Review: Alice In Wonderland (the newest one)

A new arrival at the library!  Didn't even have to wait for the Netflix queue to reach it :)  Today's movie chatter:  Alice in Wonderland (the Tim Burton one)

Plot:  Mostly based on the original Lewis Carrol stories.  Alice is now 19, though, and falls down the rabbit hole while running away from her own engagement party.  She has returned to Underland (the Wonderland of her childhood), now in the grip of the Red Queen's reign of terror. According to prophesy, Alice is destined to free Underland from the Red Queen's rule and restore the White Queen to her rightful throne. 

For cast, they certainly pulled in a good assortment.  Alice (Mia Wasikowska) showed a good range as she took responsibility for her choices, a good 'growing up' role.  Like in any version of the Wonderland stories, Alice gains strength in Wonderland to return to the challenges she's facing in her real life (in this version, an unwanted engagement and overbearing relatives), and Wasikowska portrays this change well.  I'm looking forward even more now to seeing the new Jane Eyre, as she plays Jane.  Helena Bonham Carter's always fun, particularly with such an eccentric character (though I don't understand why they had the subplot of her enormous head - was that in the original stories?  It's been so long since I read them...)  I liked Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, though her affected hand mannerisms did get a little annoying.  I loved Alan Rickman and Christopher Lee (the Caterpillar and the Jabberwocky, respectively).  So experienced, those voices can just ooze personality into just a few lines.  Speaking of personality, Stephen Fry was great as the Cheshire Cat.  Fry just has a great vocal range and is so much fun to listen to.  The scene stealer was Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter though.  It's the perfect type of outlandish character that Depp does well.  I liked how his voice swung back and forth through ranges and accents.  My favorite was the ominous voice reciting the Jabberwocky poem to Alice to tell her about the creature.  Truly a mad Hatter.

Speaking of frequent Tim Burton collaborators, the Danny Elfman soundtrack fit beautifully.  Part cheery and part dark, it suited Burton's Underland to a T.

This is certainly a more visual movie than an emotional one.  As much as I liked the cast,  it was still a rather superficial treatment of the story.  Fun, but not emotionally gripping.  The visuals, however, were given free reign.  The characters could just be walking through the scenes, no story involved, and it would still be fun to watch.  The Tim Burton dark, artistic touch works well with this world.  There are so many details and so much life in the world he's created - very fun to watch.  Some of the character designs are a little over the top (like Johnny Depp's make-up) but it's still a good visual feast.

That being said, it's has the Tim Burton movie darker touches as well.  You do see a little violence, and some of the macabre touches that mark his pictures (the moat at the Red Queen's palace, for example).  Not that it's a bad thing - Alice is more grown up now, and so is her Wonderland - just that it's not all cheer and sunshine in Burton's Wonderland.

Final thought on the visuals.  The CGI for the most part is very well done.  I loved the Cheshire Cat's smokiness as the appears and disappears - no simple fade in and out.  The world as a whole was beautifully set up with the CGI, and for the most part, it's all very seamless.  It's interesting to notice that the CGI is actually most obvious on the characters not touched by the animation - the White Queen, the Hatter, Alice, etc.  And like in several recent movies (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, for example) it's also noticeable when they animate otherwise realistic animals - the horses, Bayard the hound, and Bayard's family were the examples in this film.  If you're going to animate them anyways, make them a little more stylized so that it's not quite as... noticeable isn't the right word, since if they're stylized you'll notice they're animated anyways... jarring, maybe?  You know what I'm trying to say?  Oh, and I do think the Hatter's dance at the end was simply added to play with the CGI  :)

Overall: 3 of 5.  I liked it and would watch it again, but I don't necessarily see it on my shelf.

And because I like poster series like this...

   

   

 

Review: Down with Love

A movie I'd seen enough bits and pieces of to want to add to the queue so as to see the whole thing.  From a few years ago:  Down with Love.

Plot (courtesy IMDB, as I didn't have a clue how to summarize it succinctly):  An homage to the early 1960s sex comedies that starred Rock Hudson and Doris Day. The story follows a best-selling female advice author who has all the answers until a sly journalist playboy starts asking the questions.

Like the summary says, it's an homage.  It pulled in all the standard tools of its inspirations: the split-screen phone calls, the absolutely ginormous NY apartments, the witty banter and one-liners.  Plus, there were the sidekick character romance, misunderstandings and secrets kept between the leads, and twist-within-a-twist plots that any romantic comedy must have.  It's a fluffy, fun movie, with a nice stylized slant to it.

For the leads, well... going in I had my prejudices.  I like Ewan McGregor and David Hyde Pierce (I have a thing for deadpan).  I don't like Renée Zellweger as much - she's kinda hit or miss with me.  I did like her as Bridget Jones, but some of her other romantic comedies get a little irritating.  It's that pucker-face thing she does.  So, there are my biases; now you know.  

And here's my opinion:  I liked Ewan McGregor in the lead, but at the same time, it's definitely not my favorite role of his.  Just didn't seem to play to his strengths somehow.... I dunno.  It's not that he did a bad job with it; it's just not my favorite character of his.  And yes, Renée Zellweger was there, with the scrunchy-face thing too, but not as irritating as I've found her in other movies, so she passed.  Doris Day she's not, but she played well off of McGregor.  And that's the key in a movie like this - the leads have to have enough chemistry to keep the banter going.

I liked the supporting cast a lot better than the leads here.  David Hyde Pierce is so much fun as always.  He had a quote on his IMDB profile about telling a joke in second grade "and realizing it was funnier if I didn't laugh. I've been deadpan ever since."  He's perfect here as McGregor's frazzled boss and friend, stealing just about every scene he's in.  His 'counterpart,' Sarah Paulson as Zellweger's chain-smoking editor, isn't quite  as strong a scene-stealer, but she's still a lot of fun.  And in a genius bit of casting, Tony Randall is the owner of the publishing house selling Zellweger's book.  A lovely cameo from the man who was in plenty of these movies himself (typically cast in the role David Hyde Pierce played here).

The real reason to watch is for the look.  The movie is just eye-candy in how they recreated and were inspired by 1962 NY-in-the-movies.  The fashions and the set designs are just Fun, for a simple yet appropriate description.  It's definitely a movie to watch and soak in all the little fun details in the designs.  The costumes, too, are beautiful vintage fashion-plates.  Zellweger's and Paulson's characters are often color-coordinated to enhance the effect.  No Oscar for costuming here, unfortunately,  though they did win a few costuming awards.  But then, this was released in a year of historical epics as well as LotR: Return of the King, so there was some stiff competition. 

Oh, and if you get a chance, watch the extras.  There's behind-the-scenes stuff with the costuming that's interesting, as well as an absolutely hysterical blooper reel.  Enjoy!

Overall:  3.5 of 5.  A fun romantic comedy, and the sets and costumes are a blast.  The innuendos get a little old after a while, but I liked the banter between the characters and the odd puns and one liners.  Probably not one for the shelf, unless I find it on super-sale.  A nice fluffy movie with some seriously gorgeous sets and costumes.

Review: Midnight Magic

Another one I couldn't resist when I saw it at work: Midnight Magic by Avi

Plot:  Set in Italy, 1490s.  Mangus, a magician who doesn't believe in magic, and his inquisitive servant Fabrizio, are summoned to the castello in their city to aid the king.  A ghost has been haunting the young princess, and Mangus is tasked with freeing her from these visitations.  But there seems to be much more beneath the surface, as Mangus and Fabrizio meet a mischievous princess, a sinister count, and a conspiracy threatening their kingdom...

Avi was a favorite author of mine back in elementary and middle school (you know, his actual target age range!).  I loved Who was that Masked Man Anyway?, Blue Heron, The Man who was Poe, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Romeo and Juliet - Together (And Alive!) At Last...  He's published so many good, solidly entertaining stories for young adults.  I haven't read the Crispin or the Poppy stories, but those were published a little 'after my time.'  I love too, how his books aren't restricted to particular genres - makes it more fun to see how he's going to treat, say, a medieval ghost story, versus a modern school adventure.  So, when a book of his (with a story that would have caught my attention no matter who wrote it) crosses my desk... well, it's hard to resist!

In all fairness, I did see some of the plot twists coming.  You start realizing that Rinaldo, the kitchen boy who seems to be opportunely everywhere, might know more than he's telling, and that the ghost might be more natural than supernatural, and so forth.  But, you just have to keep in mind that you might be about twice the age of the intended age group.  For someone in late elementary or middle school, this probably would be the right amount of mystery to keep them guessing.

The characters are a mixed bunch.  Some are pretty believable and well-rounded, not just stereotypes.  And Fabrizio is a fun viewpoint from which to watch the story, the right mix of knowing and unknowing that you need in a mystery's narrator.  Other characters are pretty flat and rather background-ish; the king and queen for example.  But, this is a forgivable flaw, as the key characters are developed well enough to keep the story moving along.

As an adult, though, this was still a very fun read.  Beyond the mystery, the setting is the attraction in this work.  The medieval castello with all it's dark and gloomy corridors, and secret passages tucked behind tapestries, and appropriately timed lightning to give the perfect ominous welcome to an unwanted visitor...  the setting is just perfect for a ghost story.

Even better, as I was looking for a cover shot for this post, I found a review for Murder at Midnight, the prequel to this work.  Murder at Midnight focuses on the trial of Mangus referred to in Midnight Magic, and continues the look at the medieval debate between reason and magic.  Now to just get my hands on a copy!

Overall: 4 of 5.  As an adult reader, it was a little simplistic, and some of the characters were a little flat.  But it's a very fun read, a nice light and quick story to breeze through and feel like a kid again, lost in a world of castles and magicians and people who may or may not know all they are telling.  I enjoyed it :)

Review: Gnomeo and Juliet

A good friend, her two small daughters, and I all needed to get out of our respective houses yesterday and go do something.  As luck would have it, we had a children's flick showing at the post theater this week.  Success!  So, here you go: my thoughts on Gnomeo & Juliet.

Plot:  As you might have guessed from the title, this is based (loosely) on Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet.  You know the basics - feuding families; daughter of one house falls in love with the son of the other and vice versa; romance, drama and tragedy ensue.  The variation this time is that the story is told set in the world of lawn decorations.

It's a fun movie.  It's not a classic, but I was never bored during it, and I laughed out loud several times. Can't ask for more than that. :)

There are going to be those annoying Shakespeare purists who will consider this 'butchering the Bard' and all, but honestly, it's a story about garden gnomes; how accurate a telling did you expect?  It's aimed at kids, and judging by the audience when we went, the target is reached well.

There were definitely things that I thought were clever in the film.  Like most good kids' movies nowadays, the filmmakers include jokes for the parents, those extra layers of humor to the story.  With this one, there were tons of Shakespeare references and quotes woven in.  Addresses, signs ("R&G Moving"), little quotes slipped into the dialogue, license plates... I honestly came out of the movie wanting to watch it again to try and catch them all!

I liked some of the little details too.  The paint on the gnomes that looked less than perfect, some of the sound effects... I really liked the noises that the gnomes made - they sound ceramic!  When the characters touch or kiss, it sounds like ceramic pieces touching!  A nice little detail that pleased me :)

The voice acting (always a high priority for me) was... interesting.  James McAvoy and Emily Blunt are the leads, and gave good performances.  Nothing too remarkable about either voice to listen to (not like Michael Caine as Lord Redbrick, Juliet's father, or Patrick Stewart as the statue of William Shakespeare) but they give solid performances.  Most importantly, I wasn't irritated by either voice, nor did they seem out of place.  Yes, for those who know me, that is a reference to my rant about the casting in the English dub of Princess Mononoke... still don't like Claire Danes' voice in that.  Dolly Parton was interesting as a voice, as her country twang is un-sheddable, but thinking about it, it kinda works.  She was announcing the start of the lawnmower race between Tybalt and Gnomeo, and, let's face it, even in Stratford-upon-Avon, that's a pretty country activity.  Ozzy Osbourne was a little mumbly as Fawn, the deer in the red garden, but he's a little mumbly in real life too.  And since Fawn was kinda a spacey character anyway, I didn't mind.   The voice I liked was the growly Tybalt, which I should have recognized - Jason Stratham.  Guess I shouldn't be too hard on myself for not recognizing it though - he does so many action films, not really a genre of intense dialogue.  He does play a good British tough, though, doesn't he?  Guess I have to watch more of his movies so I can place the voice more solidly, but did I really need an excuse for that?  :)

I think my biggest complaint was the music.  The Elton John songs I honestly felt were out of place.  I realize that Shakespearean theater doesn't immediately scream "Elton John," but remember: garden gnomes.  It's not that having songs in the movie was out of place, just some of the choices were, I dunno, odd feeling in the movie.  I realize that Elton John has connections to the film (his husband's one of the producers), and he does have experience working with movies before, but for Elton John songs in a kid's movie, I'd say watch Lion King instead.

Oh, and as a final thought, the bunny statues in the Blue garden are absolutely adorable!

Overall: 3.5 of 5.  I liked it.  The music was odd to me, and did drop down my rating, but I had fun watching.  It's not a classic like the Toy Story series (for a comparable CGI inanimate-objects-come-to-life movie) but it's a good afternoon at the theater.  Would definitely watch it again - like I said, I still want to catch all the Shakespearean references hidden in it. :)

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week: Day 7

I made it!

 

Day seven: 3rd April. Your knitting and crochet time.

Write about your typical crafting time. When it is that you are likely to craft – alone or in more social environments, when watching TV or whilst taking bus journeys. What items do you like to surround yourself with whilst you twirl your hook like a majorette’s baton or work those needles like a skilled set of samurai swords. Do you always have snacks to hand, or are you a strictly ‘no crumbs near my yarn!’ kind of knitter.

Tips: Last year we had a topic asking about the actual location of where you knit or craft, this is similar but not the same. Try and concentrate on all of the little aspects that make up your knitting time. Maybe you always head for for your Flaming Lips CD when taking on simple knitting but prefer a bit of Brahms when tackling more intricate work, or maybe you enjoy knitting with audiobooks or complete silence. Perhaps your crochet time is never complete without a cuddle from Tiddles the cat.

Knitting time for me falls in one of 3 places - at home, Knit Nights, and while traveling.  Each has their own subtle differences, of course, allowing for differences in location and company.  So I'll break them down here.

Wherever - the Essentials.  Not really the Environment, so much, but definitely a part of my Knitting Time:

• A tote bag of project and supplies.
• I have a large pouch of my accessories that travel along as well - stitch markers, tape measure, needle gauge, pencil, etc.

At Home:

• A movie going, or a TV show - almost always.  I'm slowly getting into audiobooks, but as I've mentioned before, I'm a visual person, so I zone in and out of my listening.  When I have an audiobook going, it's gotta be a story I know very well or a book I've read before.  That way there are no surprises when I focus away from the story and come back - "Wait, who is this character again?  What just happened?"  The more complicated the pattern I'm working on, the more familiar the story needs to be, so I can tune it out and count stitches without losing the plot.
• Nestled into the couch or easy chair, TV table at the ready for my supplies.  I like having a table at the ready to set cable needles and the pattern and similar essentials
• Defense measure take to protect my project from Scruffy.  He likes sitting in my lap during a project, but he also likes chewing on the yarn, the needles, the needle cable for circulars, the row counter, the stitch markers... anything dangling close to his nose as he occupies the lap - which is pretty much everything but the worked piece.  So, I have to be prepared!

At Knit Nights - usually at a friend's place or at Starbucks (closest we have to a cafe here):

• A drink of some sort.  At Starbucks, obviously something coffee or tea related (my favorites are the Mocha and Caramel Light Frappucinos when it's hot, and Vanilla Chai Lattes or Skinny Caramel Macchiato when it's cold).  At my friend's place, usually a White Russian.  She makes great ones!  No complicated patterns on White Russian Night, though ;)

On the Go - This is usually in the car or the airport.  I just don't take the bus or subway in the areas where I live (not available!)

• Just the tote bag of essentials.  If I'm knitting while traveling, Zach (or someone else, but usually him) is driving, so I just chatter instead of listening to something.

And such is my knitting!  Always need the project and accessories, obviously, but I rarely knit while it's quiet,  needing either chatter or a movie/audiobook going.  And I don't have qualms about food or drink near the knitting.  I do try to keep it neat, though - a mild "no crumbs" rule.  And depending on the project, it might be stricter.  I Do, for example, worked in white cotton, did have a pretty strict no food rule :)

And such is my Knitting Environment!

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week: Day 6

Day six: 2nd April. Something to aspire to.

Is there a pattern or skill that you don’t yet feel ready to tackle but which you hope to (or think you can only dream of) tackling in the future, near or distant? Is there a skill or project that makes your mind boggle at the sheer time, dedication and mastery of the craft? Maybe the skill or pattern is one that you don’t even personally want to make but can stand back and admire those that do. Maybe it is something you think you will never be bothered to actually make bu can admire the result of those that have.

Tips: If you think you have learned all you ever want to in your craft then say so. Maybe you have been knitting for nearly 30 years and yet never learned to purl (many my think this is impossible, but I met a woman on the bus who told me exactly this once… Maybe she was following the E. Zimmerman school of thought to closely?).

There are lots of techniques and skills that I wish to learn, but most I still consider on a To Do list, rather than an aspiration.  Things like Fair Isle and entre-lac I know that I'll be able to pick up with a little practice.  I understand the concept behind the effect and have played with them a little, but just haven't gotten to those specific projects that would give me a chance to practice and refine. But these things on my queue just don't have the awe-inspiring connotations of something that I aspire to.  However, there are those techniques and projects that do have that mind boggling effect.  For example...

Shetland Lace!!  Thousands of lacy little stitches blossoming into gauzy white patterns.  Maybe a wedding ring shawl - 6 ft square of lace so fine it can pass through a wedding ring...  I don't know what I would use such a piece for, but they are beautiful and delicate and impressive and I love them.  Definitely something to aspire too.  Maybe for my 50th wedding anniversary?  Only 46 1/2 years to get there - plenty of time! ;)

My biggest aspiration, though, would probably be speed and finishing skills.  Not things like seaming, but simply completion of projects.  I'm still very distractable and regularly subject to Cast-On-Itis, so I'd love to have the focus to just knock out projects.  There are just so many things I want to do on the needles,  not even just all for me, but also projects to teach and ones for gifts and for charity, so I want to have a little more focus and be able to get through my list more quickly.  Not a huge goal, and not one with a specific role model, just the idea of those folk that just settle in and can complete projects so simply :)  For that, though, I think I might just have to be a little more organized and dedicated, but that applies to a lot of aspects in my life right now... reading, work-outs, and yes, my knitting.

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week: Day 5

Blast it!  Creativity needed!

Day Five: 1st April. And now for something completely different

This is an experimental blogging day to try and push your creativity in blogging to the same level that you perhaps push your creativity in the items you create.  There are no rules of a topic to blog about (though some suggestions are given below) but this post should look at a different way to present content on your blog. This can take one of many forms, but here a few suggestions:

• Wordless, photographic post
• Video blog post
• Podcast
• Cartoon/sketch of an idea
• Write about a subject from a different perspective (for example, you could write about a day in the life of a knitted sock from the point of view of the sock).
• Interpretive modern dance (why does someone always suggest this?)
• A poem or piece of rhyming verse
• Stop motion animation

Tips: The actual subject matter of the post might be quite dependent on the media method(s) you choose to use and as such there is no specific ‘topic’ to blog on. You could blog about a recently completed project, a knitting experience, a trip to the LYS or anything else that takes your fancy. The point behind this post is to get people thinking about using their blogs in different ways and pushing he boundaries of what they use their blogging platform for.

PS: Yes, it is April Fool’s Day, so have fun with the post.

I decide to do haikus.  Because I can.  And I'm not creative enough for Modern Dance or techincally adept enough for animation or a video post :)

Yarn. Yarn, yarn, yarn, yarn.

Wool, cotton, alpaca, silk.

My stash, so much yarn.

Noro.  Pretty stripes.

Beautiful color repeats.

Why is this pink here??

Cables weave in, out.

Stitches knit out of order.

Pretty knitted knots.

Wedding band lace shawls,

So fine, through a ring they pass,

Beautiful madness.

One more new project.

Hello, my name is Lara,

a cast-on addict.

Misread patterns, or
Projects not quite as planned.
Off to the frog pond!