Word: wonka
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...champion eater and ingested 150 popcorn shrimp. Bad idea. But here is the beauty of writing: on paper, in words, imagination has free reign. The untrue or hypothetical can withstand trial, cannot get the best of you, and folly is permitted. In the spirit of imagination, then, of Wonka-esque creative rendering, permit me this brief flight of fancy: Miles and I are seated at the Scrabble board, prepared to engage in this trivial pursuit, and the competitive juices start flowing like it’s the 1997 NCAA Final Four all over again. He draws the better tile...
...exceptionally strong cast and a few more twists quickly made you forget the original. Charlie is still too saintly, but Freddie Highmore—who should have garnered an Oscar nomination for his heartbreaking performance in “Finding Neverland,” also starring Johnny Depp (Wonka)—has the requisite Dickensian face and sweetly longing eyes. And the optimism of Grandpa Joe, played by excellent character actor David Kelly (“Waking Ned Devine”) nicely balances the humorous cynicism of Grandpa George...
Depp, of course, is the star attraction. If any concerns are raised by the original film, they would have to be Gene Wilder’s deep Wonka imprint on the minds of a generation. Depp manages to take an equally bizarre, but entirely different, take on the character. While the film aids this development by adding a lil’ Wonka childhood flashback (featuring B-movie stalwart Christopher Lee as his father, a candy-loathing dentist), Depp’s delivery, as always...
Instead, Depp delivers a believable portrayal of a man who couldn’t quite grow up. His juvenile retorts to the children—the funniest lines of the movie—highlight his childlike hostility. While Wilder’s Wonka was randomly quirky, Depp’s Wonka is a socially inept recluse trying desperately to conduct the special tour of his factory the right...
...ticket. Just as in “Big Fish,” we are treated to an unreal world where we want to believe. The stark grays of reality—and the gloom of abject poverty—are complemented by the rainbow colors of candy in the Wonka factory and the brilliant blues in the spick-and-span toothpaste plant where Charlie’s father worked...