Alice in Wonderland

After the monster success of Avatar, the next big film in the move to popularize 3D has come in the new Disney film, directed by Tim Burton, Alice in Wonderland. This film is not really based directly on the Alice in Wonderland book, written by Lewis Carroll. Burton instead makes the film kind of a loose sequel, while being an introductory film to Wonderland.

Alice is now 20. She keeps having dreams of a strange world with odd looking creatures, and these visions distract her from her real life, which she finds moving to fast for her own good. Amidst being asked for her hand in marriage, Alice decides to take a walk, and follows a white rabbit. She finds herself in a strange, yet somehow familiar place. The creatures of Wonderland need Alice’s help in taking down the Red Queen from her throne of Wonderland, but before she can, she must rediscover who she really is and figure out if this is some kind of weird dream, or is this place real and why it is so familiar.

Unlike Avatar, Alice in Wonderland was not filmed with 3D cameras, but was converted for 3D. Most of the 3D in this film is things flying at your face, and with Burton’s penchant for atmosphere, this does make for a beautiful looking film. All the set pieces in Wonderland are very creative in design, from the Hatter’s gloomy looking tea party table to the White Queen’s beautiful castle. The atmosphere is lovely on the eyes. I also loved the designs of the Wonderland creatures. The Cheshire Cat looks fantastic, as does the Jabberwhocky, as does the Caterpillar, and so on. Great looking film

As far as acting goes, I want to start by saying the supporting cast are great in their essentially voice acting roles, for the most part. I especially loved Stephen Frey as the Cheshire Cat. Johnny Depp is good as the Mad Hatter, but we’ve seen him play this role before. This is nothing new for the audience. Helena Bonham Carter was entertaining as the bitter and insecure Red Queen. Her childish temper made for some humorous scenes. Anne Hathaway was good as the White Queen, but the role is not spectacular. But, I want to focus on the central character of the film, Alice. Actress Mia Wasikowska doesn’t light up the screen as Alice. The character comes off as bland, and she has limited emotional range. In a world of the fantastic and odd, Alice is boring. She is a bland protagonist, and it is hard to care about her. The writing may have something to do with that, but the performance is noticeably weak.

The story for the film is also not spectacular. The exposition of the film is very brief, and the film rushes Alice into Wonderland. You can’t care about Alice enough before she goes on her journey. Same goes for the resolution. When Alice is in Wonderland, the film is great. The story is nothing new, a character is the chosen one to save a people under tyranny. We’ve seen it many times over. But, the plot is not where Burton attempted to make the film shine. Definitely more thought was put into the Wonderland designs than the script itself. It does make the film pretty, but the lack of plot makes the film not achieve anything more than that.

I am a huge fan of Tim Burton. He is one of my favorite directors. But, Alice in Wonderland is far from his best effort. The film is very much style over substance and is entertaining, yet forgettable. It is worth a theatrical viewing in 3D just for the visuals. It is a good movie, just not a great one.

I give Alice in Wonderland – 3/5

Shutter Island

After being delayed from October 2nd of last year, Martin Scorsese's latest film, Shutter Island which is based on the book by Dennis Lehane, has finally been released. Many times, pushing a movie back from its original release date is a bad sign, but in the case of Shutter Island, that doesn't turn out to be the case. 

Teddy Daniels is a Federal Marshall whom has been sent, along with a new partner from Seattle Chuck, to investigate a mysterious disappearance of a patient named Rachel Solando from the mental rehabilitation clinic on Shutter Island. Run by Dr. Cawley, Shutter Island focuses on the rehabilitation on the worst and most violent of patients that other hospitals cannont manage. While investigating the disappearance, Teddy discovers that all is not as it seems on Shutter Island.

I never read the book, and I am glad I never did. I went into this film blind to the story, and it enhanced the experience for me. I am also not going to go too in depth on the story. Shutter Island should be enjoyed like all great Hitchcock films should be: just sit down and let the story unfold before your eyes. If you do that, you won't be disappointed. The story is very cleverly written and works on every level.

Martin Scorsese is easily one of Hollywood's best directors, and Shutter Island shows this. Scorsese meshes Hitcockian suspense with Kubrick's cerebrally interesting visuals. In doing so, Scorsese manages to get into your head early and he never lets go until the credits roll. The stark transitions, ominous score, and the way scenes are shot make this film really uncomfortable to watch, and that is its goal. While a film like Avatar will get a lot of notice for its visual appeal on the eyes, I think Shutter Island deserves a lot of praise for its appeal on your mind. 

I know some people are going to hate on Scorsese for picking DiCaprio for his film again. However, why is this a problem? Scorsese knows what he wants, and he knows Leo can deliver it to him much like Burton knows Johnny Depp will give him what he wants. If the collaboration isn't broke, don't fix it! Under Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio has gone from the pretty boy in Titanic to one of the best actors in the industry. Shutter Island depends heavily on Leo's performance, and Leonardo DiCaprio goes above and beyond what the film required. He is phenomenal in the role of Teddy Daniels, and it is not an easy role. DiCaprio has to showcase a wide variety of things in this film. 

While DiCaprio should get his due credit, let's not forget the supporting cast! Mark Ruffalo is awesome as Chuck and has great chemistry with DiCaprio. Ben Kingsley and Max Von Sydow both make you uneasy everytime they are on screen. Michelle Williams is haunting in her role. Fans of Watchmen will also love the appearance by Jackie Earl Haley. Scorsese gets what he needs out of everyone, and they work very well off each other. Everyone was making the same film.

Shutter Island may not be one of Scorsese's elite films, but that is not a knock on the film considering he has made Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, Taxi Driver, The Departed, and my personal favorite film of his, The Last Temptation of Christ. I could keep going, but the point is despsite not being his best film, Shutter Island manages to be the year's best film so far, and had it made its original release date on October 2nd, it would have been possibly the best film last year! Mid-level Scorsese films are still better than 90% of a director's best film. Just go in blind, and enjoy the ride!

I give Shutter Island 5/5!

The Wolfman

"Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright"

This is the repeatedly spoken line in the classic 1941 film The Wolf Man and is what director Joe Johnston uses to start off his 2010 remake.

In this retelling which takes place during the late Victorian era, director Joe Johnston and writers Andrew Kevin Walker and David Self stick close to the original story while expanding on a few things only briefly mentioned in the Lon Chaney Jr. version. Lead character Lawrence Talbot leaves his theatre work to return home after hearing of his brother's death. Talbot is seemingly reluctant to come back to his father’s estate in Blackmoor, England and is only there to see his brother for the first and sadly last time in many years. Benicio Del Toro plays Talbot a bit reserved and with little emotion but really starts to come through after the first transformation and when he begins to deal with his newfound curse. At first Del Toro seems like he’s not giving it his all but as the film goes on you see just how troubled and haunted his character is and why he isn’t full of energy.

The film has a great supporting cast consisting of Anthony Hopkins as Lawrence’s father Sir John Talbot, Emily Blunt as Gwen Conliffe, the late fiancée of Lawrence’s deceased brother Ben and Hugo Weaving playing a fictionalized version of Inspector Abberline of Jack the Ripper fame. With only seeing one other film with Blunt in it, I thought she did pretty well as the saddened fiancée who confides in Lawrence to find out who murdered Ben Talbot. The little romance that starts between Gwen and Lawrence is unnecessary though and feels a bit forced. Not to mention it happens rather quickly which I can assume is from the editing job this film had. While Hopkins does well and seems to have had a bit of fun playing the reclusive and somewhat sinister father, it’s Weaving that steals the show (the tavern scene alone is a great example) and is only rivaled by the Wolfman himself. The dialogue is nothing great but works for the most part and doesn’t have unnecessary humor thrown in at every turn to lighten the mood.

With the film being about a man who changes into a werewolf, you expect there to be some blood, violence, and scares. While The Wolfman doesn’t disappoint in the blood and gore department, the scares are cheap. Instead of using the atmosphere and shadows (which were well done by the way) to keep the audience on the edge of their seats, Johnston chooses to quickly throw things at the screen with loud sound effects and music cues. While I don’t have a problem with using a few cheap scares in films now and again, I think The Wolfman would have benefited using less of them, much like a lot of other horror films should have in recent memory.

In regards to special effects, it’s a bit disappointing to see they used CGI during some of the transformation scenes when they had makeup and effects master, Rick Baker. A few of the scenes that stand out the most are when he’s strapped to the chair and starts flicking his tongue out when changing and the other was during one of the last scenes involving Lawrence and his father, which I didn’t care for despite being somewhat entertaining. The sound effects during his transformation were great though, especially the snapping and shifting of his bones. Aside from the CGI used, Del Toro in full costume looks fantastic. It’s a great modern update to the classic look that Lon Chaney Jr. had.

Although I really enjoyed this film, the pacing could have been much better. With past reports stating the problems this film had in the editing room which led to the release date being pushed back, I’m not surprised with the final product. The movie doesn’t dwell enough on a good number of scenes, it just rushes through them for the most part which is sad considering how good the sets look, especially at night. You also don’t get to see much of Lawrence’s acting on the stage or his trip back to England. It just jumps from him on the stage for a second or two to quickly arriving at his father’s home. The editing problem is felt the most when it comes down to character development.

There are plenty of nods to the original film like Sir John Talbot’s telescope, as well as delving into what Doctor Lloyd (played by Warren William) said in the 1941 version, “I believe a man lost in the mazes of his own mind may imagine that he's anything.” to name a few. It was great that they went into Talbot’s mind a bit in the asylum thinking they could cure him as well as the flashback scene of him finding his dead mother and how over the years Lawrence forgets exactly what he saw that night.

All in all, this film (as well as Dog Soldiers) is one of the better werewolf films to come out in the last ten years. Despite its editing and character development problems here and there, it’s an entertaining horror film and in my eyes one of the few good (or decent) remakes we’ve had. Recently there was an interview with Johnston talking about an extended cut with 17 minutes of footage thrown back in, most of which is character moments as opposed to action and violence. Hopefully that can fix a number of this film’s problems.

 3/5

Edge of Darkness

"You need to decide if you're hanging on the cross or banging in the nails."

Great line in a scorching comeback to the big screen from Mel Gibson, there too few genuine movie stars these days so it's great to see an old stager like Mel knock it out the park as Boston detective and grieving father Thomas Craven.

He's ably supported by Ray Winstone as the menacing and enigmatic Jedburg, their scenes together are the highlight of the movie. The other supporting characters kinda flit in and out while Danny Huston brings the loathable sleaze as the main bad guy.

Flitting in and out is perhaps the film's main weakness, a number of characters appear briefly as a plot link to give Craven a piece of info, and then they aren't involved again, or only reappear to get killed. This is the curse of adapting a TV mini series with a nearly 6 hour run time and is most glaringly evident in a pivotal scene with Jedburg.

Now "State of Play" avoided that pitfall masterfully, having not seen either mini series I can only imagine they did so by streamlining the material which may have been a wise idea here.

Despite this the story is still intriguing and engaging and Tom Craven's journey is an intense one that has you rooting for him all the way, there isn't a lot of action but what there is, is impactful, the use of sound and editing is first class and really drives home the death of Emma and the finale gun battle.

Speaking of the finale I am sure some will have found it too simplistic and indeed it could have been much smarter, but personally I found it satisfying.

7/10


This Week on DVD: Surrogates

This will be the first of a weekly article I'll be writing in which I review one new DVD release and either recommend it or rip on it. Remember, my opinion is just that, so don't allow my rants to dissuade you from any home entertainment. But, if you share the same views as I do on other articles I've written, obviously you're not an idiot, so you might want to listen up. I might save you four bucks that would have otherwise be wasted. 

Surrogates I didn't follow this one very closely when it was released in theaters. I do remember the TV spots being a little vague and ambiguous, but it stars Bruce Willis, one of my favorites, so I decided on it for this week's topic.

The basic synopsis of the film, without being spoiler heavy, is that, in an alternate present day, the best intentions of creating robotic driven bodies, similar to a Terminator, to replace the broken bodies of handicapped humans goes awry and presents the opportunity for any average Joe Schmo to purchase a machine version of him or herself, made to that person's exact specifications. Pray that, in a time when celebrity worship is at its worst, this never becomes a reality. I already see enough skin and bone versions of females walking around between purges. 

The machines work by way of a neural connection with the operator, who literally never has to leave their seat. The appeal is that, by cutting yourself off from the world, you eliminate, to a certain degree, the risk of disease or injury. You can also be anyone or anything you want. But don't we already have enough of that? I can sit in my chair in the sanctity of my own home and write whatever I want, whether its how I feel or not (which it always is) and you would never know the difference. The story touches on the importance of human interaction. You know, that face to face thing, where you can actually see a person laugh out loud instead of reading "LOL". 

Recommend Its definitely a sci-fi movie, which may be an initial turn off to the ladies, but guys, if you can get your sweetie to sit down and watch it with you, it might sway her into the mood for a little human interaction. And it may make you decide to limit your time on Facebook...for a couple of hours at least.