Alice

TV movies are usually...well, TV movies. But I was quite impressed with the SyFi's original production of Alice. I caught this the last two nights and became quite engrossed with it, just as I had been with last year's twisted-tale production of OZ.

Sure, the story has its flaws (exactly how did Hatter get the boat back? Of course she hid the ring!), but the sucking out of human emotions was quite a novel SyFi twist on this old tale, and I have to say it's one that I enjoyed. Forgive the flaws and enjoy the ride.

I must admit I kept staring at Hatter and trying to place him. Andrew Lee Potts does a great job with his character and shows a fine comedic as well as a wonderfully sensitive side, and I couldn't take my eyes off him in scene after scene. I hope to see more from this Brit actor in the future!

I can understand why some people may be frustrated by this movie. It's certainly not like the familiar childhood version. It was interesting to see the movie depicted in this way (strangely enough there were guns and fighting, it was much more "adult" and modern). I thought it was a beautiful love story that was fun and exciting. The chemistry between the characters made me feel like I was actually a part of the film. IT had a few exciting twists and turns too, although the acting was a little on the cheesy side. I'm aware that the Tim Burton version of this is coming out in 2010 but I think that Sci Fi gave it a good try, and succeeded. Personally I think that watching different versions of my favorite childhood story is more fun than having just one version.

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 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.

I love this version of "Alice in Wonderland." It is futuristic, exciting, fun, and the characters are wonderful, creative, and different from anything you think they'd be. I never liked "Alice in Wonderland," but this just grabbed hold of my interest from the first minute. I was very impressed. For the haters, that's your opinion, but some of us like mixed-up fairy tales. If you like this movie, I would watch "the 10th Kingdom," which is a wonderfully clever mini series which throws all you've known about fairy tales your whole life on their rear. Thank you, SYFY, you actually made a version of "Alice in Wonderland" that I like! Bravo!