Steve's Movie Review
It has been entirely too long, my friends, my spiritual family. This, I know, and although normally, I may prattle about something I felt worthy of sharing, in that it was so god-awful that I have a hell of a time keeping it cloistered away. It is different today. Why? Because today, I watched probably one of the best damn movies I have seen in the LONGEST time.
What movie you ask? Why, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. That's right, the supposed remake of the old Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. What this was, it's difficult to say, but this movie was NO remake, believe you me. If it's anything, it feels like a rendition closer to the novel written oh so long ago.
Now, after watching this, I had one of my favorite sensations, that tooth-gritting, energy rush that I thought could only come from a time had with the closest of friends, the sort of flow that you only get to feel on damn good days. I guess this was a damn good day for me, especially as I listened to the dark humor pervaying the film, the wonderful soundtrack that accompanied it. The story was utterly beautiful, as were the sets.
Some time ago, while it was in theaters, a friend of mine, Dillon, told me that 90% of the sets seen, like its predecessor, were hand-made. None of that CG work. Honestly, I believed him when I watched it. There were some points where I scrutinized, trying to find weaknesses in the work, but it wasn't there. Granted, I did find a few obvious points, like the blue-screen work done with the Oompa Loompas, but I could understand why.
A former friend of mine, one I have not seen in some time, she felt that the writer of this story, the makers of this movie, that they were not fond of children, given that you could watch 80% of them dropping away like flies. That they had some sort of grudge against the younger folk. Something I, however, did not see. What I was observing was Karma. Heard of it? There's a phrase that relies heavily on Karma, "Live by the sword, die by the sword", I believe. Anyways, what is basically states is that if you live your life, centered around only a few venues, a small portion of the world, then you're going to die like that.
Yes yes, I know the children didn't die, but they were all taken away according to their lifestyle. I'm horrible with names, and given the medium, be glad I am, these would probably be considered spoilers. Okay, now, when I say that, I really mean that I spent about five minutes typing it up, and then did a Select All > Delete sort of affair. What matters to me is that I wrote them.
As I sit here, typing this down, my mind reeling (Ha, film pun) from the beauty that this piece was, I can't help but wonder who all composed the soundtrack, who they brought in to design the sets, how Johnny Depp managed to be such an energetic and 'cheery' character for once. I suppose that's good acting, and I must say, I loved it all.
So, in conclusion, 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', worth the time, worth the money, and hell, it's a Willy Wonka for this generation. I know my progeny will watch it.
What movie you ask? Why, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. That's right, the supposed remake of the old Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. What this was, it's difficult to say, but this movie was NO remake, believe you me. If it's anything, it feels like a rendition closer to the novel written oh so long ago.
Now, after watching this, I had one of my favorite sensations, that tooth-gritting, energy rush that I thought could only come from a time had with the closest of friends, the sort of flow that you only get to feel on damn good days. I guess this was a damn good day for me, especially as I listened to the dark humor pervaying the film, the wonderful soundtrack that accompanied it. The story was utterly beautiful, as were the sets.
Some time ago, while it was in theaters, a friend of mine, Dillon, told me that 90% of the sets seen, like its predecessor, were hand-made. None of that CG work. Honestly, I believed him when I watched it. There were some points where I scrutinized, trying to find weaknesses in the work, but it wasn't there. Granted, I did find a few obvious points, like the blue-screen work done with the Oompa Loompas, but I could understand why.
A former friend of mine, one I have not seen in some time, she felt that the writer of this story, the makers of this movie, that they were not fond of children, given that you could watch 80% of them dropping away like flies. That they had some sort of grudge against the younger folk. Something I, however, did not see. What I was observing was Karma. Heard of it? There's a phrase that relies heavily on Karma, "Live by the sword, die by the sword", I believe. Anyways, what is basically states is that if you live your life, centered around only a few venues, a small portion of the world, then you're going to die like that.
Yes yes, I know the children didn't die, but they were all taken away according to their lifestyle. I'm horrible with names, and given the medium, be glad I am, these would probably be considered spoilers. Okay, now, when I say that, I really mean that I spent about five minutes typing it up, and then did a Select All > Delete sort of affair. What matters to me is that I wrote them.
As I sit here, typing this down, my mind reeling (Ha, film pun) from the beauty that this piece was, I can't help but wonder who all composed the soundtrack, who they brought in to design the sets, how Johnny Depp managed to be such an energetic and 'cheery' character for once. I suppose that's good acting, and I must say, I loved it all.
So, in conclusion, 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', worth the time, worth the money, and hell, it's a Willy Wonka for this generation. I know my progeny will watch it.