Weekend Forecast: Go ask Alice
By Craig Kennedy - March 4th, 2010; 8:11 am
What the hell? Is Hollywood taking the weekend off for the Oscars? By my count, there are only three new releases and one expansion to talk about this weekend so let’s get to it.
If none of these float your boat, there are plenty of other movies lighting up the Now Playing page.
Opening in wide release:
- Alice in Wonderland. You know that Tim Burton’s take on Lewis Carroll’s classic characters is going to be visually arresting, that it’ll have unique style to spare and fun performances from Burton’s stock company including Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. As always with Burton however, the question will be how well he tells a story. Narrative isn’t historically a Burton strong suit. Sometimes the style makes up for it (Sleepy Hollow…yes I kind of like Sleepy Hollow) and sometimes it doesn’t (Planet of the Apes). Which way will Alice go? I don’t know, but the rest of the cast including Mia Wasikowska as a 19-year-old Alice, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, Stephen Fry, Crispin Glover, Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall make it worth finding out. Trailer / Showtimes
- Brooklyn’s Finest. Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) spins this tale of three different New York cops – an undercover narcotics officer who wants out, a detective tempted by corruption because of his ailing wife and a burned out veteran nearing retirement – whose paths and fates cross one day at a Brooklyn housing project. It all sounds terribly familiar (Robert Wilonski quips that it’s “three movies in one, all of which you’ve seen before.”) and I’m not much of a fan of Fuqua’s other work, but the cast including Richard Gere, Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke offers a ray of hope. That’s the best spin I can put on it anyway. Brooklyn’s Finest premiered to mixed reviews at Sundance in 2009. Trailer / Showtimes
Expanding:
- The Ghost Writer (****) Roman Polanski adapts Robert Harris’s thriller about a writer (Ewan McGregor) hired to finish the memoir of a former Prime Minister (Pierce Brosnan) when the project’s original ghost writer turns up dead. Accusations that the PM was involved in war crimes lead McGregor to suspect his predecessor may have uncovered something that led to his murder. With sharp dialogue, well-timed humor and a great cast, The Ghost Writer strikes every note and hits every beat for a nearly flawless entertainment. If the underlying mystery isn’t quite as satisfying as its suspenseful unraveling, Ghost nevertheless delivers what it promises. Also with Kim Cattrall, Olivia Williams, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Hutton and Eli Wallach. Trailer / Showtimes
Opening in New York:
- The Secret of Kells. Everyone was stunned when this animation from one of the producers of the great The Triplets of Belleville was nominated for an Oscar. Except me. Ok, it was kind of a dumb lucky guess based on Kells‘ success in getting an Annie nomination and the strong grass roots campaign it mounted, but there it is. Living in medieval Ireland at an outpost under threat from barbarians, a boy must help finish a magical book. A fantastic, Celtic mythology-infused journey ensues. Trailer / Showtimes
This week’s musical sponsor is inspired by Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. Here’s a double shot of Jefferson Airplane with White Rabbit and Somebody to Love:
Filed under: Weekend Forecast
Good call on White Rabbit, Monsieur Crabcake.
I have something highly intriguing (of a cinematic nature, of course) that I’m going to attend next week. I think you know something about this, Craig. That is, if you remember what I told you about my emotional connection with this particular film…and why.
More details after it happens. But I am looking forward to it like you wouldn’t believe.
And of course I’ll be back here to commiserate after the big show is over.
Let’s hope it’s not as predictable as everyone assumes it’s going to be. Probably will end up shaking out that way.
Hopefully not, though. Or there will be serious hell to pay…
However, Oscar shakes out, I’m hoping there are surprises. Even bad ones at this point. Anything to talk about afterward!
I’m sure you’ll be reporting on your cinematic adventure over at CP, but I hope you’ll stop by here and give us a heads up.
Hell yeah.
I’ll be here, my darling. You can take that to the bank…
I will be seeing ALICE with the brood on Saturday, but admittedly Craig, the preparation for the annual Oscar party here will be the major preoccupation over the upcoming days! May catch something else on Saturday night, like that fine documentary you reviewed last week that opens here.
I reckon I may see Alice this weekend. It’s one of those review-proof movies, you know. So the low RT score it’s managed really has no impact on my decision of whether to see it or not.
That will likely be it, unless I squeeze in a DVD. Between visiting family on Friday and traveling to a conference Sunday (not to mention I seem to remember there’s something on TV I want to watch that night), I doubt I will have much time for moviewatching.
There sure are a lot of blurbs on the Now Playing page! Seeing everything blurbed all in the same place gets me much more excited about the current state of releases than does the lineup at my local multiplex.
Tonight: Chloe.
Tomorrow: City Island.
Sunday: The monster at the Kodak.
Paul, I’ll be curious to hear what you think of Chloe. It was a curious mixture, but ultimately I really kind of liked it.
Jennybee, I’m on board Alice as well. I haven’t read the reviews but have had my ear to the wall and understand they’re mixed. That’s fine. We’ll see.
Sam, wish I could be there for the party! I’ll be here posting the winners so stop by and say hello if you get a bathroom break from the festivities.
Andrew O’Hehir on Kells:
http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/andrew_ohehir/2010/03/04/secret_of_kells?source=newsletter
Hey, two movies I’ve seen!
Kells would’ve been the best animated film I saw last year, had I seen it last year. But it’s gorgeous and engaging, and has set the bar very high for 2010 animated features.
Alice I saw last night, and I was fairly underwhelmed. Sure, it looks great, and there are moments of brilliance, but some odd casting (Hathaway is not good here. Not good at all) and narrative issues plague this.
I missed several chances to catch Kells in December and I’m hoping it gets an actual release here soon.
Alice I’m going to see in a few minutes and after some initial enthusiasm I’m curiously not looking forward to it now. Maybe it’s the negative buzz?
I think Kells gets here late April and will definitely be on my hope-to-see list. March is actually shaping up with some solid limited releases trickling out here as well.
I never got around to seeing The White Ribbon, so A#1 on my list is now Ghost Writer, hopefully next week if I’m lucky. The most I’ll be doing movie-wise this weekend is tuning in on Sunday night for what’s sure to be an intriguing show. Personally I’m a little bummed about the no-song performances, but maybe it will just be a one year trial.
I did see Alice on Thursday and let’s just say my rather low expectations going in were met. A number of things didn’t work for me, not the least of which was the final act. But admittedly I’m not expert on the Carroll story so maybe this was some kind of interpretation that really speaks to some people. The Cheshire cat was pretty cool, but that was about it for me. 3D didn’t work yet again, and almost ruined the rabbit hole fall for me.
Alice was terrible.
I didn’t bother with 3D this time after being underwhelmed on the almighty Avatar.
Yeah I didn’t have the option this time around but suffice to say I think I might be done with 3D for good.
Look forward to a criticism of Alice if you feel the need (though why would you?).
Oh I felt the need alright. Review is done already.
I’m definitely pretty much done with 3D. If it was a pointless distraction for me in Avatar, what hope do other movies have?
I kind of liked it in Up, though not in every scene.
We’ll see how the technology progresses. Since it’s not really 3D, but only the illusion of 3D I doubt it will get much better than it is, but I’ll try to keep an open mind.