Alice In Wonderland Review

After weeks and weeks, I finally went out and saw a movie...in the theaters. I truly wanted to see Alice In Wonderland and I talked my friend into seeing it with me on Friday. I mostly wanted to see it because Tim Burton directed it and Johnny Depp and Michael Sheen were in there, but I also wanted to see how they turned a classic cartoon story into a kind of human version.



Of course, I loved the movie because of amazing special effects and the fact Tim Burton directed it and I love his movies. The first part seemed to drag a little bit because they show Alice's father talking about an impossible idea and throughout the whole movie, you never find out what that idea was. The ending seemed to do the same, Alice clearly says she will be back before you know it but yet the last scene shows her on a ship sailing to China to promote whatever the idea her father had to the Chinese. I'm left wondering if she ever truly does go back, yes, you can remember something like Wonderland but to actually go back makes it even more significant.

I did, however, love the plot of the story, it wasn't very clear though. I think it was mostly about how the White Queen had her thrown stolen from her older sister, the Red Queen. She wanted it back but the only way the crown could come back to her was when she found her champion (Alice) and fight the Red Queen's champion (the Jabowoki, don't know if I spelled it right). I guess I understood because the Red Queen was making Wonderland miserable but it didn't truly seem to draw me in. I didn't understand most of it.

Mia Wasikowska was absolutely amazing in this movie. She has only been in acting since 2004 and this has made her career. I've never seen her acting before but she an amazing job with Alice. I was counting on her to be a great Alice and she had done that and beyond. She was shy when she needed to be but was also on two sides: brave and strong or cautious and unsure. She always had a quiet voice in the movie which was good because it seems she was shocked that there were people just as or more mad than she was. She was good with seeing everything being a dream and finally seeing that this is a real world and she was actually in it. Mia did an amazing job and I can see her doing even better in her upcoming movies, Restless and Jane Eyre.

I'm a HUGE fan of Johnny Depp and so I have to do a review on his performance. Of course, as always, he did an amazing job with playing the Mad Hatter. I loved when he started doing the Scottish accent, it would scare the crap out of you but also make ou worried for him. He was amazing when he had to be mad and when he tried to be light and uppity. He did his taglines and jokes very amazingly, like when he kept asking Alice, "Have you any idea why a raven is like a writing desk?" He does a great job during the whole movie, good job, Johnny!

As for the rest of the actors, they did a gret job. I hated and loved the right people and they showed their personalities and why they look the way they do clearly. The characters made me laugh and cry the whole movie. I didn't think I would cry but the dog who wanted his family to be free and then they were, that made me all choked up. :)



I give the whole movie a four out of four because even though the plot line wasn't completely clear, I was very impressed and I did prefer this version to the old one. Tim Burton's touch made it much more "mad" if I do say so myself.

Reference: http://blacknailedreviews.blogspot.com/2010/04/alice-in-wonderland-review.html

"Alice In Wonderland" Review

Why it took Tim Burton this long to make a movie adaptation of "Alice In Wonderland" I'll never know. Considering Burton's previous accomplishments of making movies with weird worlds and isolated protagonists, it seems like he would have tackled Lewis Carol's classic book years ago. But then back then he'd have to make sets to create the world he does here, which would have been tedious and expensive. Now he can just put his characters in front of a green screen for half the cost and just as nice a look. To say this movie looks great would be an understatement as for all the complaints Burton gets on his storytelling I hear very little complaints of his visual accomplishments.

Read Rest of Review

Reference: http://unpredictableoscars.blogspot.com/2010/04/alice-in-wonderland-review.html

Review: Soap and Glory's Sexy Mother Pucker lipgloss

As you know already, I was sent some products from Joanna over Soap&Glory. Along with the two awesome products I have already reviewed, she sent the Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Plumping Gloss Gift Set.

This set contains 3 lip plumping colours (Nude, What a melon, and a transparent one with glitters, which I didn't bring with me in my parents' town so I can't remember the name), and all of them are really sheer, which I love because they just give a hint of colour. The glittery one has very fine glitters that reflect the light rather than turning you into a discoball. Classy!

The formulation is very thick (and very sticky, so I would not suggest wearing this on a windy day or if you have to kiss someone eheheh) and gives that super sexy "wet" mouth effect.

It is a very long lasting lipgloss, and you can still detect traces of it if you drink and even eat!

As for the plumping effect, let me start by saying that I am not usually a fan of plumping glosses. This does tingle a bit, after 2 or 3 minutes you put it on, but the tingling does not last ages.

I think what gives the illusion of bigger lips is actually the consistency of the lipgloss, and the tingling effect is just some sort of placebo that forces you into thinking you're getting plumped lips.

However, I really love all of these glosses, for they consistency and for the shine they add to my lips. Again, I love the fact that they are sheer, because I'm not a huge fan of bright colored and glossed lips, they look a little too fake to me.



Now, on to some photos:

they look scary in the tube, but you'll see from the swatches that they are sheer

Shades are Nude, the transparent glittery one, and What a Melon (nice name, by the way!)

I am a huge fan of details. Can you see the golden glitters on?

Shades are as shown above, Nude, Glittery one, What a Melon

close up of the glittery one. They are very very fine, see how gorgeous it is? Just enough to reflect the light.

What a Melon on my lips - natural light

The set retails for � 17, 50 which I think it is a very good value for the money for 3 lipglosses! Especially when they contains 7 ml of product, and most of the high end ones contain 5ml or less and they really work the same way as Sexy Mother Pucker!



My vote is 4.5 on 5 (just cos it's very very sticky and my boyfriend hates it eheheh) and I do recommend this product!



Have you ever tried Sexy Mother Pucker? What is your opinion on its plumping effect?





Soap & Glory sent this set to me for reviewing purposes. I did not receive any monetary compensation for it, and I do not work for, nor am I an affiliate of the brand.

Reference: http://aliceinwonderland348.blogspot.com/2010/04/review-soap-and-glorys-sexy-mother.html

Review - Alice in Wonderland 3D

Disney takes another stab at the classic Lewis Carroll story with this special effects laden blockbuster directed by Tim Burton. Alice (Mia Wasikowska,) a nineteen year old independent woman, is flung into the mysterious "Wonderland" where a host of oddball characters guide and prepare her for a destined fight with the Red Queen and the monstrous Jabberwocky.



This take on Alice in Wonderland works best if you ignore the script and let the excellent special effects and production design draw you in. The computer generated characters who inhabit Wonderland such as the sly Chesire Cat (Stephen Fry) and Tweedledum and Tweedledee (both voiced by Matt Lucas) are well realised and the voice acting is excellent. The majority of the voice-overs are done by a British cast which also includes Michael Sheen and Alan Rickman who turn in strong performances. As for the live action cast, Mia Wasikowska does a pleasant but unremarkable job as the perpetually baffled Alice. She takes a back seat to the cast of grotesques surrounding her. Helena Bonham-Carter is a hammy but entertainingly vicious Red Queen, and Anna Hathaway is unfortunately a rather boring White Queen, whose attempts at being kooky fall a bit flat. Crispin Glover makes a rare but welcome appearance in a big Hollywood blockbuster as the Red Queens right hand man. It's a one-note character but Glover brings an enjoyable creepiness to the role.



Before the film's release the most hype was for Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, and his performance is the most difficult to judge. It's incredibly uneven, vearing from a perfect mix of weirdness and humanity, to being overplayed and slightly cringy. Overall the performance is a bit of a disappointment, and the character sometimes stops being fun and becomes a bit tedious.



Tim Burton has stated in interviews that he wanted to avoid this version of Alice in Wonderland being a series of fantasy sequences with little linking each set piece. He has tried achieve this by introducing some bookend sequences revolving around Alice being forced into a marriage she has no interest in, and the amnesia aspect where Alice has forgotten she has visited Wonderland before as a young child. The script and story aren't fully developed though, so unfortunately for Tim the film essentially plays as a series of unrelated fantasy sequences.



Alice in Wonderland is glorious to look at, and looks nice in 3D even though there are few scenes that make full use of the 3D effect. But the shortfalls in the script and story, and the occasional hollow feeling which can affect any film burgeoning with computer generated effects, means this film isn't as successful as it should have been. Mostly entertaining, but somewhat of a missed opportunity.

Reference: http://davesmovieramblings.blogspot.com/2010/04/review-alice-in-wonderland-3d.html

Biographer says ‘Alice in Wonderland’s’ Carroll was not a pedophile

"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," a movie directed by Tim Burton and starring Mia Wasikowska as Alice and Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, opened on March 5.

A variety of editions of the classic tale by Lewis Carroll are available for those who would rather read the book than see a movie.

For those interested in the history of the book, The Mystery of Lewis Carroll: Discovering the Whimsical, Thoughtful, and Sometimes Lonely Man Who Created "Alice in Wonderland" by Jenny Woolf (St. Martin's Press, February 2010, $27.99) will provide plenty of background. It relies on new sources and sheds new light on rumors about the author.

Lewis Carroll is the nom de plume of mathematician and author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson.

It's long been rumored that Dodgson was in love with 11-year-old Alice Liddell, who inspired his Alice in Wonderland. She was the daughter of his dean at Oxford.

Woolf uses Carroll's accounts ledger and his unpublished correspondence with Alice Liddell's family to flesh out her book.

Woolf tries to dispel some of the worst rumors about Carroll - that he was repressed, in love with adolescent girls and had affairs with married women. She covers his love of photography and penchant for taking nude photographs of the children of friends - a common practice during the Victorian age rather than an indication of pedophilia. There's no evidence that he harmed any children, although some say he wanted to marry 11-year-old Alice Liddell. Four lost volumes of his 13-volume personal diaries might tell more about that rumor, if they're ever found.

Woolf found Dodgson's personal bank account, forgotten and unnoticed in an archive for over a hundred years. Once transcribed and interpreted, it revealed much about him.

Woolf uses other documents and family letters from archives all over the world to piece together Carroll's life.

Reference: http://southernreviewofbooks.blogspot.com/2010/04/biographer-says-alice-in-wonderlands.html

Movie Review: Alice In Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland



Basic Premise

Alice is a girl sick of being pressured by life. She stumbles into a rabbit hole that takes her to another world where her actions could damn or save the populace and it's up to her to choose the right path.



Review

Alice in Wonderland was pretty to look at. Tim Burton's usual gothic style was present along with Johnny Depp's usual zanny self. As a way to pass the time, it did its job wonderfully. As a story, it fell a little flat.



The movie starts with Alice being told what is expected of her and how to live her life. She runs away from that to Wonderland where she decides to take control... except that she doesn't. She's still doing exactly what she's told and still has no say in how to live her life. Even when the audience is supposed to believe that she's independent and in control, she's not and only deluding herself that she is.



The sound was a bit off. I don't mean the syncing went screwy, nothing like that. I mean there were times when I couldn't understand the actors. I don't know if it was the theater or what (since the people watching the movie with us had the same issues and felt the need to ask about it mid-movie) but there were lines that we all missed because the bass of the movie garbled them up.



The ending was a let down as well. I can't go in to too much detail (or any at all due to my no-spoilers rule) but it was too fanfic-ish. Alice is living the life she always wanted and doing what she always dreamed... except in the real world, during the Regency-era, any woman who did what Alice did would have been smacked, told to sit in a corner and then made to do what they didn't want to do in the first place.



On another note, I'm still trying to figure out how Alice made it to 19 unmarried, as well as why her mother was letting her wear children's clothing.





Previews

- Kung-Fu Kid - I refuse to call this "Karate Kid" because he's not doing karate.

- How to Train Your Dragon - I'll be posting my review of this soon. :D

- Despicable Me - I have NEVER seen this teaser before -- the one with the little yellow guys and the moo box. It was funny and cute but had nothing to do with the other teasers I've seen.

- Diary of a Wimpy Kid - This looks hilarious! Not hilarious enough to see in movie theaters but definitely good for a DVD giggle.

- Sorcerer's Apprentice - I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS!! Nick Cage is the man (or he's trying to pay off his debt... whichever). This movie looks awesome. Even if the plot falls short, the special effects should make up for it.

- Prince of Persia - Still looking forward to this one.

Reference: http://dreneebagby.blogspot.com/2010/04/movie-review-alice-in-wonderland.html

Review: Alice in Wonderland directed by Tim Burton

Alice in Wonderland is a 're-imagining' of the original novels by Lewis Carroll; Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass. This is one of Tim Burton's 're-imagining' movies, which we've seen before with Planet of the Apes and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. What Burton does it go back to the source material and interpret the story fresh from the original author, rather than remaking what's already been done. The problem with this is that the original adaptations are so well beloved that there is often major criticism of his work.



Alice in Wonderland sees a 19 year old Alice (Mia Wasikowska) returning to Wonderland, which is now under the rule of the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter). Though she has no memory of being in Wonderland before, she is quickly reunited with her old friends; the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen), the Caterpillar (Alan Rickman), the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) and Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee (Matt Lucas). It turns out that the residents of Wonderland have been searching for her; it is her destiny to take up the sword of the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) and slay the Red Queen's Jabberwocky (Christopher Lee), thus paving the way for rebellion against the Red Queen and the freedom of Wonderland.

I watched the film in 3D and, despite the eye strain that I'm slowly getting from watching most movies in 3D nowadays (anyone else getting this too?) the movie looked stunning. Although it wasn't typically Burton (black and white stripes, snow etc.) you could tell that he had a hand in crafting the world of Wonderland. The land oozed strangeness, but you also got a feel for the desolation incurred because of the Red Queen.



The range of actors, both live action and in voice, was well chosen and brilliantly executed. Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter was (unsurprisingly) performed with a very unique twist. He seemed almost bipolar in nature; his usual upper class English light hearted nuttiness (with the inclusion of the lisp as a homage to the original animated movie) occasionally bled away to reveal a thick, gruff Scottish growl that spoke gibberish and had an air of violent insanity about it. It was a really nice contrast to the rest of the characters, who are plain old silly. There was a fantastic part where the March Hare (Paul Whitehouse) stops mid rant to exclaim "SPOON!" and thrust it in the audience's face, to which the entire cinema erupted in laughter. The casting of Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry and Christopher Lee as the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat and the Jabberwocky respectively was an excellent choice that would have only been further enhanced by the inclusion of John Hurt in there somewhere.

However, despite this range of talent and the beautiful visual landscape, there was something in the movie that seemed to be lacking. I think it may have been that Burton was creating a film that was meant to be somewhere between childlike and adult, but it never really brought both in successfully. The visual feast of Alice re-exploring Wonderland and enticing her curiosity meant that the deeper aspects to the plot were often glossed over; there could have been a little more focus on the importance of this rebellion against the Red Queen and the implications of what her rule has done to Wonderland.



In conclusion, I'd recommend Alice in Wonderland to anyone, but make sure that it is seen in 3D in the cinema. It would make for a fun movie filled with quirky and well characters and a brilliant world that captures the strangeness of Wonderland as seen through Alice's eyes. Just don't expect much depth with regards to the storyline. Burton himself said that the original story was more like a series of events rather than a coherent plot, and while he tried to flesh out a story from this, the semi patchwork form can be seen. Still, a very fun movie to watch.

Reference: http://mithrilwisdom.blogspot.com/2010/03/review-alice-in-wonderland-directed-by.html