As a fan of Carroll’s book series and the Disney animated feature, I was excited for another adventure in Wonderland. Though I’m not a fan of Burton’s style I went into the film unbiased and came out pretty impressed.

 While Burton claims that Alice in Wonderland is in no way a sequel to Disney’s original, this film is nothing but Alice’s second romp through Wonderland . The premise is simple: once again poor limey Alice has stumbled into wonderland, but this isn’t the Wonderland from her past. The dastardly Red Queen has stolen the crown and kingdom from her kindhearted sister, the White Queen, and Wonderland has become an oppressed and dark place. Alice is heralded as the new champion who has been chosen to slay the Jabberwocky, the Red Queen’s guardian dragon.

 I was a big fan of this film for it’s many great element’s and visual styles, but that didn’t stop me from finding a few faults in an otherwise good film. Disney’s Alice In Wonderland had a great rhythm as a confused Alice wondered from one strange event to the next and Burton sacrificed a lot of that originality by giving his rendition a very structured, and somewhat generic, story. The generally well written script has an occasional break into some pretty grimacing one-liners and quirky jigs that I’m sure will be copied by Burton fans for years to come. One last thing, through the entire film Wonderland is constantly reffered to as Underland, this is never explained and really confusing.

  Ok so there are a few minor complaints, but overall Burton made a good film. Burton’s twist on a fallen Wonderland has created a post-apocolyptic visual treat that stays incredibly good looking through the entire film. The movie stars a great cast with many of Burtons staples such a Johnny Depp and Helen Boneham Carter. Anne Hathaway was hillarious as the looney and overly comical White Queen, and I found myself laughing everytime she was on screen. This movie really sums up my view  of Burton’s works, which is “regardless of personal tastes see the film because you will never see anything else like it, Until the next Burton film comes out that is.”

 Hilary Duff’s portrayal as a suicidal teenager is unexpected taking into account the previous characters she has played in her preceding movies. The former Disney star captures the hearts of her audience as she recites her lines with such passion, feeling and heart. There were some parts where she lost character for a split second; however she jumps right back into the role and continues to blow away the viewers. In this performance, it was obvious her goal was to shed her teenybopper bubblegum-pop image for a more grown up one. After all, who wouldn’t after being type-casted into roles which basically all have the same personality? The audience would definitely be surprised to know that she accomplishes her goal with flying colors. It is safe to say that casting directors will definitely be taking her into consideration for serious and darker roles, unafraid of staining the good-girl next door image she has built up after all these years. In fact, she is set to play the role of Bonnie Parker in the 1960’s remake of Bonnie & Clyde set to come out later this year or early 2011.

 Watching this movie allows viewers to contemplate life as well. A message can be taken from this movie: life goes on, and a person with life should go along with it, no matter how big of a struggle it may give you. It is much too precious of a gift to end yourself, and must be lived to the fullest.

From our perspective in the second row we still enjoyed the movie. The Princess and the Frog features a strong, hard working main character, Tiana, raised by her impoverished seamstress mother and double shift working father. She grows up dreaming of one day owning the restaurant her father wanted so badly. Yet her father teaches her that “wishing on stars” will get her nowhere and gives her a persistent work ethic. Working two jobs of her own as a waitress, she is “almost there” as she sings later in the movie. Disney doesn’t lie when they say they returned to their classic routes by returning to using song to tell a story, yet the music of The Princess and the Frog is actually enjoyable. Instead of bubblegum pop featured in most Disney movies, The Princess and the Frog actually ties into the roots of New Orleans taking from its fast paced jazz with amazing vocals, to slow paced instrumentals. It combines the best of the new and old New Orleans making for nice flavorful combination.

Tiana’s frog, so to say, is the lazy, carefree, and easy going Prince Naveen. The Prince is nearly destined to be married to Tiana’s friend, Charlotte, whose father is the richest man in town. However, he runs into some bad company and is magically turned into a frog by the voodoo-crazy Shadow Man. Here comes the Disney twist in the story – instead of Naveen turning back into a handsome prince once more, Tiana is turned into a mucus covered frog when she kisses him. Their adventure through the bayou begins, and they meet the trumpet blowing Louis the alligator, Cajun firefly Ray, and the wacky Mama Odie.

The movie focuses on inspiring and pushing people towards their dreams. As Anika Noni Rose, the voice of Tiana, said, “Whatever makes your pulse race, go for it”, and that is what I think we all see Disney movies for. Underneath the silly jokes, exploitation, and super sweetness of Disney’s movies is a resounding theme that we all want in our lives. That theme is definitely present in The Princess and the Frog. Overall, I would rate the movie five out of five stars. But to caution you movie goers who bring young children: there are a few parts that might be a little scary; yet other than that, my companion and I found the movie perfectly enchanting.

Yes, this film is one of the best of ’09 and has become an instant classic, but nothing is without a few flaws. I believe you should not watch this film in 3D; while 3D has improved over the years, about 40 minutes in to this two and a half hour film, I had to take my glasses off because my eyes were growing tired. The plot was also a major downer. It felt like Cameron took any given passage from a history textbook, replaced “Native American” with “giant blue alien” and “settlers” with “humans”. It is full of fun little clichés that everyone has seen in any given movie before it: the mistreatment of the indigenous people, the uncaring and ruthless settlers who take what they want, the man sent inside to learn about the culture but ends up becoming one of them, and the love-interest chief’s daughter (Pocahontas anyone?)

Complaints aside, go see this film because you will never see anything like it. Cameron has created one of the greatest movie worlds of all time. Every second is full of imaginative creatures, floating islands, luminescent forests, and some of the coolest sci-fi machines and battle sequences to ever come outside of any given Star Wars film. Go see this film now!

Dedicated fans were somewhat upset because of the numerous scenes in the movie not present in the book. This was most likely to cater to the “not so die hard” Twilight fans and their understanding of the plot. This of course will upset true fans of the saga, but is a necessary evil in creating a movie from a novel.  .

Most people who viewed the movie state that it was better than its 2008 hit predecessor Twilight. This could most likely be attributed to the change in directors. New Moon was directed by Chris Weitz. His style in interpreting Stephanie Meyer’s work was different from Catherine Hardwicke, the director of Twilight. Perhaps this difference is more enjoyable to fans since Twilight grossed $69.6 million the first few days after its release and New Moon grossed around $72.7 million.

Overall the movie was enjoyable. It was fast pace, true to the book. No movie will ever compare to its novel, and it would be unfair to expect different from New Moon. The detail and variations in interpretations will always leave fans unsatisfied. Never the less the movie could be rated fairly as 6.5 out of 10.  If you’re a true fan, you’ll of course see it in theaters no matter what a review says, and by all means do. But, if you’re not a huge fan of the saga, I’d wait for it to come out on DVD.

            And it was these little things that nagged me throughout the film.  For instance, it is heavily implied that the Lewis family is in a financial rut.  I just couldn’t see how the family was living paycheck to paycheck as Norma was a teacher at a fancy prep school, Arthur was a NASA employee, they could afford to send their child to private school, they lived in a nice home in what looked like an affluent neighborhood, could afford cars (nice ones, mind you), and attended social gatherings that made it look as if their relatives were quite well off.  This family is supposed to be living paycheck to paycheck?  And you want me to feel sympathetic toward them?

            Even the accents drove me crazy.  It’s apparent that most characters in this story have subtle accents, and while most seem believable at best, no one flaunted their accent quite as much as Cameron Diaz.  She literally wore it like a dress and took it to the shows.  Her thick accent that was made so prominent seemed to ruin her character.  At one point in the film, she is given this grand monologue that’s supposed to develop her character and show the hardships she has had to overcome and accept, and I simply couldn’t take her seriously.  It was almost comical, as after each heaving sob, followed mouthfuls of such slurred Southern drawl.

            My last bone to pick with the film would have to be the film’s ending.  Without giving away too much of the story, I can say that it had a final plot twist almost M. Night Shaymalan worthy.  To spend so much time with a film with such a good story, only to have an ending twist that not only wraps up the story but also puts the blame on something as outrageous as ‘aliens’ or ‘polar bears’, is infuriating.  This, dear readers, is lazy storytelling.  On top of the outrageous plot twist, the story fits one of those looping ideas where they events that happened to the main characters is repeated to a new group of characters, leaving us with no form of closure or lesson as a story and its events repeat themselves again.  This is where I want to draw the line.  The Box is not a bad film, it’s just not good enough to spend money to see at a movie theater.  This is definitely a solid rent, so wait a few months and get it at a cheaper price; you won’t be missing anything.

  The movie 2012 was what I expected to be, natural disasters and many people losing their lives.  If there was one word I would use to describe the movie, the word would be breathtaking.  The movie used almost all the disasters expected to happen on that horrifying event.  And the movie did make me think about that day if it happens and where would I be when it happens.  The movie shows that depending where you are, a specific disaster will happen, from California to Nevada to Colorado and other parts of the world like India. 

  If you are curious about how the end of the world would be or just want to watch a good movie I really recommend watching this film, but the ending of the movie does raise some questions about the apocalypse and how we will react to this death experience.  If I had to rate this movie it would be a 4 out of 5.

The film centers around the story of Columbus, an anti-social and neurotic college kid trying to survive the zombie apocalypse. He eventually teams up with Tallahassee, a gun totting zombie slayer whose epic quest revolves around searching for some of the world’s last Twinkies, and a pair of sisters who want to fight their way to an abandoned amusement park.

As outrageous as the plot may seem, Zombieland does an incredible job of keeping it all together and making the story both believable and enjoyable. The film mixes both comedy and melodrama, as there are scenes where characters compare the loss of loved ones, and then the same characters run around on comical zombie murdering rampages – and there are plenty of those. Zombieland does not disappoint with the action, for it is filled from start to finish with excessive violence and over-the-top deaths. The movie has some of the most elaborate and original kills I have ever seen in a zombie film, with techniques ranging from dropping pianos to eccentric uses of carnival rides as death traps.

This brings up the topic of gore. I will flat out state that this film is not for the squeamish. Columbus and friends fight the ‘wettest’ zombies I have ever seen before, as virtually every imaginable fluid seems to drain from the films countless undead. As a nice change of pace, Zombieland is filled with running gags and motif that set it apart from other films of the genre. Such examples could be the zombie kill of the week highlights and Columbus’ dead-pan humor narration. Personally, my favorite motif of the film is the use of Columbus’ set of zombie survival rules. Through the film, every time a rule is acted out or set in motion, the rule will appear on the screen and remind the audience of its importance.

Zombieland is one of those blunt films that doesn’t take itself too seriously or try to be something it’s not. Zombieland tries to be nothing more than a gory, fresh new comedy, and for that it is a must see.