Alice in Wonderland

I considered not coming to Italy because I wasn't going to be able to see Alice in Wonderland. I'd been looking forward to it for years and wasn't going to let a little thing like Italy stand in my way of seeing it. I did research, though, and found out that Italy frequently screens movies from the States. In English, too. So I came. When I got here I found out the dates and promised myself I'd be there. Selvaggia is actually a die-hard Alice in Wonderland fan and so she, too, prepared herself to see this movie. In the days before the movie came out we talked about Alice nonstop. We set times to make sure we'd get there and have seats, we watched trailors, we talked about how we'd each done Alice and Wonderland for halloween, we really exhausted the subject of Alice. This movie was landmark, though, for all of us Disney kids. Age group seventeen to twenty-five is the Disney generation. We experienced the best Disney films, and Alice is Wonderland was one of them. We all also grew up with Tim Burton. Most of us were undeniably out of our minds about the two fusing together. Tim Burton meets Disney. WOOO!

We went after school on a Wednesday night, 10 p.m., with Sway and Benny Lava. There is a theatre in Florence that screens American films about five or six times a month. The rest of the time they put on operas, ballets, or plays, and sometimes they host film festivals. The theatre is called Odeon and its in the Palazzo Strozzi, a ten minute walk from my apartment. Its all ritzed out and fancy, with a bar instead of a snack stand and some serious velvet roping. You're probably all thinking to yourselves the exact same thing I thought when I first saw that this movie theatre had a bar. Can I drink in there? Yes, in fact, I can. We got there a half an hour early and managed to land in the best seats in the theatre. The seats, by the way, are personal couches. It was the most comfortable movie theatre I've ever been to. I bought myself a Heinekin and a pack of Pringles. Perfect theatre snack.

The movie wasn't what I expected, sure. There wasn't enough trippy, mind-boggling, nutty shit. It probably would have had a better effect in 3-D, but still. The plot was too action-packed and skipped over some main Alice events. I still loved it, though. I absolutely adored the young Alice and think Tim should re-make the originial with her as the star. I was way freaked out by Helena Bonham Carter and her makeup. Johnny Depp is officially the best actor ever. Not my favorite, George Clooney is just impossible to top, but Depp can do any accent well. I wanted all of the costumes to hang in my closet and I enjoyed the fact that the Thin Man from Charlie's Angels was also the Thin Man in Alice in Wonderland. Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum: creepiest version of cute I've ever seen. I definitely recommend seeing this movie. My verdict: Tim and Disney need to give it another try; however, go and watch this movie. Just watch Disney's Alice in Wonderland, also, because the former is better than the latter. Maybe it's my sentimentality for Disney-kid movies, but I know how my opinion really matters to you all. Anyway, Arrivederci, for now.
Love, Gabby.