Movie Review

I took some time to sit still and watch a couple of movies this weekend. I chose two that I had heard a lot of hype about but had not had a chance to see yet.

The first movie was Napoleon Dynamite. I, apparently, didn't get it. The characters were shallow and uninteresting, the story was slow, and I, along with the characters, was bored. I watched the whole thing looking for the "good part" and never quite found it. The only good thing is that now I will get all of those quirky references people have been throwing at me... I am so into quirky references.

One of my favorite movies of all time is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The music is fun, the story is easy to get lost in and Gene Wilder is just the right shade of weird. So, it was with hesitation, but an open mind, that I also rented Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. I think it stands well on its own as a solid interpretation of the story. I liked the character development most of all. We got to see more of Charlie's home life and we learned that Grandpa Joe used to work at the factory. In the telling of his story, we also learn why there are now Oompa Loompas running the place instead of people. Much more interesting! Plus, with the removal of Slugworth, we see more reason for Wonka's search for an heir and take notice of Charlie's attitudes ("It's candy. Candy doesn't have to have a point.") just as Wonka does.

Although I loved Depp's interpretation of Wonka, I couldn't involve myself in his backstory. I had more sympathy/empathy for Edward Scissorhands.

Bottom line, I really enjoyed the new version but I still prefer the original. This one is more complete but the first one is more fun.