Blindside Movie Review by Jay Forry

A | So good, blind people like it
B | I’m glad I could hear it
C | I had one eye open
D | I’m glad I couldn’t see it
F | Blindness was a blessing

Although I am blind, I can appreciate a good movie as well as sighted individuals. I rely more on a good story line than special effects. Visit my website at: blindsidereviews.com.

Tim Burton is the latest director looking for a pay-off with his high budget adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s classic, Alice in Wonderland. 

When 19-year-old Alice (Mia Wafikowska) follows a white rabbit (voice by Michael Sheen) down a rabbit hole, she suddenly finds herself in an alternate universe full of fantastic creatures.  (I think I’d have been a little suspicious of a rabbit hole that big, but who am I?)  Before Alice is introduced to any other magical creatures in Wonderland, she drinks a liquid that makes her grow inordinately tall and a small truffle that makes her shrink. 

After seeing the White Rabbit she soon meets and talks to a Blue Caterpillar (voice by Alan Rickman) that smokes a pipe, a smiling Cheshire cat (voice by Stephen Fry) that can disappear and reappear at will, and she becomes involved between two rival sisters.  The Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) wants to kill Alice while the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) tries to enlist Alice’s help in getting her throne back.  Add in the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) and Stayne (Cristin Glover) along with odd shaped people and digitally enhanced animals and you have the classic story. 

This had to have been one of the hardest books to translate into film and I thought Tim Burton would have thrown something new into the mix.  Unfortunately, there is nothing original, nothing for the head to think about, and nothing for the heart to cry about; just a lot of computer graphics for the eyes.  (And that’s nothing for a blind movie critic.)  Had I not been familiar with the characters from this well-known tale, I would have had an even harder time following this disjointed story. 

Speaking about disjointed – there are heads and fingers that are separated at the joint possibly making it a little scary for kids.  (I couldn’t see the really intense scenes and I still might have nightmares.)  One of the high points is the acting and Helena Bonham Carter is fantastic along with very convincing performances by Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway, who were somewhat under utilized.   It did have just the right mix of drama, humor, and action leveling it off to a C Rating.