Wonka - A Prequel [No Spoilers]
Mates,
A quasi-tradition in the XM family is to go to a movie over the holidays. I got Mrs. XM and 6 of the kids to the theatre to see the new Wonka movie. I assumed it would be a remake of the original but was wrong. The new Wonka is basically a prequel to the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie, made in 1971.
No spoilers here (other than it's not a remake, but a prequel). The family liked it. It has humor, some Broadway type of singing and dancing, and a reasonable plot. You can get critical about some of the casting choices, but hats off to Timothee Chalamet, the kid pulled off the role very well. As much as I think he was miscast for the Dune movies, he is well suited to this one and showed some real versatility.
As mentioned, the plot made sense in the big scheme of things for a movie like this. It got a little slow in the middle but finished well. Mrs. XM was sniffling at the end, but she is mushy like that. I would recommend it in the context it was made.
Did you see it, and what did you think?
Merry Christmas,
XM
December 23rd, 2023 at 10:03 PM ^
Had no idea this was even a movie, just checked out the trailer...looks solid, might have to give it a watch. Thanks for the recommendation!
Oh, and this is very much OT - right? Meh fuck it, it's the holidays!
December 23rd, 2023 at 10:09 PM ^
Me too. Seeing if my three daughters want to go.
Movies are a different deal these days when they stream so quickly.
Six kids or six of the kids XM? Are you Catholic? Regardless I’m sure you make a great Dad.
December 23rd, 2023 at 10:17 PM ^
I'm buying whatever XM is selling.
December 23rd, 2023 at 10:19 PM ^
Indeed he is.
December 23rd, 2023 at 10:23 PM ^
six of, but we only have 7, total. short of an abraham/sarah deal, that's all the good Lord is going to bless us with. first time without all 7 at home at Christmas. slightly sad face. not catholic, but have many dear friends and a few family members that are. not sure i'm a great dad or even a good dad, but i do take the job seriously. seems to be extremely rewarding.
December 23rd, 2023 at 10:28 PM ^
Nobody’s perfect but if they know you love ‘‘‘em at the end of the day you’re doing it right.
December 23rd, 2023 at 10:39 PM ^
Only 7? Sounds like you need to challenge yourself.
I'm in. Will you adopt me? I'm a team player.
December 23rd, 2023 at 10:43 PM ^
you get barn chores in the morning. lucky for you, we're not milking any cows right now.
December 24th, 2023 at 1:18 AM ^
We don't have a cow. We have a bull...
December 24th, 2023 at 10:07 AM ^
So you're filled with bull shit?
December 23rd, 2023 at 11:01 PM ^
So modest. You're a great dad. Raising great kids with even better values.
December 23rd, 2023 at 11:07 PM ^
you get the great dad title, taking your kids on the coolest travel vacations. south, west, fish, camp, etc. you da man, hillbilly.
December 23rd, 2023 at 11:06 PM ^
7? How in the heck you find time to be in this blog? Just kidding. I envy your position. :)
December 24th, 2023 at 6:20 AM ^
funny. the blog is perfect for me because it is very informative about many topics including U of M, its fun, has real people involved, dozens of whom i've gotten to know or who lurk and i've known for decades (one is going to come hunting on the farm next week), and i can pay attention to it or drop it for seconds or months at a time to fit in with whatever the heck else i've got going on. its kind of like chinking a log cabin: the logs are the stuff we all have to do and are really important. the chinking is the stuff (think: waterproof paste) you fill in around the edges of the logs to keep the weather and varmints out.
i'd add that i don't do the tweets, fakebook, insta, etc. so for time-suckers, this is it.
December 25th, 2023 at 12:01 AM ^
You don’t do the emails?
December 23rd, 2023 at 11:19 PM ^
Indeed he is.
December 23rd, 2023 at 10:05 PM ^
Since it was a prequel, any sightings of Grandpa Joe dragging his lazy rear end to the factory, or was he already laying around in the foursome bed?
December 23rd, 2023 at 10:11 PM ^
a bit of a spoiler: grandpa is still in prison for trying to have 'relations' with an underage oompa-loompa girl.
December 23rd, 2023 at 10:52 PM ^
This is the movie and not personal life I’m assuming.
I mean U P and all. And mom did grow up in Marquette so I can joke.
December 24th, 2023 at 6:25 AM ^
our family roots go to the UP all the way back to the 1850's. oldest two kids born there, too. if i can't tell (or take) a yooper joke, nobody can.
December 23rd, 2023 at 10:35 PM ^
Loved it. Family debating which is better, this one or the original.
December 23rd, 2023 at 10:39 PM ^
It's a family film, so that's a hard pass for me. I loved the original when I was a kid, but wouldn't feel the same watching it now. Glad you and the family enjoyed it though!
December 23rd, 2023 at 10:49 PM ^
No. I looked at what movies were playing earlier and none of them looked even remotely interesting. Christmas use to be the best time for this. Is this just me? If so, thats fine, but others I would think agree.
December 23rd, 2023 at 11:06 PM ^
lot of folks have a tough time during the holidays. seems like you are one of them. not making fun, either, just remarking on it.
December 24th, 2023 at 7:53 AM ^
Not at all. Why would you think that?
December 24th, 2023 at 8:15 AM ^
I think we all enjoyed your stick when you pretended to be Shea. You seem much more negative these days, much more. I hope you have a good holiday.
December 24th, 2023 at 8:30 AM ^
Stick? Never pretend to be anyone.
Not negative at all. Praise God. Merry Christmas.
December 24th, 2023 at 9:51 AM ^
I saw Wonka with my kid and liked it. But on the whole, you are correct, this movie season on the whole is really bad.
I read an article that it is due to a combination of the continued fallout of the mess that Covid created for film release schedules and fallout from the writers strike.
Apparently this is not going to be a “pattern” and that Christmas will continue to be a big season for movies, just an off year due to multiple factors.
December 23rd, 2023 at 11:59 PM ^
I agree, you could always count on a few block buster movies in December for the Holidays. It's a Wonderful Life was a bomb at the movie theaters/houses back in 1946. They said people were still kind of depressed after WWII and nobody was interested in what critics at the time were calling a depressing movie. But once syndicated, it has became a classic. Almost, like the Christmas Story. When it came out in '83 the ratings were pretty low at theaters, and now it is a cult classic starting back in the mid 90s up till Today.
December 23rd, 2023 at 11:04 PM ^
I think Timothee Chamolet is one of the most over rated actors. I can’t watch this movie because of it.
December 26th, 2023 at 1:05 PM ^
I thought the same, but I was impressed by his performance in this one. It's worth a watch!
December 23rd, 2023 at 11:10 PM ^
Took my 9 and 6 year old boys and went in with no preconceived notions. I really enjoyed it as did the boys.
December 23rd, 2023 at 11:18 PM ^
Speaking of movies, has anyone seen The Iron Claw? I’m tempted. Most likely will wait until it shows up on HBO.
When we used to watch pro wrestling as kids and tried to copy the moves, the figure four leg lock was the favorite, followed by the arm bar and the iron claw.
December 23rd, 2023 at 11:21 PM ^
XM this sounds like a really nice way of saying you didn't enjoy it. I understand. Movie quality has dipped over the last decade-ish, putting it nicely. Hopefully it rebounds over the next.
December 24th, 2023 at 6:14 AM ^
i was more positive on it than that. realistically, if i didn't have kids i would not have gone to see it. that said, we do have kids, i took most of them and i enjoyed the movie. not an all-timer, but it was good.
December 23rd, 2023 at 11:52 PM ^
So this movie is about how Willie made his world famous Chocolate Factory. I hope it shows how Willie was able to get the ompa woompas!
December 24th, 2023 at 6:30 AM ^
without giving any plot away, yes, oompa-loompas are involved.
December 24th, 2023 at 10:49 AM ^
And they're played by Hugh Grant! I admit I like the idea of Hugh Grant as an oompa-loompa, regardless of what else I think of the movie.
December 23rd, 2023 at 11:54 PM ^
I thought “Wonka” was ok. Watched “Anyone But You” with a friend last night and it was pretty funny. Looking forward to “The Boys in the Boat” tomorrow evening.
December 24th, 2023 at 1:10 AM ^
You watched at straight down the middle romance with a friend last night and thought it was funny? Sure you got the right adjective?
December 24th, 2023 at 11:57 AM ^
It’s an R-rated rom com with some pretty funny moments (a good deal funnier than No Hard Feelings, which I also enjoyed but in the same R rated comedy genre). So yeah, I found it funny. So did my friend, who is going through a really dark period as it’s probably her mom’s last Christmas… I don’t know what to tell you.
December 23rd, 2023 at 11:56 PM ^
My daughter liked it but she loves Timothee Chalamet. Today we saw American Fiction with Jeffrey Wright which was good and funny, and then Anatomy of A Fall. Neither family movies. I enjoyed them both.
December 24th, 2023 at 12:36 AM ^
Timothy is a great Paul Atreides btw. I can't wait for part 2. I'm taking the kids to Wonka soon. We've seen Godzilla Minus One twice. EVERYONE GO WATCH IT.
December 24th, 2023 at 11:59 AM ^
Watched Godzilla Minus One yesterday. Pretty fantastic and actually cared about the characters which is pretty rare in big action movies these days (see: Rebel Moon)
December 24th, 2023 at 11:03 PM ^
Agree 100%. Reminded me of the original Gojira movie from 1954. It’s sad how that movie was butchered to make the “Americanized” version of Godzilla in 1956.
December 24th, 2023 at 12:43 AM ^
Merry Christmas, XM!
I just got my young family to watch Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. They were a little turned off by the color, etc. but they enjoyed the story, and it reminded me of my childhood.
they’ve seen commercials for Wonka and are now interested.
December 24th, 2023 at 9:49 AM ^
Merry Christmas, Mr. Brasky
December 24th, 2023 at 1:24 AM ^
Took my wife and 4 kids yesterday and we all loved it! No politics just good, clean, feel-good fun. Exactly what a movie should be.
December 24th, 2023 at 1:46 AM ^
As someone who read the original book as a child and really enjoyed the first movie with Gene Wilder, I just can’t get on board with remakes, prequels, etc. I don’t know if the Film Industry has a dearth of ideas, or if the financial stakes are too big for them to take any chances, but there is very little that compels me to go to theaters these days. Barbenheimer an exception, of course. Just MHO…
December 24th, 2023 at 7:41 AM ^
It’s not really a remake. I’d say its a new story with characters (save the titular one) loosely based on Dahl’s book.