Alice in Wonderland

On the cusp of her engagement to a dopey prig, a post-adolescent Alice chases the White Rabbit down the hole one last time—what she finds there is a desiccated version of her childhood dream world ruled by a genocidal Red Queen. Tim Burton’s 3-D take on Lewis Carroll hurls enough colorful stuff at your face to make for an entertaining diversion, but it’s also disposable mush, predictably culminating in the same pointless battle scene that has ended every fantasy film since Lord of the Rings. Surprisingly for anyone who has seen the previews, the problem isn’t Burton’s Cirque du Wonderland visuals, but a disaffected lead performance from Mia Wasikowska as Alice—she doesn’t display any spark, before or after her adventures in Wonderland. The supporting players fare better, including a fright-wigged Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter.