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Charlie & the Chocolate Factory a film by Tim Burton

I'll admit it right off - I am not the biggest fan of Tim Burton! Sure, he can make fun eye-candy (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow) and he even created a single not-so-bad film (his ode to Z-grade Auteur Ed Wood), but when it comes to being a creatively energetic filmmaker full of stimulating ideas, well, he just ain't got it. Which brings me to the fact that I might have enjoyed this retooling of Roald Dahl's classic children's book of the same name, but once again, it is more eye-candy than an actual meal of any sort - which I suppose makes some sense for the film's subject matter - and it is Johnny Depp's eclectic ouvre characterizations he brings to the fold that really makes the film better than it probably should be - but that is nothing new to Tim Burton, is it? Full of some great lines (delivered deliciously by Monsieur Depp) and enough chocolate to make this self-professed chocaholic go stir crazy while having to sit in that darkened theatre sans any chocolate confectionary of any kind - a thing I did remedy as soon as leaving the theatre - but still a blah blah blah fluffy hunk of fromage from the master of souless visualizationics. So, in other words, exactly what one would, could and should expect. [07/18/05]

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