I honestly thought I wouldn’t like this Tim Burton film. Everything looked just entirely too too much and over the top. The trailers didn’t really appeal to me. I went to the 2D version because it was cheaper, so if I didn’t like it I hadn’t shelled out a lot of dough to see it. I was surprised by how many kids were in the theater – I expected the movie to be dark and I thought it was rated higher for more mature audiences. It’s not. It’s pretty kid friendly actually. To make a long story short, loved it. Like LOVED it.
The Actors:
- Mia Wasikowska is a wonderful Alice. Perfect from the tips of her curly blond hair to the points of her little toes. She’s a treat to watch.
- In the trailers, Johnny Depp, looks and sounds so completely bonkers, I was afraid he’d overplay the part. But Johnny’s performance is surprisingly poignant and full of charm.
- Helena Bonham Carter was another who I thought would overplay, but she’s every inch the Red Queen without being too much.
- Anne Hathaway plays the flighty White Queen. I couldn’t tell if she was good or bad for half the movie (yes clearly I’ve not read the books… shh… bad reader no cookie.)
- Crispin Glover was great as the Knave of Hearts also known as Stayne.
- Voice actors Michael Sheen and Alan Rickman did wonderful in their parts.
The Costumes:
- Alice Kingsley’s multiple outfits. You’d think the magic juice and cake would make her clothing shrink and grow accordingly, but it doesn’t. It leads to a bunch of hilarity and costume changes allowing Alice to fit into this new mad world.
- I’m on the fence for Johnny Depp’s makeup as the Mad Hatter. On one hand I love it – and he can certainly wear it. The eyelashes are awesome. On the other hand I really dislike the purple on white skin palette.
- Every costume for the Red Queen was gorgeous. It’s Tudor period meets Disney.
- Did not like the White Queen’s costumes. Or more accurately put, I hated that Anne Hathaway had dark thick black eyebrows and thick black/mauve lips against all that white. Very bizarre.
- Knave of Hearts face makeup was excellently done. He really looked like he had scars on his face.
CGI:
- The scenery will blow your mind in a very good way.
- All of the creatures and inhabitants of Wonderland (Underland) are highly stylized. I loved the White Rabbit and the March Hare the best. Go Team Rabbits. Er… Team Hares?
- Absolem or the Blue Caterpillar looked like a wrinkled old man. I especially liked his forays into the real world.
Favorite Moments:
The Mad Hatter: Have I gone mad?
Alice Kingsley: I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.
The Mad Hatter: [to Alice] You used to be much more...muchier. You've lost your muchness.
Alice Kingsley: This is impossible.
The Mad Hatter: Only if you believe it is.
If you can’t tell by my quotes you should know some of the best parts in the whole film are between Alice and Mad Hatter. They help each other, save each other, rescue each other, look out for each other… I was very disappointed when Johnny Depp didn’t appear in the real world as either himself or as someone new for Alice to meet that looked like her old friend. I thought there was romance in the air there… perhaps for a sequel?
Overall a wonderful movie and well worth the price of admission. I think I just might go see it in 3D.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Buy: Alice in Wonderland (2-Disc Special Un-Anniversary Edition)
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Welcome to the fourth edition of love of movies carnival. How many of you saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince this last week? What did you think? I was surprised I didn't get a ton of movie reviews for it. I wrote mine at 3AM when I got out of the midnight premiere on Wednesday. I was very careful to leave spoilers out for those who hadn't read the book yet. I saw it again yesterday with my family and the majority agreed with my assessment of the movie. The one who didn't prefers more Voldemort and just more going on. The New Moon trailer (sequel of Twilight) at both show times was welcomed in screams by everyone in the audience. November will prove to be exciting too.
Behind the Scenes
Craig Sharp presents Public Enemies Press Conference posted at FILMSHAFT.COM, saying, "Covering the recent UK Press Conference for Public Enemies, featuring Johnny Depp and director Michael Mann"
Craig Sharp presents Public Enemies - Brand New Poster AND Press Conference Footage! posted at FILMSHAFT.COM, saying, "Follow up to the Public Enemies press conference, actual footage from the event."
Celebrity
Nancy Miller presents 10 Celebrities Who Are Insanely Healthy posted at Radiology Technician Schools.
Colin Timberlake presents Underappreciated Actors: Rick Aviles posted at colintimberlake.com, saying, "A look at the career of underappreciated actor Rick Aviles (Ghost, Carlito's Way)"
Movie Reviews
Eric Gargiulo presents DVD Review - Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, "The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling is a controversial release from WWE Home Video. The documentary was so good that by the time I finished, I felt that it should have been released as a major motion picture."
daveandginny presents Up: Where we belong posted at Buttery Toast Movie Reviews, saying, "Ginny from Buttery Toast reviews the Pixar movie Up."
daveandginny presents Twilight posted at Buttery Toast Movie Reviews, saying, "Ginny's review of Twilight on Buttery Toast."
daveandginny presents Scream posted at Buttery Toast Movie Reviews, saying, "Dave's review of Scream on Buttery Toast."
Eric Gargiulo presents Return to Sleepaway Camp review posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, "Let's fast forward to 2008 (this was actually shot in 2003 and was delayed repeatedly) and we finally get the long awaited fourth installment "Return to Sleepaway Camp" with the tag-line - Kids can be so mean! For Sleepaway fans, this is the part two that we never really got since Hiltzik was not involved with the second and third parts."
Len Penzo presents Drive-By Movie Review: Gran Torino posted at Len Penzo . Com.
New Releases
steven germain presents Never heard of District 9? - You will soon... posted at Rough Fractals.
Eric Gargiulo presents WWE Allied Powers - The World?s Greatest Tag Teams DVD Review posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, "WWE pays homage to tag team wrestling with its newest DVD release. WWE Allied Powers - The World's Greatest Tag Teams DVD hits the shelves today. The DVD set spotlights some of wrestling’s greatest teams with a collection of matches and vignettes."
daveandginny presents Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen posted at Buttery Toast Movie Reviews, saying, "Dave's review of the new Transformers flick on Buttery Toast."
Production News
larryniven presents July fools! posted at Rust Belt Philosophy, saying, "Ten best picture nominees? Whaaaaaat?"
That concludes this edition. If you have movie and actor/tress news please submit your blog articles to the next edition of love of movies using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Technorati tags: love of movies, blog carnival.
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"So here it is -finally! I'm not even going to say how long this took." - Paul
Paul, this was well worth the wait! I'm so glad you managed to get everything sorted out with your computer and software!
There's no billowy shirt in this entry, but I think you'll agree that we got a lot of yummy goodness anyway! Johnny Depp eat your heart out! The creativity goes even farther than the cover too - just read the story behind this cover! I think choosing the winner will be tough.
Edit: I have a full version of this - and everything has been rendered to look like the photo realistic painting style found on most romance covers.
Design and Model: Paul
Synopsis Author: Dex Xu
Synopsis:
With each setting sun, Gareth Falconheart stands at the bow of his ship, the Black Talon, scanning the horizon with piercingly dark eyes. A pirate by title as well as in nature, he has taken many a life and even more innocent hearts throughout his journeys of the seas. Orphaned at the age of three, Gareth has finally found his place. With dangerously handsome features and the belief that he needs nothing and no one, Gareth's life is complete. Or is it?
A few miles behind, Wolfmoon sails swiftly, captained by the headstrong yet breathtakingly stunning Sabra de Ivonlea. With the ship's first mate Sculley by her side, Sabra operates on the promise she made at her father's deathbed.
The mission: destroy their sworn enemy, the Black Talon. When the two ships clash in battle and their captains meet face to face for the first time, the sparks that flew far surpassed those of the booming cannons.
As the war rages on, the desperate couple must also fight against their forbidden love. Can their rapidly evolving feelings overcome a vendetta of a hundred years? Or will their souls be destroyed in the aftermath of a prophecy fulfilled? Whatever the outcome, no one would ever forget the day that Gareth Falconheart and Sabra de Ivonlea locked gazes in The Secret Weapon.
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