WONKA : Tuesday 19th December 2023.

I saw the PG Rated 'WONKA' earlier this week, and this musical fantasy film is Co-Written, based on a story and Directed by Paul King in his fourth feature film outing following his 2009 debut with 'Bunny and the Bull', then 'Paddington' in 2014 and 'Paddington 2' in 2017. This film tells the origin story of Willy Wonka, a character in the 1964 iconic novel 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' by Roald Dahl - one of the best selling children's books of all time. It had its World Premiere showcasing in London on 28th November, and was released in the UK on 8th December and here in Australia and the US last week, cost US$125M to produce, has so far grossed US$162M and has generated largely positive reviews.

Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet), an aspiring magician, inventor, and chocolatier, arrives by boat in Europe to establish his chocolate shop at the famed Galeries Gourmet. Burning through his meagre savings of just twelve silver sovereigns on his first day in the big city, he is offered an overnight stay at Mrs. Scrubitt's (Olivia Colman) boarding house by her henchman Bleacher (Tom Davis), and signs a lengthy contract despite orphan Noodle's (Calah Lane) warning about the need to read the fine print, which he merely glances over and duly signs. The cost of his one night stay is one silver sovereign, which Wonka commits to paying the next night and then he'll be on his way. 

To pay off his debt, the next day Wonka introduces 'hoverchocs' chocolates that make his customers fly at Galeries Gourmet. Facing mockery from three rival chocolatiers - Arthur Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Gerald Prodnose (Matt Lucas) and Felix Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton) who call the Chief of Police (Keegan-Michael Key) to confiscate his earnings for disrupting their businesses and conducting his business without a chocolate shop. 

Returning to Mrs. Scrubitt's later that evening with not a penny to his name and unable to pay for his board and lodging, Mrs. Scrubitt announces that the cost of Wonka's one night stay has escalated to 10,000 silver sovereigns due to the fees and penalties imposed on him under the terms of the agreed contract as signed by him. Wonka is therefore ordered to work in a launderette in the bowels of the her building from which there is no escape, and for the next twenty-seven years being the length of time it will take him to pay of his debt. He therefore joins five other captives all locked up for similar reasons, including Noodle. He learns of a 'Chocolate Cartel' from Abacus Crunch (Jim Carter) an accountant as one of the other five, of a plot involving the rival chocolatiers. Wonka makes Scrubitt and Bleacher fall in love by faking a story of how Bleacher is in fact an Austrian Prince, and facilitates his escape to sell chocolate with the help of Noodle, who will receive a lifetime supply of chocolates for her efforts. 

The Cartel exploits the Chief of Police's weakness for chocolate to force Wonka to leave town while Wonka tells Noodle that his passion for chocolate stems from his late mother (Sally Hawkins), who gave him one last chocolate bar, and vowed to be there with him when he became successful. Wonka tells Noodle about the theft of his chocolates by an enigmatic orange man with green hair who steals them from him at night and has been doing so for about the last four years. To produce his signature chocolate, Wonka needs a supply of giraffe milk, and so joined by Noodle, the pair visit the local zoo at night and once they have befriended and calmed Abigail the giraffe, Wonka begins milking her, filling up a small urn. 

Together with the other four captives, the group embark on selling chocolates to ultimately pay off their debts while using the underground storm drain covers to evade Scrubitt, the Cartel and the Chief. Trapping an Oompa Loompa named Lofty (Hugh Grant) as the thief in a upturned glass bell jar, Wonka discovers that the Oompa Loompa seeks pay back for the four cocoa beans Wonka took years ago under Lofty's watch while he napped on the remote island home of the Loompas. Lofty ingeniously dupes Wonka, so facilitating his escape.

Using the monies raised from selling his chocolates, the group of captives open Wonka's dream chocolate shop in the Galaries Gourmet opposite the three owned by the Cartel, The Chief and the Chocolate Cartel, informed of Wonka's endeavours and now unable to arrest him since he has a legitimate shop, denounce him to Scrubitt. Infusing his chocolates with Yeti sweat, Scrubitt incites chaos among the customers through a side effect being the rapid growth a multi-coloured facial hair among men, women and children. The customers quickly revolt, leading to the complete destruction of Wonka's new store. 

Facing much adversity, Wonka reluctantly agrees to the Cartel's offer to leave town by ship to pay off everyone's debts, and never to make chocolate again. Everyone is released from the launderette except for Noodle. Cartel member Slugworth pays Scrubbit to keep her there indefinitely. Before jumping off the dynamite rigged boat with Lofty, Wonka has a conversation with him during which in dawns on him that Noodle is Slugworth's niece. Noodle, who was reported dead to her birth mother Dorothy, was sold by Slugworth to Scrubitt in order to eliminate her claim to the family fortune. After rescuing Noodle with the help of the group, they devise a strategy to obtain the Cartel's incriminating set of real accounts rather than the fake set. 

The group set up a distraction at the local cathedral involving Father Julius (Rowan Atkinson) - a priest in cahoots with the Cartel and who is also addicted to chocolate, and Abigail who crashes a funeral for a local dignatory. This enables Wonka and Noodle to infiltrate the Cartel's base located directly under the cathedral, where they are confronted by the Cartel and almost drowned in thousands of gallons of released melted chocolate. Through the use of hoverchocs, Wonka enables Lofty to rescue them and unveils the Cartel's misdeeds. Exposing their actions to the authorities and the public, they release the Cartel's chocolate reserves through a fountain, which Wonka sprinkles his unique ingredients into, and so wrecking the Cartel's business once and for all. 

The Cartel, levitated uncontrollably by the super strength hoverchocs, meet their downfall, and the Police arrests their now seriously overweight Chief for his part in their business dealings, as duly recorded in the official set of accounts. The crowd revels in tasting Wonka's chocolate fountain, and Wonka has a vision of his mother in the crowd as they blow each other a kiss. He then unwraps his mother's chocolate bar, discovering a Golden Ticket with a message that says chocolate is best shared. Sharing his mother's chocolate with friends, Wonka helps Noodle reunite with her mother Dorothy whom they traced to a library close by and settles his debt with Lofty. 

With Lofty now ready to return to his island home, Wonka ask him to join him as his Chief Taster and to enjoy a lifetime of free chocolate, to which Lofty readily agrees. Wonka then acquires an abandoned castle to commence building a new chocolate factory. In a mid-credits scene, we see what became of the five members of Wonka's group and how Scrubitt and Bleacher are arrested after their attempt to destroy evidence of sabotaging Wonka's shop backfires.

I have to say that I had fairly low expectations going in to see 'Wonka' but came out having been pleasantly surprised. Here Director Paul King has crafted an origin story worthy of its predecessors with top rate production values, song and dance routines that don't feel over bloated or simply space fillers but help move the story along and showcase Timothee Chalamet's singing and dancing abilities that only serve to prove his versatility as a notable screen presence. This soft centred film has heart, whimsy and has genuine moments that made me chuckle even if the plot is a little thin on the ground, but that said you'll be hard pressed not to be carried along by this live action family friendly film that is a perfect fit for the festive season. 

'Wonka' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 14th December 2023

The 15th edition of the Les Arcs Film Festival this year runs from Saturday 16th through until Saturday 23rd December. Founded in 2009, the festival takes place every year in December, during the opening week of the ski season, in Les Arcs ski resort located in Bourg-Saint-Maurice in the French department of Savoie in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region of southeastern France. The theme of this year's festival is 'Cinema as therapy: mental health, in front of and behind the screen'. It's an opportunity to find out more about and understand this subject, which is emerging in all areas of our society. The Arcs Film Festival is also a socially committed festival, with social issues at the heart of its programming. Debates on gender equality and the ecological transition in cinema will be at the heart of the festival. 

With over one hundred films being showcased, this years Opening Night film is 'Making Of', from France and Directed by Cedric Kahn and centres around Simon as he begins shooting a movie about a workers’ struggle to save their factory. He soon feels overwhelmed by the sneaky Producer, the capricious Actors, and the angry technical team. His only ally in this chaotic shooting is the young extra in charge of the making-of of the film. The Closing Night film is 'Vivants' from Belgium and France and Directed by Alix Delaporte and charts the story of Gabrielle who has joined a prestigious news programme. With no formal training, she must prove herself and find a place among an experienced team of special correspondents.

This year there are nine feature films in Official Competition, these being :-

* 'Animal' from Greece and Written and Directed by Sofia Exarchou. National Premiere.

* 'Explanation For Everything' from Hungary and Co-Written, Directed, Co-Edited and Co-Scored by Gabor Reisz.

* 'Holly' from Belgium and Written and Directed by Fien Troch.

* 'The Teachers' Lounge' from Germany and Co-Written and Directed by Ilker Catak.

* 'The Successor' from France and Co-Written and Directed by Xavier Legrand. National Premiere.

* 'Through the Night' from Belgium and Written and Directed by Delphine Girard. 

* 'Slow' from Lithuania and Written and Directed by Marija Kavtaradze.

* 'The Hypnosis' from Sweden and Co-Written and Directed by Ernst De Geer.

* 'Sweet Dreams' from the Netherlands and Written and Directed by Ena Sendijarevic.

For the synopsis of the nine aforementioned films in Official Competition, plus the other film strands being showcased; the two Guests of Honour attending this years festival, the French Argentine Actress Berenice Bejo and the Swedish film maker Ruben Ostlund; and Alice Rohrwacher announced as the winner of the 2023 Sisley-les Arcs 'Femme de Cinema' Award!, you can go to the official website at : https://lesarcs-filmfest.com/en

This week there are just three new movies gracing your local Odeon before the slew of new Christmas week releases, launching with a musical fantasy offering focusing on a young chocolate-maker extraordinaire, and how he came to meet the Oompa-Loompas on one of his earliest adventures. Then we have an action thriller film about a former FBI agent who left to become a bricklayer, and is asked to step in and help stop a criminal operation who are demanding a series of ransom payments; before closing out the week with a Chinese remake centring around a young businessman who wakes up in a locked hotel room next to the body of his dead lover, and then hires a prestigious lawyer to defend him, and over the course of one night, they work together to find out what happened.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the three latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'WONKA' (Rated PG) - this musical fantasy film is Co-Written, based on a story and Directed by Paul King in his fourth feature film outing following his 2009 debut with 'Bunny and the Bull' then 'Paddington' in 2014 and 'Paddington 2' in 2017. This film tells the origin story of Willy Wonka, a character in the 1964 novel 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' by Roald Dahl. It will have its World Premiere showcasing in London on 28th November, and is scheduled to be released in the UK on 8th December and in the US on 15th December, and cost US$125M to produce.

Based on the extraordinary character at the centre of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', Roald Dahl’s most iconic children's book and one of the best-selling children's books of all time, 'Wonka' tells the wondrous story of how the world's greatest inventor, magician and chocolate-maker became the beloved Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) - chock-full of ideas and determined to change the world one delectable bite at a time, proving that the best things in life begin with a dream. Also starring Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Matt Lucas, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, Olivia Colman and Hugh Grant. 

'THE BRICKLAYER' (Rated MA15+) - is an action thriller film Directed by Renny Harlin whose previous screen credits take in the likes of 'Die Hard 2' in 1990, 'Cliffhanger' in 1993, 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' in 1996, 'Deep Blue Sea' in 1999, 'Driven' in 2001, 'Cleaner' in 2007, 'Skiptrace' in 2016 and 'The Misfits' in 2021. This film is based on the 2010 novel of the same name by Noah Boyd, and follows a rogue insurgent blackmailing the CIA by assassinating foreign journalists and making it appear the agency is responsible. As other nations begin turning against the US the CIA must lure Steve Vail (Aaron Eckhart) - their most brilliant and rebellious operative out of semi-retirement working as a bricklayer. With an elite and deadly skill set, Vail is tasked with helping clear the agency's name, forcing him to confront his checkered past while unraveling an international conspiracy. Also starring Nina Dobrev, Tim Blake Nelson and Clifton Collins Jnr. The film is slated for a US release sometime early next year.

'THE INVISIBLE GUEST' (Rated M) - this crime fiction drama film is a Chinese remake of the Spanish film of the same name from 2016 and is Directed by Raymond Yip Wai-man and Cheng Wei-hao. Here, young and beautiful entrepreneur Joanna (Janine Chang) is accused of being the culprit in a locked-room murder case, where the victim is her lover Minghao, during a time when her life and career are flourishing. In order to clear her name, she slowly gathers clues with the police officer Zheng Wei (Greg Hsu). As they investigate the case together, they discover another murder case that Joanna and Minghao had committed together. The truth gradually comes to light . . . 

With just three new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-