Things I've Seen

Just a quick overview of things I've seen and read lately:

The Warriors: I was really looking forward to seeing this movie and while it wasn't bad, it wasn't really all the great either. The premise is that in New York City, a man named Cyrus wants to unite all the gangs against the police. All of the gangs attend without fighting or maiming each other until (in film cliche fashion) he is shot and killed. A poor small gang called the warriors are blamed and now it turn out all of the gangs are united... against them. Can our anti-heroes make it home in one piece?
The idea is fun, and I like that the gangs are often strange and ridiculous (a gang of baseball fans called the Baseball Furies and a gang of mimes called the highhats for example), but the movie itself is lacking. There is a lot of potential for this to be both a kick-ass action flick or a suspenseful edge of your seat thriller, but the fact is the audience can see the traps coming from a mile away (most notably a painfully long seen in which half of the group is partying with the Lizzies) and the suspense and action scenes are not all that suspenseful or action packed. Not a bad movie, but it had a lot of wasted potential. Especially disappointing is the finale in which the Warriors face of against the Rogues, who are easily the least intimidating gang in the film.

Charlie & the Chocolate Factory: I saw this with my parents the other night when we were looking for something to cheer my parents up. Frankly I wanted to see this for a while since it was one of my favourite books as a child and I never really like the 70's adaptation (Gene Wilder's great potrayal as Wonka aside), so I was interested in seeing this version. While this this film takes some unnecessary liberties (Wonka's childhood), I was pleased with the final result, though I was hoping it, like the book, would feel a little more fucked up (sure you got near deaths and singing migdets, but it should feel like you won't know whether the kids are a live or not until the end).
Tim Burton's films can be really hit (Ed Wood, Big Fish) or miss (Batman, Batman Returns, Planet of the Apes), and this film was a hit, albeit a flawed one. I love the overall style of the film and the set, for the most part, are outstanding, particularly the first room of the tour. The Oompah Loopmahs are a lot less creepy this time around (which is funny, because the actor who potrays them all, Deep Roy, is one creepy looking midget). The musical numbers are all distinct adn catchy (especially "Augustus Gloop"), the kids are all suitably nasty and Johnny Depp is great as the socially awkward and funloving-yet-bitter Willy Wonka. I really like Depp as a character actor, as evidenced in film like Ed Wood, and I am very much looking forward to the Libertine
Still, the film falters a bit when it's trying to be touching, though thankfully it is not a painfully saccharine as some other family films. I mean, as much as I loved Elf, the last 15 minutes really sucked! Also, Charlie, the title character, is given surprisingly little to do during the famous tour despite being the title character. Anyhoo, the point is the film is a good family film, despiute it's many faults.

Paul Moves Out: This is a very generic feeling semi-autobiographical "graphic novel," but despite that it is actually pretty good. Probably because it has a certain sweetness to it that I like. There isn't really one story or a real point to the narrative except having the creator capture fond and painful memories artistically. I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it, but it is a nice sweet book from Drawn & Quarterly, who tend to bring out my favourite indie books.