Video Made of Filming Song during Crazy Heart

What an ingenious view! You actually see Collin Ferrill and Jeff Bridges singing and the camera men shooting them singing here!

Through the Looking Glass: Just released March 2010: Crazy Heart

This was a moving portrayal of an aging, fifty-seven year old fading country singer, Otis Blake, stage name Bad Blake, who never quite made the big time, that was an alcoholic. He played bowling alleys, and dives, some pubs. He was a talented song writer, but not recognized for quite some time. Skillfully played by Jeff Bridges, you felt sorry for this character as he wallowed through his country music sets, with three quarters of a voice and operating at half mode. Maggie Glynnenhall beautifully portrayed the much younger journalist reporter, Jean Craddock, that was interviewing him at the beginning of the story, that had a four year old son. She was reluctant to involve herself with him, as she already recognized his drinking problem, but went ahead anyway. Collin Ferrill played the country star, Tommy, that actually is a friend of Bad Blake's.
Bad Blake wants to avoid Tommy but runs across him anyway, as he opens for Tommy's act. Bad Blake also refuses to give Maggie Glynnenhall's character his real name throughout most of the movie, as he wants to remain anonymous, yet reaching out for more in his loneliness. Bad Blake also has not seen his own son since he was four years old, and attempts to call his grown 28 year old son while passing through Santa Fe. This movie had some very good character development, and even though it was not action packed, it kept you riveted to the screen. Jeff Bridges actually sings a couple of songs, as well as Collin Ferrill, and they both do a good job; Collin has a brighter voice, and Jeff Bridges has a husky, smokey voice that lends itself well to one of the slow songs towards the end of the movie. I would rate this movie at a B plus or A minus.

Through the Looking Glass: Just released March 2010: My Review of Alice in Wonderland

Ok. Another review. Alice in Wonderland is based upon the classic novel by Lewis Carroll. The first Alice in Wonderland movie was made in 1951. Alice in Wonderland (animated) was also made in 1999.

This new 2010 Alice in Wonderland is also shown in 3D as well as 2D. I only saw the 2D version. In the story, Alice, an innocent 20 or something year old is set up at her engagement party for a proposal by her current beau, who she is not enamored with, but is an arranged match by her family. She escapes, running, into a wildly orchestrated dream as she falls deep into a rabbit whole into an entirely new dimension and world governed by the Red Queen and her guard. Alice drinks a potion and lo and behold she becomes smaller; another potion or morsel of cake makes her larger. The story is replete with various creatures, such as the disappearing Cheshire cat, the caterpillar smoking a Hookah, the fumbling rabbit, the corpulent twins, Twiddledee and Twiddledum, the tiny mouse, and the Mad Hatter. Also, the White Queen is the Red Queen's sister, but does not have the power over the kingdom at the time. Alice runs through mazes, gets larger and smaller, and goes through a dreamlike sequence with fantasy characters and animals who actually can speak the English language.

Johnny Depp plays the Mad Hatter, and Helena Bonham Carter is the Red Queen. Helena Bonham Carter was excellent, and even though she was in costume and her head was rendered digitally to an enormous size for the rest of her body, she was convincing as someone that was comfortable with that physical property. She carried the movie. Johnny Depp, although I really love some of his movies, including Edward Scissorhands, and of course the famous or infamous adorable and despicable at the same time pirate, Jack Sparrow, from Pirates of the Carribean series of movies, he didn't seem quite convincing here as a MAD hatter, more as a SANE hatter. As if his Mad Hatter antics were really a guise for a street smart, sharp and uncanny weaver of hats and intrigue, just tricking us into thinking he is mad. He just seems to fall a little short in this movie, and doesn't fully blossom in his role. There just seems to be something held back.

Ann Hathaway always looks magnificent in her movies and reminds me of Barbara Feldman from Get Smart. (Ann Hathaway plays Agent 99 in the recent version of Get Smart, and has many similar qualities to Barbara Feldman, including her sweetness and charming way of speaking). She also is very engaging and charming in the Princess Diaries, and plays someone who blossoms in The Devil Wears Prada. In this movie, Ann Hathaway plays the beautiful White Queen and sister of the Red Queen, who is loved rather than feared as her sister is. She looks like the Ice Queen from the recent movie, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, with a frosty dress and cold, white wig and makeup. However, her charm falls short in this movie and gets buried under a pile of ice and snow. She comes off as being cold, even though she is supposed to be loved and adored. I think this is more the fault of the writers than of her performance. I just don't think she had much to go on.

Mia Wasikowska as playing the leading role of Alice, I think, literally fell short. I actually perceived the Red Queen as being much more spunky and lively, even though the Red Queen was supposed to be horrid and cruel beyond measure. I was never sure where Alice was coming from, and she continually spoke in a muted, ingenue voice, and was completely unconvincing at the point in the movie where she becomes a warrior girl that was supposed to combat the Jabberwocky. She seemed to be lost in the maze and in the hole she fell into at the beginning of the movie.

In fact, the entire movie is a maze of ups and downs, inconsistencies, and whether large or small, it just fell short. However, the special effects were magnificent and I loved the Cheshire cat and its continual disappearing act.