Alice In Wonderland

What: Alice in Wonderland 3D
Where: Nuneaton Odeon
Who: Me, Arran, Beck, Mum and Dad
When: Monday, March 8th 2010 at 8o’clock

A family outing to the cinema is something I’m pretty sure hasn’t happened for about 8 years. (Scorpion King in case you were wondering). So to say I was a little surprised when the parents decided that the latest Tim Burton masterpiece was something they were interested in, the family outing was on. Dad drove and I brought the tickets and got 460 pints on my Odeon card for my troubles

At this point I should let you all in on the fact that in my eyes the magical combination of Tim Burton Johnny Depp and HBC can do no wrong. I knew before I even saw a trailer for this film that I was going to love it. Alice in Wonderland is a disjointed dark fairy tale and so who better to make it than the master of the dark fairy tale Tim Burton.

The 3d is not a necessity in this film as much as it is in Avatar and the film could be seen without it, at the end of the day the current trend of 3d film making is a gimmick and unless a film is specifically made with 3d in mind like avatar and the forthcoming remake of Tron there is little point in it. Although it does still look good.

However the acting performances in this film are what stands out. Every single person in this is incredibly strong. From Johnny and Helena who is possibly better than she has ever been to Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Matt Lucas and Barbara Windsor who make the film what it is with there supporting roles.

I think it was Jonathon Ross who said that this is Johnny’s strongest performance I don’t think I would go that far, it would take an awful lot to match his performance as Edward Scissorhands and Captain Jack but it’s not far off. He really conveys the insanity of the character he is playing to perfection.

But as I briefly alluded to earlier, this show is well and truly stolen by a stand out masterclass from Helena Bonham Carter. Married to the director she is often accused of riding on his coat tails only being cast because of who she is. Nothing could be further from the truth HBC is one of the most underrated stars of our generation. She is cast in every Tim Burton film because she personifies his mad cap universe and nobody could play the parts he gives her better than she does. I found myself watching this waiting for her to come back on to the screen.

Admitidly the CGI effects in this film may not withstand the test of time and will probably look dated very soon but who cares they work in the world that Tim has created. It’s not a perfect film far from it but it is a great story retold through the mind of one of the greatest visionaries around starring the greatest character actor alive today alongside the only character actress working today.

8/10