REVIE: Alice Through The Looking Glass (PG)

Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) returns in the sequel to one of the top ten films of all time, Alice in Wonderland. Disney go all out to try and recreate the curious magic of the first movie and it starts off promising as all the cast and characters reunite in the first one, including a few lines of dialogue from the late Alan Rickman as Absolom, the Blue Caterpillar/Butterfly.

Starting a scene in battle between ships in a sequence that would not look out of place in the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Alice is captain of her father’s ship Wonder (which she got involved with at the end of the last movie). As she attempts the impossible (rather successfully I might add), she returns to London safe after a few years away on the high seas. Seeing more of the world than her wealthy counterparts, she visits her employers, including wealthy bore-merchant Hamish, whom she declined to marry in the first movie. Still with his nose out of joint after last time, he has caught her in between a rock and a hard place and gives her two options – the ship or her home. Alice’s mother is all for Alice giving up her ship, but Alice isn’t so sure. After being forced into a decision, she declines both and runs off to be by herself. As she starts to cry over her hopeless situation, Absolom, the blue butterfly, attracts her attention as she is needed in Underland. She jumps through a mirror (which for all intents and purposes is “the looking glass” of the title) and finds the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) is dying and needs her help. As all of Underland backs her to go back in time to find the Mad Hatter’s family to save him, she must try and “lend” a chronograph from Time himself (Sacha Baron Cohen) to sort it all out. However, it doesn’t run as smoothly as that.

Alice 2 (as I will call it now) suffers in that although the characters and actors from the first movie remain, the story itself is a run of the mill adventure and lacked the necessary thrills and skills that would classify as a classic. It does its job but lacks something but I don’t know what.

Afterwards we spoke of the movie and we concluded that maybe it was because the original tale is so iconic that this one was always going to be a struggle to live up to the next one. However, for all that the nonsense of the original, this one was a more straight forward adventure. Some strong acting from the cast and some thought provoking lines of dialogue, but over all a just above average move. Disney have done better in the past.

POPSCORE: 7/10

What am I talking about? Alice Through The Looking Glass movie
Where can I find out more? http://movies.disney.co.uk/alice-through-the-looking-glass
If you liked this try: Alice in Wonderland (either the Disney Classic animation or the 2010 live action prequel to this), Labyrinth, Never Ending Story, City of Ember 

Anything else?

The characters have all been given actual names - unlike in the book - for example the Cheshire Cat is known as Chessur.
This was Alan Rickman's last movie he worked on before he died (though I may need to check this fact) however, the movie has a dedication to him in the credits.

REVIEW: Mad Max: Fury Road (15)

George Miller, the septuagenarian director, returns with his latest Mad Max movie - Mad Max: Fury Road. No Mel Gibson here, but replaced by the ladies favourite, Tom Hardy. Also featuring a few other well known names including South Africa’s finest, Charlize Theron, Mad Max takes it forward for the next generation.

Using a dazzling array of amazing stunts (here’s to the old school) and minimal computer aided special effects, Mad Max features a dystopian world where everything seems to be miles away, and the people are all a bit strange.

The world in which they live is one I would never like to live in, but it draws you in with its dystopian vibe and barren landscape. Tom Hardy grunts his way through the movie, and for all that he plays the titular character, the main character, it could be argued, that Furiosa (Theron) is the main hero(ine?).

The bad guys are suitably clownish and crazy with a side order of sinister and evil. The movie is pretty much a road trip from one place to another – then they turn around and come back again. Although light on story, the movie is a dazzling array of stunts and explosions and there is an awesome guitarist with flames coming out of his guitar which pretty much plays for the entire movie as the soundtrack.

The cars (sorry, I think I would be better placed saying vehicles) are characters unto themselves and are often garishly made. Imagine The Fast and the Furious cars with horns and pipes and spikes and a jaded paint job and you wouldn’t be too far from this movie.

The movie is really quite good and I enjoyed it even though it was light on story and heavy on action. But, when a movie is this gripping, you can forgive such fallacies.

There are a couple of points about the movie I want to raise though – this includes the fact that Mad Max doesn’t really feature in this movie as much as he should have, and there was not a lot of dialogue or work for Hardy to do – apart from being tied up and being grumpy. Nicholas Holt’s character Nux, was suitable crazy and helped keep up the frenetic tempo we would expect the film to be. He also gets the best line: “Oh what a day, what a lovely day!”  Theron does a good turn as the heroine taking the slave girls away from the antagonist, and trying to save them. She is suitably kick ass and is a strong independent woman.

The movie overall is a good one, and there is talk of a few sequels too – hopefully Max will be featured more in it, but if not, maybe there’s more scope for a Mad Maxine or something. Who knows?

Mad Max: Fury Road is available on DVD, Blu Ray and download/streaming now.

POPSCORE: 8/10 

What am I talking about? Mad Max: Fury Road

Where can I find out more? http://www.madmaxmovie.com/

If you like this try: The original Mad Max movies, Fast And the Furious (if you like the road trip/car racing part), The Book of Eli, I Am Legend (both of these if you like the apocalyptic loner thing)