Alice in Wonderland (Directed by Tim Burton)

Watched: March 7th 2010

Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Fry, Crispin Glover, Anne Hathaway, Timothy Spall, Matt Lucas, Alan Rickman

IMDB link

She said:

This is one of 'those' films. The ones that you pre-book tickets and watch every possible trailer drooling over what promises to be a visual masterpiece. For me Alice in Wonderland lived up to expectations. It was just what I was expecting with Tim Burton's unique balance of the weird and wonderful with the dark and the magical.

The Burton-Depp-Bonham Carter have again provided a fantastic few hours of entertainment. Both Depp and Bonham Carter were both marvelous and it was as if the parts were written for them. But Tim Burton has a knack of manipulating any story to make them perfect for his dynamic duo. The casting of the supporting artists was also spot on from Stehpen Fry as the Cheshire cat to Matt Lucas as the Tweedles.

My favourite thing about the envisioning of these classic novels was the use of Carroll's wonderfully bizarre language. Burton did not hold back on challenging the audience with unusual speech and at times hard to understand dialogue - after all Wonderland is a place full of mad people! Matching this was the crazy costumes and make up which impressed me highly.

I look forward to watching this again. If you are a fan of Burton's goth-like magic world's or of the spirit of Carroll's novels and poetry (the Jabberwocky is one of my favourite poems) then watch this film. If you are after Disney... then er... go rent Disney. I give this <<<4.5 out of 5>>>

He said:
I agree 100% with what Helen said above. Honestly I would be remiss if I didn't mention that you won't be missing out on anything if you aren't one of the masses completely enthralled by the RealD 3D nonsense that every movie producing company has been trying to shove down our throats this year and I'm sure for at least the next few years to follow.

Tim Burtons Wonderland is beautiful and rich, and does not need the 3D embellishment. The added effect is amusing at best and at worst it is nothing more than distracting.

Certain 3D parts of the film, such as Alice falling down the rabbit hole, are completely chaos. The digital effects guys throw so much debris towards the audience and Burton films the scene so close up that everything blurs together in a mass of unintelligible imagery. I hope that other studios are taking note of this and realize that if they must make a 3D film, then it needs to be done during the shooting process and not done as an afterthought.

All of that aside I truly enjoyed this film. It's worth watching and like so many before it I will own it on DVD. I give it {{{{4.0 out of 5}}}}

They Said:
This film is definitely a must see, though maybe not in 3D save the extra money and splurge on another film this week. We both really enjoyed this film and give it [[[[8.5 out of 10]]]]

Gosford Park (Directed by Robert Altman)

Watched: March 1st

Starring: Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon , Kristin Scott Thomas, Kelly McDonald, Emily Watson, Clive Own, Charles Dance, Tom Hollander, Jeremy Northam, Laurence Fox, Ryan Phillippe, Stephen Fry, Eileen Atkins, Helen Mirren, Richard E. Grant

IMDB link

She said:

Gosford Park is one of those rare gems - a film I can watch over and over and never tire of. With a list of characters as long as your arm it takes about ten viewings to work out who is married to whose sister and whose valet corresponds to whose lady's maid and who comes under the kitchen staff and who the butler is.

Repeat viewings also allow you to fully appreciate the politics of the upstairs/downstairs dynamic and of the upper class economic situations. This might sound dry and boring but I can assure you this is a film full of wit and humour.

This clever wit is the charm of the film - all the characters are full of familiar dysfunction. The upstairs guests are all trying to be top dog with the most money and don't care which of their family members need manipulating to get it. Below stairs the staff are dutifully bound to people that they destest and despise. The outsiders such as the murder detective and Mr Wisemann (a Hollywood producer) are trying to be 'insiders'.

This film is essentially a murder mystery drama but the comedy is what stands out. I have seen it maybe 15 times and haven't stopped chuckling along yet. Watch it and fall in love equally with characters who are harmless and characters who are quite vile. I give this film <<<5 out of 5>>>

He said:
This film reminds me a lot of the Eighties film Clue (after the board-game with the same name, known as Cluedo in the UK) The mystery of who the murder or murderers actually are, is half of the fun. The Mr Wisemann character spends the majority of the film talking to Studio big wigs back in the states trying to green light a film dealing with the idea of British upper-class in the country for his Detective Charlie Chan films.

This is a fun film with so much going on in any single scene I can definitely see the appeal of multiple viewings. There are too many top notch British actors to list here but even the casual American viewer will know the majority of names listed during the opening credits. (I myself was only unfamiliar with one of the names listed)

I enjoyed this film and would recommend it to anyone looking for an unexpected laugh or a murder mystery. I give {{{4 out of 5}}}



They said:
A fun film worth watching more than once. you will not be disappointed.... we give it {{{{{9 out of a possible 10}}}}