media: reviews by slowbellie...

slowbellie's take on: charlie & the chocolate factory

As a big Johnny Depp fan, it's my obligation to say Depp has filled his role as maverick chocolatier Willy Wonka with talent... at least, when you compare him to some other actors who could've played the part. However, it's when you compare Depp to himself that it's easy to get critical.

The Wonka role didn't seem to challenge him as much as some of the other characters he's played in the past, and I think he had the talent to take it way further, easily. Instead it came off as a bit flat; no real 'zing'. He can do better! If I wasn't surprised or challenged by this movie, I was at least entertained. The sets and lighting were well done, and the little boy who played Charlie played the 'sweet' card very well. Some of the lines between adults had a bit too much awkward silence for my taste, but the random one-liners Charlie's senile grandma threw in were pretty funny. His family had a comfortable vibe between them, and the little kids who took the tour with Charlie definitely nailed their characters' bratty personalities, to the point where they were annoying as hell. Hats off to the Oompa Loompa guy for playing a million parts in one – although I must say, only having ONE Oompa Loompa does make the movie look pretty cheap. I enjoyed it well enough, but I wouldn't exactly go out and buy the video. I guess I was waiting for more twists and unexpected ways of directing it, maybe. There were no real surprises, and for a movie that's already been made once, that seemed important to me.

Overall, I would still give it a three-star rating, or maybe two and a half. I think I could've bashed a lot more, but the point was, it kept me entertained where sucky movies wouldn't, so I won't bother to draw on flaw after flaw like a bitchier critic might. Go check it out and get your own opinion; that's all I'm gonna say...

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