Hey folks, Harry here... oh man... oh man oh man oh man. If this flick is wonderful too, then this summer... man, this summer, it's just insane. Quint's review of WAR OF THE WORLDS has me dying. But, the best Burton film since EDWARD SCISSORHANDS? I thought that was ED WOOD. Heh. There is a magic that happens when Burton and Depp step out onto silver screen together. This is such a wicked curiousity for me. Now if only FANTASTIC FOUR was to shock the hell out of me and make me a true believer.
Harry, Mori, Quint, etc...
Thought you might be interested to know I went to a screening of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the other night.
The long an short of it is that, for my money, this is Tim Burton’s best overall film since Edward Scissorhands.
It helps rather greatly that the story is classic, the characters are so rich and the world so textured. John August deserves a pat on the back for structuring the screenplay as is. It might not be the heaviest of lifting, but he helps craft something very different than what we’ve seen before.
On that note, I know many of you will come to the film bearing negative notions, basing far too much on childhood treasures and memories of Gene Wilder. My only advice is, well...
Turn off your targeting computer. Let go, Luke.
This is a different film. It doesn’t intend to supplant the original, but sit along side it with a silly grin on its face. And it deserves a seat. It stays true to the story, honors it, then goes on the slightest of well-earned departures.
I didn’t care for the trailers for this film. They showed everything in quick glimpses and shifty edits, and this is a movie that needs to be savored in long licks, like the finest of candies.
That’s what I like about Burton, that he takes time to do things and do them right. He believes in long takes and art design and intricate planning, and the result is always a deftly-constructed world that fits the story while belonging solely to its creator.
The entire first act of the film is perfect. And I don’t say that lightly. Everything is done/shown/said/heard exactly as it should be. The rest of the film is great too, but the first act is truly flawless.
Furthermore, I would say that this film is near perfect on a technical level. With the small exception of Violet’s transformation into a blueberry and the Wonkavator sequence, the CG, miniature and matte work is impressive and seamless.
Charlie and the other children, along with their parents, are incredibly well cast and executed. They’ve all been updated into something just left of present day reality and each is given a handful of great moments. Charlie will break your heart (more than once). Violet’s mom will make you howl. And Mike TV is a great critique of the Ritalin generation.
As for Johnny himself, I suspect this is where the debate will arise. Some will prefer Gene over Johnny, some vice versa. I, for one, like them both and don’t really give a hoot who’s “better.” Johnny’s very strong here. He plays Wonka as some odd mix of Michael Jackson and a ride operator at Disney. He plays him as if he’s up to something, like he knows more than he’s letting on. It’s a very well realized performance.
Finally, Danny Elfman’s score is astounding. If there’s justice in this world, an Oscar nomination will be in his near future. What I like so much is that he’s developed his own language in terms of orchestration, much like John Williams, where you hear bits and pieces that sound like Scissorhands or Batman or Spider-Man, but then you’re whisked off into something that’s entirely new yet entirely familiar. Really, really well done.
And the Oompa Loompa songs are great too.
My favorite quote ever is from the original Willy Wonka: “We are the makers or music and we are the dreamers of dreams.”
Does that sound like Tim Burton to anyone else?
-MasterWhedon
