"Amish Grace"

I just finished watching the fantastic new Lifetime Movie Network TV movie, "Amish Grace." It's a film based on the true story of how a gunman took the lives of five Amish school girls in the peaceful Amish community of Nickel Mines. The movie stars Kimberly Williams-Paisley, who many will recognize from the "Father of the Bride" films. She plays Ida Graber, one of the Amish mothers who tragically loses her daughter in the unexpected schoolhouse shooting. Though her performance is strong,
Tammy Blanchard's portrayal of Amy Roberts' is truly the performance that stands out. She plays the wife of the gunman, Charles Roberts, and there is just enough grief and confusion in her face that sums up the whole character. My favorite aspects of the film were the reporters and how they handled the tragedy. The movie was actually adapted from a book, which was of course adapted from the true story that occurred only a few years ago. So why was such a good movie only made for television? In my opinion, a theatrical film would have focused on the wrong parts of the story. However, with this TV release, the focus was on the struggle of how the Amish community forgave Charles Roberts, despite the pain he caused and the sin he committed. It's definitely worth checking out if you like a good movie adaptation of a true story!

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"Alice In Wonderland" Review

Unless you're familiar with the story of "Alice In Wonderland," Tim Burton's new rendition may get a little confusing. In this version, all the creatures of Wonderland, or should I say Underland, are trying to find a girl named Alice. Now we know that there has been an Alice who has visited "Underland" before, but we're not sure if the Alice the movie introduces us to is the one that all of the creatures are looking for. So to be certain, the creatures try to re-create everything that
happened to the real Alice. For example, she falls down the rabbit hole, she shrinks, she grows, and of course, she attends the tea party. So why do the creatures need Alice to return to

Underland? Well, to make a long story short, the Red Queen has taken over and the White Queen can't do anything about it! And since the Red Queen controls the Jabberwocky... I think I'll stop there. The movie's really not as complicated as I've made it sound, but I think it probably would have been better to have named the film "Return to Wonderland" or something. Aside from the fact that it's more of a sequel/continuation of true "Alice In Wonderland" story, I still really enjoyed it! There has been some controversy surrounding the whole dark tone of the film and how kids won't like it, but I really don't think kids are going to have a problem with the darkness of the movie. However it's probably going to be over a young child's head and there's not enough pre-teen humor for tweens and teens to really latch on! It's definitely a movie for mature audiences, and when I say that I don't mean it has inappropriate nonsense, but rather a more serious style that may not be what everyone is expecting! Johnny Depp returns for another eccentric role (the Mad Hatter) that he pulls off with ease! This was actually his 7th film with Tim Burton, I believe! Also joining Tim Burton again was Helena Bonham Carter, who played the Red Queen. Despite an over sized head, she delivered a very good performance! Starring in her first movie with Tim Burton was Anne Hathaway, and based on her performance it could possibly be her last film with Tim Burton! The performance that really stood out though was Mia Wasikowska's portrayal of Alice! I would say SEE this movie, but I'm taking into consideration that like most Tim Burton movies, this will only appeal to a certain audience, and it's not going to be every body's cup of tea I guess I should say. Oh, but be sure and SEE IT in 3-D!