after months [maybe not, but it sure feels that way - ... actually, i think it IS] of not watching a movie, finally went to catch the solitary cinematic indulgence i would allow myself - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. i gave up The Island and such other movies i wanted to watch so i could watch this one film with less guilt. well worth it! only regret is that i had to eat m&ms during the movie because cineleisure doesn't sell cadbury bars at the snackstop.

BEWARE: SPOILERS.

i don't really know what to make of it. my memory of the old version and even of the book is very blurry. i can't say it's 'better' than the first version - they're very different interpretations. BUT i prefer this one. i think this is the way Roald Dahl would have liked it to turn out [despite the lickable wallpaper and non-gravity room scenes disappearances! i was quite mournful about that] - more satirical and obviously brimming with deliciously wicked black humour. and Depp's Wonka was downright quirky, delightfully sinister at times, which is really just how it should be! DEPP was WONDERFUL! other than jim carrey perhaps, can't think of anyone else who could have played Wonka. and even carrey could have been too one-dimensionally whimsical to pull it off. Tim Burton's opinion came strong - but NOT overwhelmingly so - through this movie, with small touches like Veruca's mother drinking to the the out of this world MTV vinyl suits of the Oompaloompas to the surprising addition of the Wilbur Wonka storyline - i could really feel his direction - he is a director with incredible presence! THE SATIRE! man, i just love it!

of course, heaps and truckfuls of credit has to go to Dahl for writing the book in the first place. in a way, this movie was very nostalgic for me [and i'm sure for many others my age] ... remembering the times when homework was not so binding and we had much more time to delve into the fantastical world of books. The Witches, James and the Giant Peach, BFG, even his spins on fairytales. i even had time to watch all the movie versions when i was younger ... The Witches, James and the Giant Peach, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory [as it was called then]. and i remember just loving the chocolate river, and the way the characters in James lived off eating the peach and the square feet of the witches. SUCH IS THE POWER OF IMAGINATION! beats the likes of Harry Potter any day [okay, i admit i haven't even read harry potter and i don't intend to]. poor kids, i bet a lot of them are deprived of the Roald Dahl experience. it's sad such wonderful writers [Anne Fine, Dick King Smith, Laurence Yep to name a few others] give way to Harry Potter and its numerous copycats - i bet many of the kids haven't read Dahl. so thank you, Tim Burton, for bringing Dahl-mania back, and giving me a little taste of childhood past.

+ posted by M @ 9:36 PM