Have You Seen Alice?

It’s been a bit busy around my corner of the world and as a result, just over a week since my last post. My intention is to check in here at least once a week, so it looks like I might need to loosely schedule some time to do that. In my world, a loose schedule is akin to a general direction, both of which work for me as they keep me working towards a goal, but with realistic flexibility and without any major sense of disappointment when things go askew… as they sometimes do.

Speaking of askew, have you seen Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland? I’d been anticipating this movie since seeing trailors for it last fall. I’ve been a big fan of Johnny Depp since his days on 21 Jump Street, and I (like many) consider Tim Burton to be a mad genius. Helena Bonham Carter has also been on my radar for years, especially since her heart wrenching lead role in Margaret’s Museum - a beautiful and tragic movie based on a story written by Sheldon Currie, an old English professor of mine at St Francis Xavier University. With so many brilliant people involved Alice could only be great right? Right. Thank goodness.

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is a delight for many reasons. The story has been slightly altered from the original by Lewis Carroll, enough to keep the audience interested and anticipating while in the comfort of a familiar fantasy; Burton has (as expected) created a breathtaking and darkly whimsical visual framework within which the story takes place; Carter, Depp and Crispin Glover bring a perfect mixture of quirkiness and flippancy to their dark and fanciful characters (i.e. Depp regularly switches between a number of different accents within a breath of each other); Wasikowska’s portrayal of a grown up Alice, both self assured and vulnerable, is compelling and very likable.

What really captured my attention though, was the amazing costuming throughout this movie. I loved every outfit Alice found herself wearing, as well as those worn by the Red Queen and the Mad Hatter. Alice’s costume designer, Colleen Atwood, did an amazing job of creating intriguing pieces, both oddball and beautiful. I found myself wanting to touch and own all of Alice’s dresses and the Hatter’s hats… even though I can’t think of a place to wear them.

Check out Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland while it’s still in theatres. You won’t be disappointed.

Check out IMDB for more info on and pictures from Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1014759/ or Colleen Atwood and her fantastic designs: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0041181/ or Tim Burton’s official website for more of his brilliant work: http://www.timburton.com/

Talk to you again soon. J