The Resident Bitch Prepares for... the Most Recent MoFo Countdown

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
(Tim Burton, 2005)

I haven’t watched this movie since it was still fairly new and honestly I had kind of forgotten about it. After tonight’s watch, I definitely have to say that this is not one of Tim Burton‘s best nor is it one of the best from Johnny Depp, but it is fun. It relies a little too heavily on weirdness and whimsy to the point of being overly silly and it’s not a movie I’m likely to watch again anytime real soon, but it’s not a bad way to spend a couple of hours.

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I love your synopsis of The Wizard of Oz. I know that everything you wrote there is true, but I still love the movie.

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If I answer a game thread correctly, just skip my turn and continue with the game.
OPEN FLOOR.

Have you seen the original version, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) starring Gene Wilder?

You probably won't agree with me, but IMO, it's so much better than the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp version.

It kills me to see such low ratings for these movies because they're some of my favorites, but I know how much you hate musicals, and I give you a lot of credit for watching them anyway.

Yes, but it’s been like 30 years.

Maybe it's time for a rewatch, (if you think you might not hate it).

I vaguely remember not really liking it, but it's fairly short so I might give it another shot.

Please don't.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
(Mel Stuart, 1971)

Although I saw this movie as a child, it was never a favorite. I am not overly fond of the story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and I wasn’t one of those kids that read Roald Dahl’s work. Add to that my hatred of musicals and you end up with something I’m not going to like.

But I didn’t hate it. I really don’t like the songs but the rest of it is mostly fine. I am in the minority though in preferring the Tim Burton version. I like his brand of weirdness more plus the more vivid colors of the 2005 version. I also much preferred the Deep Roy Oompa Loompas over these weird orange things but I’m not super fond of either movie and won’t be voting for them.

The Princess and the Frog
(Ron Clements and John Musker, 2009)

I watched this once before but had pretty much forgotten about it to the point that I didn’t even remember if I liked it or not. Now that I’ve seen it again I can say the story, songs, and characters are pretty fun and I like the look of the movie. However, I don’t think this is anything special and it doesn’t have any kind of emotional impact on me so it’ll never be a favorite and I definitely won’t be voting for it.

I pretty much felt the same way about The Princess and the Frog. I enjoyed it while I was watching it, but I didn't remember much about it a week or so later. After watching it a second time, I liked it while I was watching it, and I enjoyed the music, but it didn't interest me enough to consider it for my list.

Love & Mercy
(Bill Pohlad, 2014)

I've seen this movie a few times now and, while I've never really been a Beach Boys fan, I've always been impressed with this. I think it has some really strong performances from both Paul Dano (who I normally can't stand) and John Cusack - both as Brian Wilson in different points of his life, as well as Paul Giamatti and Elizabeth Banks. It tells a really compelling story about a musical genius, his creative process, his struggles with mental health, and about the abuse he suffered at the hands of some of the people in his life.

When this countdown was announced, I put this on my list to rewatch because I know it's a really good film, but I was uncertain about whether I thought it worked as a musical. It's undoubtedly about a musician, but the focus is really on his personal struggles. Having rewatched it tonight, I think it does work - though by a very small margin - and so it may just sneak onto my ballot.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

Hearts Beat Loud
(Brett Haley, 2018)

I don’t have a lot to say about this one. I thought the music was pretty good and I mostly like the story. However, something about Offerman’s character really rubbed me the wrong way. I disliked him from the opening scene and that never changed as the movie progressed, which really hindered my enjoyment of the movie as a whole. I didn’t hate it or anything and I do think that it has more positive aspects than negative, but I doubt I’ll be watching it again.

I liked Hearts Beat Loud, and I thought about suggesting it to you, but I didn't think it had enough songs to consider it for a musicals list. (If I remember correctly, there were only 2 or 3 songs in the movie.)

There are definitely more than two. I think there's enough to qualify. It won't make my list either way though.

Cyrano
(Joe Wright, 2021)

I went into this film known very little about it other than that it was a musical starring Peter Dinklage. Having now seen it I come away with very mixed feelings. There was definitely a lot to like here. I thought the performances were very good, particularly from Dinklage. I also really like the look of the film. I thought the lighting, costuming, and sets were fantastic. I can’t say that I particularly liked the songs, but I didn’t hate them either.

But as much as I liked those aspects, I cannot get away from the fact that the notion of “love at first sight” is one of my pet peeves when it comes to storytelling. I get that the film kind of goes back on that and shows that Roxanne was not truly in love with Christian, however it still left a bad taste in my mouth and I really, really disliked Roxanne. The bulk of the story of this film reminded me strongly of the part of Les Misérables that I hated - with Roxanne being this story’s Marius and Cyrano its Eponine and I’m simply left rolling my eyes.

I, too, thought Dinklage was brilliant but hated the songs.

MoFos: Minio, you troll, why do you rate movies so low!!!

Meanwhile Miss Vicky:

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San Franciscan lesbian dwarves and their tomato orgies.

Hm. I'll check it out.