I was amused by the Alice In Wonderland movie, but then, I went in with low low low expectations.

It was very pretty. Yes, it was Tim Burton being very self-indulgent and self-referential, but as eye candy, it was fun. The story itself? Ugh. And why, oh God why, did they have that horrible horrible "dance" from the Hatter at the end of the battle? Whyyyy? I recoiled in my seat at that.

(Pete hated it. He was bored the entire time, and was astonished that I liked it at all.)

That said, I'm going to buy the big art book. I may not buy the DVD or Blu-Ray, but I'm absolutely going to buy the big art book.

We just got back from Alice. Jilli enjoyed it - with reservations - and I didn't care for it at all.

To put it another way, I've never been so bored by such a visually rich movie. The design work is wonderful, the CG runs from excellent (the Cheshire Cat) to awful (every time Crispin Glover moves). The story is joyless and the characters were... dry and lacking.

And I came away somewhat offended because it really wasn't an Alice in Wonderland movie, it was a Tim Burton movie that had a patina of Wonderland. It was interchangeable with so much else produced currently (especially Tim's own works) and the movie was weighed down by Tim apparently buying into his own press.

The self-referential moments were possibly the most irksome to me because they really interfered with any immersion. Tim started with a unique design sense but these cameos of designs from previous films is cannibalistic and self-congratulatory. I'm having a hard time explaining it further.

Meh and Feh. Wonderland deserved better.

Pete and Jilli,

Can you say more about the self-referential part? I clearly didn't pick up on the references or it has been so long since I've seen the movies that I just can't remember. The CGI work for Crispin Glover was really terrible. Especially every time he was on a horse.

Cablevision drops ABC.

I'm so sorry, Jess. Can you get an antenna working or something?

The advertisers for the Oscars are going to be miffed.

no shit. that's a big market.

also? apparently there is a Lakers/Magic game that people can't watch either.

I think this is the live streaming link for the Oscars:

[link]

I am so not surprised by the lukewarm response to Wonderland, much as I hoped for it to be good. I love the look of his films, but Burton can be so insufferable sometimes as a director. I started to worry as soon as I found out that Alice wasn't going to be a little girl because at that point it was clear he wasn't trying to be faithful to the source text. And really, Alice in Wonderland is such a great book.

We watched all the Oscar nominated animated shorts last night. Well all but the coffee one as it had been pulled off the web. Our vote is Wallace and Gromit. Not the best Wallace and Gromit, but by far the best of the nominees.

And I came away somewhat offended because it really wasn't an Alice in Wonderland movie, it was a Tim Burton movie that had a patina of Wonderland. It was interchangeable with so much else produced currently (especially Tim's own works) and the movie was weighed down by Tim apparently buying into his own press.

YES THIS THIS THIS. Argh. The more I think about it the more I dislike it.

Tom, I'm hoping to watch over at a neighbors apartment (who don't have cable).