Film Review: Wonka – a phizz-whizzing, wondercump watch

Hello readers,

You may be wondering about the words in the title and that is because they are from the plethora of words that author Roald Dahl invented and used in his books, one of which was the original tale for Wonka. In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory we see the grown-up Willy Wonka with his factory and army of Oompa-Loompas entertain an unsuspecting group of children.

But, did you ever wonder how Wonka became the splendiferous inventor that Charlie and his Grandpa Joe encounter? This new film from the producers of Paddington and Harry Potter featuring an amazing cast can show you.

Wonka (2023)

The thing about doing another reboot/sequel or something based on known characters is that it has to be original and interesting. The small childhood flashback we see of Willy Wonka in the 2005 film which depicts him as a sad child stuck in a head brace with a chocolate-hating dentist for a father is not much of a back story.

This film has flipped that narrative on its head and provided Willy with a loving mother who taught him the chocolate basics and let him lick the spoon. At the beginning of the story he sets foot back in an unspecified European town after 7 years aboard finding weird and wonderful new ingredients for his chocolate.

His dream of opening a shop at the Galeries Gourmet is quickly met with uproar from the other three chocolatiers who hatch a plan to bring him down with the help of the Chief of Police and Mrs Scrubitt, the laundrette owner.

Things start off well with Willy showing the public his chocolates that can make you float but when he gets stuck paying his debts at the laundrette along with Noodle and other unfortunate souls, he hatches a plan to free them and take down the chocolate mafia.

At the heart of this film is a story about Willy Wonka missing his mother and seeing that same longing in Noodle who does not know her parents. He wants to make her proud and believes that she will return to him when he has achieved success.

Timothée Chalamet made a great Wonka, basing his performance on that of Gene Wilder in the 1971 adaptation, dressing in his iconic purple coat and hat. He demonstrated Wonka’s classic wacky humour but a little more subdued than it is when he meets Charlie Bucket. I was pleasantly surprised by the singing and dancing in the film but I thought that Timothée brought a great musicality to the role. He commanded the screen and had great chemistry with his on-screen pals.

The supporting cast features a range of British and American heavyweights with newcomer Calah Lane as Noodle alongside names such as Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant, Rowan Atkinson, Paterson Joseph, Jim Carter, Keegan-Michael Key and Matt Lucas.

Fans of Ghosts and Horrible Histories will be able to spot some favourites in there as well as Paddington alumni Tom Davis and Sally Hawkins. There was a large ensemble cast with a few cameos but I felt that everyone had their moment and no one was overlooked in their storyline. Even a character with a few lines got a happy ending on screen.

Of course, no film based around Willy Wonka would be complete without his marvellous inventions. We see his Mary Poppinsesque hat and never-ending suitcase with a delightful range of ingredients including giraffe milk and Oompa-Loompa cocoa beans for which Wonka is pursued. He creates a number of fun treats in the film including a chocolate that allows you to see a silver lining, edible shopping bags and candyfloss clouds.

I think this was a lovely, creative prequel to Willy Wonka with a cosy British feeling similar to Paddington and Matilda (another recent Roald Dahl musical) and I will happily be watching again when it comes to streaming.

I give this film 5/5.

Happy Watching,

Robyn

My Weekly Recommendations

Hello readers,

Even though this is only the second post on this blog, I feel like I am getting more into writing this. I had a small break from the blog before it really even got started due to starting university but now I am back.

So let’s get to the point: the films I have watched this week.

Cinema:

I now volunteer at the independent cinema where I now live so I get to watch new films every week and this week was Blade Runner 2049. I actually saw this last month for my birthday and I was not too impressed. This time around I actually consciously chose to have a nap in the middle of the film and I find it extremely hard to fall asleep watching any movie let alone a noisy one like this but somehow I did. The film is not bad but it is not the type of film I would watch again (like I did). I felt the marketing by Sony was too hyped up. I went in expecting an action packed Ryan Gosling/ Harrison Ford duo movie with sci-fi and amazing special effects. I was disappointed.

From a film student, point of view (which is also me) the film was visually stunning, the scenery of the desert and post-apocalyptic world was really amazing and the colours and lighting in every shot was clearly well thought out but I felt the script and lack of action was what let Blade Runner 2049 down. Granted I had not seen the original Blade Runner (1982) so I wasn’t as invested in the characters as some people but I felt this reboot was not the film for me. A lot of others did enjoy it like The Guardian gave it 5 stars, but I do not. It’s okay for me to have my own opinion and I still bought a ticket and contributed to their box office gross. Overall I rate this film 3/5.

DVD:

I bought the film Eat Pray Love (2010) on DVD from a charity shop and this week I decided to watch it. It is based on a book by Elizabeth Gilbert that was a New York Times bestseller that I read last year and absolutely loved. The book is about  woman who divorces her husband and then goes on a year long trip to Italy, India and Indonesia. The book is also about God as she starts praying and in India she goes to an ashram – a place of prayer that was set up by her guru. The book really spoke to me so I went in with high expectations and I was not disappointed. This film may sell itself as a rom-com but to me is about finding out who you want to be in life and what your goals should be. The author Liz is played by Julia Roberts who does an excellent job at portraying all of Liz’s emotions and feelings with using few words and her face. Other cast members include James Franco, looking very young playing her lover David, Billy Crudup, her husband and Viola Davis, Liz’s friend in New York where she lives. The story was adapted in the film but Liz Gilbert worked closely with the producers and oversaw all changes made. Some things were added that actually happened but were not mentioned in the book. The film is long over 2 hours but it is worth it to get the full story. The only negative is I felt the film did not go into enough did about Liz’s time in Indonesia. Overall I rate this film 4/5.

Amazon Prime:

I watched Office Christmas Party on Amazon Prime. I know it’s a bit too early for Christmas but this film features some of my favourite comedy actors and actresses like Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, Kate McKinnon and Rob Corddry. The film is about a technology company run by a relaxed boss who has taken over from his dad. The office branch is about to be closed by his workaholic sister (Aniston) so the office throws an epic Christmas party to close a client. Chaos ensues. I liked the fun nature of this film and the great one lines from some of the funniest comedic actors in Hollywood. The cast gelled well and set for the party was massive and very detailed. It also has drama and romance and an epic car chase at the end. For a funny Christmas movie, it actually had a plot that made sense. I also watched it because I saw the trailer when it was being marketed last Christmas and thought it looked like a good film to watch. Definitely one to watch if you love comedy and Christmas and don’t mind occasional American cheesiness. Overall I rate this film 5/5.

So these are my 3 recommendations for this week. Some weeks I may watch more films than this but this week I had some big assignments due so I watched more TV instead.

Happy watching,

Robyn