Editorial - Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland: This Year's Star Trek?

Well it's been a while since I've done an editorial so I thought it was time to get back into it and discuss a topic I've been thinking about for some time.

And that is the upcoming Alice in Wonderland, directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp, I've been predicting big things for this one mainly because it's the first major blockbuster of the year to be released and in 3D, which many predict will take the bulk of its screens from James Cameron's Avatar.

But after reading some articles on the film and learning about the film as a whole, I began to wonder if it could be this year's Star Trek, which I should explain, JJ Abrams's Star Trek film came with enormous uncertainty attached and despite not winning over yours truly, the film was very well received with many claiming it was a fun popcorn ride and a brilliant re-invention of a long dead franchise and in addition to good audience appeal, the film was one of the top 10 highest grossing in America last year.

But veering back on topic, this Alice has many things that could work in its favour, firstly Depp's enormous star power but it's also a family film somewhat and an adaptation of a beloved source, both of which are seen as a comfort zone somewhat for audiences around the world in recent years as the world's economy took a nosedive.

But hey I could be wrong and Alice could underperform, box office is a very uncertain thing as is movie making as a whole with situations like those depending on something akin to a roll of the dice and where those dice will roll well only time can tell.

Film Review - Superman Returns (2006)

Superman Returns is the latest entry in this series and sees the Man of Steel return to Earth following a 5 year absence and the world around him has changed, Lois is settled down with a child and Lex Luthor is now out of jail and ready to exact his revenge.

Having been a big fan of the first two Superman films (mainly Superman II) I was really looking forward to seeing this new film and hoped that director Bryan Singer would do for this character what he did for the first two X-Men movies.

Sadly he didn't for a number of reasons, first Singer tries to not only restart the series in the same way that Christopher Nolan did with Batman Begins but also honor what Richard Donner did with his Superman movies, secondly he makes a serious story with a character that doesn't fit within those confines, third, the film drags on at 2 and a half hours and lastly, he retreads the use of Lex Luthor who is not that good of a villain, clearly this is a film which to be frank, doesn't work at all when you sum it all up.

So all in all, 2 out of 5 for Superman Returns.

Film Review - Superman (1978)

Superman, based off the DC comic, concerns the Krypton scientist Jor-El sending his only son to a distant planet as theirs is doomed to destruction, here the infant Kal-El later becomes Clark Kent and well, you know the rest.

I loved Superman, this whole film is just a delight to watch, from the music by John Williams to the late great Christopher Reeve in the title role, there’s a real style to this film that all ages can enjoy, despite the fact that Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor is more of a clown rather than a genuine threat, something the next film wisely corrected and the film also runs a bit too long in the tooth to sustain itself.

But to round it all off, Superman is entertaining so it gets a 3 out of 5.

Film Review - Superman II (1980/2006)

Superman II is the continuation of the original Superman film from 1978 and this time around the Man of Steel's identity has been discovered by Lois Lane and the two soon fall in love, but while that is happening, Lex Luthor escapes from prison and the three Krypton villains his father sentenced are freed by an explosion in space, and also have the exact same powers as Superman.

Two versions of this film exist, one with the majority of footage directed by Richard Donner which was released in 2006 and the theatrical release with the majority of footage directed by Richard Lester, who was brought onto the project after the producers fired Donner, what follows is a separate review of each version with its own rating.

The Lester version relies too hard on slapstick comedy and sight gags to make the film work, which at times undercuts the tension of the film in regards to the villains, the film also goes on too long by extending scenes far more than needed, no doubt this was done so Lester could be given director's credit on the film.

But I can't say that I blame Lester for that, he was given a bad situation and told to make the best of it, but still his version gets only a 2 out of 5.

The Donner version restores much of the majesty and characterization that made the first Superman film a hit, the three villains are more threatening, Lois is more gutsy, Lex is more conniving and the film also restores the lost scenes featuring Marlon Brando as Jor-El who plays a big role in the story of the film, now it must be said that Donner only finished about 70-80% of the film but this shows what he had in mind and it's a sad shame that he was fired, as it would have been THE definitive superhero movie by which all others would be judged.

As for my rating, this gets a 4 out of 5, it's a better made film with more adult storytelling sensibilities as well as hinting at some exciting action and good humour, a shame it was never properly finished but what's here is well done.

Overall, Superman 2 is a film that works for the most part, despite my okay feelings towards the Lester version, this is mainly because of Terence Stamp as General Zod, who has the identical powers as Superman along with his two sidekicks, this puts Hackman's Luthor on the side bench which is fine by me as he never really felt like a proper threat in the first film, this film rectifies that and because of that, it becomes a stronger film.

Film Review - Bride Wars (2009)

Bride Wars stars Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway as two New York girls who have grown up together and dream of getting married, which happens to be accidentally put on the same day, and from there the gloves come off.

Bride Wars to put it mildly is rubbish, first class junk, firstly the storyline flip flops from comedy to heart without a care in the world, secondly Hathaway and Candice Bergen are wasted in their roles, third Hudson is annoying, fourth the film said something that made me feel insulted and lastly the men in this movie should have left at the first sign of danger, hopefully James Cameron can steer the ship back on course with Avatar in December, as the Hollywood cruise liner has come one step closer to sinking with all hands lost.

So there you have it folks, this film makes me glad that I am not a woman and that learning the power of the dark side will never happen as vengeance would be wrought on the people responsible for this mess so this is getting a 1 out of 5.

Trailer Watch - Iron Man 2

With 2009 gone, the time has come for another trailer watch and for this first one of 2010, I look at a trailer that actually got released in 2009 and that is the first trailer for the upcoming sequel Iron Man 2.

To be honest, prior to seeing this trailer I can’t say I was looking forward to seeing this movie that much, mainly because of the use of multiple villains which almost always kills these comic book movies and also because of the actors playing them, Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson, neither of which I’m a big fan of, but I really enjoyed the first Iron Man and almost all sequels barring a few exceptions never measure up so I could really go either way on this one.

But then I saw the trailer and some of my fears were put to rest as it looked as though that it would retain the heart and the humor that made Iron Man 1 so enjoyable and keep the action to a minimum but still I wasn’t sold on the villains, we saw too little of Johansson and Rourke seemed to be a tad too OTT but hey I’ll be happily going to see this in the cinema and I may enjoy it but we’ll just have to wait and see.

Film Review - Batman Forever (1995)

Batman Forever is the third in the live action Batman series and this time the Dark Knight faces two lethal enemies, the maniacal Two-Face formerly known as Harvey Dent played by Tommy Lee Jones and the mind games of the Riddler played by Jim Carrey, but Batman won't be doing it alone as a new ally named Robin played by Chris O'Donnell joins the series to lend a hand.

Batman Forever starts out with an interesting story in regards to the psychosis of Bruce Wayne and what drives him to be Batman but the film loses any and all interest in that pretty quickly in favor of nonstop action scenes involving Carrey and Jones, who totally ham it up while Kilmer and O'Donnell try to salvage the more serious side of the film, which all it ends up doing is giving it an unfocused feeling.

And not only that, the film also turns bombastic very quickly as we race towards the final showdown, director Joel Schumacher floods the screen with green neon which makes the action hard to track when you watch it and with all of the flashing lights and hammy acting, the film gets pretty stale by the it ends.

So I would class this as an example of the action pictures of the 1990's that followed after Terminator 2, nonstop action and bugger all story, so it gets by with a 2 out of 5, if you simply must watch a Batman film, go and get Batman Begins and the Dark Knight instead, they're much more worth the time.