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Posts Tagged ‘helena bonham carter’
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
The one billion dollar phenomenon that is Tim Burton’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND has managed to enchant audiences of all ages around the world. But as I finally sat down to watch the film, I can’t help but feel like something was missing. Tim Burton isn’t known for adding unusual depth to his films, but I felt like he missed a chance to bring his fantastic world to life by getting too wrapped up in creating a beautiful world rather than telling a great story. This is a normal pitfall for Burton, but one I thought he’d rectify with Alice. With that said, we’re still left with breathtaking colors and settings that are a joy to watch, even if the film feels a little shallow.
Trying to describe, in any sort of detail, the plot of Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ or ‘Through the Looking Glass’ is an exercise in futility. But if you’re familiar with the original cartoon, then know that this film acts a sort of sequel (think more Looking Glass and less Wonderland for those that read the books). A 19 year-old Alice returns to her Wonderland and is reunited with her old friends, eventually leading to her realizing her destiny, which is to end the Red Queen’s evil rule.
In a Tim Burton film, especially one with a budget like this, there are two main elements to the movie. The first is the setting, which in this case is incredible. The world he’s created and the costumes, colors and effects are a joy to watch and worth the price of admission alone. This was especially true in the Red Queen’s castle as new characters came to life and the backgrounds told their own story. The forest was also very colorful, with Burton adding characters and plant life that really came to life. The White Queen’s castle was a little on the boring side, but luckily we didn’t spend much time there.
The second aspect to consider with Burton is how well did his actors bring their characters to life. Burton reteamed with his old buddy Johnny Depp, who did a great job as the Mad Hatter. Newcomer Mia Wasikowska starred as Alice and although not much was required of her, she did well as the constant to everyone else’s variable in this Burton experiment. The best performance goes to Helena Bonham Carter (another Burton favorite) who added a personality to the Red Queen that made her endearing despite her penchant for evil.
Overall, this was an fun film, even if it fell a little flat at times. I enjoyed Burton’s vision of the classic novel and all of the actors did a great job with bringing their characters to life. Burton once again delivers a visually pleasing film that should be fun for the whole family.
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: I’ve said for a while that Disney makes the best Blu-rays and they prove it once again with a visually stunning Blu-ray transfer that is near reference quality. Burton was heavy on the colors and detail and all of it comes through beautifully on this Blu-ray.
Audio: The audio was almost as great as the video with surround channels utilized efficiently and subwoofer thumps falling in the appropriate spots.
I’m disappointed by this offering of special features, leading me to believe that an uber-edition is on the way in the coming years.
Making Wonderland (19:28): This is a collection of six featurettes that cover specific aspects of the film. None of them dive too far into the process, but everything touches on the subjects we care about when it comes to filmmaking (sound, effects, settings). There is a nice look at how they manipulated the Red Queen’s head.
Wonderland Characters (27:57): Just as the other special feature was dedicated to the making of the film, this one is a series of featurettes dedicated to each character in the movie. There is a featurette dedicated to the Futterwacken, which was probably the worst aspect of the film and distracted from the mood of the ending. But either way, it gets its own feature.
There are also some Previews
Tags: Blu-ray, helena bonham carter, johnny depp, Mia Wasikowska, movie reviews, tim burton
Posted in Blu-Ray Reviews, Reviews |
Friday, April 16th, 2010
Posted by: Kristy Sturdivant
Tim Burton’s whimsical take on the classic tale ALICE IN WONDERLAND will be released on Blu-ray June 1, 2010. The film follows 19-year old Alice as she returns to Wonderland and encounters her old friends and foes, including the awesome Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen and Anne Hathaway as the White Queen. Sadly, this newest take on ALICE IN WONDERLAND will not be coming to Blu-ray in 3D, but will still include enough special features to keep you entertained until Disney decides to release the 3Dversion. Special features include:
- Featurettes
- Finding Alice
- The Mad Hatter
- Effecting Wonderland
- The Futterwacken Dance
- The Red Queen
- The White Queen
- Time-Lapse: Sculpting the Red Queen
- Scoring Wonderland
- Stunts of Wonderland
- Making the Proper Size
- Cakes of Wonderland
- Tea Party Props
Tags: Anne Hathaway, Blu-ray, Disney, helena bonham carter, johnny depp, movie news
Posted in Blu-Ray News, News |
Monday, March 8th, 2010
I foresee many Mad Hatter costumes this next Halloween and rightfully so, all the costumes were magnificent along with the Makeup and art direction. That tends to be a commonality in Tim Burton films and ALICE IN WONDERLAND is no exception. Unfortunately, like another commonality of his recent work, it lacks that bit of substance with a lasting impression that would make it complete.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND is not a remake or retelling of the original story, but actually a whole different story of Alice returning to Wonderland as a 19-year-old, who must realize her destiny and choose her journey to destroy the Red Queen’s dragon, the Jabberwocky, to end her reign of terror…a la THE LORD OF THE RINGS style. Alice is unaware of ever being in Wonderland as a child, except from her dreams. In her “regular” life, Alice has recently lost her father, who seemed to be the only one who understood her whimsical manner, and is expected to marry a man whom she does not love before chasing the famous White Rabbit (voiced by Michael Sheen) down the hole all over again. Alice does unknowingly repeat some of her steps from the original story line and meets a few of her original friends along the way, including Tweedledee and Tweedledum (voiced by Matt Lucas), the Blue Caterpillar (voiced by Alan Rickman) and my personal favorite, the Chesire Cat (voiced by Stephen Fry). They all help her on her path and most get kidnapped by the Red Queen in doing so, but none more helpful than the Mad Hatter, who Alice will miss most of all…a la Scarecrow from THE WIZARD OF OZ style.
All the voice actors did a wonderful job and Mia Wasikowska as Alice was terrific. She definitely brought a more a likeability to the role than the younger version of Alice that I’m use to. Johnny Depp as the Hatter showed his usual charisma and oddness he brings to a role. But am I being a little too picky when I think the Mad Hatter just wasn’t quite mad enough? I’m use to a little more nonsensical Hatter rather than a sane, right-hand man for the White Queen (Anne Hathaway). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bashing Johnny Depp. The film is much better with him in it, but I do think the script created a more watered down version of the Hatter, so he might relate to Alice a little better. The big stand out was Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen who is wickedly cruel and funny at the same time. Her quips and meanness coming out of her unusually gargantuan head made me giggle out loud more than a couple of times.
The adventure and story worked in it’s own way except for the last act which seemed to fall into a formulaic hole itself. In typical Hollywood fashion the film ends with a big action sequence that doesn’t really offer anything new or fresh. I found it a little tired and easy with each side matching up in their own battle that lacked creativity. And while technically great the colors seemed a little muted rather than vibrant. The Red Queen is ruling so Wonderland is a little more dark and run down than usual but through my 3D glasses any object in the background seemed a little flat and fuzzy.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND is enjoyable enough for adults, but minus a few dark moments, will work mostly for kids. It is visually creative but after AVATAR, I may be a little spoiled when it comes to the look of a 3D film. While Alice In Wonderland was neat it just didn’t live up to the standard of AVATAR before it.
Tags: helena bonham carter, johnny depp, Mia Wasikowska, movie reviews, tim burton
Posted in Reviews |
Saturday, December 19th, 2009
Posted by: Kristy Sturdivant
The new trailer for Tim Burton’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover and Anne Hathaway is out. In the film Alice returns to Wonderland as a 19-year old where she must end the Red Queen’s reign. In true Burton form the film looks colorful and quirky and is sure to give us an awesome performance by Johnny Depp. The movie is set for release on March 5, 2010.
Check out the trailer here.
Tags: Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, helena bonham carter, johnny depp, movie news, tim burton
Posted in News |
Monday, December 7th, 2009
I never would have thought that one of the best movies I saw of 2005 was about a man and a woman that begin a conversation at a wedding and continue to talk, in near real time, for 90 minutes. Although that might sound boring, believe me when I say that this is a wonderful little film that holds your attention from start to finish. Yes, this is a dialogue-heavy…no, scratch that, dialogue-only film, but it’s written and performed so well that you’re waiting for the next line the entire time. It’s also shot creatively in a split-screen style that really compliments the film.
The story is hard to explain because there’s not much of one and the characters don’t even have names. Aaron Eckhart eyes Helena Bonham-Carter from across the room at a wedding they’re both attending. He approaches her and they start a conversation where they talk about a variety of different things. The film takes place over several hours, but nothing else really happens, we just watch them talk and witness their relationship progress through the night. I’m reading this as I go and so far, I don’t think I’m doing a very good job of convincing you this is a good film…
Okay, so the “mystery” in the film is trying to decipher how well, if at all, Eckhart and Carter know each other. We don’t really know much about their history, other than what they talk about during the course of the night. We also have to try and figure out what’s going on off screen and what kind of interactions they have with other people or people on the phone. It’s almost as if we’re standing in front (or behind) them the whole night and they don’t know it. Director Hans Canosa does a marvelous job of inserting the audience into their conversation and letting us figure out what’s going on.
How many movies have you seen where the director explains everything in such excruciating detail that you actually feel dumber for watching it? It happens all the time in romantic comedies, but Canosa doesn’t tell us anything. The whole film is like solving a romantic mystery where we have look for clues and listen to what they’re saying to draw our own conclusions about what we’re witnessing. That “mystery” ends up being the real joy in the film and it makes for a unique experience that makes for a nice break from the usual Hollywood fare.
Eckhart and Bonham-Carter are at the top of their game here and both of them relax into their characters with ease. It doesn’t even seem like they’re reading a script; these are two professional actors that dive into these characters and deliver on many levels. A lot of credit has to be given to them, but just as much has to be given to screenwriter Gabrielle Zevin for crafting such a wonderful story. Dialogue-heavy films are very difficult to pull off and she and her husband do it so easily that it makes you wonder why they haven’t done more films.
Tags: aaron eckhart, Hans Canosa, helena bonham carter, movie reviews, Yury Tsykun
Posted in Reviews |
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
In 2018, after Skynet has nearly destroyed humanity, John Connor (Christian Bale) must lead what is left of a human resistance to stop the machines before they terminate all of man kind.
Anton Yelchin is pulling double duty after staring in both STAR TREK and TERMINATOR SALVATION, which opened within weeks of each other this past summer. He does an okay job as a young Kyle Reese and in case you didn’t know, he becomes the stud that Michael Biehn creates of him in the original. However, the real stand out is Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright, who is a man who discovers himself in this time period with his last memory being in a jail cell on death row. He is a dynamic actor who held a commanding presence on the big screen and that’s no small feat when stacked against Christian Bale. Wright is just a more interesting character than Connor is in this film. Don’t get me wrong, Bale does a fine job as Connor especially in the opening scene, but without the other films his presence seems far less relevant. Bryce Dallas Howard as Kate Connor is absolutely wasted here. I honestly didn’t understand why she was in the film and I have to believe most of her material ended up on the cutting room floor. I think she is a fantastic actress and was totally underutilized. That goes for Common as well, who played Barnes, Connor’s number one soldier. I didn’t even notice he was in the film until after I saw his name on the credits.
I’m not sure if this was the filmmakers’ intention, but the previews give away a key element that might have been a nice surprise for a character arc. However, the way the previews are set and the way the story is told it is quite obvious. I have a major problem with a specific character’s action in the film. It didn’t seem plausible in any sort of way. A character is saved by a machine that seems human, she then risks her life and everyone and the human race to rescue it. I’m fully aware that people do stupid things but that did not make sense at all. The friends and people that have kept her alive through this end time crisis are suddenly not near as important as this new half man, half machine that she has known for 24 hours.
The implausibility continues when T4 takes a very Bond-like turn and we see the evil villain divulge the evil plan before he finishes off the “good guy”. This got old in the Bond films, but here it’s a little ridiculous because the evil villain is an emotionless machine. The Bond villains did it out of pride and ego, but machines lack those human traits. A machine would choose the most logical path and this proved to be another misstep in a movie filled with them.
Where the film lacked in emotion, dialogue and story it strengthened in its action and visuals. The story wasn’t horrible because it already had blueprints made from the originals. The action was the true star of the film and that is where director McG excelled. The sound and visuals were extremely gripping. Sadly, those come in the opening scene and then again about half way through, and then are never matched again. These scenes are what made me enjoy TERMINATOR SALVATION. There is one shot at the beginning where Connor jumps into a helicopter that flies away, spins around and wrecks in what seems to be one continuous shot. It looks absolutely amazing! I actually wanted more and at that half way point I thought to myself; this movie is really working. Unfortunately, that momentum did not continue into the second half. I think the movie works on a sci-fi channel level. Maybe it should have its own series (ala Sarah Connor Chronicles) about the post apocalyptic time period, but I really hope the next big budget feature of this series gets terminated.
Tags: Christian Bale, helena bonham carter, McG, movie reviews, Sam Worthington
Posted in Reviews |
Thursday, October 8th, 2009
by: Brad Sturdivant
Finding diamonds in the rough is a wonderful feeling, but in order to do so, you usually have to watch a lot of bad movies. Flix66.com takes the pain away by recommending a movie that you may have never heard of, or missed when it first came out.
I never would have thought that one of the best movies I saw of 2005 was about a man and a woman that begin a conversation at a wedding and continue to talk, in near real time, for 90 minutes. Although that might sound boring, believe me when I say that this is a wonderful little film that holds your attention from start to finish. Yes, this is a dialogue-heavy…no, scratch that, dialogue-only film, but it’s written and performed so well that you’re waiting for the next line the entire time. It’s also shot creatively in a split-screen style that really compliments the film.
The story is hard to explain because there’s not much of one and the characters don’t even have names. Aaron Eckhart eyes Helena Bonham-Carter from across the room at a wedding they’re both attending. He approaches her and they start a conversation where they talk about a variety of different things. The film takes place over several hours, but nothing else really happens, we just watch them talk and witness their relationship progress through the night. I’m reading this as I go and so far, I don’t think I’m doing a very good job of convincing you this is a good film…
Okay, so the “mystery” in the film is trying to decipher how well, if at all, Eckhart and Carter know each other. We don’t really know much about their history, other than what they talk about during the course of the night. We also have to try and figure out what’s going on off screen and what kind of interactions they have with other people or people on the phone. It’s almost as if we’re standing in front (or behind) them the whole night and they don’t know it. Director Hans Canosa does a marvelous job of inserting the audience into their conversation and letting us figure out what’s going on.
How many movies have you seen where the director explains everything in such excruciating detail that you actually feel dumber for watching it? It happens all the time in romantic comedies, but Canosa doesn’t tell us anything. The whole film is like solving a romantic mystery where we have look for clues and listen to what they’re saying to draw our own conclusions about what we’re witnessing. That “mystery” ends up being the real joy in the film and it makes for a unique experience that makes for a nice break from the usual Hollywood fare.
Eckhart and Bonham-Carter are at the top of their game here and both of them relax into their characters with ease. It doesn’t even seem like they’re reading a script; these are two professional actors that dive into these characters and deliver on many levels. A lot of credit has to be given to them, but just as much has to be given to screenwriter Gabrielle Zevin for crafting such a wonderful story. Dialogue-heavy films are very difficult to pull off and she and her husband do it so easily that it makes you wonder why they haven’t done more films.
Tags: aaron eckhart, helena bonham carter, romantic movie
Posted in One You Might've Missed |
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