Movie Review: Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland ***
Directed by: Tim Burton.
Written By: Linda Woolverton based on the books by Lewis Carroll.
Starring: Johnny Depp (Mad Hatter), Mia Wasikowska (Alice), Helena Bonham Carter (Red Queen), Anne Hathaway (White Queen), Crispin Glover (Stayne), Matt Lucas (Tweedledee / Tweedledum), Stephen Fry (Cheshire Cat), Michael Sheen (White Rabbit), Alan Rickman (Blue Caterpillar), Barbara Windsor (Dormouse), Paul Whitehouse (March Hare), Timothy Spall (Bayard), Marton Csokas (Charles Kingsleigh), Leo Bill (Hamish), Michael Gough (Dodo Bird), Imelda Staunton (Tall Flower Faces), Christopher Lee (Jabberwocky).

Tim Burton has always been able to create movies that like no one else’s. The success or failure of those movies very rarely has anything to do with the visuals – which are usually a marvel to look at – but with the stories themselves. The few times he has made a truly great film – Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow – are when the story actually matches the visual outlook. The rest of films are a mixed bag – often visually colorful and inventive, but emotionally hollow. Such was my reaction to his version of Alice in Wonderland. While I was dazzled by the visuals, and quite enjoyed the movie as a whole, it never really connected with me on any sort of emotional level. As such although I liked the film, it was kind of like eating Chinese food – you enjoy it while you’re eating it, but a half hour later you’re hungry again.

Burton has made significant changes from the Lewis Carroll novels he is adapting, but that doesn’t really bother me. The spirit of the books are there in every frame of the film. In this version, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is 19 and is being pressured into a marriage with the nice, but nerdy and annoying Hamish (Leo Bill) because her family, which was once rich, has fallen on hard times, and Hamish’s family can help out. There is a huge party thrown in honor of their engagement – the one snag being that Alice hasn’t actually said yes yet. When Hamish proposes, she runs off and ends up falling down the rabbit hole. Everyone there seems to know Alice, but she has no idea what is happening. This is her dream world, so she assumes nothing here can hurt her. The strange creatures she meets – who are split as to whether she is “the” Alice or just “an” Alice know different. Alice is thrust into the middle of a war between the benevolent White Queen (Anne Hathaway), and her cruel older sister the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), who has seized power militarily, and holds Wonderland in her grip of fear.

As I mentioned off the top of this review, I loved the visuals of the movie. The 3-D works marvelously well, but I couldn’t help wondering if this was the type of film that may have worked better in 2-D. 3-D has the awe factor going for it, but I find that 2-D can be more immersive. You are better able to see, and appreciate, all the visual details in the film. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the 3-D in the movie, which Burton uses more to add texture and depth, rather than to do crazy things like point harpoons at the audience.

This wonderful is a darkly colorful oasis of strange environments and creatures. I loved the Blue Caterpillar (with the voice of Alan Rickman), who sits there smoking his “Water Pipe”, while dispensing invaluable advice. Even better was the Cheshire Cat, brilliantly voiced by Stephen Frye, who seems even more mysterious than in previous versions. Johnny Depp has the top billing as the Mad Hatter, but it is a supporting role. Depp plays it with the same sort of crazed over the top brilliance he has shown in Pirates of the Caribbean and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. While his act can at times wear a little thin, most of the time he is onscreen, you cannot take your eyes off of him. Helena Bonham Carter, with a head inflated by CGI, is even better as the Red Queen, a petulant, spoiled brat of a woman who, like always, screams “Off with her head” every time she is crossed. Anne Hathaway seems to have been cast more for her looks than her acting ability as the White Queen, but I have to admit I quite enjoyed her every time she was on screen – she seems to be constantly posing for pictures. Newcomer Wasikowska is fine as Alice – a little bit spunky and modern perhaps – but overall she carries the movie admirably. The environments these characters move around in are dark and foreboding – perhaps a little scary for younger children, but for everyone else it will be wonderous.

I enjoyed the movie too much not to recommend it – and I think that the vast majority of people who go see the movie will get what they came to the theater for. But for, as a fan of Burton, I was still slightly disappointed. I maybe one of the only people who thought that his version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was superior to the 1970s version, but I did nonetheless. I expected a similarly twisted view on display in Alice in Wonderland. But despite many of the same ingredients this time around, the movie just doesn’t work as well as it should. It is still a fine film – don’t get me wrong. But I expected more from the film – and from Burton.

Movie Review: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief ***
Directed By: Chris Columbus.
Written By: Craig Titley based on the novel by Rick Riordan.
Starring: Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson), Brandon T. Jackson (Grover), Alexandra Daddario (Annabeth), Jake Abel (Luke), Sean Bean (Zeus), Pierce Brosnan (Mr. Brunner / Chiron), Steve Coogan (Hades), Rosario Dawson (Persephone), Melina Kanakaredes (Athena), Catherine Keener (Sally Jackson), Kevin McKidd (Poseidon), Joe Pantoliano (Gabe Ugliano), Uma Thurman (Medusa), Julian Richings (Ferryman).

Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) thinks that he is just a regular kid. He struggles in school because of his dyslexia, and his home life isn’t great because although he loves his mother Sally (Catherine Keener), he despises his stepfather Gabe (Joe Pantoliano), who is mean to both him and his mother. But then something strange happens on a fieldtrip - his substitute teacher turns into some sort of demon and attacks him. He is rescued by his best friend Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) and his principal Mr. Brunner (Pierce Brosnan), both of whom are handicapped. It is only after this encounter that they decide to let Percy in on a secret - he is really the son of Poseidon, God the Sea, and the entire community of gods believes that Percy has stolen Zeus’ thunderbolt, which could cause a war the likes of which they have not seen in generations.

Percy is taken to Camp Half Blood for his own protection. Everyone wants to get their hands on him because of the lightning bolt they think he has. He is the most powerful kid at the camp, even though he has never gone through any training, because he is the son of one the “Big Three” - Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, which is exceedingly rare. He is told to stay in the camp where he can be protected, while everyone else works out the conflict. But when Percy finds out that his mother has been kidnapped by Hades, he goes on a journey to try and get her back. Joining him are Grover, who is really his half man half goat protector, and Annabeth (Alexandra Daddarrio), the daughter of Athena, who is sick of practicing, and also may have her eyes on Poseidon. First, they have to find three blue pearls which will allow them to leave Hades once they get in, and then find the entrance to Hades itself. They are aided by a magical map.

Percy Jackson is directed by Chris Columbus, who also directed the first two Harry Potter movies, and is hoping to start another franchise based on Rick Riordan’s best selling kid’s book series. He just may have something here. No, the movie doesn’t have the magic of the Harry Potter movies, and I assume the books (which I have not read), do not have the magic of JK Rowling’s books (few do). But, this opening chapter is fun and exciting. The special effects are good, and the origin story of the Greek Gods is handled with intelligence and respect for the original legends. Percy is a lovable lead character, and Lerman is fine in the role - playing a character it is easy to relate to. I also loved Daddarrio as Annabeth, who has gorgeous blue eyes, and real screen presence in the film. Jackson makes an amusing sidekick as well. Although the film is full of movie stars playing the Gods, it is these three kids who really carry the movie on their shoulder, and they do a great job.

That’s not to say the adult actors are bad. I loved Uma Thurman’s brief, but memorable, turn as Medusa. Rosario Dawson makes a sexy, alluring Persephone, and Steve Coogan is hilarious as Hades. The rest are not quite as good - Sean Bean has to be a little too serious as Zeus, and Kevin McKidd never really sold me on the fact that he was Poseidon. We think that Pierce Brosnan is going to have a bigger role, but after some important scenes early, he fades from view, but he’s fine when he’s there.

Columbus is not the most imaginative director in the world. The best movies of the Harry Potter series have all been after he gave up the reins after the first two films. Like those movies, Columbus is better at storytelling than he is at the visuals. That’s not to the say that the movie is not well made, just that it isn’t quite as original in how it presents its story. He gets the movie from one scene to the next quickly, but if this series is going to continue, it should think of getting a director who is a little more cinematic.

Series like this often die after their first movie, because the origin story, which is usually the least interesting, gets in the way of everything else. Percy Jackson dodged that bullet, because this time the origin story is quite enjoyable. I hope they get to make a sequel to this movie - I have the feeling it could be something truly special.

Movie Review: The Imaganiraium of Doctor Parnassus

The Imaganiraium of Doctor Parnassus ***
Directed By: Terry Gilliam.
Written By: Terry Gilliam & Charles McKeown.
Starring: Christopher Plummer (Doctor Parnassus), Heath Ledger (Tony), Lily Cole (Valentina), Andrew Garfield (Anton), Tom Waits (Mr. Nick), Verne Troyer (Percy), Johnny Depp (Imaginarium Tony #1), Jude Law (Imaginarium Tony #2), Colin Farrell (Imaginarium Tony #3).

Terry Gilliam is one of the most visually imaginative filmmakers in the world right now. This is both a good and a bad thing. It’s good because every time you walk into a Gilliam movie, you have no idea what weird images you are going to see. He puts things on screen that most other filmmakers would not even attempt. It’s bad because I think he spends so much time on the visuals, that he doesn’t concentrate so much on the story. His last two films - The Brothers Grimm and Tideland - were as visually imagative as anything he has ever done - but both were still terrible movies. They never came together to make a cohesive statement on anything. He is such a perfectionist, and difficult, that some of his films never get off the ground. The documentary Lost in La Mancha documents his failed attempt to make a Man of La Mancha movie where everything that could go wrong did, until the whole thing was scrapped. His films are so hit and miss, that I both anticipate and dread each new Gilliam film in equal measure.

His latest film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is his best in quite some time. No, it does not quite rank with the Brazil, The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys or Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas his truly great films, but it is certainly among the most interesting of his films.

Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) made a deal with the devil, known as Mr. Nick (Tom Waits) thousands of years ago. Parnassus gets immortality and strange mind powers, while Mr. Nick gets the souls of any children he fathers when they turn 16. It is now modern day, and Parnassus has become a traveling carnival act where they try and get people to enter his “imaginarium”, a strange mirror where they end up in their own imagination, where they will have to make a choice. They can either take the hard road to enlightenment, i.e. Parnassus’ way, or the easy way which leads them to Mr. Nick. Parnassus doesn’t win often.

His daughter Valentina (Lily Cole) is on the cusp of her 16 birthday, but she doesn’t know that soon she will belong to the devil. This is when Tony (Heath Ledger) shows up. They find him hanging from the bottom of a bridge, and save his life. Parnassus and Valentina take a liking to Tony, who is charming and able to convince more and more people to enter the imaginarium. Not only that, they seem to pick Parnassus’s way, not Mr. Nicks when they do. But Anton (Andrew Garfield) and Percy (Verne Troyer), the other “employees” of Doctor Parnassus are not so sure. They sense something not quite right about him.

From beginning to end, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus puts interesting visuals on the screen. Particularly when people enter their own imaginations, Gilliam goes all out with the special effects. These are not just CGI effects like Cameron uses in Avatar, but visually inventive little effects. Gilliam has a much smaller budget than Cameron does, yet it seems that he leaves it all on the screen.

I am still not 100% sure what exactly happens in this movie. But unlike his last few movies, I get the feeling that with another viewing or two, I’d be able to piece everything together. Gilliam is still not the best storyteller, but this time for the most part the story works. It helps that he has a wonderful cast who makes their characters believable, even when they probably shouldn’t be. Plummer is perfect as the ancient Parnassus - drunken, depressed, resigned to the fact that he will always lose to Mr. Nick. For his part, Waits is one of the best Satan’s I have ever seen in a movie. With his trademark gravelly voice, along with a bowler hat, pencil thin mustache and a cigarette dangling from his holder. Lily Cole is beautiful and touching as Valentina. Best of all is Ledger, demented as Tony, who throws himself into the role with all he has. Because he died before the film was finished shooting, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell all have sequences inside Parnassus’ Imaginarium as Ledger’s Tony. Although it may not be what they had planned, it works remarkably well. I’m not quite sure Farrell quite captures the essence of Tony, but Depp and particularly Law are great substitutes for Ledger.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is mainly a visual experience. In that regard it is one of the most interesting films of the year. The acting elevates the story, but it still could have used some work in the writing department. But if you’re looking for something quite different this holiday season, you can certainly do worse.

Movie Review: Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are ****
Directed By: Spike Jonze.
Written By: Spike Jonze & David Eggers based on the book by Maurice Sedak.
Starring: Max Records (Max), Pepita Emmerichs (Claire), Catherine Keener (Mom), Steve Mouzakis (Teacher), Mark Ruffalo (The Boyfriend), James Gandolfini (Carol), Paul Dano (Alexander), Catherine O'Hara (Judith), Forest Whitaker (Ira), Michael Berry Jr. (The Bull), Chris Cooper (Douglas), Lauren Ambrose (KW).

Children are a lot more complex than most adults give them credit for. They inhabit a world that is similar to the adult one, but also quite different. There are few movies made for children that realize that complexity and deal with it in an intelligent way. Where the Wild Things Are is one of those rare movies. It is a film that takes place entirely from the point of view of a child, and deals with that complexity amazingly well. For the running time of the movie, you are inside the head of the protagonist.

Max (played by the unlikely named Max Records) is about 10 years old, on that cusp of adolescence but not quite there yet. The opening scenes of the movie are amazingly well drawn as Max plays outside in the snow, and tries to get to get his older sister to join him, but she dismisses him by telling to “play with his friends”. Max doesn’t respond, yet the look on his face says more than words could - he doesn’t have any friends. The rest of the scenes before Max enters his own world are equally honest and truthful - from Max trying to get his mother’s attention (Catherine Keener) while she is on the phone on business, to his reaction when his mother brings her new boyfriend home for dinner, to her reaction that goes from euphoric to heartbreak as he has a snowball fight with his sister’s friend, which they take just a step too far. Max has a wolf costume he likes to dress in, and prowl around the house growling and destroying things. A fight with his mother goes a step too far, he bites her and then he takes off into the night. He runs into the forest, (and here is when the movie switches from reality to fantasy) and ends up on a boat that brings him to an island. There he walks in on a group of monsters. At first, he is scared as they threaten to eat him, but then he convinces him that he is a King, with magical powers.

Everything that happens in the movie is linked to Max’s mental state at the time. Which is why, when he shows up, he immediately declares himself the king. He wants to be in control, and isn’t in his own life. It is also why he is drawn to Carol (with the voice of James Gandolfini), the wildest of the wild things. When we first meet Carol, he is smashing the houses of the wild things. He has the destructive power that Max craves, and Carol reaches out to him. It is also why Max takes an immediate dislike to Alexander (with the voice of Paul Dano), the smallest of the wild things, who is weak and no one ever listens to. Alexander represents everything that Max hates about himself.

Everything that happens from there on can be similarly tracked. From Max’s increasing dependence and affection for KW (Lauren Ambrose), the most motherly of the Wild Things, and his kind of love-hate relationship with Judith (Catherine O’Hara), the only other female Wild Thing, who is what he dislikes about his own mother. Judith’s loving relationship with Ira (Forest Whitaker) also irks Max, whose own father is absent (but, who in his own way makes an appearance when Max designs a fort that recalls what he saw earlier in Max’s room was a gift from his father). In Douglas (Chris Cooper), Max has created the kind of loyal and kind best friend that he has always wanted for himself, but has given him to Carol instead. When things go bad, and Carol threatens to eat Max, it comes at the same point that Max must be becoming scared of being out by himself during a cold, dark night.

The film was directed by Spike Jonze, who has made two other similarly strange films – Being John Malkovich and Adaptation – that also, in their way, take place inside the protagonist’s heads. Unlike Michel Gondry, who seems lost now that Charlie Kaufman has started to direct his own screenplays, Jonze has continued on and made a masterful film. The cinematography by Lance Accord is wonderful, as it starts out recreating Max’s real world, and then his fantasy world using different color palettes to reflect Max’s state of mind. Jonze has adapted the brilliant kid’s book by Maurice Sedak in the exact opposite way that Ron Howard did when he remade the Dr. Seuss books. He has remained extremely faithful to the tone and spirit of the original work, while expanding it to fit into a feature length movie. It is a stunning achievement.

I am not sure I can think of another movie that has so precisely captured the complexities of a child’s imagination as well as this movie does. Children often seem like they are off in their own little world, and yet they are much more perceptive and complex than most people give them credit for. Where the Wild Things Are understands this, and has crafted a movie that kids are going to love (not really young kids, but once they reach around 7), and yet adults can also get something out of. Where the Wild Things Are is one of the year’s best.

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince *** ½
Directed By: David Yates.

Written By: Steve Kloves based on the book by JK Rowling.

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Michael Gambon (Professor Albus Dumbledore), Alan Rickman (Professor Severus Snape), Jim Broadbent (Professor Horace Slughorn), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), Freddie Stroma (Cormac McLaggen), Jessie Cave (Lavender Brown), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Maggie Smith (Professor Minerva McGonagall), David Thewlis (Remus Lupin), Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (Tom Riddle - Age 11), Julie Walters (Molly Weasley), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange), Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid), Dave Legeno (Fenrir Greyback), Natalia Tena (Nymphadora Tonks), Helen McCrory (Narcissa Malfoy), Timothy Spall (Wormtail), Oliver Phelps (George Weasley), James Phelps (Fred Weasley), Mark Williams (Arthur Weasley), Frank Dillane (Tom Riddle - Age 16).

The Harry Potter series, in book form, got darker and more complex as the series went along. Out of all seven books, I think that book six, The Half Blood Prince, was my favorite. It had the best structure, flashing back in time between Lord Voldemort’s past, and Harry’s present. It brought to mind The Godfather Part II, where we saw the rise and fall of the Corleone family in one movie. It was the best book by far I thought, and although I still highly enjoyed it, book Seven was somewhat disappointing coming on the heels of six.

In movie form, Harry Potter has had a somewhat rougher ride. The first two movies were able to be extremely faithful to the source material, because the books were much shorter. Although I enjoyed both of those movies, they never have seemed all that cinematic to me. Director Chris Columbus was perhaps TOO faithful. When Alfonso Cuaron took the reins for the third movie, he had to cut more out from the book, but succeeded brilliantly in making Harry Potter a more cinematic experience. The film was more alive visually than ever before, and the performances seemed richer. Director Mike Newell continued this is movie 4, which is perhaps my favorite of the movies, cutting more, but brilliantly bringing the spirit of the book to life. TV veteran David Yates took over for film 5, and although I enjoyed the movie, he seemed to struggle at times with the material. That book was SO big and so much had to be cut, that at times he seemed to be rushing from plot point to plot point, and the movie never really got a chance to breathe.

Which brings us to film number 6, also directed by Yates. It is a definite improvement over the last film, which felt more like a TV movie (with high production values) than a feature film. Here, Yates has improved the visual look and feel of the film – bringing it more in line with films 3 and 4. As an adaptation of the book, I was slightly disappointed. The flashbacks, which enriched the narrative of the book, and made Voldemort into more than just a snarling villain, and into a truly evil, menacing creation, have all but been eliminated. And as was the case with the rest of the series, many of the character details about the teachers have been discarded in favor of making room for more details about the students.

And yet, I am a realist. This movie is already two and half hours long, and had they included the flashbacks and the teacher details, then the easily could have run four hours or more – a realistically no one really wanted that. Once I got past my reservations and disappointment over the decisions to cut certain details, and focuses on the movie itself, I found that I highly enjoyed the film.

Once again, they have made excellent casting choices. In addition to the three stars – Daniel Radcliffe as Potter, Emma Watson as Hermonie and Rupert Grint as Ron who just keep improving in each and every film (I especially like Radcliffe’s flair for comedy he shows at a few points in this film) – and the old cast members like Michael Gambon as Dumbledore and especially Alan Rickman as Snape, the characters introduced in this book are excellent. Jim Broadbent is the major addition, as old potions master Horace Slughorn, brought out of retirement by Dumbledore with ulterior motives. Broadbent is a remarkable addition to the cast. He captures Slughorn just about perfectly, mixing his bumbling humor, with a slightly darker, egomaniacal side as well. In the entire series they have never seemed to step wrong in the casting department.

The movie still does jump from one plot point to another with perhaps too much speed, just like in number 5, but this time the pacing seemed more natural. It was not just rushing through with little care or patience. The tone of the movie is darker than perhaps it has ever been, but that is appropriate given the material. This is after all perhaps the darkest novel of the entire series (and don’t hand me the line that book seven is darker – just because more people die, does not make it darker). I enjoyed the interplay between the main actors, as the series continues to deepen their relationships, and fill them with heartbreak and sorrow. Director David Yates has grown, and seems to have a firmer grasp on the material. While I would have preferred bringing back Cuaron or Newell for the final film, I think he’ll do a fine job. I cannot wait to see the finale of the series in movie form.