20s Movie Review - Wonka

Director: Paul King
Genre: Musical/ Fantasy/ Adventure/ Family/ Comedy
Runtime: 116 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Oliva Colman, Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Jim Carter, Matt Lucas, Paterson Joseph, Hugh Grant, Sally Hawkins

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 14: A FANTASY FILM
 
Description: With dreams of opening a ship in a city renowned for its chocolate, a young and poor Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) discovers that the industry is run by a cartel of greedy chocolatiers.

Review: A young Willy Wonka has traveled all over the world, and is now ready to settle down somewhere and reveal his homemade chocolate to people. Easier said than done, especially since the mall in which he plans to open his own business us run by an evil trio of chocolatiers. Soon Wonka finds himself locked up working in a laundry basement, where his dream feel impossible.

There are many unsublte references to “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” and the original book. However, they are woven into the story and are not just simple crowd pleasers.

Wonka has been eccentric since he was a child. Timothée Chalamet took some mannerisms from Gene Wilder’s rendition. But her otherwise plays him in his own way. He portrays an energetic and naïve Willy Wonka who has yet to experience the necessary fall backs and has too much faith in human kind. Logical to approach it that way. Chalamet carries the movie effortlessly. Is there anything he can’t do?
Besides Willy Wonka, only two characters were in the original story: the Oempa Loempa and Slugworth as one of the evil chocolatiers. The other characters are all new and feel like they come from Roald Dahl’s imagination. Especially the ruthless and opportunistic adults.

“Wonka” contains a number of original songs. Again, not forced copies from the old movie, but no heavily modernized either. They are charming and some have the potential to be memorable.

The bond between Wonka and the young girl Noodle was so heartwarming, that scene in the zoo stole my heart and made me so happy. I also loved the backstory of Noodle. Sad, yet hopeful in the end. I was kind of skeptical about Hugh Grant as the Oompa Loompa, but he was surprisingly funny, even though I still believe it looked a bit weird.

“Wonka is a delightful film for the entire family, and adventure with good characters against the bad without becoming one-dimensional. I absolutely loved this film and that it also happens to be a musical is just a major win for me.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

00s Movie Review - Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1980

Director: James Marsh
Genre: Thriller/ Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 93 minutes
Year: 2009
Starring: Paddy Considine, Warren Clarke, David Morrissey, James Fox, Sean Harris, Jim Carter, Warren Clarke, David Calder, Maxine Peake

Description: A team of investigators attempt to stop a serial killer known as the Yorkshire Ripper from claiming his next victim, but uncover something far more terrifying.

Review: The second part in the “Red Riding” trilogy is largely focusing on the search for serial killer ‘The Yorkshire Ripper’. This is an existing case, but the author of the book series, David Pearce, gave it his own interpretation. The fact that prostitutes are mutilated and murdered over the course of several years is an actual fact. But people and situations have been fictionalized, with the exception of the Ripper himself.
The case, however, plays mainly in the background and serves only as a means of bringing detective Peter Hunter from Manchester to Yorkshire, to break the case wide open once more. Hunter has unpleasant memories of the English town and the local police, because years earlier he led an investigation into the murder of real estate tycoon John Dawson, in which two officers were injured. At the time, he felt he was strongly opposed by the Yorkshire police and was never able to bring the case to a close.
The film is still understandable if you haven’t seen the climax of the previous film, set in 1974, but it’s more interesting with the prior knowledge from the first film. Certain characters who had a small role in that part are now suddenly more on the foreground. Especially dirty cop Bob Craven.
Although the second film has a different director, “1980” has the same gloomy atmosphere as its predecessor. Where in that part at least you still get the idea that at leas a few characters are escaping all the corruption, in this middle part the tumult seems to encompass all of Yorkshire.  Equally as good as the first film.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

10s Movie Review - The Good Liar

Director: Bill Condon
Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Crime
Runtime: 109 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen, Russell Tovey, Jim Carter

Description: Consummate con man Roy Courtnay (Ian McKellen) has set his sight on his latest mark: the recently widowed Betty McLeish (Helen Mirren), worth millions. But this time, what should have been a simple swindle escalates into a cat-and-mouse game with the ultimate stakes.

Review: If you have actors like Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen on board, it doesn’t really matter much anymore what you make them do. Even if you let the Lady and Sit read the phone book, you know that you have a guarantee of craftmanship, even if the scenario they have to propagate leaves a lot to be desired from time to time. You can easily forgive an inevitable but artificial plot twist in a thriller about an older couple in love.
With this adaptation of Nicolas Searle’s book, director Bill Condon puts at least all the cards on the table. At least so it seems. It is a well-known fact that online dating is done for one’s own good. The distinguished Roy and the charming Betty not only lie about their names on their first date, but also about whether or not to smoke and drink. Well, if that’s all…
But we soon find out that Roy is an outright crook who’s out to take all of Betty’s money, which are many millions. Roy is a smart seducer and relentless. Roy and Betty get a strong bond very quickly after Roy’s knee supposedly causes him problems, so Betty asks him to stay with her. Grandson Stephen doesn’t trust Roy for a second and can only watch him sweeping Betty of her feet.
“The Good Liar” starts out as a standard thriller where one is conning the other, but there is more to it. Eventually. Just have patience, because it’s a bit of a slow movie, and you will be rewarded. If it weren’t for the twist, even though it’s not completely credible and it all seems a bit too perfect, this film would be too basic and not memorable at all. It’s still a movie you can easily forget, but you will remember Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen’s strong performances and great interaction.

Rating: 3 / 5