Alice in Wonderland (Tim Burton)

[apocrypha]

No thread on this yet? Den if there is and my search-fu is just weak.

Enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting. Very obviously Tim Burton, right from the very first frame, but I felt that he'd avoided some of his usual pitfalls while managing to add a new layer to an old and familiar story.

It's a visual treat, definitely one for the big screen or hi-def at the least if you can't cope with cinemas. I also thought it was generally well cast, although too many of Burtons usual people. Much as I love Depp he needs to branch out a bit more. Alice was fairly good and I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of her in the future.

It had a great atmosphere and style and I particularly liked the red guards, definite touch of stormtrooper to them. Stupidly heavy on the CGI though, not that you could make a film like this without it, but after Avatar and this I think I need a break from films that are 95% ILM.

Really interesting take on the orignal story too -laden with metaphor, although a lot of it fairly obvious. And of course Burton manages to make this partly about his relationship with his father. Not as cringe-inducingly as Willy Wonka was, but it's still there.

Short version: It's Tim Burton, so you know what to expect, but it's very good and somewhat original.

[SurfD]

Really interesting take on the orignal story too -laden with metaphor, although a lot of it fairly obvious. And of course Burton manages to make this partly about his relationship with his father.

It's not really a different take on the original Alice story (Alice In Wonderland), but rather, a different spin on the events of the second book (Through The Looking Glass), from what I can tell.

[Samwise]

I have to wonder how heavily the screenwriter was influenced by American McGee's Alice.  Unfortunately, now that this movie's been made there's zero chance of the American McGee version (IMO a better story) ever seeing the big screen.

[WayAbvPar]

Very obviously Tim Burton

Which is precisely why I will give it a miss. Intellectually I understand that some people may dig his style, but I cannot STAND him.

[Nebu]

I'm not a Tim Burton fan and found it to be a wonderful escape.  As a story goes, it wasn't very engrossing.  I did find the visuals to be extraordinary.  When I was watching the movie, I felt like I was being taken on a visual journey.  That alone made it worth the ticket price.  Having said that, I would never watch this at home or on a small screen.

[Bunk]

A few people asked me what I thought of it, and the best answer I could give was, "Um, it's very impressive visually. Its a Tim Burton movie".

I enjoyed it I guess. Mind you, I'm the only one of my friends that made it through Nightmare before Christmas in the theater without falling asleep.