Jamie East at the movies: Tim Burton’s dropped from Alice but Through The Looking Glass storyline is too messy to save franchise
I COULDN’T get on with Alice in Wonderland – it tried too hard to be kooky.
And after Captain Jack Sparrow, Tonto, Willy Wonka and Sweeney Todd, I’d seen
the repertoire of Johnny Depp’s funny voices twice over. So the Mad Hatter
fell flat.
The film’s biggest problem was its bloated take on Lewis Carroll’s tale, a
recurring problem with director Tim Burton.
This time round, Burton has handed over directing duties to James Bobin,
which should mean it keeps the incredible visuals while giving us a
thrilling, neatly cut film.
Well, one out of two’s not bad — it is a visual treat.
Alice is now a sailor, keeping her family name afloat (ha!) while adapting to
life without her dad in a world of misogynist peers and with a mum barely
able to cope.
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She is forthright and stubborn, seemingly a world away from Wonderland, until
Alan Rickman’s final screen performance, Absolem, whisks her through the
looking glass.
His treacly voice is lovely and it is fitting that his screen farewell is as a
butterfly spreading its wings.
All is not well in Wonderland.
Hatter is fed up — not because he looks like Jess Glynne running through
Claire’s Accessories covered in glue but because he misses his family,
killed by the Jabberwocky many years ago. I think.
While we ponder that, there’s also something about the Queen of Hearts arguing
with her sister.
Oh, and the thing about Alice stealing a magic device from Time and travelling
back and forth in time, which never really makes sense.
Time, played excellently by Sacha Baron Cohen (as a kind of Arnie van Damme)
is offered to us as a scheming baddie when actually all the poor sod is
doing is chasing after an annoying girl who nicked something important from
him.
Storylines barge against each other, trying to steal each other’s limelight
like a Kardashian family photo.
It spoils the performances, it takes away from the beautiful costumes and
special effects and stops the film, a visual delight and wonderfully nuts,
being as good as it should be.
But elements of Labyrinth, Return to Oz and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang make you
feel cosy, Baron Cohen and Bonham Carter are a terrific double act, there is
a great cameo from Moriarty himself, Andrew Scott, the supporting cast are
brill and the crescendo at the end has more than a whiff of Toy Story 3. So
all is not lost.
But the writers should have held a looking glass to the script — and the
director should have told Anne Hathaway not to do that thing with her hands,
before I go TONTO.
“Who Ticked their last Tock?” This franchise. Which is a shame.
Money Monster
LET’S get one thing straight – this is a really daft film.
Its whole premise, that the crimes of Wall St rest on the shoulders of one
villain, is simplifying things to a huge extreme.
Having said that, I bloody loved this film.
George Clooney plays Lee Gates, a brash version of our Martin Lewis, talking
about which stock to buy or sell on TV.
Problem is, he offered some stinking advice which meant a hell of a lot of
people lost a hell of a lot of money – including a disgruntled man with a
suspicious looking vest in his hands.
While Lee tries to keep his wits about him, producer Patty (Julia Roberts)
starts delving into the mysterious events surrounding the stock plummet.
Jack O’Connell does a terrific turn as hostage-taker Kyle, but occasionally it
gets too daft.
There are plenty of zinging one-liners and this could have been a really good
satirical dig at the perilous nature of the financial markets but instead it
chooses to be just a really fun movie.
Which is no bad thing for a bank holiday weekend! — four stars.
The Daughter
AN hour and a half of betrayal, despair, suicide and a fleeting glimpse of
attempted incest – Despicable Me 3 this is not.
What it is though, is an incredibly acted, extremely tense character drama
that focuses on the most difficult thing some people have to cope with – you
can’t choose your family.
Amid a town crippled by unemployment and recession, a man returns home for his
father’s wedding and stumbles across a dark secret that could destroy the
lives of those around him.
There are great performances from Odessa Young’s sulky Hedvig and Geoffrey
Rush as Henry.
Tough but rewarding — four stars.
Bobby
By GRANT ROLLINGS
MANY of us are probably too young to remember the time when we had Englishmen
in the final stages of a World Cup who were not a referee.
And perhaps this documentary about Bobby Moore explains why. We just don’t
appreciate our heroes.
Witnessing the amazing skills of the 1966 World Cup-winning side’s captain and
learning of his personal bravery, it’s a true scandal that he never
became Sir Bobby.
With the 50th anniversary of England’s win fast approaching, this is a chance
to revisit how Bobby made football a beautiful game — three stars.
On demand and DVDs
By GARETH ALEXANDER
PICK OF THE WEEK — GOOSEBUMPS (PG): To those aged 25-35, RL
Stine’s book series was a phenomenon growing up.
Now it’s a fun, cheeky film for a new generation, with his werewolves, gnomes
and a dummy unleashed on the real world.
It’s up to a trio of teens and an irascible Jack Black to sort it out.
Playing out as a tweeny Fright Night, there’s lots of fun to be had and
inventive monsters keep the gags fresh — four stars.
SNOOPY AND CHARLIE BROWN: THE PEANUTS MOVIE (U): Not holding the same
fame this side of the pond are Charles Schulz’s creations.
Charlie, as ever, attempts to impress the Little Red Haired Girl with varying
levels of success.
It’s not as dark and depressing as Schulz’s work, this finds joy in a more
innocent time but the thin plot will bore adults.
But kids will revel in the colour and positivity. — three stars.
RAMS (15): From the young to the old with this bittersweet ballad of
battling brothers.
The idea that the estranged siblings’ sheep must be destroyed to prevent
infection doesn’t sound like a great start for a touching and wry
comedy-drama.
But this inventive and stark work is, at the centre, as warm as the landscape
is cold.
A standard-bearer for a simple tale told with precision, innovation and humour
— four stars.
YOUTH (15): More wrinklies here in the shape of Caine and Keitel as a
composer and filmmaker holidaying in the Alps, musing on age like a
shrivelled Coogan and Brydon.
It is a massively indulgent affair by Italian writer/director Paolo
Sorrentino, like a Woody Allen film without the wit (So a modern Woody Allen
film, then? – Ed).
But scrape away the smug and this essay has plenty to say, but isn’t for
everyone — three stars.