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8/10
Charlie and the chocolate factory
4 January 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Roald Dahl's timeless piece ran through Tim Burtons hands...yes, I'll take it.

Starting from the beginning, the filming is scrumptious and interesting. For a candy-lover like me, this movie is very fun watching, from the candy-point of view. What made the film cool, has maybe to do with the original settings which Dahl has described in the book, about the chocolate room and the Oompa loompas. Your imagination comes to life on screen.

The actors all do a fairly good job, though some personalities differing a bit from the original book. But I consider the film an interpretation of the book, not an exact narrative. Johnny Depp creates his Willy Wonka maybe a bit more emotional and absent-minded than expected, but do to the little side plot about Wonkas childhood put in alongside the main story line, it's well understood.

The little Charlie is innocent and obliging as ever, and his family is likable as well. As for the other children, it was fun watching them being liquidated one by one, only to see them in the end as changed children (if not mentally, then physically).

Well recommended for the whole family.
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6/10
the Christmas story
4 January 2011
The Christmas story, Joulutarina, is a heartwarming story of the Finnish Santa Claus. Heartwarming maybe to Finns, though not to many who prefer the red American Santa Claus.

I had to see this a few times before it settled in. It's not a master piece, but what made me grade it as high as I did, beside the main plot and a few good Finnish actors, was the beautiful, beautiful landscape. Very nice to watch. Lapland in cold winter.

A few minus points: the sun is not that high as shown in the film during Christmas, actually the sun doesn't shine much at all in Lapland during December.

Part of the scenes and sets were a bit cheesy, for example going down in the woodshed for the first time. The candles were blazing when Nikolaus and Iisakki went down for the first time, though it is assumable that no-one had been down there yet that day. Who knows.

One particular factor that really bugged me was the use of language throughout the whole film - modern Finnish was used, with some slangy words and sayings of this time. They absolutely did not fit in along.

Antti Tuisku. Nononono. Absolutely fake.

All in all, though, a nifty package.
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