Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

The BFG

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The Big Friendly Giant, as played by Oscar winning actor Mark Rylance, is a kind, warm and welcoming giant.  He shanghais a young orphan named Sophie (played with just the right amount of feisty innocence by Ruby Barnhill)  because she accidentally sees him while looking out of her window late one night, and takes her to Giantland.  The BFG and the  little “human bean”  get off to a rocky start but become fast friends.  He protects her from the big carnivorous giants (he is a much smaller giant, they call him “Runt”, and is a vegetarian) and she helps him catch and bottle dreams.  The CGI effects are spectacular.  I especially enjoyed the meeting between the BFG and the Queen of England ( surprisingly well played by Penelope Wilton).  He introduces himself by saying he is her “humbug servant” and shares the secret of having a good  whizzpop (the BFG delightfully mangles the English language throughout the movie).  How Sophie, the Queen and the BFG work together to defeat the evil giants, with names like Bloodbottler and Maidmasher, is clever and exciting.  This is the last screen play that Melissa Mathison wrote before passing away at the age of 65.  I think she would have been proud of the way the whole thing turned out.

Retro Review – Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

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How many of you have seen a great movie in a theatre and 45 years later you get to see it again…in a theatre?  I recently had that privilege through the wonderful people at Fathom Events in honor of  Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’s forty-fifth anniversary.   I first saw it in 1971 when I was a mere sprout.  At that time, no one I knew had ever heard of the movie (or the book for that matter) and I had no idea what to expect.  I was thoroughly enchanted and have been a fan ever since.  Wow, what a movie!  Gene Wilder  brings Willie Wonka to glorious, whimsical life with a single gleam in his eye or a hilarious one-liner.  The five children who are lucky enough to find the sought after Golden Tickets are perfectly cast. This group is thinned out one by one as a result of their ill-mannered behavior, each  to a well-deserved fate.  The Oompa Loompas and their well-timed singing is still catchy and informative.  At the heart of the movie, though, is Charlie Bucket himself, played with such innocent simplicity and depth by Peter Ostrum.  I felt for him every time he didn’t get that ticket, and when he finally did, I wanted to cheer!!  I admit, I had tears in my eyes when Mr. Wonka says to Charlie, “Don’t forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he wished for, he lived happily ever after.”  If the only version of this story you have seen is the Johnny Depp version, I feel sorry for you.  Please do yourself a favor and find a copy of this movie.   To  quote Mr.Wonka for the last time,   “If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it,”  as you are immersed and mesmerized by this sublime movie classic.