Alice in Wonderland: enjoy the ride :)

the Poster:

the Trailer:


the Plot:
Mia Wasikowska plays the now nineteen-year-old Alice who, 13 years after her previous visit, returns for the first time as a young woman. She is told that she is the only one who can slay the Jabberwocky, a dragon-like creature controlled by Iracebeth of Crims, the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) who terrorizes Underland's inhabitants.

Troubled by a strange recurring dream and mourning the loss of her beloved father, nineteen-year-old Alice Kingsleigh attends a garden party at Lord Ascot's estate, where she is confronted by an unwanted marriage proposal and the stifling expectations of the society in which she lives.

Unsure of how to reply, and increasingly confused, she runs away to chase after a rabbit in a blue waistcoat, and accidentally falls into a large rabbit hole.

She is transported to a world called Underland, where she is greeted by the White Rabbit (voiced by Michael Sheen), Mallymkun the Dormouse (voiced by Barbara Windsor), the Dodo, and Tweedledum and Tweedledee (both played by Matt Lucas). They argue over her identity as "the right Alice", who it is foretold will slay the Red Queen's Jabberwocky on the Frabjous Day and restore Mirana of Marmoreal, the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) to power.

They consult Absolem the Caterpillar (voiced by Alan Rickman) but he only vaguely answer their question.

The group is then ambushed by the Bandersnatch and a group of playing-card soldiers led by Ilosovic Stayne,the Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover). Alice escapes and flees into the woods.

The Knave informs the Red Queen that Alice has returned to Underland to threaten her reign on the Frabjous Day. Incensed, the Red Queen ordered the soldiers to find Alice immediately.

Meanwhile, the wandering Alice encounters the Cheshire Cat (voiced by Stephen Fry), who takes her to meet Thackery Earwicket, the March Hare (voiced by Paul Whitehouse) and the Hatter (Johnny Depp).

On the way to the White Queen's castle, Hatter relates the terror of the Red Queen's reign, and comments that Alice is not the same as she once was. The Hatter helps Alice avoid capture by allowing himself to be seized instead.

Later, Alice is found by Bayard the Bloodhound (voiced by Timothy Spall), who wishes to take her to the White Queen, but Alice insists upon helping the Hatter, so they go to the Red Queen's castle.

The Red Queen is unaware of Alice's true identity and therefore welcomes her as a guest. Alice learns that the Vorpal Sword (the only weapon capable of killing the Jabberwocky) is locked away in a case inside the Bandersnatch's den. The Knave crudely attempts to seduce Alice, but she rebuffs him. She later manages to retrieve the sword and befriend the Bandersnatch. The Knave finds her with the sword and attempts to arrest her. Alice escapes on the back of the Bandersnatch and delivers the sword to the White Queen.

The Cheshire Cat saves the Hatter from execution, and the Hatter calls for rebellion against the Red Queen. The rebellion is quickly put down by the Jubjub bird.

The resistance flees to the White Queen's castle, and both armies prepare for battle. Alice remains unsure about the expectation for her to champion the White Queen, and meets with Absolem the Caterpillar. He reminds Alice of her past visit to Underland (which she mistakenly called "Wonderland" at the time) thirteen years earlier, and helps give her the courage to fight the Jabberwocky and accomplish "What she must to do", while he becomes a pupa.

When the Frabjous Day arrives, both the White and Red Queens gather their armies on a chessboard-like battlefield and send forth their chosen champions (armor-clad Alice and the Jabberwocky respectively) to decide the fate of Wonderland. Encouraging herself with the words of her late father, Alice manages to kill the Jabberwocky.

The White Queen then banishes the Red Queen and the Knave to the Outlands, and gives Alice a vial of the Jabberwocky’s blood, which will take her home. The Hatter suggests that she could stay in Underland, but she decides that she must go back and promises that she will return.

Alice returns home, where she stands up to her family and pledges to live life on her own terms. Impressed, Lord Ascot takes her in as his apprentice, with the idea of establishing oceanic trade routes to China. As the story closes, Alice prepares to set off on a trading ship. Absolem, now a butterfly, lands on her shoulder. Alice recognizes him and greets him before he flutters away.

the Riviu:
a clever adaptation of both Lewis Carroll's 1865 fantasy novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass. we were to understood that Alice had come to Underland once when she was little but as she grew up, she lost her muchness and forget about the visit. i love the way how the story unravels and simply enjoy the ride to the finish. the plot was A-class.

as for the characters, they are very eccentric, Tim Burton-ish style. but you couldn't help but liking them in their eccentricity. my fave would have been the Queen White. she was demure and a tad bit psycho-ish.

as this story does not invoke any emotional attachment nor strong emotion, i got to suka-hati-i-lah give it a 4.5 star.

oh wait, the rating was revised to 5 star as the OST was really great!

here's one, Kerli's Tea Party:


and another one, Motion City Soundtrack's Always Running Out of Time:


and last but not least, my favourite, Shinedown's Her Name is Alice!

From Prada to Nada: something nice!

the Poster:

the Trailer:


the Plot:
this movie, a modern twist on Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, is a romantic comedy story of two spoiled sisters: Nora (Camilla Belle), a law student, and Mary (Alexa Vega), an undergrad party girl, living with their father in a luxurious mansion in Beverly Hills.

Mary has become so "90210" she refuses to admit she is of Mexican descent.

When their Dad suddenly passes away, their posh lives are turned upside down.

at the funeral, they found out that they actually have an older half-brother, Gabe (Pablo Cruz Guerrero) who came with his snooty wife, Olivia (April Bowlby). Gabe was the son that their father never mentioned. and he too was clueless of the father he had.

Nora and Mary discovered they have been left penniless and Gabe offered to buy the house to settle their father's debt. Gabe invited the sisters to stay there but Olivia made their lives as inconvenienced as she could while the major renovation works were carried out. later, Edward Ferris (Nicholas D'Agosto), Olivia's brother came for a lunch and set his eyes on Nora.

Mary showed up intoxicated and after being insulted by Olivia's incessant snide remarks, Nora hauled Mary out of the house into their estranged maternal aunt Aurelia's (Adriana Barraza) modest but lively home in the Latino-centric Boyle Heights neighborhood of East LA.

They were terrified to leave their world of privilege; neither Nora nor Mary speak Spanish or have ever had to take on actual responsibility. The girls gradually adapted to their new environment; their BMW and Prius were traded for the public bus and a used car. Nora chose to defer her law class for a while to work. whilst Mary had to finish her studies.

one day, Edward dropped by at the neighbourhood with the Dominguez's stuffs from the house.

it was really thoughtful of him and the girls were grateful.

upon knowing that Nora is looking for a job, Edward offered a position at his office. Nora refused but ended up applying a post at a law firm that turned out to be Edward's.

Mary was mesmerised by Rodrigo (Kuno Becker), her English Teaching Assistant. She was totally oblivious of Bruno's feelings for her. to make it even worse, she had to lie about her home and the dire straits that she was in to make Rodrigo stay interested in her.

the girls successfully adapt to their new lives.

Mary kept sparring with Bruno.

on the night of a party held by Aunt Aurelia, Mary finally admitted to Rodrigo that she's actually living with her aunt and not that posh. Rodrigo didn't seem to mind as he was introduced to the family by Mary.

as for Nora, she invited Edward to celebrate winning a pro bono case for the people in the neighbourhood. intoxicated by tequila, Nora was kissed by Edward. to Edward's profession of love, Nora backed out and refused to admit her own feelings. incensed, Edward left.

whilst Mary was so happy with Rodrigo that she didn't notice how much Bruno was pining over her. she later left the party to spend the night at Rodrigo's. after that night, Rodrigo then left the neighbourhood and evaded answering calls and keep postponing from meeting Mary.

on Nora's end, she was promoted to another office as a way for Edward to avoid seeing her. disappointed, Nora quit.

life became strained and the sisters snapped at each other. until a letter of invitation from Olivia came asking the sisters to attend the engagement party for Edward and a girl picked by Olivia.

the girls agreed to come as to see the outcome of the house renovation. the staffs, whom are dear to them were still working there.

when Nora saw Edward was engaged to another girl, she was upset and left to be alone. Edward followed her and when alone together, Nora confessed that her initial refusal was not due to lack of love, but an instinctive reaction to protect her heart. they were interrupted and Edward left for his fiancee.

Mary on the other hand, requested for some time alone with Gabe. once without Olivia, Mary gave Gabe their father's letters addressed to him. once done, she mingled around and spotted Rodrigo with another woman whom he later introduced as his wife. the wife was chatty and inadvertantly revealed that Rodrigo tempted her with the house that Mary had earlier on suggested to Rodrigo. broken hearted, Mary left the party and was later involved in an accident that left her scarred, hand and leg casted. her injury was so much so that she had to use a wheelchair and convalesce at home.

as she looked back and noticing the small, small details that Bruno did for her, fixing her car, installing the ramp for her wheelchair, protecting her from bullies in town etc, she was truly touched and went over to Bruno's house across the street.

there she found Bruno's teaching the kids to paint. Mary finally admitted her feelings for Bruno and they kissed.

as the family rejoice, Edward came to the house with a much bigger u-haul van, packed with his stuffs. he requested Nora to sign a lease for the home across the street, fulfilling Nora's quip that the next best home to move into would be the one across the street in the same neighbourhood.

the family on Edward and Nora's wedding. Gabe had earlier confided that he had left Olivia as he couldn't tolerate her anymore.


the Riviu:
the story is a very nice adaptation of Sense and Sensebility. though it was set at present time, the essence of the story was kept and simply translated into a modern society. for example, Edward was free to end his engagement and seek Nora's hands in marriage. in the original story, Edward Ferrars was an honourable man who only seek Elinor's hands after his intended marry his younger brother.

and i really like the chemistry between Nora and Mary. their affection for each other is obvious and believable. there are fights, silent war and all that but at the end of the day, they really love each other.

most of it, i definitely fell for the chemistry between Bruno and Mary. the scene where Mary addmitted her feelings for Bruno was so sweet. the timbre, the smile, the charm oozing from all ends of a macho guy named Bruno before he kissed her alone earned my 3 bintang :)

Pride & Prejudice 2005: owh Mr Darcy!!

the Poster:

the Trailer:


the Plot:
based on Jane Austen's novel of the same name, Pride and Prejudice tells the tale of how two opposite characters, Lizzie Bennet (Keira Knightley) and Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen) fell in love with each other and found out that in actual truth, they are so similar with each other. Accused of pride, Mr Darcy suffered the prejudice of Lizzie Bennet and in the course of winning her heart over, had caused his besotted bestfriend, Mr Charles Bingley (Simon Woods) to abandon his fond attachment to Lizzie's elder sister, Jane (Rosamund Pike), mistakenly so as Jane hardly showed any attachment to Mr Bingley due to her acute shyness.

the fact is, having 5 daughters with the house being entailed to Mr Collins (Tom Hollander), the cousin of Mr Bennet (Donald Sutherland), Mrs Bennet (Brenda Blethyn)was desperate to marry her daughters off. Mrs Bennet's antics were embarassing, her eagerness that Jane would soon ensnare a wealthy man in Mr Bingley became a major humiliation to Jane when Mr Bingley left. in the meantime, Mr Collin married Lizzie's best friend, Charlotte Lucas (Claudie Blakley) as Lizzie had rejected his earlier proposal.

during her stay with her uncle's family, Lizzie uncovered the cause of Jane's broken heart was due to the machinations of Mr Darcy. as Lizzie escaped out in the rain to deliberate on this new information, she was bombarded by the sudden proposal from Mr Darcy who followed her. to her ire, Mr Darcy insulted Lizzie inadvertently by numerating all the demeaning facts that should discourage him from falling in love with her in his speech of offering matrimony. he cited that the Bennets lower stand in the society, the nonsensical younger sisters in form of Kitty (Carey Mulligan) and Lydia (Jena Malone), the lack of propriety of Mrs Bennet. incensed, she refused his offer of hands and left with accusations of him having caused Mr Wickham (Rupert Friend), a common acquaintance, to a life of misfortunes.

love his beautiful eyes!!!

however, it was later revealed that Wickham is the real scoundrel who broke Mr Darcy's younger sister's heart. Wickham had flirted with Georgiana Darcy (Tamzin Merchant) and had proposed an elopment. however he bailed out after knowing that he won't be able to touch even a penny of Georgiana's inheritance. Wickham later on persuaded the oft-scandalous Lydia to leave her home and be with him. the scandal was unbearable and in his suble ways, Mr Darcy had found the runaway couple and settled the matter so that Wickham marries Lydia in order to save the Bennets' honour.

and later on, Mr Bingley visited the Bennets with Mr Darcy without his haughty sister, Caroline Bingley (Kelly Reilly). discouraged at first, Mr Bingley left the house without saying what he came to say. Mr Darcy bolstered his confidence with the fact that Jane Bennet is really fond of him, she's just to shy to say it. so Mr Bingley reentered the Bennets' residence and requested to speak with Jane. Alone.

to his proposal, Jane answered:


and the family rejoiced, while Lizzie was left pining for Mr Darcy who left them without saying a word. later that night, Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Judi Dench) came to the Bennets, commanding a private conversation with Lizzie. the Lady who was Mr Darcy's aunt, demanded that Lizzie promises not to be in a relationship with him as she had planned the matrimony of Mr Darcy with her own daughter. Lizzie was insulted and requested that Lady de Bourgh leave the home.

for the whole night, she couldn't sleep and decided to wander in the fields at dawn. and a familiar figure approached~

the Characters:

the Review:
what else can i say? i'm besotted with this movie and could not find any fault. even tried comparing it with the 1995's tv series of the same adaptation and found that the 2005 win hands down.. the shy beauty Jane, the witty sage Lizzie and most of all, the irresistable Mr Darcy.

i love the movie, it was apt and simple but totally beautiful.. the score was fitting, the casting superb. totally a 5 star :)

the Bennet girls of 2005 were so fitting with their characters, kan? it's obvious that Jane is the beauty, Lizzie the willful, Mary the awkward middle, Kitty and Lydia the giggling nonsensical pair~~ and i rather like the close friendship shared by Lizzie and Charlotte. the 1995 version didn't put much stock in it.

i wish to point out that one of the memorable scenes was Jane's reaction to Mr Bingley's proposal. it even outshine the Elinor's reaction in Sense and Sensibility as shown here:


awwwww... so sweet, sweet dear heart ~~

the other would be the declaration of love of Mr Darcy as he met Lizzie at the fields. i couldn't embed the score for Dawn. so i chose to share this fan-made vid with you guys :)



in simple gestures, it conveys that most romantic declaration warrants not a lip lock. a kiss on the knuckels, meeting of foreheads and a touch on the face would suffice..

sigh. i'm nuts about this movie :)