Alice in Wonderland – The Return to Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland – The Return to Wonderland
Rated: PG Time: 1:49
Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Matt Lucas, Johnny Depp, Michael Sheen, Christopher Lee, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, and others
Final Grade: B-
The latest adaptation of Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland adventures debuted this weekend in Tim Burton’s film of the same name.
Alice (Wasikowska) is now 19 and in the process of being proposed to by some totally clueless wimp in British aristocracy. For some strange reason, Alice literally puts the whole world on hold waiting for her response to his marriage proposal while she chases a rabbit with a time piece down the hedgerows and falls down his rabbit hole and into Wonderland.
Alas, all is a tizzy in Wonderland. The Mad Hatter (Depp) and his friends are concerned that the rabbit has brought back the wrong Alice and in general life is running amok. The Red Queen(Carter) and the White Queen(Hathaway – complete with trademark banner red lipstick), even thought they’re sisters, have created a huge divide in the kingdom to which the scrolls of prophecy have predicted that Alice will return to cure and in the process slaying the dreaded Jabberwock dragon of the Red Queen. Soon, the Hatter, Alice, Rabbit, Cheshire Cat and the rest of Wonderland and involved in plotting the demise of the evil Red Queen and her henchman knight. The story climaxes as the two sides take positions on the chessboard and the battle rages.
Even though this is clearly a kid’s story, there’s a huge part that’s more calibrated for adults than kids. The storyline keeps the interesting going at a good pace and you don’t fall asleep in this one.
The 3-D production graphics are cool, and the characters are done well for a kids level mind. It was interesting to find a fat mellow Blue Caterpillar sucking on a hookah water pipe making me wonder just was in that cooker and the Cheshire Cat was as cool as a cat can be.
For kids of all ages, this is a story with a heroine who slays the dragon, versus the brave knight, but the message of the hero coming to the rescue and all’s well that ends well at the end is very clear, as well as the message that kids should make their own decisions rather than letting others make major decisions for them. That kids can grow up to be whatever they want to be. And, that’s a good message today’s kids.
Alice is rated PG for a good reason, it’s really not for younger kids that may not understand the violence and war scenes, beheading the dragon or the way the Red Queen treats the peasantry or how she uses animals to play golf with.
I’m Don Rima, and that’s the way I saw it, From Where I Stand.
Oscar – He’s here in 6 days
Oscar – He’s here in 6 days.
In six days all movie fans will be glued to their televisions to the annual Academy Awards presentation of the golden Oscars.
This is a much ballyhooed Hollywood annual event for people in the industry and fans alike.
So, in an effort to make you the fans feel more involved in the grand events of the evening, I’ve compiled a list of all the awards and nominees. This will let you have the chance to vote, albeit unofficially, for your favorite entry in each category and then during the awards presentations compare your vote with that of the academy.
And the nominees are:
Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges – “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney – “Up in the Air”
Golin Firth – “A Single Man”
Morgan Freeman – “Invictus”
Jeremy Renner – “The Hurt Locker”
Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon – “Invictus”
Woody Harrelson – “The Messenger”
Christopher Plummer – “The Last Station”
Stanley Tucci – “The Lovely Bones”
Christoph Waltz – “Inglourious Basterds”
Actress in a Leading Rold
Sandra Bullock – “The Blind Side”
Helen Mirren – “The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan – “An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe – “Precious”
Meryl Streep – “Julie and Julia”
Actress in a Supporting Role
Penelope Cruz – “Nine”
Vera Farmiga – “Up in the Air”
Maggie Gyllenhaal – “Crazy Heart”
Anna Kendrick – “Up in the Air”
Mo’Nique – “Precious”
Animated Feature Film
“Coraline”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“The Pricess and the Frog”
“The Secret of Kells”
“Up”
Art Direction
“Avatar”
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
“Nine”
“Sherlock Holmes”
“The Young Victoria”
Cinematography
“Avatar”
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“The White Ribbon”
Costume Design
“Bright Star”
“Coco before Chanel”
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
“Nine”
“The Young Victoria”
Directing
“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglouriuos Basterds”
“Precious”
“Up in the Air”
Documentary – Feature
“Burma VJ”
“The Cove”
“Food, Inc.”
“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”
“Which Way Home”
Documentary – Short Subject
“China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears o fSichuan Province”
“The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner”
“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant”
“Music by Prudence”
“Rabbit a la Berlin”
Film Editing
“Avatar”
“District 9”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious”
Foreign Language Film
“Ajami”
“The Milk of Sorrow”
“A Prophet”
“The Secret in Their Eyes”
“The White Ribbon”
Makeup
“Il Divo”
“Star Trek”
“The Young Victoria”
Music – Original Score
“Avatar”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Sherlock Holmes”
“Up”
Music – Original Song
“Almost There”
“Down in New Orleans”
“Loin de Paname”
“Take It All”
“The Weary Kind”
Best Picture
“Avatar”
“The Blind Side”
“District 9”
“An Education”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”
“Up in the Air”
Short Film – Animated
“French Roast”
“Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty”
“The Lady and the Reaper”
“Logorama”
“A Matter of Loaf and Death”
Short Film – Live Action
“The Door”
“Instead of Abracadabra”
“Kavi”
“Miracle Fish”
“The New Tenants”
Sound Editing
“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Imglourious Basterds”
“Star Trek”
“Up”
Sound Mixing
“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Star Trek”
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
Visual Effects
“Avatar”
“District 9”
“Star Trek”
Writing – Adapted Screenplay
“District 9”
“An Education”
“In the Loop”
“Precious”
“Up in the Air”
Writing – Original Screenplay
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“The Messenger”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”
Best of Luck!
I’m Don Rima, and that’s the way I see it, From Where I Stand.
Cop Out – Giving Keystone Cops a bad name.
Cop Out – Giving Keystone Cops a bad name.
Rated: R Time: 1:50
Stars: Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, Adam Brody, Kevin Pollak, Ana De La Reguera, Guillermo Diaz and others
Final Grade: C-
Jimmy’s (Willis) one of New York’s finest and the proud father of a daughter that’s getting married in a few weeks and wants a large wedding. His ex-wife’s new husband is playing the money card and trying to do the studly thing of showing up her ex-husband in front of his kid.
Jimmy has a card up his sleeve. It’s an old and valuable baseball card that he’s hoping to sell for enough cash to cover his kid’s wedding. But he runs into a small snag. While at the store getting the card appraised for sale, he’s robbed, in broad daylight and in front of his incredibly inept partner Paul (Morgan) who’s more intent on his cell phone conversation than watching his partner getting tazored and robbed right in front of him. Frankly, if Jimmy weren’t so absolutely stupid he might be funny.
As if having Paul as a partner isn’t bad luck enough, poor Jimmy’s luck takes a turn for the worse when local drug lord Poh Boy (Diaz) becomes the new owner of the card. Poh Boy it seems is interested in making Jimmy and Paul an offer they can’t refuse and at the same time get back some property that he’s lost and dearly wants back.
The plot winds its way through several improbable road chases, kidnappings and gun fights that make the Battle of the Bulge dim by comparison as these totally mismatched partners attempt to retrieve the lost baseball card while all the time staying alive and trying to catch Paul’s wife in a unfaithful romp with her neighbor.
If you’re thinking that this plot sounds like it’s the extreme opposite of a Die Hard movie and perhaps dreamed up by a bunch of incredibly drunk frat boys after a long weekend of boozing, you’d be about right. Frankly, there are a few laughs in this flick, but not because they’re funny but because the scene is that stupid.
This comedy wanna-be is seriously laced with violence, language and sexual innuendo. It’s definitely not for kids and not worth the six bucks to see it at a matinee.
I’m Don Rima, and that’s the way I saw it, From Where I Stand.
