Malice in Wonderland (2009) Reviews

• A low budget, high talent gem

  Simonster2009-05-13

  Viewed at the Marche du Film, Festival de Cannes 2009 With not a lot of money but a bundle of ideas, director Simon Fellows and writer Jayson Rothwell, have come up with a massively entertaining twist on the classic tale, Alice in Wonderland. Only this time it's a young woman with amnesia, a taxi-driver, assorted gangsters, druggies and weirdos who feature. At the same time, Malice in Wonderland stays true to the novel on which its based, proving that old ideas can still be the best; same story, new version, as it were. Maggie Grace makes an interesting Alice, here a young American on the run from (and also towards) something, if only she knew what. Some of the dialogue between her and Whitey, the taxi driver, is excellent. Scratch that! A lot of the dialogue is excellent, with some great lines to cut out and keep for future use. It's clear that a low budget has been made to go a long way, but view it as a lot of bang for low bucks and not as cloth being cut too thinly. What surprises about this film is just how assured it is. Quibbles? Nothing of note, really. It would, theoretically, be nice to have seen what would have resulted had the production budget been higher, but then the film would perhaps have lost some, if not all, of its edge. As a calling card, Malice in Wonderland shows some real talent at work. The basic question, is it worth paying to see? Absolutely!

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• Excellent

  dioxymoron2010-02-18

  A fractured spin on the Alice In Wonderland story. I just watched this film and I was enchanted from start to finish. I highly recommend this film to anyone who has a twisted sense of humor. The characters were intriguing and the film kept me guessing, I didn't see the ending coming. Definitely worth seeing. Some excellent acting and concepts. Maggie Grace (Alice) And Danny Dyer (Whitey) both perform their rolls with excellence and they have a wonderful chemistry together. It Is definitely worth taking the time to watch this film, it's a confusing ride, but well worth it.

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• Interesting

  X_Azathoth_X2010-02-15

  I had never heard of this movie so I had no idea what to expect (other than some Alice in Wonderland reference), and I was pleasantly surprised. I only know Maggie Grace from her role as one of the worst characters on Lost, so I was also surprised that I could see her on film without hoping she'd get hit by a bus (I guess that means she's a good actress?) There are some truly zany characters in the movie, and you just have to roll with some of the situations, but all in all it kept me entertained from start to finish. I was kept involved enough in the story and travels of Alice that I really didn't see the ending revelation until it happened (most of the info was alluded to but never really exposed). I wouldn't call it a romance, or an action flick (although there are some violent scenes), it sort of defies description, but it's worth a watch.

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• Beautifully Filmed & Feel good Movie with a Great Beginning Middle and End!

  janeregan2010-04-12

  As soon as the movie started i got the sense it would be good. I'm someone who can tell within the first ten minutes whether a movie will be worth watching. It was filmed in an awesome way. The story line was lovely, made me cry at the end. I remember thinking at the beginning- i hope the end is as beautiful as the movie begins. It was very twisty and unique. The main characters were authentic and the movie had a really beautiful ambiance about it. My boyfriend and I enjoyed it throughly. I was left with a really good feeling at the end of the movie. It is a movie which touched all of my emotions. There were some amazing characters throughout the movie- it's rarely that i see a movie where pretty much all the actors and actresses are on a par in terms of the quality they are bringing to the movie. The movie was throughly enjoyable to watch. I gave the movie 10 stars as i didn't find any faults in the movie at all and it lived up to my expectations.

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• It's a cockney Alice in Wonderland!

  dudedazzreviews2010-10-10

  Malice in Wonderland kind of intrigued me because the idea and the thought of making a cockney-gangster version of the Alice in Wonderland story was a clever approach as I haven't heard of a version like it so it's unique. It could have went either way, it could have been something original yet different or it could have been a laughable idea that isn't interesting enough. Malice in Wonderland is pretty much the first. The story is clever yet average, it's clever the way they twisted the known tale of Alice but it didn't grip you in the first fifteen minutes, it took me about twenty minutes to actually get into the movie and no movie should take that long to get your attention. Even though it started quite slow, as time went on, it picked up the pace and started to get better. The acting is average, Danny Dyer plays Whitey (which is, as you've probably guessed, the equivalent to the White Rabbit) and yet again Danny Dyer is basically playing himself, as his character is the same as the other characters he's ever played in movies. However, Malice in Wonderland is the best he's ever been. The talent that shines throughout is the gorgeous Maggie Grace who plays the troubled twenty-year-old Alice. The characters were created cleverly to twist the characters in the story and added a hint of personality from the real world. The direction is done well and the cinematography is okay and it's clever the way they did it. I also loved how they borrowed some of the lines from the old movie and added them for the characters and I liked how it stuck to the original Alice in Wonderland plot and twisted it. Overall, I was on and off about it before watching but after watching, I ended up liking it. It's an above-average movie and I enjoyed it. It's such a brilliant translation and you would like this movie if you liked Alice in Wonderland. Read more reviews at: www.dudedazzmoviereviews.wordpress.com

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