Blogging goes to the Movies

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

2005-07-31T13:30:00.000-07:00

The lead up to this movie was quite a roller-coaster for me. On first hearing that Tim Burton was to direct a new Willy Wonka adaptation staring Johnny Depp, I was thrilled. I remained thrilled for months, telling others how great it would be. Until I saw the trailer.

I was immediately disgusted. I looked across at the others I was with, (waiting to see "Fantastic" Four), and saw the same looks of horror that I was feeling. Depp doing a wacko Jacko impersonation?!

So... with great trepidation I took my fiance to see it. As with any Tim Burton film, I was in for a surprise.

The intro was very reminiscient of the Gene Wilder film, with chocolate being produced in mass quantities. Tim Burton took things a few steps forward however, with fantastical machines and mini hot-air balloons moving the chocolate around. The rest of the film was much the same: taking what had been done before and upping the quality of production/imagination.

Thankfully Burton eases us into his imagination of Willy Wonka, who I eventually fell in love with. As per usual, Depp was excellent. Freddie Highmore who played Charlie may be the best male child actor I've seen in years. All the characters are well thought out and quite hilarious. The true star of the film in my mind is Deep Roy, who plays each and every Oompa Loompa.

I give Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a 4.5/5 (How would YOU rate this film?)

The Island

2005-07-30T17:04:00.000-07:00

Take ingredients from THX-1138, Logan's Run, The Matrix and Blade Runner. Infuse with Aldous Huxleys "Brave New World" and you have The Island - over 2 hours of taught sci-fi action adventure that leaves your mind reeling.

Set in 2019, The Island is a stark warning of what we may see unfold in the next couple of decades with regards to genetic engineering and human clonning.
Ewan Macgregor and Scarlett Johansson play the inhabitants of a carefully controlled utopian society where the only aim in life seems to be winning the lotto - the grand prize being a trip to "The Island", a tropical paradise which may not quite be what they are expecting.
I won't ruin the plot by giving away any vital information but let's just say "Fasten Your Seatbelts" for one heck of a ride!

I am stunned that this movie was directed by Michael Bay (The Rock, Armageddon) as it just seems far too intelligent for his style but the action sequences testify to his involvement and they are extremely satisfying!
What is also worthy of note is the set design and visual candy served up on mass - a stunningly realistic picture of the world as it may look in a couple of decades time.

I give The Island 4/5 (How would YOU rate this film?)

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Fantastic Four rates a Two

2005-07-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

If an Epic drama or artistic films rates 2/5 something went wrong. If a comic book adaptation rates 2/5 it was alright. I liked the film, and felt that it lived up to my expectations, which really means that I never expect much more than a smash bang action movie with a few good one liners. It was good fun, but nothing special.

Mild mannered scientists trying to do some good for humanity enter outer space where they are zapped with radioactive gamma-rays. Their DNA is altered and the fun begins.

The "action" doesn't really pick up until 30 minutes in, which means that the first half hour of the film hinges on the story line and the acting, neither of which are very good. At one point in the film Susan Storm (Jessica Alba) has to show that she is putting a great deal of effort into one of her superpowered heroic maneouvers, and this is portrayed by some CGI blood dripping from her nose. She just couldn't act the part, so they doctored it up a bit.

But the jokes are alright, the fighting (not quite enough of it) is fun and flashy, and the characters are pretty classic comic book heroes and villains.

I give The Fantastic Four 2/5 (How would YOU rate this film?)

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War of the Worlds

2005-07-08T13:01:00.000-07:00

Steven Spielberg directs
War of the Worlds, so you know it's going to be a "big" movie. Aliens begin an assault on the entire planet, so you know the scale of the story is going to be far reaching. But Tom Cruise plays a single, part-time dad who just wants to keep his kids alive, so a touch of humanity survives in the grandeur, scope, and ego involved in this film.

War of the Worlds gets to the good stuff right away, and is relentless from that point onward. As the main characters go from confusion, to fear and confusion, to just fear, the viewer goes along for the ride.

War of the Worlds is not the best alien movie ever (there is far to much at stake for Cruise as an actor to ever let the MOVIE be the real star) but it is well produced, with great visual effects. I wouldn't expect much more than an Alien Invasion film from this one, and that's what I got.

I give War of the Worlds 3/5 (how would YOU rate War of the Worlds?)

Starring: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Tim Robbins, ...more

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