Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic

It is, in two words, quite brilliant. It's not a perfect movie - I found the sound production to be a bit overdone; also, as much as I like Johnny Depp, I think he relied a bit too much on an expression of mock bewilderment.

Beyond that, though, I loved it. The quality of the work done in creating Deep Roy into an army of Oompa-Loompas was exquisitely done, with each group maintaining just enough originality to let you look past the fact that it was all the same guy and make the little dudes as plausible as possible within an insane world. Hello, Doris!

But, let's face it, we don't see a Burton/Depp movie without expecting a little bit of insanity, do we? The original story certainly lends itself to madness, and it's played out here in a very Burtonesque fashion - with colors, and other striking visuals that still retain a lot of subtle points that you may or may not catch. A personal favorite of mine is the subtle throwback to the era of the original by converting the songs of the Oompa-Loompa to 70's disco and funk (even though lyrically they don't match up to the chants of the original); a reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey was also a nice touch.

We all know how sad the life of the Bucket family is at the beginning of the story. In his own way, and great thanks to the entire cast of the Buckets, that pathos is brutal, and it's only enhanced by Burton's wonderful vision of their lives in their ramshackle house. It's 100% Burton, but at the same time it just FEELS so appropriate, not as if he's forced the family to bend to his will in any way. It's heartwrenching, but in a very sweet way. You can't help but love and feel hopeful for them, and that's why the movie is such a payoff as it continues on.

Tim Burton has always been a cynic, I believe - a shining example is Edward Scissorhands, in which the idyll of suburbia is put into direct opposition to the dark and bleak world of Edward, and as we all should know from seeing it, the perfect life of suburbia doesn't quite match up to the raw humanity of the non-human. In short, I think this is why Charlie proved to be such a great movie for Burton to tackle. At it's heart, Dahl's book was a fable, a moralistic tale for children with a bit of a dark twist. It's a rebuke against consumerism and the excesses that wear down at our moral fibers; it's not subtle, but it remains clever in its fairytale execution. See what I'm getting at? Right up Burton's alley.

I was skeptical about this movie, though I may not have shown how much in my first post here. I'm not skeptical any more. I'll always love the original, but I was stricken by how fast I fell for this film.

(And Corpse Bride looks pretty dang good too.)

--------------------

"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

I'll be seeing it sometime this weekend.

Thanks for the mini-review, R51; sounds worth its ticket price.

--------------------

Words of Wisdom:

If something can go wrong, it will.

If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.

If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. - Murphy’s Law

Boing! Zoom! - Mr. Saturn

Nothing better than seeing...

Possible spoilers: highlight to view

...some rich, spoiled brat getting attacked by about 35 squirrels. That made my day.

I can't believe I haven't posted my opinion yet! I saw it when it came out, and it was simply awesome. A great deal better than the first movie, no more stupid geese! Squirrels are better anyway.

At any rate, I'd say that this is Depp's best performance yet, even topping Jack Sparrow!

--------------------

The island bathes in the sun's bright rays
Distant hills wear a shroud of grey
A lonely breeze whispers in the trees
Sole witness to history

ICO-You were there-

Well, it was released here yesterday, and I just got back from it. Suffice to say it was fantastic.

I'll elaborate. I can't say whether I prefered it to the Gene Wilder version, as, to me atleast, they are two quite different takes on it, but it was a lovely, even magical film that easily appeals to everyone. Truer to the book than the first film, Depp played the part brilliantly, and the character's quirkiness really shone through, and, as Depp had intended, I found him to be comparable to a reclusive rock star yet a charming character, from the awkward jokes and silences to the flashback scenes.

Burton really made the film his own, and it was a musical treat, the introduction forcibly reminding me of Edward Scissorhands. The cast was superb, there were some genuinely funny, genuinely endearing and genuinely heart-wrenching moments, and though I suspected some jokes would seem strained for the sake of the trailer, it was all very well-realized and timed. Strangely, however, even though it is now titled 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,' as opposed to 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,' Charlie himself featured less prominently.

A (somewhat weak) summary:

This post has been edited by Mimic on 30th July 2005 19:33