End Credits: Alice Through the Looking Glass

We’re once again whisked off to wonderland this week in Alice Through The Looking Glass, and while Tim Burton has vacated the director’s chair his influence is still strongly felt throughout, and an all-star cast returns. The now hysterical Alice (Mia Wasikowska) has been neglecting her Underland pals but must sacrifice her sanity and return to save the Hatter (Johnny Depp) from “Time himself”. While it’s nice to see the cast back, unfortunately the problems of the first film have returned too. The movie is a visual treat but the lack of narrative and hollow (however well cast) characters, frantically making their way through a version of Lewis Carroll’s classic but already nonsensical tales, leave the movie more confused than a cat staring into a mirror.

If you’re up for yet more style over substance, for one night only on Wednesday (25 May), catch the self-proclaimed hottest band in the world, Kiss, as they Rock Vegas via cinemas. Whether or not you believe the band’s hype as much as they do, a lot has to be said for their ability to market themselves and put on pyrotechnic-filled stage shows. It’s kept them going for over 40 years.

Finally, on limited release is the Hayao Miyazaki classic Kiki’s Delivery Service. Studio Ghibli films may have come on a way in production values and fame since Kiki’s first release in 1989 but this story of a young witch, coming of age and making her way in the real world, is one of the reasons the studio became so popular.

Mark Wheeler