MANILA, Philippines?Perhaps only Tim Burton had the right and the chutzpah to film ?Alice in Wonderland,? which revisits the classic children?s tales of ?Alice?s Adventures in Wonderland? and its sequel ?Through the Looking Glass? by Lewis Carroll.
Tweaking the story, Burton and writer Linda Woolverton transform Alice into a 19-year-old Victorian woman, coping with the death of her father and struggling with social expectations to marry her designated suitor and live the life of a ?proper? lady. Just as her execrable suitor proposes marriage in front of her family and friends, Alice spots a white rabbit which she recognizes from a recurring dream from childhood. Chasing the rabbit, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) falls down a hole and begins her wondrous adventures, including teaming up with the red-haired and certifiably loony Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp).
Combining characters and encounters in both books, which were reputedly written while Carroll was high on cocaine, the movie tries to catch the manic spirit and absurdity of the works, but strangely, even in Burton?s hands, it turns out to be somewhat subdued and enervated.
Burton fills the screen with a fantastical landscape, enhanced by the 3-D viewing technology, but covers much of the action in a dark haze and in largely unintelligible dialogue. Perhaps the somber mood is justified, for the story is supposed to be taking place after the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter, nearly unrecognizable) has just incinerated much of Wonderland and rules and abuses the living creatures in it with cruelty and malice. (My favorite line: the Red Queen yelling ?I need a pig here!? before using the hapless animal as a footstool.)
The other characters welcome Alice back, believing she has come to fulfill her destiny: slay the Jabberwocky and liberate Wonderland from the clutches of the cruel Red Queen and return it to the benign rule of her sister, the White Queen (Anne Hathaway, in a performance she has described as ?cute but psycho?). At first Alice resists the mission, but with prodding from the Mad Hatter and help from the other creatures, eventually completes her mission in life.
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THE MOVIE means to be an analogy for Alice?s own coming into her own as a woman and an adventurer. But it is much too fraught with so many diversions that it is more confusing than necessary.
Johnny Depp is as usual lovably eccentric, and his Mad Hatter is strangely appealing in his innocence and vulnerability. (He reminds me somewhat of the fey Johnny Weir.) But he is given much too little to do in the movie, although I do admit only he could have given life to MH without turning the character into a caricature.
By her looks alone Wasikowska fits the role of Alice, but hers is a vapid and rather passive portrayal, showing too little of the curiosity and daring that led the Alice of Carroll?s novels into so many of her misadventures.
Other notable performances: Bonham Carter overacting splendidly as the querulous Red Queen, and the voice of Alan Rickman as Absalom the Blue Caterpillar, rich and velvety and wise, at first disdainful of Alice?s innocence, then comforting as he assures her that ?there is nothing wrong with change? as he prepares to undergo his own transformation.
There is an important message here, but it is often lost in the maze of special effects and absurd characters. ?Alice in Wonderland? survives the transition to adult sensibility, but much of the wonder and humor of childhood has been lost, too.
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MOST of the high-end establishments may be found in Station 1 of Boracay, the quieter, more private and genteel side of the happening island. But there are advantages, too, to be being billeted in a hotel in Station 2, the center of the island, which is busier and hosts more foot traffic. At the Boracay Regency, the first hotel-resort on the island to garner a Triple-A rating, one plus is that most of one?s favorite restaurants or destinations are but a short stroll or a brief ride (by tricycle or van) away.
If you choose, you can spend the entire day at the Regency, starting with breakfast at the coffee shop which fronts the beach, people-watching while you sip your coffee. The beach is just a few steps away, and guests can avail of beach loungers under umbrellas and complimentary towels without worrying about their belongings which are kept under the watchful eye of attendants and guards. There are also enough swimming pools within the grounds for those who prefer a more serene swim. My own favorite is the deep blue pool of the Garden Wing, with a jacuzzi in the center.
Still, in my book, the best way to while the time away at the Regency is to book a procedure at the Kai Spa, the in-house facility that rivals spas in Manila for luxury, comfort and quality of service. I booked a diamond peel facial at 2 p.m. on the second day of a recent stay, wishing to avoid the heat and sun, and I emerged feeling not just energized and glowing, but totally refreshed as well.
My daughter and I booked massages later that evening, timing it so that we would just fall into bed after our bodies had been kneaded into, if not submission, then at least total relaxation. But maybe it?s just our age gap, for while I immediately tumbled into bed, my daughter was energized enough to step out with her friends, crawling back to our room at four in the morning.
The best thing about being a frequent Boracay visitor is that one can re-visit favorite restaurants, shops and facilities with each visit. Or, one can simply enjoy the comfy bed or loungers, absorbed in a book, free of a harried schedule or agenda. After all, under the hot Boracay sun, no one is keeping track.
