Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Has anyone seen this? What a melting pot of ideas with very little concept. First, let's combine Disney-like period pieces (old English scenery, costumes) and combine this with modern day America. Where would this be? A fantasy it is. I'm not sure it works. Let's poke fun at regional groups. Tammy Faye in the South, teen violence in Colorado, fat kids in Germany. Let's throw in American pop culture (synchronized swimming, rock 'm' sock 'm' robots) and underscore that with Danny Elfmans cliched dark, sininster music. (You missed the mark on this one Dan, except for the dance music which to me was a highlight of the film) Your samples are still raw and stiffly performed, but they did groove and the midget was a good dancer. Well, with a Burton film, everything is dark. It is a dark world, and everything about it dark, except of course for the message at the end. Live with your parents and two sets of grandparents for the rest of your life with no wife and no kids of your own. Bliss! Not happening. The message of Christian, altruistic kids being rewarded in the end was barely apparent.
I just want to say, stop with all the dark, edgy Hollywood bullshite. Let's lead the country. Let's try to model good, positive behavior. Oh, but no one knows what that is anymore. There is no mainstream America. How do we live our lives? There is no modern period pop music. We are still waiting for the angry message from someone. How about hetereosexuality? How about man and woman and children? How about Christian virtues? How about Willie porking pink sheep as a tormented child. Is this what life is and is going to be forever? Seems like we've lost sight of happiness with this freaking war in Iraq, graven image of the automobile, urban sprawl, real estate bubble, miniaturization of electronic components, loss of audio fidelity, decline of the record industry, outsourcing of jobs, and the list goes on and on. Ah yes, I want to work at Walmart the rest of my life and be taken advantage of. Well, Sam's dead. Oh, try making a decision about which pharmacy you are going to patron. Just pick any open corner of any urban intersection and you'll surely find, (da da da da dum) a huge, unappealing, gothic-like Eckard, Pharmore, or Walgreens. Do you want to shop at these places? Not me.

Responses anyone? Later


And by the way, stop with the camera movement. Human beings don't watch films from the height of three feet. Let the camera stand still and observe the human element. Let the actors and actresses act. That is where the interest is. The human aesthetic. The human condition. We are so busy being effected by the director, we are missing the concept of the movie, if there is one.