Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, at IMAX

In Haverhill, MA there's a store called "Jordan's Furniture" that sells furniture but is also a fun place to take kids to see a movie on IMAX, or take trapeze lessons, or see a 50 ft bowl of ice cream made of jelly beans. So needless to say it was an ideal place to see "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory."

I've never seen a theatrical movie on IMAX. Ten years ago at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, Josh and I saw "Beavers," a national geographic movie about those buck-toothed rodents that was pretty good (we really saw cuz we thought it was funny to see a movie called "Beavers."). Certain articles and reviews have mentioned the IMAX experience and how it elevates the quality of the movie -- picture quality, in particular. Considering the nature of Tim Burton and the fact that the movie is wall-to-wall candy, that is why I was very excited.

So after a little exploring around the store and gawking at all the flavors of jelly beans one could buy, we purchased our tickets and started waiting in line a full half-hour before the movie was set to start. Little by little the line filled up, until my parents and I were surrounded by families of parents and kids all crazed to see a movie about chocolate. The ushers had given everybody in line 3-D glasses, and as I looked around I could see several kids putting them in their mouth and dropping them on the floor. "I hope they sanitize these things," my mom said. I was thinking the same thing. Yuck.

So, time goes by, and as the free spirits of children are all around us, my parents and I get into various discussions about stem cells, overpaid athletes, and racism in the Northeast. Boy, us Nanias really know how to lighten up.

About 5 minutes before the show's set to start, they finally open the doors and let us in. We're told all 500 seats are sold out, so no one can leave an empty seat next to them. Ha, yeah right, like anyone WANTS to sit next to a stranger. Eventually though, all the seats are filled and I have to say I'm a little worried about the size of the screen. It's friggin huge. Turns out this wasn't a problem.

The lights go down and an enthusiastic voice tells us to put on our (contaminated) 3-D glasses for this portion of the presentation. A cute little animated movie is shown in 3-D and it's a lot of fun. 3-D is fantastic if it's used in the right ways. You KNOW that balloon is not floating right in front of you, yet you reach out to grab it anyway. The show ends and the real movie begins. Well, no, we get the trailers too. "Harry Potter 4," "Nascar 3D," "The Polar Express" (guess it's being released again in IMAX). Then "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" starts.

I was stunned by the picture clarity. You could literally see the pores on Johnny Depp's face, and where his white makeup wasn't applied quite so evenly. A lot of the shots were so clear and crisp that they looked animated. The first shots of the fat German boy were so spotless that I thought he was a doll or something. Really amazing, and perfect for this type of movie (although not as perfect for movies like "Batman Begins," which was also being shown). I plan to see more movies at IMAX now; too bad "War of the Worlds" wasn't shown here. Damn the $11 price tag. It's worth it.

As for the film itself, I enjoyed it, but was not as enthralled with it as Jude was, who gave it 5/5. His score convinced me to see it even though I was on the fence about the film due to, well, it didn't seem to be offering anything new to the story that wasn't already in the original. I was wrong about that, the movie adds a backstory to the Willy Wonka character and is way more ostentatious with the sets, musical numbers, and special FX. But I have to say I was unimpressed with our first look at the inside of the factory. And that's a key moment. I'm talking about the green room with the waterfall of chocolate and what not. Honestly, it looked like a miniature golf course to me, and it didn't seem magical at all. My dad said it reminded him of the ET ride at Universal Studios. Yeah, not good.

In general, what I thought was lacking from the film was a sense of wonder. There was no "Wow!" moment that made me crave candy or wish I was one of the kids touring the factory, a feeling I distinctly remember having the last time I watched the original Gene Wilder version only a few years ago on TV. Maybe it's simply a matter of having nostalgic feelings about the original, and maybe the modern updates of the current movie -- the know-it-all who plays video games, the overachieving American girl, the rock music -- prevented me from enjoying it in a purely childish way. Burton -- true to form -- throws in a father conflict that seems a little out of place, but ends up rounding out the Wonka character nicely.

After the movie my dad and I talked a bit about how other actors could have easily played Wonka, but that they'd all have different interpretations. The comedians: Robin Williams, Jim Carrey. The weirdos: Nicolas Cage, Willem Dafoe. The charismatic: Kevin Spacey. All of these actors would've done something different, and I can't help but wonder how much better Burton's film would've been with someone other than Depp. Depp does not come close to knocking it out of the park like he did in "Pirates of the Caribbean," which is I'm sure what the studios were hoping for. Instead his performance is a little offbeat and weird, not incredibly funny or engaging, and kind of inconsistent. Sometimes Wonka is a socially awkward weirdo who just doesn't understand people, but other times he is all-knowing and God-like about the terrible things that happen to the children. And his voice sounds like Dr. Evil. What's the deal?

I do like the ending though, and Freddie Highmore as Charlie is suitably heartwarming and genuine. And the movie is a lot of fun, with the best part being Charlie's hilarious family. 3.5/5.

After the show we ate at the restaurant right in the store-- can't remember the name. I got vegetarian chili, which was pretty much all beans, then went back to the parents' house to catch up on "Six Feet Under," which if you haven't heard is in its last season and just did something that has everyone talking. So if you plan on watching it in the future on DVD (jude) avoid all articles, postings, conversations about it, because you will most certainly be spoiled.

And then I spent the rest of the night farting. The end.