it mediocre due to constantly being pulled out of the immersion by a scene where you can tell the actors were standing in front of a green screen. If I had to pick a point where it failed completely it was keeping the viewer fully immersed throughout. Just when you'd start to really get into it they would do something that would jar you back into reality (like Depp changing his tone of voice, poor green screening, or the deliverance of Alice's lines by her actress.)
-EDIT-
I did a little research into that second book (yeah I've never read either...sue me) and well Burton's film is definitely a very loose adaption and merger of both books to suit his needs. While the second book is indeed treated as a sequel to the first it didn't take place in Wonderland.
could the movie be borrowing inspiration from The Looking Glass Wars or the zenescope comic? it appears more like that than the traditional idea.
Egads, everyone has different tastes! I like to follow reviewers whose tastes are similar to my own because I'll get a good heads up on whether I'll like something or not. That's not always the case, since, as I just said, everyone's tastes are different, but for the most part I tend to agree with what Movie Bob has to say.jthm said:
The real problem is that idiots love to see reviewers as some form of Jesus figure, spouting verse from on high. Movie Bob is just a guy giving his opinion, you don't have to take what he says as the gospel truth. Hell, I learned that lesson a long time ago just from being a gamer. I faithfully read PC Gamer because I tend to agree with them, but even I've had times where I thought they were horribly wrong (Far Cry 2 was a terrible game and should have been decimated by critics as such. I have no idea how anyone could have liked that piece of shit). Even to this day, I still take their reviews with a grain of salt, but I still like to use them as a rough barometer. Likewise, I though Avatar was pretty mediocre (and the more I think about that movie, the more I hate everything it stands for), but Movie Bob loved it. Do I still watch his reviews? Yep! Do I trust everything he says 100%? Nope. But our tastes are similar enough that Escape to the Movies is a show I look forward to watching.
And to anyone ripping on MB's review of this movie for some odd reason, y'all can eat a dick. A lot of other reviews are saying the same damn thing.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10009599-alice_in_wonderland/
Even a lot of the positive reviews are commenting on how shallow this movie is, and I don't know about you guys, but when I watch a movie, I want to watch a movie. Not to pay to be on a shitty amusement park ride.
Wish I would have seen this review before I payed 14 dollars for an Imax ticket. Would have saved me the trouble. Seriously, why the hell is Johnny Depp in this movie so much? And why in all that is holy does he use a broadsword?!?!
Two things:
#1: I thought Anne Hathaway was one of the worst performances in the entire thing with the way she was waving her arms around and such. It was overdone, and pretty bad.
Actually I agree with Moviebob on a lot of this though. My thoughts though are more along the lines of Tim Burton being in a hurry to play with the new 3D technology (like a lot of other creatores and directors) and he spent more time getting the scenery right and having the actors work around that, than he did on the actual story, screenplay/dialogue, or anything else.
That said it's an okay movie, but it's almost exactly like Avatar. An utterly banal storyline full of horrendous problems with absolutly awesome FX and visuals. I suppose Alice does get points though for not trying to bludgeon you with a political agenda.
#2: The whole "Alice Returns To Wonderland" thing is pretty old. The cult game "Alice" by American Mcgee is the most famous version of course. I don't consider it a real "cult classic" though because it's so well known and heavily played.
You've seen the idea re-visited a number of times, including a series of young adult novels called "The Looking Glass War" which is very close to this movie, not to mention the Syfy series "Alice".
Pretty much every coverage of the subject tends to get a lot of the characters wrong. I suspect it's because most people assume that your typical member of the audience is going to be familiar with the Disney version (or maybe the Cocteau one) and never had read the actual story. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if most of the movie makers in many cases themselves had never read it.
That said I would have found it a lot more fresh if it wasn't doing the same basic thing all of the other versions had done, and instead had say Alice teaming up with The Queen Of Hearts.
#1: I thought Anne Hathaway was one of the worst performances in the entire thing with the way she was waving her arms around and such. It was overdone, and pretty bad.
Actually I agree with Moviebob on a lot of this though. My thoughts though are more along the lines of Tim Burton being in a hurry to play with the new 3D technology (like a lot of other creatores and directors) and he spent more time getting the scenery right and having the actors work around that, than he did on the actual story, screenplay/dialogue, or anything else.
That said it's an okay movie, but it's almost exactly like Avatar. An utterly banal storyline full of horrendous problems with absolutly awesome FX and visuals. I suppose Alice does get points though for not trying to bludgeon you with a political agenda.
#2: The whole "Alice Returns To Wonderland" thing is pretty old. The cult game "Alice" by American Mcgee is the most famous version of course. I don't consider it a real "cult classic" though because it's so well known and heavily played.
You've seen the idea re-visited a number of times, including a series of young adult novels called "The Looking Glass War" which is very close to this movie, not to mention the Syfy series "Alice".
Pretty much every coverage of the subject tends to get a lot of the characters wrong. I suspect it's because most people assume that your typical member of the audience is going to be familiar with the Disney version (or maybe the Cocteau one) and never had read the actual story. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if most of the movie makers in many cases themselves had never read it.
That said I would have found it a lot more fresh if it wasn't doing the same basic thing all of the other versions had done, and instead had say Alice teaming up with The Queen Of Hearts.
Well, saw the movie today. I enjoyed it, though the Disney and American McGee takes are indeed better. 3 stars from me, 7/10. However, I do feel the need to make a very points.
The Mad Hatter: Firstly, I think Depp played him very well. Not my favourite characters (those were The White Queen, March Hare and Cheshire Cat), but he was a decent portrayal by Depp. As for the whole broadsword thing; yes, he's crippled by Mercury poisoning, but this is Wonderland, who's to say he's not just crippled mentally? Besides, I always saw the 'Raven/Writing Desk' riddle as being a partial reason for his madness.
Alice: I didn't think they gave her enough to work with. I agree with those who said she's merely a perspective, but I'd like to see the girl who played her do more. Maybe a bigger, less period role (so the accent/voice doesn't mean it's hella difficult to emote with).
Epic Battle: To me, it wasn't an epic battle in the sense of Narnia. The battlefield itself was quite small, so were the forces. As pointed out by the rabbit, the fight was really between champions (Alice/Jabberwock). The rest of the forces were just there to show off power, and in case all hell broke loose (as it did). The fight stopped once Alice won, anyway.
Anyway, that's just my view, and chances are only 20-30 people will read them
The Mad Hatter: Firstly, I think Depp played him very well. Not my favourite characters (those were The White Queen, March Hare and Cheshire Cat), but he was a decent portrayal by Depp. As for the whole broadsword thing; yes, he's crippled by Mercury poisoning, but this is Wonderland, who's to say he's not just crippled mentally? Besides, I always saw the 'Raven/Writing Desk' riddle as being a partial reason for his madness.
Alice: I didn't think they gave her enough to work with. I agree with those who said she's merely a perspective, but I'd like to see the girl who played her do more. Maybe a bigger, less period role (so the accent/voice doesn't mean it's hella difficult to emote with
).Epic Battle: To me, it wasn't an epic battle in the sense of Narnia. The battlefield itself was quite small, so were the forces. As pointed out by the rabbit, the fight was really between champions (Alice/Jabberwock). The rest of the forces were just there to show off power, and in case all hell broke loose (as it did). The fight stopped once Alice won, anyway.
Anyway, that's just my view, and chances are only 20-30 people will read them
also just to make sure,Vredesbyrd67 said:
in all the trailers i saw they made it reallllllllly clear that johnney depp was in it as the mad hatter
every other scene of the trailer had depp on screen, to the point where i thought the film was just going to be johnney depp rubbing his balls on the camera lense
I love the random, weird-ass stuff that makes Alice in Wonderland what it is, but I didn't like how this movie tried to incorporate the whole war thing.
I still need to read Through the Looking Glass to find out just how much of that book is in the movie, or vice versa.
I still need to read Through the Looking Glass to find out just how much of that book is in the movie, or vice versa.
A lot of people haven't actually read Alice in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass, and they really should.
They're amazing books, not really for kids in my opinion. But hey.
It always seems to me that a lot of people who haven't read them make the mistake of thinking that Wonderland is a fairy tale when it is actually much much deeper.
Carroll comments on the futility of life, high level mathematical concepts, conflict, insanity, sanity, loyalty, trust, betrayal, kindness/hostility of strangers and many more
People see the Disney version and think "This is a nice kids story." Then get upset when they see scenes like those in the movie, which are slightly closer to the books' darkness or when it starts to make you question and think about things (again is anyone in that story evil? since all the events are laid out in advance, no-one seems to have a choice in what they're doing).
Also have to say, looks to be more like a longsword to me than a broadsword...
Not sure why the Hatter seemed to be Scottish at times, but it worked well with the hare (who was hilarious)
They're amazing books, not really for kids in my opinion. But hey.
It always seems to me that a lot of people who haven't read them make the mistake of thinking that Wonderland is a fairy tale when it is actually much much deeper.
Carroll comments on the futility of life, high level mathematical concepts, conflict, insanity, sanity, loyalty, trust, betrayal, kindness/hostility of strangers and many more
People see the Disney version and think "This is a nice kids story." Then get upset when they see scenes like those in the movie, which are slightly closer to the books' darkness or when it starts to make you question and think about things (again is anyone in that story evil? since all the events are laid out in advance, no-one seems to have a choice in what they're doing).
Also have to say, looks to be more like a longsword to me than a broadsword...
Not sure why the Hatter seemed to be Scottish at times, but it worked well with the hare (who was hilarious)
Glad to see someone with good literature knowledge. Btw, good first post and "Welcome to The Escapist". You'll see that the people here are very polite and good-looking. This site is one monumental step towards realising a certain utopia(don't know which yet, but we'll find out after we conquer Australia; you know we need to save our fellow man from M+ ratings and shit?).Bucketface said:
Got a little side tracked there.
Any way, it's good to have you with us, mate.
OT: I was looking forward to a more first-book-like Alice in Wonderland
All the randomness and the absurdity of the first book really made it feel original, and really child friendly. Now that I see that it doesn't go as pure fanfic, I'm willing to give it a try.
Still, I can't understand what's with all this Tim Burton, hate?
In my opinion he really didn't make bad movies. I really don't see what's bad about his weird, objective-free films. In my opinion, something doesn't need to have a certain plot just to be good, it can solely depend on the immersion and feelings it provides.
Considering each and everyone of us has different morals, and opinions on what's wrong and right, I feel that this world has all the weirdness and non-objectiveness of any fantasy world out there. There is always a grey zone when it comes to morals, and with time I feel this is simply starting to expand, due to the new dilemmas we face, because of our evolving world.LoganAsh said:
I agree 100% with you dude. + I keep bumping with cultural references to "Through the Looking Glass"MB202 said:
