leonblackwood Review: This is another movie from the Woody Allen camp, about a woman whose in a troubled relationship and looks for comfort from another man. The only difference in this movie is that Mia Farrow seeks help from a Chinese healer who gives her different powers which sends her into a fantasy world. One of her powers is to disappear, which is when she catches her husband doing the dirty on her, so she decides to leave her wealthy husband for a man who she meets whilst picking up her kids from school. Some of the fantasy scenes go a bit too far, like when she's flying with Alec Baldwin in the sky, but the storyline isn't as bad as some of the movies that I have seen from Woody Allen lately. The main problem that I found with the film was Mia Farrow, who I find emotionless and quite dry. She really can't deliver wit or warmth to her roles and her constant whining spoilt the movie for me. Apart from that, the movie is watchable, with many twists and turns throughout. Watchable!Round-Up: I wonder if Woody Allen would have used Mia Farrow so much if he wasn't with her? For a writer and director who mostly makes comedies, she really would be the last actress who I would star in my movies. There are some good actors in this film, like William Hurt and Joe Mantegna, but it's mostly based around Farrow who was quite dull. I liked the moral of the story at the end, which was quite sweet, but the main character had to go through a hell of a journey to get there. Basically I have come to terms with the fact that a lot of Woody Allen movies would have been much better if he didn't cast Mia Farrow in the lead, but that's just my personal opinion.Budget: $12million Worldwide Gross: $7.3millionI recommend this movie to people who are into there Woody Allen movies about a woman in a troubled relationship and seeks help from a Chinese healer. 4/10

movie reviews Alice (Mia Farrow) is a guileless rich New York housewife who shops looks beautiful for her husband Doug (William Hurt) and takes care of her kids from time to time.She encounter Joe Mantenga at her children's school and is smitten...through the help of a Chinese acupuncturist herbalist hypnotist she embarks on a magical odyssey and discovers what her real values are.It is a unique and creative movie where by Alice appears invisible is able to fly with ghosts and other things much like Alice in Wonderland.There are a couple funny lines but this is not a comedy...it treats with a light touch matters such as fidelity in a far more palatable manner (in my opinion) than the contemporary dreadfully serious (and lousy) film by Allen entitled: Another Woman.Prepare to be entertained and left also with feelings a drama might leave as well... perfect.About the only reservations I have is Allen's constant dated use of upper middle class pseudo intellectual (for want of a better phrase) New Yorkers...you get the opinion he takes them as important social markers for his own prestige. But then one must remember that Allen was born in 1935 he is essentially of another generation one where divorce fidelity and upper middle class props were boiler plate and serious frameworks.

Chrysanthepop Woody Allen infuses elements of magic and fantasy into 'Alice' but at the same time the story stays human all the way. 'Alice' revolves around an upper class spoiled housewife who is not happy in her rich lifestyle and she reevaluates her life after an encounter with Dr. Yang. The treatment of the story is Woody Allen's signature style. It could be described as a typical Woody Allen-Mia Farrow film.'Alice' is whimsical and is a good mixture of comedy and drama. The humour is very subtle. The dialogues are poetic and delivered naturally by the actors. This is also a very well made film with exceptional cinematography and a great soundtrack.Mia Farrow has become one of my favourite actresses and her performance here only made me love her more as an actress. She plays the role with grace and immediately involves the viewer into Alice's world. Joe Mantegna, Judy Davies, Blythe Danner, William Hurt, Alec Baldwin, Keye Luke and Bernadette Peters provide great support.The elements of fantasy give 'Alice' a 'Christmas Carol', 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Peter Fan' feel. But it remains very much a Woody Allen film that rounds up to a beautiful ending. I doubt one could go wrong with a Woody Allen-Mia Farrow collaboration, that is, if you like this style of film.

mrpooh_and_minnie Within 5 minutes of watching this film for the first time, I commented on how nice it was to see a Woody film without having to see or hear him. I love the man to death, but there is much more to his aesthetic than the four-eyed doomed, dreamer lamenting about death and mortality in an internal monologue along the streets of Manhattan. (This thought wasn't helped by my 10 Allen films in 3 days marathon).Case in point - Alice. I knew that something was up when a lovely version of La Cumparsita started playing in the background, teasing you with it's back-and-forth melody. Alice is a delightful tale that manipulates you with its pacing - lingering on seemingly mundane moments and whisking you away from deliberate flights of fancy (e.g. the afternoon of invisibility with Alec Baldwin) that leave you wanting much more. Allen repeats himself on that front with Vicky Christina Barcelona, but that's a tale for another thread.All in all, I'd take a chance on watching this film on more than one occasion. You won't regret it.