9

9-2009-In a post-apocalyptic world where machines revolted against man and destroyed everything, little snitched together doll like beings (with  numbers on their backs) inhabit the gigantic ruins. One little renegade, 9 (voice of Elijah Wood) looks for answers and tries to save 2 (voice of Martin Landau) but he accidentally unleashes a machine called The Brain which seems to have been created by a Nazi like leader, The Chancellor. Recent Academy Award winner Christopher Plummer voices 1, the leader of the group who would rather stay in hiding than fight. Jennifer Connelly is 7 and Crispin Glover and John C. Reilly also lend their vocals talents. 


This is a cool animated Sci-Fi fantasy from debuting director Shane Acker who had previously done short films. 


Thanks for reading!

 

Not In 3-D

ALICE IN WONDERLAND-2010-Another imaginative film by director Tim Burton, this time based on Lewis Carroll's famous stories.

19 year old Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is about to be to pushed into an engagement with a snooty upper class twit when she spies The March Hare and falls down a rabbit hole where she returns to Wonderland (now called "Underland") the world she had previously visited in her childhood dreams.

She grows several sizes, tames the "furious" Bandersnatch and tries to rescue The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp in another weird, unique performance) out of the clutches of The Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and The Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover, in an unusually subdued performance; well for him anyway) and their army of spear carrying playing cards. Although Alice at first believes the whole thing is a dream she comes to realize that it is her destiny to destroy the dread Jabberwock (voice of Christopher Lee) and restore The White Queen (a doofy Anne Hathaway) to her rightful reign. Tweedledum and Tweedldee are a funny highlight. Alan Rickman is the hookah smoking caterpillar and Michael Gough is the voice of the Dodo bird.

Screenwriter Linda Woolverton wrote THE LION KING. At the time of this writing Burton and Depp are planning a version of DARK SHADOWS.

Thanks for reading!

Willard!

WILLARD-2003-Back in remake land comes this new version of the 70’s horror hit.

Crispin Glover plays the lonely weird office worker who lives in a gothic like house with his ailing mother. Somehow he becomes friends with the vermin in his basement led by white haired Socrates and dark haired Ben. While Bruce Davidson’s earlier portrayal was that of an unsophisticated friendless nerd, a guy you really felt sorry for, Glover plays this Willard as a dark almost sinister loony. Of course many CGI rats do his biding, eventually eating up his overbearing boss (R. Lee Ermey, over the top as usual). Using Davidson’s image and photo as Willard’s dead father is a nice touch though.

A strange film that contains some good performances and effects but somehow fails to deliver. First time director Glenn Morgan wrote FINAL DESTINATION and THE ONE as well as many TV episodes of THE X-FILES, MILLENNIUM and SPACE ABOVE AND BEYOND (which featured Ermey).

Have a nice weekend!