underland

seems like it took me forever to see this movie and i guess it has. i had heard so many mixed reviews of it, i honestly wasn't sure what to expect.

its not perfect thats for sure, but it does make for an entertaining update to carroll's stories (its a blend of alice stories and its based on those).

the first half or so is the worst of it. really it takes to long to get to a story. the first half seems a disjointed mix of new ideas and parts of the original ones. it leaves you wanting to know what the hell is actually going on. this seems intended conceptually, since the story as told here is a later story of alice. she is older and has lived this story time and time again throughout her life, each time forgetting that she had before. unfortunately for the movie, that point doesn't connect well. although the point is made early on its really not until much later that it makes sense. i wonder if this was planned to be a longer movie and we're left with much of the known story as snippets so we can get to the new story.

regardless, its worth the choppy start to get to the story. although it must be said that there is little that is surprising, it still all seems fresh here. thats a testament to tim burton's quirkiness adapting this material of course.

another thing that people didn't react well too was the heavy amount of digital manipulation used in the movie. unfortunately despite all the advances in technology, and there are wonderful uses of it in this movie, there still seems to be a lack of ability for the artists to render convincing movement and gravity. mix that with live action and the little errors become difficult to ignore. its another movie where the effects try to convince you and fail rather than allowing you to suspend disbelief and enjoy the wild world. still for its failures its not that bad. and i think if you're willing you can tolerate a large amount of it.

lastly; they leave the open end about alice returning again and it makes the whole movie seem like a pointless tour of unreality that she'll only repeat again. theres definitely something mixed in that message that shouldn't be.

also its nice to see johnny depp can still act.

this is a fine movie, an excellent adaption, entertaining, fresh, wonderful.

be open to it and enjoy.


8/10