We're All Mad Here.

Movie Review
Alice in Wonderland - (Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter) - **
Last night we saw the premiere of Alice in Wonderland in 3D. I am ashamed to admit that I am not totally familiar with Alice in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass. My mom swears she read them to me, and while I certainly know about the Jabberwocky, Cheshire Cat, the eat me/drink me "I'm late for a very important date" and "Off With His Head" highlights, I think those things are so much part of pop culture now it is hard to not know them.

That being said, I went into the movie with little expectation. I am not a huge Tim Burton fan, but enjoyed Big Fish and a few others. I do like Johnny Depp though and feel like he melts into his characters with a quirky sinisterness that not many others do. While I did like his Mad Hatter, I thought the overall movie was just OK. I saw Avatar in 3D and thought it was an absolutely stunning movie but if felt like Burton did Alice in 3D because it is the new trendy thing. It was not utilized properly and I saw many places where had it been, the overall feel would have been tremendous. Instead, it felt like it was thrown a few times, just so the theaters could call it 3D and charge more.

If you are an Alice in Wonderland purist be warned that this is not that story. The Mad Hatter takes a quite central role and there are bits and pieces of both stories thrown about throughout the movie. I had heard that Burton had a merchandising deal with Hot Topic, so I was not surprised that the movie was so dark, literally. Alice has replaced her light blue frock with a goth looking black and grey dress. Instead of being a magical and whimsy place, Wonderland is dark, foreboding and, well, Hot Topicy.

I didn't hate this movie, (Joe wanted to leave in the middle of it) but I didn't love it either. I liked Depp's Mad Hatter and thought him rather sweet, but unfortunately that is about it. Burton is eccentric and I applaud his creativity and the way his brain works, but I'd recommend waiting until this comes out on DVD.