1Monday July 18, 2005 arts.michigandaily.com artspage@michigandaily.com Ule AItdigan aJlu ARTS 9 SORRY CHARLE BURTON, DEPP FAIL TO RESTORE THE MAGIC IN LACKLUSTER ADAPTATION By Imran Syed Daily Arts Writer How can anyone not see it? The squeaky voice, the pasty face, the outlandish wardrobe, all for a reclusive man-child, tucked away in a secluded wonderland? Why would you make Willy Wonka resemble the recently acquitted King of Pop, Michael Jackson, as do director Tim Burton and star Johnny Depp in the new adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"? With every person young and old thinking back to their marvelous first experience with the timeless, bizarre fairy tale, Burton and Depp fail to deliver what should have been a surefire hit. Depp plays the always erratic and, in this case, psychotic chocolatier Willy Wonka, a solitaire with a candy-making passion. Enter the thought- ful Charlie (Freddie Highmore, "Finding Nev- erland"), a few brats and a contest to determine "s " Missy milxe By Chris Gaerig Daily Arts Writer MUSIC REVIEW i n The ingredients for a successful rap album are simple: a radio-friendly single; guest appearances that exemplify your rhymes rather than outshine them (read: Kanye West) and *tight flows. Previ- Missy Elliot ously Missy Elliot has coalesced these ele- The Cookbook ments to make some Atlantic phenomenal brews, but on The Cookbook, she trades in her baker for other producers' culinary skills. Since releasing Da Real World, Missy and Timbaland have taken the rap scene by storm. Her unconventional style com-t~, bined with his three-steps-ahead pro- duction generated Billboard toppers and New Jer legendary albums. But Timbaland - The Nep whose presence is sorely missed - pro- Now t duced only two songs on The Cookbook. sleeves,it The first two tracks are Timbaland's ies. At : signature blend of electronic beats and Timbalai syncopation. "Joy," the album's opener, at making is one of its strongest tracks and features jumpy be MC Mike Jones. If it weren't for the bor- ner, but it ing, extensive intro to the song, it'd be a track left surefire way to convince the naysayers of Despi Missy's lyrical abilities. Timbaland's only acteristic other song is "Party Time," featuring a and oth grating chorus but stellar production. through. After Timbaland adds his spice to the crotch-g mix, Missy turns to The Neptunes for to the 1 more show-stopping production with "On obligatio Rand On." The up-tempo keyboard blips rhymes, and heavy bass line taste just like a Tim- "We Rui baland concoction. But at nearly five min- lyrical ge utes, the beat is unbelievably bland, and its about Mi straightforward feel is more indicative of Alas, who will be the heir to Wonka's throne, and you get the basic idea. Typical of Burton's ("Big Fish") style, this ver- sion of "Charlie" is quirky and borderline creepy. Aside from the strange portrayal of Wonka, the Oompa Loompas Charlie are all freakishly similar, the songs are hip to today's culture and the and there's a dark side to Won- Chocolate ka's past not explored in Dahl's Factory book or the first film starring At the Showcase Gene Wilder. It's this dark side and Quality 16 - Wonka as the son of a sadis- Warner Bros. tic dentist who never allowed him to have sweets as a child - that turns Wonka into the wacko that he is in the film. Sad as this is, it seems irrelevant, because the story here is about Charlie and his innocence finally being rewarded. By throwing a psychopath in for the ride and inevitably having to humanize him, Burton goes away from what he intended to do - have the story center on Charlie and not Wonka (hence the "Would you like some Jesus juice with your chocolate?" name change from Wilder's film) - and the result is disappointing. To everyone's surprise, the weak- est point in the movie is Depp, who brings little to his iconic role. His lines are poorly written and lack the punch packed by Wilder's quips from 1971 (one-liners like "You're really weird!" and "Eeow!" lose their charm fairly quickly). As for the children, the gum-chewing martial art- ist Violet Beauregarde (relative newcomer and Nata- lie Portman clone Annasophia Robb), complete with an unwavering superiority complex, never loses her luster and hilarity. Grandpa Joe (David Kelly, "Wak- ing Ned Devine"), however, is portrayed as a bum- bling fool, a miscalculated change from the original that had him as Charlie's resilient mentor. Dahl's original was wacky and neurotic enough without Burton and Depp adding their respective flairs. After they do, we are left with a jumbled, oft-confusing mess in which it's hard to figure out where everything's going. Only Depp could make an eccentric like Wilder look tame - and after a career of pushing the boundaries, perhaps this time, tamer would have done Depp well. tepid 'Cookbook'