Curiouser

Scott Hardie | October 3, 2009
Not to be mean-spirited, but sometimes I wonder if I am the only person who isn't super-excited to see Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. It seems like every week for the last few months, another person has sent me a link or posted a link to the trailer.

Tim Burton's name does not guarantee a great or even good movie. Planet of the Apes was pretty weak. Beetlejuice had as many bad ideas as good ideas. Almost nobody liked Mars Attacks!. Sometimes he makes very good movies, but they're not automatically good just because he made them. Besides, he's coasted on his brand for years now, semi-lazily adapting existing works into his own Expressionist style, and this picture is another in the series. Up next, a remake of his 1984 short film Frankenweenie – I like the original and I hope the new one is good, but it is another remake.

And then there's Johnny Depp, who seems just plain grating as the Mad Hatter. Wasn't his performance one of the biggest problems with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Isn't his sex appeal lost under that makeup?

I don't want to be a grump. Plenty of people like the trailer for Avatar, and I do too. But Alice just leaves me cold. Am I wrong?

Steve West | October 3, 2009
The choice of film is what makes me scream in frustration. I hated that story as a child and remain unenchanted by it as an adult. I like Tim Burton. I hate Alice in Wonderland. Never the twain shall meet.

Samir Mehta | October 4, 2009
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Jackie Mason | October 4, 2009
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Aaron Shurtleff | October 4, 2009
I'm less excited to see Where The Wild Things Are or whatever it's called, but this is the first I've heard of Alice In Wonderland, so I'll give it a chance to rank lower on my list. :)

Maybe I'm a horrible judge, but Johnny Depp's appeal sex appeal?!? Seriously?? That blows my mind...

OMG, Samir! You brought one of Scott's top ten movies of all time into this discussion in a negative way?! *runs for cover* ;)

Scott Hardie | October 4, 2009
It's all good. I enjoyed Titanic, The Abyss, and True Lies. I gave up debating with Titanic haters while it was still in theaters. I forgive its weaknesses in light of how the rest of it stirs my emotions every time. I can see the Michael Bay analogy. I tend to think of Cameron like Steven Spielberg: Whatever his obsessions with the subject matter, he remembers to make the audience's entertainment his first priority. But there are plenty of people with low opinions of Spielberg, too.

Aaron Shurtleff | October 4, 2009
I've never seen The Abyss, but I did read the book. Is the movie better than the book? I hated the book. Ugh! I've had to read some absolute trash for various classes growing up, but that book (which I read for fun, no less) is absolutely the worst book I ever read. Put me off Crichton altogether.

Samir Mehta | October 4, 2009
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Denise Sawicki | October 5, 2009
Johnny Depp practically looked like a girl in Benny and Joon, which I saw recently. I think that's hot but I am a little nutty. And yes I am actually straight despite whatever impression I may give. :P I don't really see the appeal in most of his roles where he has all the weird makeup on though.

To be a little bit more on topic, I am not terribly excited for any of the recent remakes of old, old stories.

Aaron Shurtleff | October 5, 2009
Now, see, Benny and Joon is probably my favorite Johnny Depp movie, but I didn't find him particularly hot. He has a sort of quirky charm, I suppose, but maybe not so much with the hotness for me.

Love Benny and Joon! Love it!!

Denise Sawicki | October 5, 2009
"Cute" would normally be my first choice of word but I think some guys are offended by being called cute, particularly if they are smaller than me which is, like, everyone. I wouldn't want to offend Johnny Depp if he is reading, ha ha. Pretty good movie, I got it free for eating a bunch of raisin bran.

Samir Mehta | October 5, 2009
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Aaron Shurtleff | October 5, 2009
I've never gotten that! I'd so much rather be cute than hot. (Which is easy for me to say, since I might hit the goal of being cute, but hot is thoroughly unattainable for me..and that's not up for discussion! I don't need any "you got that right!" from the peanut gallery, thank you very much. :P )

If I would have known that eating raisin bran was the way to go, I'd eat my way to that movie any day!! :)

Jackie Mason | October 6, 2009
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Scott Hardie | January 16, 2010
Any opinions on Avatar now that it's out? It seems to me that for the people who already look up to James Cameron, it's another masterpiece of imagination, and for the people who already look down on him, it's another empty light show, and here's the first place where I've seen the two people meet. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I look forward to the inevitable episode of South Park riffing on it in a few weeks (in addition to Dances with Smurfs); it sounds like exactly the sort of movie that Parker and Stone despise.

Samir Mehta | January 16, 2010
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Steve West | January 16, 2010
Haven't seen it yet. Plan to. There's a hilarious internet joke going around about the similarities of the script to Disney's Pocahontas. I'll see it and try not to make the comparisons.

Amy Austin | January 18, 2010
Lol... my brother-in-law had this to say about it:

Avatar- nauseating 3d special effects plus vomit inducing left wing liberal tree hugger story = amazing movie that is somehow greater than the sum of its parts.

Erik Bates | January 18, 2010
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Steve West | January 19, 2010
Here's one example of it.

Scott Hardie | February 7, 2010
Finally saw Avatar today. Great movie, great entertainment.

Jim Cameron has never been one for original storylines. Like George Lucas, he relies on the familiar outlines of myths to guide us through alien experiences. There are a lot of people saying that he ripped off Pocahontas or Dances With Wolves, but the basic story is as old as civilization, the myth of the hero-king updated for modern America.

There are other critics who say that it is anti-technology, which makes no sense to me. The alien characters do not have technology, but do not seem to avoid it either; they simply have no need for it. The movie exists because of cutting-edge technology, and doesn't pretend otherwise.

Is it anti-imperialist? Yes, but like with Weyland-Yutani and Cyberdyne Systems, its empire is corporate, not governmental, although Cameron makes specific references to American empire of the last few decades. Why it is a shock that a Hollywood director has added a liberal subtext to his film, even one who fetishizes the military as much as Cameron does?

Is the movie racist? Because we're American, we're quick to assume that it's a case of white guilt about American history, but Cameron is not American and there are many historical cases around the world of an advanced culture plundering from a primitive one. It seems to me to have more in common with Spanish raiding of Central and South America for its gold, and history sees the conquistadors as unequivocal villains. Still, there's something a little suggestive about casting non-white actors to play the main aliens and (mostly) white actors to play the main humans.

Scott Hardie | February 7, 2010
Also: The final trailer for Alice in Wonderland looks a lot more intriguing than earlier versions. I have been wooed.

Jackie Mason | February 7, 2010
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Scott Hardie | February 7, 2010
I'm in the first camp. Originality is overrated. Whatever liberal agenda it has, I'm pretty sure you won't find offensive.

Hiyao Miyazaki is much more hard-core about his environmentalist message than Jim Cameron, and nobody accuses his movies of having a liberal agenda. Is that because he's foreign (more foreign than Cameron anyway), or is it because so few people see his movies?

Steve West | February 7, 2010
I'm soooo looking forward to it! I liked the storyline behind Pocahontas and they certainly don't own the whole lover triangle conflict. For those that have seen it, can I take my kids? Ratings are sometimes inscrutable.

Scott Hardie | February 7, 2010
There were a few little (~5yo) kids at our show, and they didn't seem too disturbed, only a little bored during the early setup scenes. There's a LOT of footage of human warships attacking nature with guns and missiles, and a number of scary wild animals threatening the heroes, along with a mild love scene (embracing and kissing) and some curse words. Here's a thorough breakdown.

Steve West | February 7, 2010
That was very helpful. Let's do it! (As soon as I unbury us from this 2 feet of snow, that is. Taking a break at the moment of this reply.)