Honestly Zing, no one was as surprised as me. I was expecting complete rubbish - which I kinda got - but it was just so much fun!

Alas it wasn't the best film I saw this weekend. Hitchhiker's is brilliant! I'll try to have a review up shortly.

I just bought both films on DVD actually. Before Sunrise is certainly the lesser film for me at this point, but I don't think I'm its real audience anymore. I don't know if this is the same for you, but, sadly, I think I relate more with the adult Jesse and Celine right now than the younger versions. If I was ten years younger, I have no doubt I'd prefer Before Sunrise. Mainly because ten years ago I was a young, idealistic, floppy-haired, pretentious Ethan Hawke clone. Now, however, I'm a miserable old bastard with cropped hair, lazy stubble and a distaste for young, idealistic, floppy-haired, pretentious Ethan Hawke clones.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory review.

Chocolate Factory Is Sweet! The Candy Man Can

By Snrub.

I had the good fortune to be let into a sneak screening of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory here in Manchester, England the other night. You might think it odd that Warner Bros. would choose to test their film in such a remote location on an entirely different country, but there it is. It almost certainly happened, and not one of you can prove otherwise.

I, like most people, was initially wary at the thought of a Chocolate Factory remake. I’d grown up with the Gene Wilder version, and despite its flaws I’d grown rather attached to it. Knowing that Burton and Johnny Depp were teaming up for the production helped ease my worries, but it wasn’t until I saw the first trailer that I became convinced of the film’s potential majesty. This, I thought, could quite possibly be the best film of all time.

As I sat down in my seat I was sweating. What if the film failed to live up to the hype? What if it outright sucked!? I might just have to kill myself! Not to mention all of those around me! Thankfully the film didn’t disappoint, and most of the audience survived my bloody wrath. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a marvel to behold. A truly wondrous film, that not only supersedes the original in terms of quality, but quite possibly every other film in existence to boot.

The film follows the plot of the book very closely, and in doing so manages to separate itself from the Wilder version in a number of delightful ways. I can’t remember every single little wondrous detail (so many were there), but one of the more impressive alterations is the focus on Wonka’s back-story. Facts about Wonka’s history were scattered throughout the book, but all of them went completely ignored in the previous big screen incarnation. The scenes add poignancy and heart to the character of Wonka that was sadly missing in Wilder’s version. Depp excels in all of these scenes, as he does throughout the rest of the film for that matter. I don’t want to seem too over-enthusiastic, but I think I can say with all confidence that Depp has pretty much every acting category (and a few technical) in next years Oscar ceremony sewn up.

The rest of the film is so mind-blowingly awesome you’ll crap yourself. At times it was so funny, I quite literally peed my pants (three times in total). Some moments had me so excited, I was positively dripping with sweat. Other moments were so sad, I wept all over the poor woman sat next to me, drying my eyes on her bosom and blowing my nose on her lovely sleeves. When the end credits finally rolled, I was so emotionally and physically drained I could barely function. I peeled myself from my sweat/urine-soaked cinema seat and made for the nearest bar, where I sat and caught my breath before downing countless vodkas and sinking into drunken oblivion.

I woke up the next day in a gutter, aching and parched. It felt like I’d just spent a night having the best sex of my life, and despite my exhaustion, I couldn’t wait to experience it all over again. Come July 15th, I will. Just pray that you’re not the poor soul who has to sit next to me.

A++

Hmm... I can't say I'm surprised by your grade, Snrub. Great review, though. :wink:

Thanks, Zing. It was a life changing experience, seeing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I only hope you take the same orgasmic thrill that I did from watching Johnny Depp parade around sending children to their doom.

Snrub, that was an awesome review!

I must say I really like your writing style, its intelligent, informative, and funny. A great mix of you ask me. After reading your review I cannot wait to see CATCF.