gavin6942
A modern take on the classic fairytale, Alice in Wonderland, set in the North East of England.I have seen many different versions of the Alice in Wonderland story, from the Disney version to a bizarre Slavic one and many in between. Not long ago the SyFy network reinvented the story yet again (I believe it would have been after this). And still more versions are on the horizon (we are still waiting for the Marilyn Manson version).Whether or not this is a great film (I would say not), it is a valiant effort towards again trying to update the story. Maggie Grace is a respectable Alice, and the characters they wrote in here were perfectly cast -- I could tell who they were supposed to be without even having to hear their names. (Maybe the names should not have been so obvious.)
lost-in-limbo
The clock is ticking. So I won't hold you up for too long. Wonder what Lewis Carroll would think of this quirky, neon-laced, seamy urban British head spin of his classic story which sees American student Alice running through the London underpass to be hit by a cabbie when she reaches the surface. There she wakes up with no memory and finds herself interacting with strange and threatening underworld figures as she constantly pops pills in trying to figure out who she is and what she is all about. Jayson Rothwell ambitiously reinvented the material, like it was some jaded drug-trip with eccentric characters, brazen ideas and a wicked sense of humour while Simon Fellows' lean, over-stylised direction complements its distinctive look and keeps it on the move. It might seem aimless, but there's a purpose for the nocturnal journey ("We all meet in circles") and the twisted reinterpretations (the tea party is changed to a brothel) give it a fresh, if daring view. The performances are spot on. Maggie Grace is reputable as the naïve Alice and Danny Dyer is lively as Whitey the cabbie (the white rabbit). Nathaniel Parker is highly amusing in the villain role. The support features the likes of Matt King, Gary Beadle (cool as ever) and Bronagh Gallagher. Innovatively fragmented, but entrancing fantasy drama."Get ready for land that time forgot."
Awesumchiknsalt
another sleeper hit for me i just finished watching this and from the reviews i have read this movie is very under rated.since i heard that Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland was coming out it has sent me on a spiral down the rabbit hole once again trying to find all movies about the twisted tale...This one definitely hit the mark with me pretty much all the characters from the original story are in there.. just with a twist.. If you don't like movies that make you think and spin you out like your on some sort of trip you wont like it But if you don't like tripper movies why are you watching alice in wonderland ..Tim Burton's gonna have to do some thing spectacular to beat this in my eyes but i suppose hes got a bigger budget and is aimed at kids to subconsciously send them into a drug fueled adolescence..Circles Circles We all move in circles! .. bring back the mushies !!!!!... Wooooo hoooo!
Steve Leadbetter
It seems financially viable to release this now and an oversight not to, even if it is straight to DVD. With only a few short weeks until the release of Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland, anything bearing roughly the same name or subject matter is likely to gain more interest that it would do under normal circumstances. Lewis Carroll's version of Wonderland (and Alice, come to that) is altogether different here, however. This Simon Fellows directed version of the well-loved tale takes one step firmly to the dark side of humanity, edging further away from fantasy than either Lewis Carroll or Burton's interpretation of Carroll's undoubted masterpiece.Simon Fellows gathers an eclectic cast ensemble and seems to have read through the story of Alice and then cherry-picked scenes that suit his cinematic vision and then chopped them together. Really, this boils down to two or three set pieces that make some sort of cohesive sense, with the rest just filler in-between. For all that, however, there are genuinely, but rare enjoyable moments throughout.I'm not known for being a Danny Dyer fan, and still remain as unimpressed by him on the whole as I was before, having only been able to admire one of his delivered lines throughout the entire film. Maggie Grace plays the part of Alice, a poor little rich girl that has lost her memory after being knocked over by Whitey's (Dyer) taxi. Sounds a world away from the usual fantasy fare, right? Well this version of Alice In Wonderland is set in modern day inner city. The White Rabbit is a taxi driver who is off to buy a cake and is very late for the party, Tweedledum and Tweedledee are both club doormen and stealing tarts in this movie is driving off in an eighteen wheeler with a collection of hookers in the back. An unusual take on the literary work, and if I'm brutally honest, more than a little bit of a mess.The entire movie feels cluttered, unkempt and sprawling. This never feels like a fantasy, more the intermittent recollections of a hallucinating girl on a one night class A bender. It never feels magical nor enchanting or indeed any element that the original work instilled in its reader. It would be fair to suggest that this is not at all what Felllows had wanted to do with the film, but then you do have to ask, just what was it that he was trying to achieve? From what he has delivered here, it is not easy to tell, apart from a simple circular tale that could have been about anything, at anytime, anywhere. If so, then why base it on a well loved children's fable? (See paragraph one)The acting is roundly awful by the main players. Dyer is famous for his usually overtly violent films that require him to shout a lot, point angry fingers and throw his fists about and Grace is as wooden as another well loved children's character. Some credibility comes in the form of Pam Ferris, Fiona O'Shaughnessy, Matt King and Nathaniel Parker in their own oddly created cameos, but none make enough of an appearance throughout to save this film from its rightful place in the bowels of DVD purgatory.In summary, avoid this if you have the option. If you have to sit through it, I'd pay it the attention it deserves and make sure you have a book handy, or if you are of an hallucinogenic bent, you may find this riveting after you have dropped a tab. I would never suggest illegal drug-taking for recreation, but really, you will need more than just your brain, ears and patience to get to the end of it.
