(non-spoiler review)

Today’s movie viewing was an event! I believe this is the largest group that I’ve ever attended a movie with. Besides myself there was Mary and Tori, Jeff and Keri and their children Zachary and Ashley, and James and Julie and their children Lydia, Jessica, and Elaina. All 12 of us arrived early to get primo seats for Tim Burton’s latest film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This remake of the classic movie is actually based on the children’s book of the same name by Roald Dahl.

In this new version the veteran of wacky roles, Johnny Depp, fills the shoes of Mr. Willy Wonka, previously occupied by Gene Wilder. I have to admit that I have a memory of seeing the Wilder version many, many years ago but don’t recall anything about it. Please keep in mind during this review that I can in no way compare this to the original movie.

This movie was great, great fun. I’m a big Tim Burton fan and the look and flavor of this movie was very Burtonesque, from the colors to the set designs to the overall wackiness of it. From start to finish I thought the production was very well done. Roald Dahl’s wife Felicity was an Executive Producer on this production and reviews have stated that this theatrical version more closely resembles the book than the Wilder version. That fact alone had me excited as I enjoy Dahl’s writing immensely. Burton is so great at the little details which is one of the things that I enjoy so much about his work. The opening sequence showing an overhead shot of the Wonka trucks driving away from the factory, making neat patterns in the snow established the style of the film early on. I also really enjoyed the visual dichotomy between the world outside of Wonka’s factory and the world inside his factory. Both showcased Burton’s unique talent for design.

The cast was marvelous. Depp was wonderful as the wacky, eccentric Willy Wonka. Freddie Highmore, fresh from pairing with Depp in Finding Neverland was touching as young Charlie Bucket. Helena Bonham Carter and Noah Taylor were great as Charlie’s parents and the 4 actors/actresses who portrayed his grandparents were adorable and amazing, most especially David Kelly. I haven’t seen a David Kelly movie that I didn’t immediately like and he is great in everything. Deep Roy was great as the Oompa-Loompas and Christopher Lee’s brief appearances were excellent. The entire cast did a wonderful job.

The story was entertaining, slightly bizarre, and a great deal of fun. The overall message of the importance of family and family loyalty rang through loud and clear. There is little of anything objectionable in this film. I was suspecting it to be a little darker in tone than it was and I felt Burton did a good job of keeping the film light and entertaining enough that even younger children could enjoy it without being too frightened.

On a side note, if you haven’t read the books of Roald Dahl you are missing out on a rare treat. Dahl is one of those rare authors who wrote books that are funny for both adults and children though not always for the same reasons. Several of his books have been made into movies: The Witches, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory…twice! The Twits is one of my favorites and all of his books are fun to read out loud. Dahl has also wrote several short stories for adults of a macabre, bizarre and often humorous nature.

To close I want to say thanks to the whole group who came out with us today. It was so much fun to see this movie with our friends and their children. Mary and I are especially thankful that we were able to be a part of Elaina’s very first theatre experience. She was wonderfully attentive and it was a pleasure to see her enjoying Charlie and the Chocolate Factory while eating Willy Wonka candy. It was especially cute when she informed us that the movie screen was “humongous!”.

The main conceit of March of the Penguins is that film goers would be willing to pay money to watch a well done National Geographic-style documentary about our feathered friends to the south…and they are correct. This story of emperor penguins, the tuxedoed inhabitants of bitter-cold Antartica, and their yearly courtship and mating rituals is a sweet, entertaining, and powerful tale of instinct and survival.

Narrated by Morgan Freeman, March of the Penguins follows the trail of the emperor penguins as they conduct their yearly winter march to their mating grounds. Mimicking the habits of salmon the emperor penguins return to the same spot every year to conduct courtship rituals, mate, and eventually bring forth young into this frozen wasteland. Freeman’s voice over is smooth as butter as he tells the tale of how these wondrous creatures travel over ever-changing terrain, sometimes up to 70 miles, to return to the place of their birth. Their search for a suitable partner, parental responsibilities, and the hardships they endure over many months to survive and protect their eggs are all handled lovingly by the filmmakers.

This film is directed masterfully by French director Luc Jacquet and the cinematography is beautiful. Although dominated by images of white ice and black and white penguins there are stunning shots throughout this film. Even at only 80 minutes there are a few moments that seem to run long but this is more than compensated for by the wonderful moments in the film. The ending credits show shots of the camera crew as they too braved the harsh conditions, answering the question that naturally springs to mind as you watch the film, “how did they get this incredible footage?”

In reading Entertainment Weekly magazine I discovered that this film originally had a “teletubby-style” musical score and included an audio track in which the penguins talked to each other, sharing hopes and dreams and whispering sweet nothings during courtship and mating. This was the version that was shown at Sundance early in January. Evidence would suggest that it was not well received in that format thus prompting the changes that brought it to its current state. In conversing with friends we agreed that it would be fun if they included both versions on the DVD when released.

This is a marvelous family film filled with laughs, love and wonder that anything could exist in such a harsh environment. Penguin lovers everywhere will not be disappointed. Viewing March of the Penguins is time, and money, well spent.

(non-spoiler review)

Fantastic Four is Marvel’s latest venture in bringing comics to life. You would have to have been on your own space station for months to have avoided all the media hype for this movie. If the critics are to be believed this is one of the worst films made this year if not ever. My personal feelings are that the media blitz surrounding this movie soured many of the critics before they ever saw it. Sometimes I think the professional critics’ heads are harder than the Things! (a pet peeve: our local KC star critic misattributed a line to one of the characters using it as an example of the character being stupid…one would hope that if you’re getting paid to write a two paragraph movie review that you could at least get your facts right!)

Fantastic Four is a fun movie and it is fantastic in its own way. It is not the one star stinker that many would have you believe nor is it a four star blockbuster. It is a fun summer movie, not without its problems, that introduces the world to these classic Marvel characters. In looking at the Marvel films over the last few years it appears that the successful formula is to have the first movie be primarily about setting up the characters with a brief action sequence towards the end of the movie (X-Men and Spiderman are perfect examples) and then move into a more action intensive formula for the sequel. I think in part that Daredevil and the Hulk were less well received because they did not follow this formula, at least not in the same way. Fantastic Four feels very much like X-Men and Spiderman. It is not as good as those two movies but all in all it was a very enjoyable film. It is not much of a spoiler to tell you that you’ve seen the greater part of the action sequences if you’ve seen the trailer. What you don’t see in the trailer is what is at the heart of this movie: the past relationships that each of these characters has had with each other and the way circumstances force them to form a much deeper bond with one another. This movie is about setting up just who the Fantastic Four are and I liked it that way.

I was not disappointed with any of the actors chosen for this movie. Ioan Gruffudd, a relative unknown to me, was great as Reed Richards. I enjoyed the romance between Richards and Sue Storm, played by Jessica Alba. I read some heavy criticism of her acting in this role but I thought she did a fine job and had good chemistry with the other actors. Chris Evans was very fun as The Human Torch and, as always, Michael Chiklis was excellent.
Chiklis’ performance as the Thing was fantastic enough that it takes away from the fact that his Thing outfit isn’t the best that today’s cutting edge technology has to offer regarding costuming and effects.

I’ve heard several criticisms of the effects for this movie. Again I thought they were fine. If compared to the effects in War of the Worlds or Spiderman 2 they do pale in comparison but they are still very good and in no way detracted from the experience for me. The Human Torch effects are simply amazing!

I don’t know if Fantastic Four will have enough success to garner a sequel but I’m really hoping that the formula pays off for Marvel and that they do. I had a basic knowledge of the characters before hand and after seeing this I would definitely enjoy seeing them be further developed in a subsequent film.

This is another fun summer popcorn flick made more fun for me since I’m a comic book geek. A little action, some romance, good special effects and comic book goodness…hey, that’s a formula that gets no complaints from me!

(relatively non-spoiler review)

War of the Worlds, Steven Spielberg’s latest summer blockbuster, is based on an 1898 novel by H.G. Wells. I have admittedly never read the book and despite the fact that it was written in the 19th century, War of the Worlds has always had a particularly 1950’s feel to me. This may be due in part to George Pal’s 1953 film version of War of the Worlds though I honestly don’t recall having seen this. Thus it was with the images and the world view of 1950’s science fiction that I entered the theatre this past Saturday evening to partake in the tradition of the 4th of July weekend summer blockbuster.

To begin, I enjoyed this movie. In the tradition of movies like Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow it is a movie that simply must be seen on the big screen. Though reportedly nothing like the 1953 film, I took pleasure in the fact that the rampant paranoia and bookend Twilight-Zone narratives gave it a 1950’s feel. The story was solid and made quite enjoyable because I did not know the ending and was able to sit in ignorant bliss until the very end. This was a movie that played upon fear and as such could almost be categorized as a horror film rather than a science fiction film. I’ve come across professional critics and amatuer reviewers who report being truly terrified while watching the film. While I didn’t find it that scary it is a very dark and suspenseful film with a few good “jump out” moments.

The special effects in the film were nothing short of excellent. From the emergence of the tripods and their march of decimation to the destruction of cities, the effects were real and believable and incredible. I mention again that big screen viewing is a must. This film is visually arresting in both its special effects and in the look and feel of the earth as darkness falls and the aliens advance across the countryside.

The acting is quite superb. Tom Cruise does an excellent job playing a man that is absolutely terrified in the face of the unfathomable. Mary pointed out that unlike many adventure blockbusters where the man character quickly becomes brave, fearless, and herioc Tom Cruise’s character is a man who remains terrified even while trying desperately to save his family. The fear does not leave and Cruise does an excellent job of staying in character. I was pleased that his performance was such that I did not once think of the craziness that has surrounded him as of late. Dakota Fanning was equally incredible and the more movies I see her in the more I have to wonder if she is not some being from outer space herself or if she is channeling the spirit of some deceased Oscar-winning actress because she is simply amazing. I’ve been impressed with every role she’s played and stayed impressed here. She is very, very good. The supporting cast was also chosen well and performed admirably.

Once again, I enjoyed this movie. That being said I left the theatre thinking that I was glad to have seen it, that is was worth the price of admission, and that I would probably never see it again. I’m not sure exactly why I feel that way. I am one of the biggest re-watchers of movies that I know. War of the Worlds, while excellent on many accounts, does not hold much replay value for me. Perhaps it is the lack of romance or perhaps its the fact that once you know how it ends it will never be as suspenseful as it was the first time around. Like I said, I’m not sure. I read about Spielberg remaking War of the Worlds around the time that Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was released. At the time I remember thinking that it would be great if he remade the movie with modern technology but set it in the time period where it was written. While I would’ve still loved to see that I wasn’t disappointed with the modern version. I do think that it lost some of its immediate terror due to the fact that the invaders were now from somewhere in outer space vs. being from Mars.

To coincide with the release of the movie New York Review of Books has released a hardcover copy of the 1898 classic with illustrations by a favorite of mine, Edward Gorey. At nearly $17 in the stores I suggest an Amazon.com purchase if you’re looking to own this one ($11.53). My next foray into H.G. Wells’ world of alien destruction will be via the written word, however I once again suggest that you go see this movie. It is an enjoyable summer blockbuster that will make you thankful that no one from “out there” has discovered us yet….or have they?

(Try to keep your comments spoiler free as I know there are a few readers who want to see it but haven’t. Thanks!)

Mary and I met Pat this afternoon at one of the local independent theatres, The Tivoli at Manor Square, to end our vacation with Mad Hot Ballroom. And what a delightful film to end on. In fact, it was the perfect book end to a vacation that began with Cinderella Man. Both are wonderfully triumphant films.

Mad Hot Ballroom is a documentary that follows elementary schools in the New York City area as they train and compete in the local ballroom dancing competition. The American Ballroom Theater offers a non-profit Dancing Classrooms program to over 60 public schools in NYC. These classes for fifth graders are composed of a 10 week training course with the option of participating in the city wide competition at the end of the course. The competition involves 5 couples from each school, each performing one of the 5 dances that are taught: the merengue, rumba, tango, foxtrot, and swing.

This is the first feature film for Marilyn Agrelo and Amy Sewell and it is marvelous. The film profiles students and teachers from 3 elementary schools who train and then participate in the competition. Along the way the camera captures both the teacher’s passion for dance and for their students as well as the many and varied things that go on in the minds of 11 year olds growing up in New York City. These children are not only incredibly funny, but they are wise beyond their years regarding the ways of the world and the dangers that they face each day. This film is funny, and charming, and ultimately very touching. You realize while watching it that few children get this type of hands on connection in the public school system and you also realize that despite the best efforts of the teachers that many of these kids will end up as part of the gang and drug culture that is rampant in their neighborhoods.

Ultimately, however, this is not a sad tale but a tale of triumph. I found myself amazed at how well these kids could dance after just a few weeks of lessons and how much they grew in regards to caring about their classmates and planning for their futures. During the competition portion of the film my heart was beating as fast as it would have been had I been watching a live sports competition. It was truly incredible. If you’ve seen and loved Spellbound then you will love Mad Hot Ballroom. If you have not seen either then you are missing out on 2 of the best movies made in the last few years. Don’t let yourself be put off by the fact that these are “documentaries”. These are truly 2 of the funniest films I’ve seen in a long time.

Mad Hot Ballroom is out in limited release. If you have the opportunity to see it you will not be not be disappointed.