After a week almost a week since it’s been out, got around to watching Alice in Wonderland the a couple nights ago, and I thought it was actually pretty cool. I’d say it was really good, not amazing – but really good. Mind you, I actually didn’t see the 3D version, so I’m not sure what I may have missed out on in that regard, but the story and characters are obviously the same – and, you know I think those 3D glasses are kind of annoying. With last weekend being it’s first in the box office, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland actually beat Avatar’s first weekend! I think Avatar’s 3D experience helped pave the way for people to get excited for this one too. I also think that the fact that this classic tale was remade by Tim Burton and featured some of our current favorites, Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway, also had some pull.

I think Tim Burton did an excellent job with this story. We get to see more of Alice’s life outside “Wonderland” which was actually quite interesting. The film is a combination of “real life” actors and computer animation which actually worked and flowed together seamlessly. Johnny Depp was also great in the film, as you may have expected from the previews and from his extensive resume. His portrayal of a Mad Hatter was bang on. Anne Hathaway’s interpretation of what was The White Queen (The Red Queen’s sister) was hilarious. She was pretty much making a mockery of herself, or what she interpreted the dainty, good-hearted queen would be in a fairy tale.

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Star of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise as Jack Sparrow, 43 year old Johnny Depp has won the title of the Sexiest Man Alive once again. This extremely creative and talented man has teamed up with also extremely brilliant Tim Burton on 7 films now, including Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (which I loved) and the highly anticipated film, Alice in Wonderland where he plays The Mad Hatter.

He is definitely an asset to the film industry. The films he’s been in have grossed $2.3 billion at the USoffice and over $4.8 billion worldwide – wowsers!

Mr. Depp has 13 tattoos thus far (I have one tiny one so far), many of which signify important people in his life. One is a Native American in profile and a ribbon reading “Wino Forever” on his bicep (which used to read “Winona Forever”, but was changed after his breakup with Winona Ryder – oopsy!) on his right biceps. Another is for his daughter which is over his heart (very sweet), which reads “Lily-Rose” (his daughter’s name – pretty!). His mother’s name is Betty Sue (I guess that explains the daughter’s name) and it can be found on his left biceps. You can also find a sparrow flying over water with his son’s name Jack on his right forearm. Hmm, what else does he have, and where…

Do you think he is the sexiest man alive? I think he’s sexy…but I wouldn’t pick him as the sexiest man alive. Who would you pick?

Click here to vote for your favorite Depp Film and see who else made the list…

Update February 2010: Release Date Announced in North America: March 5th

Now, while I won’t shut my eyes and plug my ears during the big screen “Upcoming Movie” trailers, I really don’t like spoiling anticipated tv episodes or searching websites for sneak peaks at movies I’m looking forward to seeing. That being said, when I heard Tim Burton- director of such dark hits like “Corpse Bride”, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “Big Fish” and “Sleepy Hollow”- was taking on the CLASSIC “Alice in Wonderland” I put away my “I like to be surprised” childish ways and hit up YouTube ASAP. (God, I hate “ASAP”… I sound like a douche from “Boiler Room”).

That aside, I realized that I’ve read that story and its sequel for about 4 different Lit. classes at UBC and written copious amounts of papers on “Lewis Carroll’s rebellion of Victorian ways” so really, the preview wasn’t exactly going to ruin the surprise of “how Alice falls down the hole.” To top it off, I even blindly called how perfect it would be if Helena Bonham Carter played the Red Queen (come on, that’s a BIT cool I got that one right!)… and Burton continued to impress with the decision to propel Anne Hathaway down her esoteric-indie-esque path and cast her as the determined but twisted White Queen. Of course, the highlight of highlights is Johnny Depp.

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