Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Jason watches Tim Burton's ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Hey, I have a gap between festivals so I can see some mainstream blockbusters.

I...didn't hate this movie. But I wish Tim Burton would write his own stuff. Adaptations of other's works have been spotty--and more so of late (starting I think with PLANET OF THE APES and peaking with CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, although I did love BIG FISH). His original stories (EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, etc.) are much better in my opinion.

Anyway, ALICE IN WONDERLAND has the expected visual flair, a fairly (in fact, probably too) linear story with a beginning, middle, end, good guys and bad guys. And in embracing the "only the best people are crazy" ethos, it's as much or more Tim Burton than Lewis Carroll.

Oh, and there's an uncomfortably tacked-on resolution scene at the very end. It's so unrelated to most everything else that I debate whether describing it would count as a spoiler. Oh, what the hell--Alice ends up opening trade routes to China. Huh?

Anyway, I don't want to spend more time writing about this movie. There are hundreds of reviews you can read anywhere for more information. I'd rather spend my time looking forward to FRANKENWEENIE (written and directed by Tim Burton, based on his old short film) next year.

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