Review: Date Night

Grade: A

Phil and Claire Foster are a typical married couple with two kids living in New Jersey, but when their friends decide to get a divorce because they’ve fallen into a rut, the same rut the Fosters feel they are in, Phil and Claire decide to try to change things up a bit. Their idea is simple, go to New York for a romantic evening at an upscale restaurant. But when they get there the restaurant has no table for them, so when they hear that a couple, the Tripplehorns, hasn’t shown up for their reservation, the Fosters decide to pretend they are the Tripplehorns. Problem is, the real Tripplehorns have a mob boss looking for them and his goons are now convinced that the Fosters are the people they are looking for. As the Fosters try to stay alive and figure a way out of their predicament, they stumble upon a bigger conspiracy.

As soon as I heard about the casting of this actiony comedy I knew this movie was going to be good. The director, Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, The Pink Panther) had decided to cast Steve Carrell (40 Year Old Virgin, TVs The Office) and Tina Fey (Baby Mama, TVs 30 Rock) as the Fosters, this is a comedy match made in heaven. Carrell brought his usual wit and humor to the movie and Fey was as funny as she always is at times bringing her Liz Lemon charm to the role. Carrell and Fey worked perfectly together in this movie and were so funny I don’t think I stopped laughing the entire time. One great running joke throughout the movie would involve the Fosters trying to explain to people the predicament that they are in and whenever they get to the part about taking someone else's reservation, the person they are talking to stops them and acts like that is the worst thing a person could do. The movie is absolutely hilarious from start to finish and has plenty of action and some suspense mixed in with it too. This movie completely met my expectations and is now probably the best comedy of the year in my opinion. Just a great and fun movie to watch. I really want to go back and watch it again because I think I missed a bit of this movie because I was laughing so hard.

The rest of the cast was great too. James Franco (Pineapple Express, Milk) and Mila Kunis (Book of Eli, Extract) show up as the real Tripplehorns in a hilarious scene. Also, Mark Wahlberg (The Lovely Bones, The Departed) plays Holbrooke, an ex-client of Claire’s, who is in private security and used to do black ops type stuff and never seems to want to wear a shirt. The scenes with Wahlberg are great, his character’s interactions with Carrell and Fey’s characters are absolutely hilarious. The rest of the cast includes Taraji P. Henson, William Fichtner, Bill Burr, Mark Ruffalo, Kristen Wiig, Jimmi Simpson and Common.

This movie was just fantastic and one of the funnier movies I’ve seen in a while. Like I said, I was laughing from start to finish. The comedic combination of Steve Carrell and Tina Fey was absolutely perfect and really makes this movie worth watching. If you are looking for a good funny movie to see, go see Date Night, trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

Great quote: “Aw man, now I have to pick it up off the ground to eat it.”

Home Viewing Recommendations

Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant

Grade: B

Cirque Du Freak is a fun movie about a boy who goes to a strange freak show one night where he encounters a real vampire. Through certain circumstances, that vampire turns the boy into a vampire himself. Afterwards, the boy learns that there is a war going on between two factions of vampire and must help in the fight.

This movie is a lot of fun and is worth watching if you’re into this kind of movie. It’s actually pretty funny but I wouldn’t quite call it a comedy. I really enjoyed it and it has a pretty good cast that includes John C. Reilly, Chris Massoglia, Ray Stevenson, Ken Watanabe, Orlando Jones and Selma Hayek.

Cold Souls

Grade: B+

This is an interesting movie where Paul Giamatti plays himself. Paul is working on a play but can’t quite seem to get the performance right. One day he comes across and article about a company that has developed the technology to remove the soul. Paul looks into it and decides that life would be easier if he didn’t have his soul weighing him down. After he gets his soul removed things do go better with the play, but the rest of his life starts to fall apart. When he goes to the company to get it put back in, it turns out it has been stolen and taken to Russia.

This movie is great but when I say that it is a dark comedy, I mean it. The humor is really subtle most of the time. Yes, the story is rather strange but if you enjoy odd movies or simply the idea of the movie, you will probably enjoy this movie. It is a little slow at times but I was expecting that. I am a fan of Paul Giamatti and his performance in this movie is excellent, and it’s nice to see he has a bit of a sense of humor about himself.

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

Grade: A

This musical is about an aspiring super villain who is trying to balance his career of evil doing with his desire to pursue a beautiful do-gooder, all along the way being thwarted in every way possible by the hero, Captain Hammer.

This charming little musical was made for practically nothing, which is a great deal of its charm. It was written and directed by fan favorite Joss Whedon. It stars Neil Patrick Harris as the titular Dr. Horrible and the great Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer. This movie is only 45 minutes long and is available to rent on DVD and is currently on the Netflix Instant Queue. I recommend everybody watch this, it is fun, funny and just really well done not to mention all the songs are great.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Grade: B+

Based on the book by Roald Dahl, is about a fox who decides to return to his old farm raiding ways and challenges the three local farmers. But, when the farmers find out, they retaliate and Mr. Fox must help his community of animal friends fight back against the farmers.

This movie is kind of charming. It’s interesting because it was done with stop-animation, something that hasn’t really been seen in a while. The story was good and plenty of fun and the cast was great and included George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Michael Gambon and Willem Dafoe. It was directed by Wes Anderson, whose movies I don’t normally enjoy. The most genius part of this movie is that it essentially has the dialogue of an R rated movie but they replaced all the adult language with “cuss”, this made it extra funny so they would say stuff like “are you cussing with me?”, hilarious.

Julie & Julia

Grade: B-

This movie tells two stories, the first is the story of Julia Child and how she became a cook and eventually a cooking icon. The other story is of a young woman who decides to go through Julia Child’s cook book and cook every recipe and write a blog about it.

I’m going to say right off the bat that only half of this movie is good. The story of Julia Child, where Meryl Streep brilliantly plays Julia Child, is really good and a lot of fun to watch and what makes it better is Stanley Tucci as Julia’s husband. The other half of the movie, which sadly stars one of my favorite actresses, Amy Adams, is really boring and pretty stupid. I just didn’t care for the character of Julie at all. But the half of the movie about Julia Child is so good that I recommend suffering through the Julie part to see it.

Paper Heart

Grade: A-

This documentary, which was all staged by the way, follows young actress Charlyne Yi as she treks across America discussing the one subject she doesn’t understand, or really believe in: Love. Along the way she meets actor Michael Cera and they develop a relationship. The documentary then begins to follow the two as love begins to grow between the two.

This independent comedy was really good and pretty funny at times, especially the ending, genius. This movie is simply really cute and a lot of fun to watch, I highly recommend this one.

Planet 51

Grade: B+

This animated movie follows and American astronaut who goes to Planet 51, he lands thinking he is the first person to step foot on the planet. Much to his surprise, the planet is inhabited by little green aliens who are happily living a life rather similar to 1950’s American suburban life.

This movie is hilarious and tons of fun to watch. The story is a very interesting twist on the classic story and the movie is loaded with references to classis sci-fi movies. It’s a great kids movie too. Also, it has a pretty good voice cast that includes Dwayne Johnson, Justin Long, Sean William Scott, Jessica Biel, Gary Oldman and John Cleese. If you are a fan of classic sci-fi, you will probably love this movie.

This Film Is Not Yet Rated

Grade: A+

This amazing documentary follows academy award nominated filmmaker Kirby Dick as he looks into the super secret organization that rates movies, the MPAA. In the documentary he hires a private investigator to try to find out who is on the ratings board and he interviews filmmakers and critics who have had run ins with the MPAA as they discuss their corruption and backwards standards of rating movies.

This documentary is simply amazing, I loved every second of it. It is an absolute must see, especially if you care about censorship, movies or have ever wondered why movies are rated the way they are. Kirby Dick interviews great filmmakers and actors like Kimberly Peirce, John Waters, Kevin Smith, Wayne Kramer, Maria Bello, Darron Aronofksy and many more. I love how this movie discusses the backwards ratings system that deems sex, a natural thing, far worse than violence, an unnatural and illegal thing. The discussions are just great, I really can’t recommend enough that everybody watch this documentary. It is available to rent on DVD and is currently available on the Netflix Instant Queue.

Review: How To Train Your Dragon

Grade: A+

Hiccup lives in a quiet Viking town. Only thing is, they have a dragon problem. All the Vikings in the village live to kill dragons, but hiccup is viewed as too small and clumsy to do the work. All Hiccup wants is to be accepted by the rest of the village and most importantly, his father. He is determined to bring down a dragon and one day builds a mechanism that will take down a dragon for him. When he is successful in taking down the most feared of all dragons, he goes to investigate and to kill the dragon. Problem is, when he gets to the dragon he can’t bring himself to kill it and releases it instead. Then, over the next couple weeks while he’s in dragon killing school, he sneaks off to the dragon and over time befriends it and trains it to the point where he flies on the dragons back. He learns that the dragons are misunderstood, gentle creatures and he tries to figure out a way to teach this to the rest of his village.

This movie was simply amazing. There are no other words for it. DreamWorks animation really outdid themselves with this one and are going to create some solid competition for Pixar this year. The story in this movie is just amazing. It’s funny, it’s touching, it’s emotional and it’s really fun. I really did end up liking this movie a lot more than I originally thought I would. This movie is fun for everybody, kids will love it and adults will love it. Simply put, it is a really well made movie. All the different types of dragons are awesome, all the characters are great, just everything about this movie is superb. You really feel for the characters and get caught up in their plight. The main dragon, Toothless, is absolutely adorable and so easy to fall in love with.

Jay Baruchel (She’s Out of My League, Tropic Thunder) does the voice of the main character, Hiccup, the hapless boy who just wants to be a true Viking. Baruchel was a perfect choice for this voice and he did such a great job with it. Gerard Butler (300, RockNrolla) did the voice of Stoick, Hiccup’s father and leader of the village. I loved this aspect of the movie, it takes place in a Scotland Viking settlement so we got to hear Butler’s true voice and didn’t have to suffer through him forcing an American accent. Butler was excellent with this voice and is again a perfect casting choice. America Ferrera (Our Family Wedding, TVs Ugly Betty) did the voice of Astrid, the girl Hiccup has a crush on. Ferrera did a great job with her role. Comedian Craig Ferguson does the voice of Gobber, a blacksmith and teacher of dragon fighting school. Ferguson is Scottish as well and did a great job with this role as he was absolutely hilarious with all the lines. The movie also features the voices of Jonah Hill, Kristin Wiig, T.J. Miller and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

I cannot recommend this movie enough. It doesn’t matter what type of movies you are into, this one has it all and appeals to everybody. Go see it right away. It is available in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D, it doesn’t matter how you see it they are all great and it’s worth the ticket price no matter how much you pay.

Great quote: “Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile.”

Review: Clash of the Titans

Grade: B+

In ancient Greece, the people have become upset with the gods as they feel the gods have turned their backs on them. A large group of soldiers from Argo have made it their mission to challenge the gods by destroying statues and temples. Well, the gods have heard them and have decided to fight back. Perseus was a humble fisherman with his adoptive parents until Hades attacked a group of soldiers who destroyed the statue of Zeus and in turn killed Perseus’ parents. Perseus soon after discovers that he is the son of Zeus and is therefore a demigod. Zeus and the other gods decide to remind the humans who is in charge by challenging the city of Argos to sacrifice their beloved princess or they will release the Kraken, a horrifying monster that killed the Titans, upon their city. Perseus, angry with Hades and the other gods, decides to take it upon himself to take on the gods, kill the Kraken and kill Hades himself.

I am a huge fan of Greek mythology and this movie really has fun with it. I also happen to be a moderate fan of the original 1981 movie of the same name. I have to admit, the new version is far superior to the original. The new Clash of the Titans is far more exciting and far less cheesy. The monsters look better and more realistic and are more terrifying. This version is just fun to watch. The action is awesome and fun to watch and it has just the right amount of humor mixed in with it all. It also features a great throwback to the original at one point, see if you can catch it. Director Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk, Transporter 2) did a great job revamping this movie, better than I was expecting it to be.

Sam Worthington (Avatar, Terminator: Salvation) plays the lead role of Perseus, son of Zeus. Worthington’s career is exploding right now and for good reason, he’s pretty good with these action movies. He really does a great job as Perseus in this movie. Liam Neeson (Taken, Batman Begins) plays the role of Zeus, king of the gods. He did a great job with the role and the effects made him look rather god like, the only problem I had was his unkempt beard, it just looked weird at times. Ralph Fiennes (In Bruges, Red Dragon) plays Hades, god of the underworld. Fiennes did a great job with this role, especially portraying Hades hatred of his brothers for making him ruler of the underworld. Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace, RockNrolla) plays Io, a woman cursed with eternal life who watches over Perseus. Arterton was really enjoyable in this role and her career is beginning to take off as well. The movie also features Jason Flemyng, Alexa Davalos, Mads Mikkelsen, Danny Huston and Pete Postlethwaite.

If you are a fan of the original, a fan of greek mythology or just a fan of action movies, go see Clash of the Titans, it is a lot of fun. I will recommend you don’t waste your money on seeing it in 3D. This movie was not intended to be in 3D but after the success of Avatar, the studio forced it to be put in 3D, quickly. As a result I hear that the 3D is unimpressive and just not worth the extra money.

Great quote: “One day, somebody’s got to make a stand. One day, somebody’s got to say enough.”

Review: Hot Tub Time Machine

Grade: B+

Adam, Nick and Lou were best friends back in high school and felt their lives were going places. Now, they’re all grown up and are rather miserable with their adult lives. After an accident puts Lou in the hospital, they decide to try to have a fun weekend away together at their favorite place when they were in high school, Kodiak Valley Ski Resort. The three of them plus Adam’s nephew, Jacob, head up to the mountains for a weekend of fun and drinking. When they get there, the town isn’t quite what it used to be and all they are left with is the hot tub in their room. They decide to pile in and get drunk but when they wake up, they realize they have somehow been transported back to 1986. When they are warned by an odd hot tub mechanic, they decide it’s best to try to relive that day exactly how they did over 20 years ago, or at least that was the plan.

I’m gonna go ahead and call it right now, I predict a minimum of four Oscars for Hot Tub Time Machine at next year’s academy awards. One of those awards is going to be a new category, best title. For some reason just saying the title of this movie makes me smile. The movie is actually really entertaining. Seeing all the styles and music that was popular in ’86 was great. Hot Tub Time Machine is hilarious to top it all off. The jokes are constant and the laughter never stops. The story is actually really fun, this movie’s story absolutely could have been terrible but they managed to come up with something that’s not stupid and keeps you entertained not to mention all the great throw backs to classic 80’s stuff and movies. And the ending is really good.

John Cusack (2012, War Inc.) plays the role of Adam, a guy who is down on his luck and tries to fix that in the past. I enjoy Cusack in everything that he has done and he does not disappoint in this movie. I love that fact that he spends half the movie dressed very similarly to his character in Say Anything and he is in a scene that is a great homage to Sixteen Candles, which all but started his career. Craig Robinson (Pineapple Express, TVs The Office) plays Nick, a man who gave up his dream of music for his wife and now washes dogs for a living. Robinson was hilarious as always and really did a great job in this movie. Not to mention that he is actually a pretty good singer. Rob Corddry (W., Harold and Kumar 2) plays Lou, who’s greatest days were in high school and is completely miserable now. Corddry delivers some of the biggest laughs in the movie. Relative new comer Clark Duke plays Adams nephew Jacob, who spends his life on a computer. Duke did a pretty decent job with his role and was pretty funny too. The movie also features hilarious performances by Crispin Glover, Sebastian Stan, Lizzy Caplan and the great Chevy Chase.

If you are looking for a good fun comedy, go see Hot Tub Time Machine. It’s simply a lot of fun with a lot of laughs. 2010 is looking to be a great year in comedies.

Great quote: “Great white buffalo… Great white buffalo… Great white buffalo”

Review: The Bounty Hunter

Grade: B+

Nicole Hurley is an investigative reporter who accidently skipped bail while following a tip. Milo Boyd is an ex-detective now working as a bounty hunter. Nicole and Milo used to be married. When Milo is handed the sheet that informs him that his next target is his ex-wife, all he can think is Best.Job.Ever! After he tracks her down, though, he discovers that she’s not lying about being close to solving a murder. The people who committed the murder are now trying to kill her. At the same time, some bookies who Milo owes money to are trying to track him down. As the two go on the run together, trying to get back to the city, they come closer to solving the crime, and reignite their passions for each-other.

This movie was just as good as I was hoping it to be. Filled with comedy and action it is a lot of fun to watch. It is hilarious to see what would happen when a bounty hunter is told to go pick up his ex-wife because she skipped bail. Milo has far too much fun tormenting his former wife as they play a hilarious game of cat and mouse. Nicole has no problem dishing it all right back in Milo’s face though. The action and suspense were few and far between and not all that great, but what do you expect from a romantic comedy? Also, it is a bit predictable, but once again, it is a romantic comedy, 99% of them end the same way. It is cute and would make for a great date movie.

Gerard Butler (Law Abiding Citizen, 300) plays Milo, the bounty hunter chasing down his ex-wife. I am a huge fan of Butler’s and will pretty much watch him in anything, as much as it pains me to watch him try to speak with an American accent, and he did a pretty good job with this role. Jennifer Aniston (Marley and Me, The Break-Up) plays Nicole Hurley, an investigative reporter hot on the trail of a murder. I am not really a fan of Aniston in movies but this is the second movie that I’ve enjoyed her in, the other being Bruce Almighty. The movie also features Christine Baranski, Peter Greene, Siobhan Fallon, Jeff Garlin and Carol Kane.

This movie is rather enjoyable and fun to watch. I would definitely have to recommend it to anyone looking for a good date night movie.

Review: Repo Men

Grade: B+

In the near future, the national debt has risen so high that the government has gone into bankruptcy and corporations have taken over. One corporation in particular, The Union, has developed artificial organs that they sell on credit to people to help them live longer and healthier. What they don’t tell you is that if you get three months behind on payments they will send a repo man to repossess the organ with little to no regard to your comfort or survival. Remy is one of these repo men. He and his lifelong best friend, Jake, have been repoing together for years. One day, Remy goes to repo a well known musician’s heart, when his defibrillator backfires and almost kills him. His only chance of survival is if he gets a top of the line artificial heart put in. Unfortunately though, after he gets the artificial heart, he no longer finds himself able to repo organs, which causes him to get behind on payments. As he goes on the run from his own best friend, he encounters a young woman who also has artificial organs, he then decides to find a way to wipe them, and everybody with artificial organs, out of the system.

This movie is one of the few movies like this lately that has actually managed to reach most of its potential. It is a very fun movie to watch, albeit quite gory at times, and is more enjoyable than I thought it would be. One thing that’s great about it is that it has a wonderful sense of humor about itself and in turn is actually kind of humorous at times. It is also a great commentary on creditors and the direction our country is sort of heading in, it was amusing to see things that implied that China now owns America, which sadly we are not far from. The movie was just plain fun to watch and I would be willing to watch it again.

Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes, The Hiliday) plays the lead role of Remy. Law did a fantastic job with this role and really helped make the movie worth viewing. Forrest Whitaker (Street Kings, Vantage Point) plays Remy’s best friend, Jake. Whitaker did a pretty good job with this role and the interactions between him and Law’s character were great. Liev Schreiber (Taking Woodstock, Defiance) plays Frank, Remmy and Jake’s boss. Liev does such a great job at roles like this, he eerily does such a great job playing completely heartless people. The movie also features Alice Braga, Carice Van Houten, and RZA.

If you enjoy fun, and at times bleak, sci-fi movies in the vein of Blade Runner, then go and check out Repo Men. The action is good, the humor is good, the acting is good and the story is good, and unlike movies like Surrogates, this movie has a great concept that it actually manages to almost completely live up to the potential of.

Review: She's Out of My League

Grade: A-

Kirk is just a lowly security guard at an airport in Pennsylvania. One day, Molly came through his line at work and while every other guard was trying to keep her around as long as possible, Kirk quickly came over and saved her by letting her through security finally. Then, Kirk finds her phone that she forgot in her rush and she asks him to hold on to it. When she gets back into town she invites him to an event that she planned, so he could return her phone to her. Molly begins to like Kirk when she realizes that he is very kind and honest and that he isn’t like other men that she’s dated in the past. However, Kirk is very insecure and becomes quickly convinced that she is too hot for him and that she will dump him as soon as she realizes this. Both Kirk and Molly try to fight the odds and make their relationship work.

This movie turned out to be really good and really funny. I really liked how this movie played out, I was looking forward to seeing it and it really exceeded my expectations. The story is actually very sweet and the humor tends to stay away from raunch for the most part. A truly surprising movie and already a contender for one of the best comedies of the year. I am so glad to see that the studios are beginning to trust in R rated comedies again. While, like I said, the movie’s humor does tend to stay away from raunch, there are many aspects of it that if it was turned PG-13 it wouldn’t have been nearly as good or as funny.

Jay Baruchel (Tropic Thunder, Knocked Up) plays the main role of Kirk, a slightly nerdy guy with very little self confidence. He did a fantastic job with the role, every time I see him in a movie it seems as though he just keeps getting better and funnier. Relative new comer Alice Eve (Crossing Over) plays the role of Molly, the extremely beautiful event planner. Eve did a wonderful job and it almost seems as though this role were tailor made for her. The movie also features great, and funny, performance from T.J. Miller, Mike Vogel, Krysten Ritter, Lindsay Sloane, Nate Torrence, Debra Jo Rupp and more.

If you are looking for a great romantic-ish comedy, this is the movie to see. It is extremely funny from start to finish and at the same time it has a very enjoyable story and is very sweet. I definitely enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would and actually really want to see it again. I really can’t recommend seeing this movie enough.

Great quote: “Wait, she kissed you? With her actual mouth? And meant to?”

Review: Green Zone

Grade: B+

Shortly after the war with Iraq stars, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller is the leader of the task force set up to find the Weapons of Mass Destruction. After the third site that they hit where they are informed that there are WMDs turns up empty, Miller starts to question the sources the military are using. He finds out that the military is getting their information from a source code-named "Magellan". At the same time, a local Iraqi citizen tips him off about a meeting between many of Saddam's men nearby. Miller goes rogue in order to figure out who "Magellan" is, what the truth about WMDs is and tries to find a way to prevent all hell from breaking loose in Iraq.

I didn't know how to feel about this movie going into it but it really surprised me. I will admit, it almost comes off as a prequel to the Bourne trilogy. It is directed by Paul Greengrass, who directed Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum, it stars Bourne himself, Matt Damon, and it is about a man in a special task force who goes rogue to find out answers for himself. But, Green Zone is an exciting thriller that takes place in the early days of the Iraq war and presents some interesting questions as to why we went to Iraq. Greengrass uses his unique, almost documentary style-esque, hand-help camera technique that he has used in his previous films that really makes this interesting to watch. Only downside is that there are some scenes where the camera is so shaky you can't really tell what is going on.

Matt Damon (Invictus, The Informant) plays the lead role of Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller. Matt Damon was really enjoyable in this movie and he did a great job portraying his characters determination to discover the truth. Greg Kinnear (Ghost Town, Little Miss Sunshine) plays Clark Poundstone, a man from the Pentagon who handles the source known as "Magellan". Kinnear did a great job as this man who you just hate and can tell is hiding something. Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) plays Martin Brown, a man from the UN who is suspicious of the source as well and chooses to help Officer Miller. Gleeson gives a great performance as usual in this. Amy Ryan (Dan in Real Life, Gone Baby Gone) plays Lawrie Dawn, a writer with the Wall Street Journal who exchanges information with Miller when she can. She did a pretty good job with this smallish role.

Green Zone is a very enjoyable war thriller that most people will be able to enjoy. Although I have a feeling that W haters and conspiracy theorists will probably enjoy it the most.

Review: Alice In Wonderland

Grade: A-

This movie, Alice in Wonderland, is not a remake of the classic tale and it is only loosely based on the classic books by Lewis Carroll. In this movie, Alice is now 19 and doesn't feel like she quite fits in the society she is being forced to live in. At a party at a Victorian estate, Alice spots a white rabbit wearing a waistcoat, she chases after the rabbit and falls down a rabbit hole and into Underland, more commonly known as Wonderland. It has been over 10 years since she first went to Wonderland and has since forgotten it and thinks it was all a dream, she is convinced this visit is a dream as well. She is reunited with all the people and creatures in Wonderland and is informed that she has been brought back to Wonderland because she is the only person who can slay the Jabberwocky and end the Red Queen's reign of terror.

Tim Burton (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sleepy Hollow) did a wonderful job directing this movie and I wouldn't have wanted anybody else to do it. The movie looks absolutely extraordinary and spectacular. I will admit, it looks a bit cartoony at times, but I feel that it works for this movie as Wonderland is supposed to be a crazy and rather cartoonesque world. The movie is very enjoyable to watch especially if you are a fan of the stories and characters. This movie really sticks true to the craziness of the story. It was wonderful to see all the classic characters, Mad Hatter was great, the Cheshire Cat was fantastic, the March Hare was hilarious, Tweedledee and Tweedledum were a joy, really, all of the characters were so very fun to watch. Burton really did a great job at bringing an updated version of this classic tale. I really hope that someone convinces Tim Burton to remake The Wizard of Oz.

The cast of the movie was really great. Relative new comer Mia Wasikowska plays the lead role of Alice. She did a fantastic job with the role, portraying Alice's confusion and wonder of being in this world. Johnny Depp (Sleepy Hollow, Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy) plays the role of the Mad Hatter. Depp was a perfect casting choice for this rather eccentric role, and he did it perfectly. It was rather interesting though as half the time, Depp was speaking in the quirky voice you hear in the trailer and the other half of the movie, he is speaking with a Scottish accent. It was bizarre yet interesting, it has been a while since I've read the books so I don't remember if the Hatter is actually Scottish or if that's something Burton decided to add. Helena Bonham Carter (Sweeny Todd, Fight Club) plays the role of the evil Red Queen. She was perfect in this role, I don't know how to describe it but her portrayal of the Red Queen was genius. Anne Hathaway (Get Smart, Valentine's Day) played the role of the White Queen. Hathaway did a great job with this role and really did a great job portraying how nice the White Queen is, who literally won't hurt a fly. Crispin Glover (Charlie's Angels, Back to the Future) played the Knave of Hearts. Glover was truly devilish in this role and did a great job with it. The movie also features the voices of Matt Lucas, Stephen Fry, Alan Rickman, Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall and others.

If you are a fan of all the Alice in Wonderland tales and movies, you should definitely go see this movie. It is so much fun to see all of the classic characters and what not, come to life in Tim Burton's beautiful re-imagining, of sorts. This movie is just plain fun to watch. I watched it in IMAX 3D, and while I think that everything is better on IMAX, I wouldn't say it's necessary to watch it this way unless you really want to. The 3D is kind of cool but in general, I am so very over the whole 3D craze.