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The Wolfman in Wonderland

By Genevieve Burgess | DVD Releases | June 1, 2010 |

By Genevieve Burgess | DVD Releases | June 1, 2010 |


Alice in Wonderland: “But, Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is very much akin to visiting the Mayflower that’s now docked in Boston. For $15 a piece, you and your family can walk around a boat that looks every bit like the ship that carried 130 some-odd Pilgrims from England to Massachusetts back in the 17th century. But no matter how faithful it is to the original, and despite the fact that no detail is spared, it’s hard to get over the feeling that you’re walking around in a replica. It doesn’t evoke any of that wonder; you get no sense of the hardship or the disease that those English Separatist felts on their 66-day journey. It’s a giant elaborate money-making toy: Cool to look at, but it’s got no soul.” - Dustin Rowles

The Wolfman: “But they took the visuals in the wrong direction by trying to stay true to the Lon Chaney Jr. visual take on the character. Benicio Del Toro looks exactly like Lon Chaney Jr. when transformed into a wolf, which is to say that his face looks nothing like a wolf and everything like an actor wearing the best yak hair that 1940s makeup artists could patch together with Elmer’s glue. Look, certain details, even irrelevant ones, matter to particular stories, but others just don’t. The Hulk better damned well be green, but the Wolfman’s face doesn’t have to look like the Teen Wolf’s older brother. Early in the film, the wolf is suitably frightening, hidden in the shadows and darting in to execute with wicked savagery, but around the seventh time lightning flashes and you say ‘fuck Lon, quit jumping out from behind trees!’ it loses a little of its edge.” - Steven Lloyd Wilson

Also released this week: Small Town Saturday Night, Stranger, For My Father, The Red Baron, U2 - 360º at the Rose Bowl