Alice in Wonderland

Johnny Depp is one of my favorite actors.  I have seen and enjoyed most of the movies that he has made with Tim Burton.  When I heard that they were making a new version of Alice in Wonderland, I was interested even before seeing any trailers.  I headed out on opening day to see the 3D version of the movie.

I loved the movie and will more than likely see it again in the theater and I'll add the DVD to my collection.  I really liked that there is more of a plot to this movie than there was to the Disney animated version.  In that movie, Alice just sort of wonders around and meets a few odd characters.  With Burton's version, Alice still interacts with odd characters, but there is more purpose to what is going on.  I also liked how it is set up like Alice had been there as a child, forgotten things, and was back as a young woman.  I know that some people aren't happy with the fact that the plot isn't more like the Carroll books featuring Alice.  I think the plot works wonderfully and makes for an entertaining movie.  The visuals are amazing and give the movie a unique look.

Johnny Depp is great as Mad Hatter.  This version of the character is still a bit wacky, but he also has moments of sanity and clarity.  He is much more than a loon who drinks tea and that makes the character much more interesting.  He does have a bizarre look, but that manages to work for the movie.  The Red Queen is in control, and she is not nice to anyone.  Helena Bonham Carter is great in the part.  The White Queen is the sister of the Red Queen.  The White Queen is much nicer than her sister, though she is missing a marble or two herself.  Anne Hathaway does well with the part.  White Rabbit, March Hare, Cheshire Cat and Tweedledee and Tweedledum also turn up.  I really like how Cheshire Cat is done.

I did post a longer review on Epinions.

Alice in Wonderland

House Bunny

When House Bunny came out in theaters, I was only slightly interested in seeing it eventually.  My interest wasn't great enough to warrant heading to the theater and forking over cash.  Not that long ago, I spotted the DVD fairly cheap and I almost picked it up, but something stopped me.  Now that I've seen the movie, thanks to one of the Encore channels I get, I'm very glad I didn't give into the momentary urge to get the DVD.

The plot has a tiny bit of potential that quickly goes no where fast while Anna Faris prances around barely dressed most of the time.  She does get naked at one point, though she is only shown from behind.  The role does show off a sexier side of Faris.  Sexual remarks are made and a few things shown are very suggestive, but there aren't any actual sex scenes.  Faris's character is sort of likable, but she is so stupid that she becomes irritating.  The jokes fall flat most of the time and things just aren't that entertaining or interesting.  I was watching the clock waiting for it to end.  

House Bunny isn't the worst movie I've seen, but it is far from the best.  Fans of Anna Faris may find something to enjoy about the movie, but I wouldn't count on it.  The movie is available to rent and own on DVD and Blu-ray.  It has been turning up on the Encore movie channels and it could be an On Demand option with some cable and satellite providers. 

I did post a longer review of House Bunny on Epinions.

HBO

I've had HBO for a few years now and I really like the channel.  Most of the time, I can find a movie on one of the HBO channels that I am interested in watching.  Since I've had HBO, I've seen several movies that I was interested in that I missed while they were in the theater.  I've watched some movies again that I love and I've even watched some that I wasn't really interested in before but watched because there was nothing else on that I was interested in at that point and gotten hooked on a few of the original shows.  Now that I have a DVR too, I'm able to see more movies and shows that I'm interested in.  I just need more hours in the day to watch everything.

I Love My DVR

After hearing about DVRs and TiVo for years, I finally got a DVR a few months ago.  I quickly came to love it and don't know how I managed so long without one.  I no longer have to miss my favorite shows when I have to work or have errands to run.  I can record movies from HBO that I want to see when I'm doing other things when they are on.  I absolutely love having a DVR.  My only problem now is finding enough time to watch everything I record.

Welcome to Movie Enthusiast Corner

I have been writing reviews on Epinions.com since 2001, mostly about movies, books and television shows on DVD.  I decided to start this blog to go along with the reviews I post on Epinions.  My user name there is dragonfire88.  I use the name Marie Dragonfire on a few other sites as well.

I started a site where I could share the links to all my reviews, arranged by subject.  I thought that would be a more user friendly way for people to find all my reviews.  As I post new reviews on Epinions, I add the links on this site.

Since I'm just starting, I'm not completely sure what all I'll post about yet, but there will be things about movies, television shows and books.  The posts will vary in length, depending on what I'm writing about.  I may write about other things every so often, but I'm sure that I'll mostly be writing about movies, television shows or books.