The Best Prize is a Sur-prise

The surprise was that Veronica Mars wasn't in my mailbox when I got home today. Why, Netflix, why must you fail me in my time of need?

So I watched the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remake on stolen premium cable instead. I seem to be the only person of my generation not to have seen the original, so I didn't have too many expectations. This movie was a chance to ponder once again what a strange and wonderful actor Johnny Depp is. Also the interesting stereotypes. For example, to all appearances, Charlie lives in England. But when he's in the store and finds the golden ticket, suddenly people with American accents start offering him dollars for it. Because Americans are so vulgar we commodify everything? The kid playing the violent video game was, of course, from Denver... Columbine, anyone? I thought it was a little strange that he'd gotten so smart when his weakness was supposed to be TV. Everything he said made a lot of sense, but the moral seemed to be that with optimism and old-fashioned gumption, one can overcome the laws of physics and logic.

I did enjoy the movie, though, moralizing and all.