Alice au pays des merveilles

If, like me, you are mildly-to-neurotically obsessed with hunting down and ingesting every version of Alice in Wonderland ever created, don't pass this by. "Alice" (2009) is a very creative spin on the classic storybook setting it in modern day, now 150 years after the original tale, but in Wonderland terms--since evidently their scientists are smarter than ours--the technology is more like something you'd expect 150 years from now. Hover cars (er... hover "flamingoes") zip through the sky over urban cityscapes built so high you can't see the ground. People are hooked on "tea" which is a spectrum of synthetic drugs harvested by... (I won't ruin it), and the Red Queen's palace is a bizarre neon-adorned casino where the extravagance of the reigning class contrasts sharply against the post-apocalyptic world of subjects in the cities. I know right? Lewis Carroll not only got modernized, he got a botox face lift and bionic limbs in this original spin.

Another notable difference between this and other tellings is that the character "Alice" is pretty badass, introduced in the beginning as a martial arts black belt instructor, so she carries an air of physical authority throughout the story. There aren't a whole lot of fight scenes, but it's understood that she doesn't need anyone to defend her. And that subtle twist is what alters the tone of this fairytale significantly. Here the story isn't so much about Alice in distress as it is about Alice on a mission. And, Wonderland fans help me out here, that hasn't really been done before has it?

What follows is a roller coaster ride full of colorful characters, satisfying nods to the book, quirky humor, action, a creative original plot, and a scifi spin that truly bridges the gap between the 1800s, the 1900s and the century of the near future.

Gotta say, I Hatter really fun time watching this. But I'll quit my Jabber. Wocky self down to your nearest video store and grab a copy. Duchess sit there, go watch the movie already.

I don't understand all the harsh negativity heaped on this series by previous posts. As long as you aren't expecting "The Greatest Movie Ever" you should come away fairly pleased. I for one found the series fun and fresh. Some good ideas mixed with decent acting. In particular the role of Hatter was very well played. Matt Frewer(Trashcan Man for those who watched The Stand in 1994) puts in a rather delightful performance. Alice was pretty without being cliché and embodied a more realistic and modern woman. The special effects were better than your average SyFy Channel fare. I see no reason not to take a journey down this Rabbit's Hole.

So two re-imagingings of Alice in Wonderland were released this year. One was from an iconic Hollywood director, the other a smaller production special on the ScyFy network. Guess which one was better? I didn't like Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, at all. My opinion is if your going to do a remake, bring something to it, don't tread the trodden ground. His version played it safe. And actually diluted the experience, by a lot. This Alice had an interesting twist on it and although it falters in some key areas, overall it had more than enough charm for me to appreciate the retelling. I liked noticing the characters from the book, and acknowledging the little nods to the original story. The woman who played Alice was infinitely more interesting to me, and I enjoyed the dynamic between the Hatter and Alice. I was surprised at the special effects and thought they were rather good for what the movie was. I also felt the casting was elevated with Kathy Bate's role as the Red Queen. She made me laugh in more than one scene and I thought she did a splendid job. My complaints are a few. While the script can have clever moments, it also falls into generic dialogue. When a director realizes what an opportunity he has with writing scenes in wonderland, and utilizes it properly, I will praise him with countless accolades. As it is, this really has not heightened scripting to any level. The other complaint was the pacing. Towards the final act, it felt very uneven, jumping from action to exposition. It just felt very rough. At the end of the day I gave it a six and unlike the other Alice in Wonderland, I would watch this one, most assuredly, again.

I will say right now, I wasn't expecting this to be perfect, because to me perfection is a rarity. Was it perfect? No. Is it worth watching? Absolutely! This mini-series does have its flaws, but as a 17 year old female, who grew up on animation and likes her fair share of classic film, I really liked it, after seeing it on YouTube today. I respect everybody's opinion, but there is some of the harsh negativity that I don't get. This is not an adaptation, this is like what happens many years later hence the contemporary feel to it. I haven't seen Tin Man, so I can't compare.

For one thing, I liked how it was filmed. The sets are picturesque looking and the costumes are wonderful, Mad Hatter's was a delight, but I particularly loved Dodo's, it made Tim Curry look suave and debonair. The special effects for a mini series are not that bad at all(I have seen a lot worse in films like Addams Family Reunion that make the film itself look cheap). In fact, in terms of effects, the only disappointment was the Jabberwock, somehow I was expecting it to be more scary looking, despite looking exactly as he is described in the books. The music was above decent, with some eerie sound effects and a contemporary sound that worked for this.

The story is fast paced in general, and is exciting enough. Of course it has a couple of holes, like how did Hatter get the boat back. I did like the references to the original books, which I adore, while putting its own contemporary spin on it. The script has its weak spots too, Alice saying something about getting a black belt in karate or something or other was a tad random, but there are some nice witty exchanges particularly between Alice and Hatter that really did sparkle. There are some effective scenes too, like Alice's reconciliation with the man who turns out to be her long-lost father.

That just leaves the acting. Well there were one or two disappointments, not because the actors gave terrible performances or anything like that, but it was all to do with screen time. Harry Dean Stanton as the Caterpillar just didn't get enough screen time to shine. Tim Curry as Dodo was better, as I've said already I loved his costume and he is a truly wonderful actor, plus there is a really cool fight between him, Hatter and Alice in her attempt to escape. But then afterwards, you don't see him again after that, the character of the Dodo just disappeared just like that without explanation. And while he was better in the second half, as the White Knight, at times I felt Matt Frewer overacted, but there were also parts when he was indeed entertaining.

That said though, I really liked Caterina Scorsone as Alice. I liked the fact Alice was spunky, determined, pretty and headstrong. These are qualities that I love in heroines, and qualities that I myself would strive for. Kathy Bates is deliciously frosty and icy as the Queen of Hearts, and Phillip Winchester was good and very low-key as Jack. But my favourite performance in the whole mini-series, and do forgive me if I repeat what others have said, was indeed Andrew Lee Potts as Hatter. He was funny, he was charming, he was witty, he was handsome, he was perfect. He and Scorsone had great chemistry, and the look on his face when Alice went with Jack instead of him made me feel ever so sorry for him.

All in all, this mini-series is not perfect, but it is well above average and if given the chance it is worth the watch. If you don't like it that's fine, as people have different opinions on everything, so long as you don't go thinking it's only your opinion that matters. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox

I originally scheduled the film after seeing a (mostly) negative review of it on Slate, but as I am very familiar with the original works, I found that I really loved it. I wrote a review on TV.com after seeing the 1st half and now saw the rest. I DID scramble the 2 books together, but used them both creatively, and unlike some commentators, I believe that the fact that Alice had grown up, while the hatter and others were frozen in time was entirely in keeping with a "Wonderland". The Sci-fi aspects were also completely in keeping with the spirit of the work. I am not a great fan of "action films" but I think this would appeal to them. I have never read any Harry Potter, but I saw one with my grandkids and I think this would be no more frightening to children than those. All in all, I just emailed many friends and relatives to try to catch it on the next whole broadcast (until???) this coming Sunday at 6PM.