Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

This movie is a faithful adaptation of the Roald Dahl book (with the addition of a very decent backstory for Willy Wonka). We all know the story, so I won't bother with the set up.

Alright, first off: In spite of what many critics (including, most notably, Roger Ebert) have said, Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka in no way reminded me of Michael Jackson. Yes, he's weird. Yes, he's a recluse who lives in a fantasy world. And yes, he opens up his home to children. All that is true. However, there is one HUGE difference. Willy Wonka hates children. He doesn't even bother to learn their names (which leads to some funny moments with Wonka hollering, "Little girl! Little boy!"). Yes, there is the "grand prize" for one of the children, but it is for the child who, in Wonka's words, is the "least obnoxious". Wonka does not like children, families, or people in general.

The child actors are all great - especially Freddie Highmore as Charlie. The Oompa Loompas are fantastic, as well. They are all played by the same actor (Indian actor Deep Roy), and are very tiny.

But what I liked the most about the movie was its entire feel. It has captured perfectly the bizarre world (both outside and inside the factory) from Dahl's book. It looks beautiful. It is funny. It is a great, fun movie.

Coach Carter

Good movie. A little too long. It's basically "Hoosiers", with black folks.

Hide and Seek

This rental disappointed me. Robert DeNiro and Dakota Fanning star as father and daughter who move out to the country from NYC to learn to cope with the death of mother, who commits suicide in the opening scene.

Daughter creates an imaginary friend to help with the loss, but, of course, things "aren't right" with the little girl - or her imaginary friend.

This flick was all setup and no payoff. DeNiro's character is supposed to be a psychologist, but seems woefully inept when dealing with his obnoxious, spoiled daughter. The "shocking twist" is telegraphed from a mile away, and didn't surprise at all. No scares whatsoever. Even DeNiro can't save this one. Really a rather boring movie. In a word: Yawn.

War Of The Worlds

A lot has been made of the wackiness that is Tom Cruise. Yeah, it looks like he's gone off the deep end. But, to review effectively this movie, I must ignore all of that.

This was a really good movie, right up to the end. The end blew.

Now, I'm NOT talking about how the war ends. The war ends the usual way. The same as the book, the same as the other movies. What I'm talking about is the film's "epilogue". It's wrong. I'm sorry: I can't go into more detail than that without giving things away. But mark my words, there should have been some changes to the end.

ANYWAY, the rest of the movie was great. The effects are amazing (of course). But what surprised me was how much I enjoyed Cruise's performance. Cruise plays "Ray", a blue collar union guy, divorced, with 2 kids. He's a crappy father. It's his weekend with the kids, and he forgot. He's unresponsible. He's a child. He has nothing but condiments in his refrigerator. And he's stuck with his daughter and son when "it" hits the fan.

I really liked the development of Ray's relationship with his kids. Dakota Fanning is very good. Yes, she's annoying in this movie, but it's a believable annoying. She acts like an 11-year-old girl who is watching the world be destroyed, and isn't with her mother. I've never seen the actor who plays the 15-year-old son, but he's decent. Filled with self-righteous anger and resentment toward his father. There are some great character development moments in this movie, between and amongst them all.

This is an epic, end-of-the-world movie told on a very personal level. There's no Army general discussing tactics. You don't see the President. You don't see any famous landmarks get destroyed. You only see what the family sees. And they see a lot. It has a "Signs" feel to the story-telling; that is, if the family in "Signs" lived in New York City.

But, in spite of how much I really liked the film, the ending soured me. I'll probably get it on DVD, and just stop the film at a certain point, and pretend the actual ending was never there. Yeah. If I can do that, then I can recommend this movie wholeheartedly.

George A. Romero's Land of the Dead

This is the first George Romero zombie movie since 1985's Day of the Dead. This is a George Romero zombie movie with a budget. And it kicks ass. FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY an R-rated horror movie! (See my rant in my "Cursed" review in the March 2005 archives.) This movie is bloody, gory, violent, scary, and excellent.

"Some time ago" the zombies appear (aka "Night of the Living Dead"). By the time this movie takes place, the remaining humans are in Pittsburgh (played by Toronto). The city is walled up on one side, and protected by the rivers on the other sides. The really rich folks (led by Dennis Hopper) live in a huge glass highrise, while the poor people live outside the building, under constant threat of zombie attacks.

The humans have this kick ass vehicle called "Dead Reckoning" that is used to go out and forage for food, gas, liquor, whatever. They just mow down the ever-shambling zombies. Until, that is, one particular gas station attendant zombie sloooowly begins to learn.

That's right. The zombies are adapting. Nothing huge - they don't start driving; they don't open diners; they don't start jumping up and down on Oprah's sofa proclaiming their love for Katie Holmes. But, for the first time, you see a zombie use a gun. (By the way, when the zombie uses the gun, it is a very effective scene.) And, the zombies learn that they can cross water by simply walking....

The guy from that TV show "The Guardian" stars as the good guy soldier trying to earn enough money to leave town. (He's planning on going up into the wilderness of Canada.) John Leguizamo is "Cholo" (yes, that's his name), a guy who thinks he's earning his keep to be allowed into the highrise with the rich, white folks, but has a surprise coming.

This is a good zombie movie. Not for the faint of heart. But if you like zombie movies (you know who you are), then this is a great one to see.