Word: epical
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Wonderland's Joan of Arc Screenwriter Linda Woolverton and Burton made two big changes to the text. One was to transform Carroll's episodic tale into an epic quest, based on the poem "Jabberwocky." Alice must seize the vorpal sword and slay the fearsome Jabberwock. In assuming this challenge, she becomes a female Frodo, Wonderland's Joan of Arc. This twist legitimizes the feature-length running time but also risks turning this jovially anarchic enterprise into your standard action-adventure. The film is better at reveling in eccentricity than at replaying Excalibur. (See the top 10 movie performances...
...have nothing to say to you, Scorpio. You’re going to have an epic month but some miserable friends are going to hate your venomous guts if you don’t adopt some sensitivity. Try to focus on others and your good fortune might not come back to bite...
...events leading up to the final battle scene is entirely conventional, remaining predictable up until its final moments. Although the opening sequences are engaging and original, once Alice enters Wonderland, each scene is more foreseeable than the last. In fact, the film falls nicely into the standard fantasy epic plot, which is simply unaaceptable for an adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland.” Maybe this more mainstream approach is to be expected since some of Burton’s recent films like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” try harder to reach...
Despite its various interpretive downsides, “Alice in Wonderland” does in fact provide much wonder in its stunning animation and design. Yet, it is a shame to see Burton try so hard to please the masses with a standard fantasy epic plot and sprinklings of cheesy dialogue. Compared to his off-beat earlier works, this film definitely lacks the artistic risk-taking that makes for a quality film. Much like the “Avatar” sensation that took the nation by storm but whose plot rang a little too close to that of Pocahontas...
...spans the entire length of their career, though it is—somewhat unsurprisingly—heavily weighted toward the catalog from 1992 through 1994. This emphasis on the early part of their career is not in itself problematic, but one marvels at the omission of, for instance, epic “Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain” opener “Silence Kid,” when five other songs from that album are featured, including the pretty but slight “Heaven is a Truck.” Likewise, though many songs from the pre-debut album...