Reel Critics:

Johnny Depp may have slid down the rabbit hole one too many times with his partner in mime, director Tim Burton. For in this fractured “Alice in Wonderland,” Depp’s Mad Hatter has become its dark star, a scary mix of Sweeney Todd with Carrot Top, and we are none the better for it.

Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is a bland but still blond 19 when she makes a return visit to fantasyland, although she doesn’t remember the first one. Perhaps it’s because she’s now in “Underland,” a burned-out, creepy place that’s as far removed from the 1951 Disney utopia as you could imagine, where eyeballs are speared like martini olives.

Depp, like the 3-D gimmick, doesn’t really add anything memorable to the film except his makeup.

Helena Bonham-Carter provides a little twisty humor as the bobble-headed, pouty Red Queen. The silken voices of Alan Rickman and Stephen Fry make for an enjoyable Caterpillar and Cheshire Cat.

Alice herself looks to be neither in genuine wonder nor fear at the mayhem that surrounds her, as though she’s just waiting for the moment when she can get out of this hellhole. Maybe she needed the 3-D glasses too.

A movie to ‘write’ home about

Watching the legal problems of Roman Polanski unfold in the news makes it easy to forget his major skills as an Oscar-nominated director. He is responsible for creating some very important films. “Chinatown,” “The Pianist” and “Rosemary’s Baby” are just a few of his credits.

In his new release “The Ghost Writer,” Polanski channels the classic suspenseful atmosphere made famous by Alfred Hitchcock. High-level political intrigue is the core of the story. Pierce Brosnan does a fine job playing a controversial retired British prime minister. Kim Cattrall steps up from her role on “Sex in the City” to a new level as the prime minister’s Girl Friday. The former leader receives a $10-million advance from a publishing house to produce his memoirs.

His first ghost writer dies under mysterious circumstances. Ewan McGregor plays the new guy hired by the publisher to revise and finish the dead man’s project. From this premise follows many twists and turns that slowly reveal what is really happening. Ambiguous events point to subterfuge and double-cross. Mystery and conspiracy lurk in every corner. This is a grown-up film that stands a cut above the ordinary and is definitely worth a look.

SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a financial services company. JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office.