I loved (although tend to be embarrased at the same time) when he recalled how as a toddler, I would show enthusiasm when he asked whether I want to see the big 'TV'. At that time, Snow White was showing and so, he brought me to the cinema in Kuala Lumpur. He was initially worried that the old cinema seat (the type that goes up when no one's sitting on it) would swallow my cute toddler-ass (this is my blog. Deal with it.). According to him, I was enjoying myself playing with the chair and babbled on like any other toddler you see in the cinema today. And when the cartoon finally came on screen, I guessed I was mesmerized by the moving pictures and colourful scenes. Well, a toddler's attention is only for a short time span. My dad then realised after a short period that I was being uncharacteristically quiet and turned his head to see what I was up to. To his (and my) dismay, I was fast asleep! It could very well be the song 'Someday My Prince Will Come' being played but I was already in lala land.
Since then, I've watched many more Disney movies with him like Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. And when I got slightly older, watching movies like Wesley Snipe's Drop Zone and Daniel Day-Lewis' The Last of the Mohicans became family outings. Oh, and 'Titanic' will always have a soft spot in my heart because that was the movie that I watched with him when we were in the UK. It was memorable because Titanic was just released (and Leonardo DiCaprio was like the hottest guy on earth) and because my sisters were not old enough to watch (the Brits rated the movie as 12 years old and above), I pestered my dad to accompany me. I did curse myself when the movie came to the 'draw-me-wearing-this-only-this' because frankly, it was just so embarassing to watch such scenes with your dad!
The movie outings that I considered as family routine soon disappeared and it became just my siblings and I. Whatever movie that was showing, my parents would just stay home and told us to enjoy ourselves. They gave us the money and we watched the movies on our own.
After what must be eons, Syazwina and myself finally managed to persuade my parents to join us to watch Jim Carrey's Yes Man. It was in December 2009 because my sister had her free birthday ticket, my dad had his birthday ticket, and I bought the remaining tickets for mum and I.
In conjunction with Johnny Depp's Alice in Wonderland, I asked my dad if he wanted to go watch the movie with me. By the way, both of us are Depp's fans from the latter's days as Edward Scissorhands. As my dad did not manage to catch Depp's Sweeney Todd and Public Enemies in the cinema, he was game to watch Alice for one simple reason. Depp.
So off we went to Tropicana City Mall yesterday for the 1.25 p.m. show. We didn't watch the 3D version because the tickets were sold out. Most importantly, my dad said he feels stupid wearing those special glasses. The hall was packed with parents bringing their kids, toddlers and even babies. I could understand the composition of the audience because it was after all, Alice in Wonderland and a Disney production. So, we had to make do with the odd stroller being placed in the middle of the cinema, wailing babies, chattering toddlers and kids who make it their life's purpose to head to the loo every 10 minutes or so.
I've been informed by my sister and friends of my 'cinema temperament' often. I don't like entering the cinema late, hate people who cannot switch off their handphones, loath people who do running commentaries as if everyone wants to listen and despise people with uncontrollable limbs. Well, I have suspected where I got my temperament from all along but yesterday's movie outing merely confirmed it. My dad gets easily pissed off as well! And like me, he is not able to continue watching the movie without directing his attention (or glare) at the offending party.
We started watching Alice with high hopes. Nothing could go wrong with Depp and Burton combination. They're highly creative people and Alice gives the perfect premise for us to be enthralled with their imagination. Alas, I found myself confused and disappointed time and time again over the next 2 hours.
The movie we watched was titled 'Alice in Wonderland' but somehow, it was not the Alice that I read during my childhood days. Sure, there was the Red Queen (which imho, was played superbly by Ms. Bonham-Carter. In fact, I would go as far as saying that she carried the movie), the hare, the twins, the cheshire cat and the army of cards. And before I forget, Alice and the Mad Hatter. And that was the main problem.
We have an Alice who is not that young and the lead actress could be somehow related to Gwyneth Paltrow. And thanks to Emma and Shakespeare in Love, one cannot imagine Paltrow being the feisty Alice who succeeded in bringing down the Red Queen.
And far from focusing on the Mad Hatter's role, we have instead, Johnny Depp with strange contacts and weirder hairpiece popping in and out of the movie within short spaces of time. The combination of Mad Hatter and Johnny Depp should have given the movie a great boost (and what I suspect, led most adults to flock to the cinemas) but the combination that I saw made me think it's much better to stay away from the cinema. To me, Johnny Depp is one of those great actors where the audience is able to see his persona and not the actor. Regrettably, his role as the Mad Hatter did not give him much opportunity to confirm his acting skills. I can confirmed that he can stare though because all the Mad Hatter did (save for a few measly lines) was to stare. Honestly, you can put any guy with the hairpiece and contacts and he'll be a Mad Hatter. You don't need Depp for that. And I was sorely disappointed because I expected much much more from Depp.
Finally, the movie was supposed to be a children's movie. We're talking about Alice in Wonderland and not Nightmare on Elm's Street or even Sweeney Todd. Alice was supposed to pay tribute to Carrol's imagination and allows the children's fun imagination to run wild. The Alice I watched was a rather twisted Alice with few gory scenes I will not recommend for any child below the age of ten. Burton may have gone overboard with his imagination but please do not destroy what a kid's memory of Alice should be.
Well, I went on a journey with Alice in Wonderland yesterday but until today, I still wonder 'What happened to Wonderland'?
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