2. Willy Wonka - Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
Was this first truly annoying Johnny Depp performance? The film where everybody turned to one another when the movie was over and said: "Johnny Depp was really annoying in that movie"? It certainly feels like it - especially since the actor's turn in this flick seemed to usher in a new era of similarly-acted performances from a talented guy who is is so much better than the shlock he puts up on the screen. So his "crazy" turn in Tim Burton's exhausting remake of a far better movie seems calculated beyond belief: weird for the sake of weird, and in the words of critic Ann Hornaday, "like those excruciating occasions when your parents tried to be hip." Spot on. As a result, seems to have misjudged the character of Willy Wonka entirely: he's meant to be odd and mysterious, but not "unlikeable" in the sense that Depp renders him. In Gene Wilder's own words: "As an actor I like very much... but when I saw little pieces in the promotion of what he was doing, I said I don't want to see the film, because I don't want to be disappointed in him." Good thing you didn't, Gene. You made the right choice.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
