Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)

Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) Trailer

This the squeal of Alice in the Wonderland (2010). I thought it's another Tim Burton film, but it isn't. He is only the producer.

The premise is about Alice saving Mad Hatter by interfering time. Surprisingly, time is a person, and is played by Sacha Baron Cohen.

Alice steals Time's Chronosphere (By the way, there are two types of time: cairos and chronos. And chronos is earth time.) and escapes by time-travelling. However, messing up with time will lead to the destruction of the universe.

When I hear Time says, "imbecile!" I think of Poirot the detective because it is his mantra.

The movie touches several themes, namely meaning of life, sisterhood, and girl power.

In the end of the movie, Alice said, "I used to believe that time was a thief. I am stealing everything I love. But...now I understand that you give, always before removing. And every day is a gift. Every hour, every minute, every second...He used to say that the only thing worth doing..." Time replied, " It is what you do for others." Alice is sad that her father passed away, but she now experiences catharsis as she understands that it only matters how she lives her life.

The movie talks about sisterhood when Mirana reconciles with Iracebeth. And when Alice and her mother rejects the offer of trading their ship with Hamish, the antagonist, it shows that women can also live well without getting married. These themes are meaningful yet too on-the-nose.

The use of color and costume is brilliant in the movie. For example, when the color of Mad Hatter's hair fades away, it indicates that life is draining out of him.

Recommendation: recommended
Premise: good
Plot: good
Characters: good
Dialogue: average

Doctor Strange (2016)

Doctor Strange Trailer

This is another Marvel hero movie. I find the plot a strong sense of deja vu. Since Doctor Strange first appeared in 1963 and I have never read his comics, I'm not sure if the TV and movies that came after it copied its concept or if it is the other way round.

I really like the visual effects of the movie. The time vortex that Doctor Strange travels resembles that of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Doctor Who's opening. The visual effects of bending streets and buildings look a lot like that of Inception (2010). The time loop concept is similar to a recent movie By Tim Burton, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016), and Doctor Who Series 9 Episode 11 Heaven Sent, which Doctor is killed and reborn time after time. The out-of-body experience (OBE) by Doctor Strange is very interesting. He even uses it to pretend to sleep while his spirit study spells in the secret books. If near-death experience (NDE) is a vertical movement (up to heaven), OBE would be a horizontal movement on earth.

Is the story anchored in the 2010's? If so, the production set of Hong Kong is not very authentic. It's not the modern Hong Kong but more like Hong Kong in the 90's or Macau.

On the appearance, Doctor Strange is the missing brother of Iron Man, who shares the same beard; and Superman, who shares the same red cloak. Benedict Cumberbatch admits that Doctor Strange and Sherlock Holmes, the two characters that he plays, are both smart and arrogant.

Kaecillius is a smart student that went down a wrong path, though he believes himself in doing the right thing. Isn't that similar to Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter? A brilliant student from the same academy of the protagonist who becomes the villain.

I think it's always the two sides of a story. Who is the real saviour? Is Kaecillius killing people for the greater good? Is it righteous to do so? Hitler also believed that he did the right thing but he harmed many people on the way.

On the other hand, who empowers Doctor Strange to judge? How would you know if the people killed by Doctor Strange really deserve it? Who can monitor if he would not abuse his powers? (almost the same questions raised by Captain America: Civil War (2016), The Dark Knight (2008), and Watchmen (2009) (Who watches Watchmen?))

This can lead into a further discussion on what is evil. Who is the bad guy? In Suicide Squad (2016), the story is told from the "bad guys" point of view. Audience sympathizes the Suicide Squad but thinks that Amanda Waller, the government official, is actually the evil. In Doctor Strange, Dormammu is the clear source of evil. However, in the real world, not everything is crystal clear as good vs. bad, as in the movies. There are just many selfish human beings who think they are doing the right thing but hurting people on their way.

The dialogue is funny, especially that of Doctor Strange. For example, when Kaecillius asks Doctor Strange what doctor he is, he replies, "It' strange." Kaecillius replies, "Maybe, who am I to judge?" LOL. Doctor Who usually has this kind of dialogue. "Who are you?" "I'm the doctor." "Doctor Who?" "Just the Doctor".

Recommendation: recommended
Premise: average
Plot: average
Characters: average
Dialogue: execellent