Hello again, my fantastic internet family!
I’m back YET AGAIN with another review. I’m really on a roll with these. But it is summer movie season so I’ve been lucky to attend critic screenings almost every week.
This week I had the pleasure of seeing Alice Through the Looking Glass, the sequel to Tim Burton’s live action remake of Alice in Wonderland.
If you have yet to watch the full trailer for the film, click here and then come back and finish reading.
In some of the trailers for the movie, they advertise it by saying that Alice Through the Looking Glass is “better than the original.” And if you read my review from last week about Neighbors 2, you’ll understand why I was hesitant to believe that. But I must say that thankfully this time that statement is correct. Alice Through the Looking Glass in my opinion was better than both the original cartoon Alice in Wonderland and the 2010 live-action remake.
I was so surprised by how fantastic this film was. It was not only beautiful in terms of digital effects, costumes, etc. but it had the best emotions, best acting, and most heart I’ve seen from any movie in a while.
I’ll start with Mia Wasikowska as Alice. I wasn’t sold on her in the previous Alice in Wonderland directed by Tim Burton, but this time around she did a great job. She was empowered and seemed to really posses the same quirky traits as the oh-so-curious Alice. I always knew that she looked the part of Alice, and this time her personality was there too.
Next is Johnny Depp as Hatter. Of course the Mad Hatter is a classic Alice in Wonderland character and Depp was no disappointment in his role. I don’t even really need to elaborate much though, because when does Johnny Depp ever do a bad job at portraying a character? He was amazing. The hair and makeup for Hatter were pretty cool too. It made him a modern version without taking away Mad Hatter’s essence from the cartoon.
Now, I’m saying this as somewhat of a disclaimer. There are few people on the planet apart from maybe prolific serial killers that creep me out more than Helena Bonham-Carter. She is a gifted actress but I find her so incredibly scary. I have no idea why. I can’t even really look at her on a red carpet without the hair on my arms standing up. It’s not that I find her unattractive or anything, I just personally am very creeped out by her presence. Like if I had to choose between a character Helena Bonham-Carter plays or Hannibal Lecter to spend the day with, I’d have a tough decision to make. Her role in Alice Through the Looking Glass is the Queen of Hearts and she was awesome. Her timing is quick and her facial expressions are always spot on. Again, no surprise there. This movie truly had a stocked cast.
The last character that I want to express my utmost love and admiration for is Sacha Baron Cohen as Time. Ugh, where do I even start?! He was so unbelievably wonderful. I am having a hard time putting it into words how much I loved Time. First of all, the script for this movie is one of the most quotable and inspirational I’ve ever seen. The life lessons that were thrown in subtly really hit me right at my core. Most of these were explained by Time, and I’m sure just by knowing the name of Sacha Baron Cohen’s character you can see why he was the outlet for wisdom. I have only ever seen Sacha Baron Cohen in raunchy and crude roles like in Borat and The Dictator, so I was knocked off my feet when I realized that the funny, good hearted and smart Time was played by him. Seriously, go see the movie just to see this character. You won’t be let down.
I’m not going to touch on Anne Hathaway because I found her character to be kinda pointless. Plus, the way that she’s always pursing her lips drives me nuts.
This sequel was directed by James Bobin instead of Tim Burton and I’m convinced that is why I liked it a million times better than the first. I am in the minority of people that aren’t a huge fan of Tim Burton or his work. I wonder if my feelings towards him are exacerbated by my feelings for his ex wife….
All in all, I am so happy I got to see Alice Through the Looking Glass. I actually want to buy a ticket to go see it again. It may have weaseled its way into my Top 20.
Thank you for all of the love and support on my previous review. Hopefully this week’s positive one made up for how harsh I had to be last week.
I love you guys and I look forward to hearing what you all think of this movie. It comes out Friday May 27th, 2016.
Until next time,
Kady (She)
xoxo
OVERALL GRADE: A
