Monday, March 8, 2010

Literary-based Movie Reviews part 1

Movie: Alice in Wonderland



Book: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

Alice begins her adventures when she follows the frantically delayed White Rabbit down a hole into the magical world of Wonderland, where she meets a variety of wonderful creatures, including Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Cheshire Cat, the hookah-smoking Caterpillar, the Mad Hatter, and the Queen of Hearts—who, with the help of her enchanted deck of playing cards, tricks Alice into playing a bizarre game of croquet. Alice continues her adventures in Through the Looking-Glass, which is loosely based on a game of chess and includes Carroll’s famous poem “Jabberwocky.”-Goodreads.com

My Review:
It has been a very long time since I have read the book. Therefore, I plan on re-reading it in the near future. The movie, however, was fabulous! I had worked 3 nights in a row and had a difficult time getting up early to see the film and allllmost called it off. I am soooo glad I didn't! Tim Burton did an excellent job with this cinematic interpretation. The movie was dark, whimsical, and absolutely delightful. Whoever cast the movie, did an excellent job. I found the actors to fit their parts extremely well. I think my actor/actress was Helena Bonham Carter. She portrayed the Red Queen perfectly. The setting(s) for the movie were absolutely stunning. All in all, I highly enjoyed this film and will definitely purchase it when it becomes available on DVD! If you get a chance to see it in the theater, definitely go! I'm glad I did! :)
My Rating:



Movie: Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightening Thief

Book: The Lightening Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson just found out that he is a demigod. That is, half human, half Greek god. In a last ditch effort to save his life, Percy enters Camp Half-Blood. There he discovers which mythological god he is related to and also stumbles across a prophecy that he is to fulfill in 10 days. The gods are warring, and Percy is the only one who can abate the conflict before it develops into World War 3. It is a lot to take in, but young Percy is up to the challenge. With a satyr and a daughter of Athena by his side, Percy heads out to face monsters, angry go ds, and other mythological creatures that want nothing more that stop Percy from fulfilling his quest. -My review

My Review:
I did successfully read the entire series before watching the film (yay!). I am really glad I did. The film is infused with action, drama, and humor, as well as the book, but they are very, very different. For one, the age of the characters in the movie is much older than in the book. Also, the characters were presented very differently, both in appearance and in personality. I had expected much more from Chris Columbus, who directed the first 2 Harry Potter movies. The actors and actresses of the gods and goddesses fit their roles rather nicely. The scenes on Mt. Olympus were stunning. I did enjoy the humor of Grover in the movie, but again, this is not found in the book. Overall, I enjoyed the film, but was slightly disappointed that it didn't follow the book more closely. As of right now, I plan to purchase this once it's released.
My Rating:

6 comments:

  1. I like this new series of yours... reviews on movies that were originally books!

    I'm not going to see Alice in theaters (I get motion sick pretty easily and 3-D does not sit well with my inner ear), but I enjoyed reading your review! I'll definitely check it out on DVD. :)

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  2. @Juju
    It was AMAZING!

    @Erika
    I agree with you on the whole 3D thing. It makes it difficult b/c I have to wear glasses as well. We saw it on the plain screen, no bells or whistles. It was still very enjoyable! :)

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  3. I wear glasses, too and yes! That's one big drawback for me. :) I didn't know it was playing on the regular screen. In that case, I will have to go see it (if I can drag my friends to see a non-3-D movie). :)

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  4. I'm happy to hear you liked Burton's Alice in Wonderland! Sadly, I didn't :( Guess it really is different for everyone. Great review!

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  5. @Erika
    Let me know what you think if you get to see it! :)

    @Jillian
    Everyone has a different taste! :P

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