This week’s wide releases blend the sweet and the sour. Sweet, like the taste of chocolate or true love; sour, like unabashed excess or scoundrel-like behavior. Will critics develop a taste for "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" or "Wedding Crashers?"
"Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" is one of the most beloved children’s films of all time, so naturally there was some trepidation when it was announced that Tim Burton would be remaking it. Well, it appears those concerns were as misplaced as Veruca Salt’s self-regard. Critics are biting into this eye-catching confection, which tells the surreal tale of five lucky kids who win a trip inside the world of the eccentric candy magnate Wonka (played by Johnny Depp). At 88 percent on the Tomatometer, the reviewers say it’s a visual treat, wondrous and demented in equal measure. Nonetheless, it’s still a bit short of the original "Willy Wonka," which notched a 96 percent on the Tomatometer.
Frat-packers Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are two very funny guys, and much of their appeal revolves around the fact that they are each in a state of arrested development, with a hint of desperation. In "Wedding Crashers," they play two thirtysomething dudes on the make who have found the perfect racket: the wedding scene, where women are in the mood for love. The critics are feeling the love as well; at 84 percent on the Tomatometer, the scribes have found this comedy to be a near perfect union of raunch and sentiment. And it’s a high point in the careers of its two stars; only "Rushmore" (for Wilson, at 85 percent) and "Return to Paradise" (for Vaughn, at 87 percent) have scored higher on the Tomatometer.
Other Vince Vaughn/ Wilson Brothers Collaborations
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61% – Starsky and Hutch (2004)
59% – Old School (2003)
62% – Zoolander (2001)
Other Tim Burton/ Johnny Depp Collaborations:
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NA – The Corpse Bride (2005)
73% – Sleepy Hollow (1999)
89% – Ed Wood (1994)
91% – Edward Scissorhands (1990)
