PLEASE DON’T DESTROY: THE TREASURE OF FOGGY MOUNTAIN
Universal Pictures
Released Friday 8 December
Synopsis: Three deadbeat co-workers fend off hairless bears, desperate park rangers and a hypocritical cult leader while searching for a priceless treasure.
Cast: Martin Herlihy, Ben Marshall, John Higgins, Conan O’Brien
Director: Paul Briganti
Cert: 15
WONKA
Warner Bros.
Released Friday 8 December
Synopsis: Focusing on a young Willy Wonka and how he came to meet the Oompa-Loompas on one of his earliest adventures.
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Colman, Rowan Atkinson, Rakhee Thakrar, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Grant
Director: Paul King
Cert: PG
FAB UK Review:
This is not your grandfathers (1971) nor even your fathers (2005) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – this is ‘Wonka,’ a brand new telling of the fabled story that has lived on for generations.
Timothy Chalamet is ‘Wonka’, and not the Wonka from the previous versions but a younger version of him, pre-chocolate factory. Chalamet is perfect in this version, though no one will ever get close to the original (with the very memorable Gene Wilder) – but this new one is good enough for the entire family.
Willie Wonka desperately wants to open a chocolate shop because he’s got special chocolate that everyone loves. And even though eating some of the chocolate causes minor side effects (going up into the air), it’s special nonetheless. Wonka arrives into town on a boat to fulfil his dream of opening up a chocolate shop and is directed to a laundromat/boarding house run by mean spirited landlady Scrubbitt (Olivia Colman way overdoing it). She overcharges him by a lot, and to pay off his debt he has to work for many many year in the basement, along with other lodgers who are all also paying off their debt to her. One of these is Noodle (a delightful Calah Lane), a young girl with a big heart and even bigger dreams.
But the three main chocolatiers in town hear of Wonka’s beloved chocolate formula and will stop at nothing to thwart his dream, even if that means killing him. Throw in one Oopma Loompa (a fantastic Hugh Grant) and you have a charming fantastical film that will warm your cockles and bring out the inner child in adults.
Directed by Paul King, this film has echoes of ‘Paddington’ which he directed. Large scale sets, full of color and songs, and beautiful scenery, alL filmed in the United Kingdom at locations such as Bath, Oxford, Dorset, Berkshire and London, and including Warner Brothers Studio in Leavesdon.
Nothing will ever ever match the original film – it’s one of the best ever. And while ‘Wonka’ is very good, it’s not quite memorable, and let’s hope it is the last Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film ever.
Also released this week:
ANSELM
Curzon
Release date: Friday 8 December | Cert: PG
EARTH MAMA
We are Parable / Unversal Pictures
Release date: Friday 8 December | Cert: 15
THE PEASANTS
Vertigo Releasing
Release date: Friday 8 December | Cert: 15
TRENQUE LAUQUEN
Bulldog Film Distribution
Release date: Friday 8 December | Cert: TBC