1. Alice In Wonderland (Disney, 3,728 Theaters, 108 Minutes, Rated PG):I am a big Tim Burton fan. And if there ever was a film that would be in the director’s wheelhouse, it would be this one. It is one of history’s best trippy/weird stories and Burton is all about the trippy/weird. But I still have some doubts about it.
What I do like about this one is that it is an sequel (well, technically, a second sequel) to the original story. This gives Burton a little more wiggle room to be creative, as he is not beholden to do a faithful adaptation of the text.
However, the film seems much more like it should be “Mad Hatter in Wonderland”. Johnny Depp is one of the world’s biggest stars and his involvement would have to be enlarged, but I don’t recall the Mad Hatter being THAT big of a part in any of the books. The trailer makes it out that he is a constant companion to Alice, and fights by her side.
And then there’s the whole 3-D thing. I find the 3-D trend irksome and really annoying. Fortunately, there will be theaters showing the film in non-3D format (at least two in my immediate vicinity) but I am not a fan of where this trend is going.
But I cannot see how this film could be boring. Burton’s take should be inventive and exciting, and there should be enough in the film to make it interesting.
2. Brooklyn’s Finest (Overture Films, 1,936 Theaters, 133 Minutes, Rated R): Or, in other words, Training Day 2.
Well, no, of course this film isn’t a sequel to the 2001 film also directed by Antoine Fuqua and also starring Ethan Hawke. But it sure seems like it, doesn’t it? Same gritty crime story. Good guys acting like bad guys and vice versa.
The plot revolves around three cops whose separate paths connect in conjunction with a horrible crime.
I am most interested in this movie for two reasons. One, to see if Richard Gere’s over the top Brooklynese accent is better in the film than it was in the trailers. And two, to see how Wesley Snipes fares in his return to the big screen after his recent tax-related legal troubles.
