Alice with a twist...

Rating: 5/10 (15 January 2011)

Finally gotten around to see the new interpretation of "Alice In Wonderland" and with Tim Burton at the helm nonetheless. I had really high expectations for the movie...
...and now I sit here with a slight feeling of disappointment.
Why? Well the movie in itself was a typical Burton movie, with his unique style, touch of finesse, and impressions of the bizarre and remarkable. But somehow the movie just didn't leave that much of a lasting impression with me.
The scenery, sets and everything were what you expect of a Burton movie, twisted, dark, bizarre and absurd. And I love that, he has a very distinct touch and sense of detail. That makes all his movies unique in their own way.
The cast list was amazing, simply amazing. Of course it was Johnny Depp, as the Mad Hatter, who carried this movie, and his performance of this character was phenomenal. He always delivers a top notch performance no matter what. And Helena Bonham Carter, as the Red Queen, well she was good as well, something oddly crude about her performance in this movie, but it worked quite nicely. And of course Crispin Glover, as Stayne, he was also quite good in the movie. Alan Rickman was really well cast for a voice acting role, he has a very good and distinct voice. Now, I read that some didn't enjoy Mia Wasikowska in the role of Alice, I did however, find her to be quite enjoyable. She has a very serene and innocent radiance, and Burton managed to paint that out so well on the screen.
The CGI animations and effects in the movie were, of course, off the roof. The animated creatures were very real and life-like. And everything was just loaded with small details.
Tim Burton's re-invention of a classic is a good movie, and if you are a fan of his previous work, I am sure you will like this one as well. Now, I said that I was a bit disappointed, I guess it was because I had really high expectations to this movie. "Alice in Wonderland" is far from a bad movie, so don't get me wrong here. And it is good to see someone take classics and tell them again with a warped sense to it.
Oh, and the dance scene with Johnny Depp, well personally I think that was one scene that should have been either left out of the final cut, or have been shot in a complete other way. It didn't go well with me at all.
Great entertainment, but for me personally, this is hardly a movie that I will be picking up to watch again at a later time.