So. blog post number 1 eh? Time to establish how things are going to progress from this point on with my first blogged film review. These will appear sporadically in between other posts which will address a variety of issues in the film and gaming industry.
So to kick it all off, as you might have guessed I'm reviewing
Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland.
I knew going into this film that there was a significant amount of critical slamming going on, but I like to keep an open mind about these things as the professionals generally don't match my opinions on things.
Two hours later coming out of the cinema and they were wrong again because Alice is not by any stretch a bad film. Sadly, nor is it a good one. It is in fact one of the most average films I've seen in a long time.
You really get the feeling that words were spoken at some point between Disney and Burton about just how edgy they were going to allow him to be in the film. There are little moments throughout the film such as Alice's Dress failing to change size when she does leaving her all but naked or the Bandersnatch's eye being cut out, that hint that Burton's full vision may have been darker and more adult than what finally appeared on screen. Its a real shame too as most of whats left is either bland or has been seen before in one of myriad other Alice films.
The story could have been brilliant but instead tends to wander off on unnecessary tangents - do we really need to know that the Mad Hatter used to be sane? Or that the Bloodhounds family is being held by the Red Queen?
I in no way exceed or wanted a faithful adaptation of the story but pretty much everything falls flat here evoking very little in the way of emotion at any point and playing it safe at every opportunity.
The cast is a mixed bag comprising largely of voice-only work from actors who seem to be just phoning in their performances, something which is sadly the case with some of the on-screen talent. Johnney Depp starts off well but the Hatter quickly goes from the mad character you want to see to a morbid dull character and Depp never manages to bring any life to him.
Anne Hathaway acts and speaks so woodenly that you wonder if this was the result of poor stage direction but one can't understand why anyone would ask her to give such a stilted and bored performance.
Helena Bohnam-Carter proves that she can chew scenery with the best of them which is exactly what you want from the character but brings nothing new to the roll other than a bulbous CG head.
Mia Wasikowska as Alice proves a saving grace to the film however, and is brilliant throughout convincingly acting against the CG and managing to bring real emotion to the roll. Whenever she's on screen you'll have a hard time looking away and shes stunningly pretty to boot.
The visuals are what really set Burton's films apart and Alice doesn't disappoint remotely in this respect. Wonderland is incredible to look at using CG to enhance what must have been very minimal sets to provide diverse settings from jungles to castles to a colossal chess board.
The creatures are brilliant and well designed with the March Hare in particular looking fantastic (a real shame he didn't get more screen-time).
Disney will have no worries about the film as its a guaranteed hit but to be honest if you want to see it you'll be better off waiting the 12 weeks till the DVD hits or grabbing it on pay-per-view as Alice isn't going to set your world on fire.
A flat 5.5 out of 10
