I appear on “CTV News at 6” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the best movies and television to watch this weekend. I’ll tell you about the funny and fantastic “Poor Thing” and the whimsical “Wonka.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 38:51)
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to strum a guitar! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the funny and fantastic “Poor Thing,” the whimsical “Wonka” and the rock doc “The Immediate Family.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I sit in with NewsTalk 1010 host Jim Richards on the coast-to-coast-to-coast late night “NewsTalk Tonight” to play the game “Did Richard Crouse Like This?” This week we talk about the funny and fantastic “Poor Thing,” the whimsical “Wonka” and the rock doc “The Immediate Family.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I joined CP24 to have a look at new movies coming to VOD, streaming services and theatres. Today we talk about the funny and fantastic “Poor Thing,” the whimsical “Wonka” and the rock doc “The Immediate Family.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Akshay Tandon to talk about the funny and fantastic “Poor Thing,” the whimsical “Wonka” and the rock doc “The Immediate Family.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I joined CP24 to have a look at new movies and television shows coming to theatres and streaming services. Today we talk about the funny and fantastic “Poor Thing,” the whimsical “Wonka” and the final season of “The Crown” on Netflix, featuring a cameo from Canadian news legend Lloyd Robertson.
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with guest host Stefan Keyes to talk the new movies coming to theatres including the funny and fantastic “Poor Thing,” the whimsical “Wonka” and the rock doc “The Immediate Family.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
Everyone from Hannibal Lecter and Darth Vader to The Ghostbusters and the Godfather have been given the origin story treatment, so why not Wille Wonka, the mysterious and mischievous chocolatier created by Roald Dahl? That’s the premise of “Wonka,” a new musical now playing in theatres.
Timothée Chalamet plays the title character, the young version of the Wonka seen in 1971s “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” and 2005s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” but his sartorial style is already in place. Decked out in a top hat, purple waistcoat and flamboyant scarves, Wonka arrives in town with the dream of opening the greatest chocolate shop the world has ever seen.
“I’ve spent the past seven years travelling the world,” the magician, inventor and chocolate maker announces, “perfecting my craft. You see I’m something of a magician, inventor, and chocolate maker. So quiet up, and listen down. Nope. Scratch that, reverse it.”
His original idea was to make chocolates his mother (Sally Hawkins) would love, and after years of study he learned to concoct delicious, unusual candies. His caramels are salted with the tears of a Russian clown. His cherries come from the Imperial Gardens in Japan and his marshmallows are harvested from the mallow marshes of Peru, and some of them, like the Hoverchoc, have magical, gravity defying side effects.
Trouble is, the city is under the thumb of the Chocolate Cartel, sweet treat tycoons Mr. Prodnose (Matt Lucas), Mr. Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton) and Mr. Slugworth (Paterson Joseph). They don’t like Wonka or the threats his chocolates pose to their businesses. “He’s good,” snarls Fickelgruber. “Too good.” But they really hate his idea of making affordable chocolate for the working class.
“Send Wonka a message,” says the sinister Slugworth.
Nothing is going Wonka’s way. The local Chief-of-Police (Keegan-Michael Key) threatens to bonk him on the head, the Cartel is out to ruin him, he’s indebted to work house owners Mrs. Scrubbit (Olivia Colman) and Bleacher (Tom Davis) and a small orange Oompa-Loompa (Hugh Grant) accuses him of stealing cocoa beans.
Despite the odds, with the help of an orphan named Noodle (Calah Lane), the optimistic Wonka is certain he can make his dreams come true and make his mother proud.
Directed by “Paddington’s” Paul King, “Wonka” replaces the weirdness of past film adaptations with whimsey. From the fanciful set and costume design to the heightened performances and relentlessly upbeat tone, it is as sweet as any of Wonka’s magical confections. A celebration of the power of dreams, it’s satisfying and delicious, and tonally feels like a companion piece to the others rather than a revisit or a nostalgic look back.
Chalamet’s Wonka has little to do with the reclusive, narcissistic, judgmental character as played by Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp. He is still an eccentric outsider, but in this version he’s also the emotional core. King and co-writer Simon Farnaby flesh out his story, adding in a backstory that includes a strong connection to his mother and huge dollops of earnestness. That light and airy feel is balanced, somewhat, by the addition of nasty capitalists who want to crush Wonka’s dreams for their own benefit. But make no mistake, this is all chocolate and charm.
Chalamet plays Wonka as a charismatic oddball but without the cynicism that colors other portrayals of the character. The “Dune” star replaces cynicism with a delightfully clever naiveté, anchoring the film’s light and breezy tone. His Wonka pays tribute to, but isn’t an impression of Wilder or Depp. It fresh and fun work, with credible singing and dancing, even if the songs aren’t exactly earworms.
In their handful of scenes, Chalamet cedes the screen to Grant. In what is easily his silliest role ever, Grant finds the fun, playing a testy Oompa Loompa on a mission.
“Wonka” is a scrumdiddlyumptious family film for the holidays. A lavish movie, powered by pure imagination, it is life affirming, with a sense of wonder. It doesn’t enthrall in the same, off-the-charts measure that King’s “Paddington” movies do, but really, what other film does?
As a director Tim Burton works best when he is able to create slightly skewed visions of the real world. From the hyper-real pastel-colored California of Edward Scissorhands and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure to the grimy Gotham of his Batman films to the idyll of Big Fish he shines when he spins reality 90 degrees to the left. He has done it once again in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a faithful adaptation of the Roald Dahl book and not a remake of the 1971 Gene Wilder film. In Charlie and the Chocolate factory he creates two distinct worlds—the “real” world, both very modern, yet somehow timelessly retro and the weird candy world of chocolatier Willie Wonka’s factory where trees are made of spun sugar and a chocolate waterfall dominates the landscape. Of course the movie isn’t about the art direction, and Burton has ensured that the characters are strong enough to compete with the film’s strange backdrop. Johnny Depp seems to be channeling Michael Jackson’s otherworldly mannerisms as Wonka, a slightly creepy, but misunderstood outcast who has built his own fanciful universe to deal with the damage done to him by his overbearing father. His strange rendering of the parent-hating Wonka—complete with perfect fake teeth and a pageboy haircut—is an all or nothing performance that is so out there that it will either enthrall or annoy audiences. Either way it will make an impression. The other standout performance is from Freddie Highmore as the sweet-hearted Charlie. He and Depp worked together in last year’s Finding Neverland, and have real chemistry. Highly recommended.
