Alice in Wonderland

The movie I’d like to talk about this week is “Alice in Wonderland.”  Many people would say that this movie’s star is Johnny Depp but that’s not really true.  He does play the Mad Hatter but he is more of a side character in this movie.  The real main characters in this movie are Alice and the Red Queen.

                Despite not being the main character Depp still gives a memorable performance in this Tim Burton film.  He truly brings the character to life not only in his portrayal of madness but also in the sorrow that the Hatter must have felt thru out this story.  He shows great compassion and a determination that the viewer can almost feel.

                As for the story a lot of people did not like this movie because they expected the classic “Alice in Wonderland” story.  Though that is the title of the movie it is really based off of the “Through the Looking Glass” story.  It takes place when Alice is more in her teens instead of the original when she was a little girl.  All of the old characters are still there but they are a little more subdued in this movie because of the sadness in the story.  The music helped bring the images to life even more with the themes for Alice and the Queen and the Hatter.

                Overall everything about the movie from the acting to the visuals to the sounds make this a must see.  It comes off as a little strange as you’re watching it but it is really a magical adventure through Wonderland.  I would recommend this movie for almost anyone.

Book of Eli

“Book of Eli” is the movie I’ll be doing this week.  I haven’t done a movie yet that I didn’t really like so this is the first.  Denzel Washington is the star of this movie and normally his movies are exceptional.  The disappointment with this movie isn’t his fault though.  The action in this movie, when it happens, is pretty good along with Washington’s acting.  Story is where this movie really isn’t any good.

When the movie first starts out you don’t really know what’s going on and that confusion kind of follows you through the whole film.  They don’t tell you how the world got to the way it is and they don’t give any mention of how people survived.  There are a lot of things that happen from beginning to end but some of it doesn’t seem necessary to the story.  It’s mostly just thrown in to add a little bit of action and keep you at least somewhat interested.

The movie did get good reviews from a lot of critics but I don’t know what it was they saw in the movie.  I for one had a hard time understanding and even paying attention to the movie.  How it ended was even confusing and a little anti-climactic.  I wouldn’t really call it a waste of time to watch.  Maybe I just didn’t understand what was going on well enough.  If you like that type of movie then you might like it.  I personally wouldn’t have given “Book of Eli” very good reviews.

For more information on Book of Eli go to  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1037705/