Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Tim Burton films always have wild visuals to make any film fan stare in awe, as is the case with “Alice in Wonderland,” his take on the famous Lewis Carroll story of a girl lost in a strange world that only an opium habit could fuel. Burton + Carroll: It’s a marriage made in cinema heaven. But this take isn’t about young Alice’s trip down the rabbit hole. No. It’s about angst-filled teen Alice (Mia Wasikowska) re-falling down the rabbit hole to re-meet Rabbit, the Dweedle twins, the cat … you get the point. Johnny Depp is the Mad Hatter, whacked hair and crazy colored Elijah Wood eyes. Helena Bonham Carter is the Queen of Hearts, a head big enough to block sunlight. Anne Hathaway is the White Queen, who walks around with her hands up in the air. Um, why exactly? It’s all so much, and yet so little. There is no glistening-eye, heart-piercing wonder here, as in film gods “Beatlejuice” and “Edward Scissorhands.” Danny Elfman provides the film’s best asset, a music score to die for, and paint and draw and write and dream by. B-

Conversations with Other Women (2006)

"Conversations with Other Women" is the "Rashomon" of romantic dramas. A split screen shows constantly evolving, changing and conflicting views, asides, thoughts and memories as a man (Aaron Eckhart) and a woman (Helena Bonham-Carter) hook up and screw at a wedding. To give away a second of the film, or even a hint of the characters is to ruin a story that changes course every time one thinks they have it cornered. Know this: Eckhart and HBC are a fantastic, sexy couple and the emotions on display dig deeper and truer than almost any film about sex and love I've seen in ages. Adults only, please. Best tip: It could be watched a dozen times, and a dozen different takes could be carried away. A-