my turn!

ahh... Alice in Wonderland. I had my doubts going into the theater. Afterall, Tim Burton has a maniacally long track record of taking books and spitting on them.

Well as we all know, I'm not very organised. This is more of a rant than a review really. But here goes..


Before moving on to the possible interpretations (conjured up by my inferior mind, so they are mere theories), we have to take apart the pieces that make up the puzzle. And may I add, puzzling it was...

Visual&Sound
Well, without a doubt the visuals were amazing, not-so-subtle touches of Burton's fingerprints everywhere. Whimsical but with restrain, not over the board. The soundtrack would not deserve a two thumbs up from me but it complemented the backdrop and themes well. Overall a visual treat. That is if you weren't paying attention to anything else.


Acting
The girl who played Alice, I didn't even bother looking her name up, fell flat. Completely short of all the other characters who were more captivating in their own ways. She almost faded into the over-dramtised backdrop. Strong-willed came over as pushy and I found her not in the least bit pretty.

Depp was a disappointment as well by the way. Annoying to a certain point, possibly due to the self-indulgence he engaged in. Capturing the essence of the Mad Hatter? Maybe.. But I think after the success of Capt Jack Sparrow, Depp tends to play up the whimsical factor a tad  way too much. *insert memory of Willy Wonka* BUT that being said, there is no one else on the face of the earth who can do what he does. Still a fan, always will be.

Red Queen certainly did not fail in the attention grabbing portion of her job. However I would grant the make-up, costume and CGI effects that honor. Her acting which encompasses a lot of yelling, I could've done.

Anne Hathaway is gorgeous. (I just felt the need to say this hahahha)


Alright alright let's get to the part that matters.


Interpretations
Without taking into account the possible innuendos that were hidden in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, at the very basic face value, the book is about a girl who discovers herself and matures with every step through Wonderland, with every charater met.  How is it then that Burton made Alice a "chosen one" with a destiny of slaying the Jabbawocky? Alice was made to have a predestination without much space to discover herself. The disgracefully weak attempt at infiltrating the book's message was made by the blue caterpiller and his "hardly Alice" speech. But really, fail.

However, since Burton made it clear this is not an adaptation, he could have hidden his own. After mulling, Burton could have insinuated that the Mad Hatter became insane due to post-war trauma of some sort. Visible when he lost his former life-of-the-party ways after the White Queen lost her crown. Implications to the impending world war looming above our heads maybe?

Also, the final war took place on a chessboard. A twist in the "All the world's a stage" quote? Entertainers, chess pieces, we are one and the same. Participating in something against our will from succumbing to the pressures of onlookers or because free will is somehow lost. It doesn't matter. A far stretch perhaps but this is my guess, with my past experiences blended into the mix. (:



Review
While some may dismiss this as a gag-worthy waste of money, I won't write it off just yet. Afterall, it did give me something to think about. Albeit not in relations to the movie plot or interpretation, something did strike me. When Alice's douche of a suitor told her to stay silent if she didn't know what was appropriate, I did smirk to myself. Silence seems like such a hard thing to keep.

Overall though, I would give it a 2/5? Points deducted for the possibility Burton is a train that has gone off the tracks and all forms of interpretation would be an over-rate of his mind. Also, I read in an interview done before the world premier that had him say while making the movie, he discovered he was insane. Reeling himself into relations with the repetitive notion that lunatics are the best kind of people perhaps? Self praise is no praise Mr Burton.


Dear John anybody? :)