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"There is no place I know to compare with pure imagination." Gene Wilder sang that dreamy refrain when he played Willy Wonka, the candy-making madman in the beloved but creepy 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, based on Roald Dahl's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

That famous song would fit in beautifully with director Tim Burton's "take two" of Dahl's whimsical adventure. Burton turns the story into an explosion of "pure imagination." In fact, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is so alive with visual invention that some critics are saying there's too much imagination on screen.

Fans will come away with mixed reactions. Burton's version sticks closer to the original narrative, and young Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland) is brilliant as Charlie. No one denies that Burton still has a knack for opulent spectacle. But the candy man has suffered yet another extreme makeover. In the 1971 film, director Mel Stuart transformed Dahl's jumpy genius of junk food into a warm and endearing figure … and then put Wonka's name in the title in place of Charlie's. Johnny Depp, Tim Burton's favorite leading man (Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood), plays Wonka as a somewhat-androgynous oddball with a much more elaborate back story than Dahl ever delineated.

Christian press critics have varying opinions, but most of them find the film a worthwhile confection with some substantial lessons.

Todd Hertz (Christianity Today Movies) says Burton and Depp have "succeeded in creating a fable that is not creepy or trippy, but just possessing a gentle weirdness … that is completely appropriate to Dahl's original book. In fact, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a charming, engrossing, and often laugh-out-loud funny fairy tale that captures the book's spirit while still marking its own territory."

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) calls it a "hugely inventive rethinking of writer Roald Dahl's original work. Overall, director Burton's take on the Dahl tale is predictably darker than the last version, and combines Dickensian atmospherics (though the setting is contemporary) with mordant wit."

Steven D. Greydanus (Decent Films) says viewers will cry "with delight at all the film gets so magically right, and with frustration that in spite of that, the film is still nearly ruined by Burton's obsessions and a spectacularly miscalculated performance by star Johnny Depp. No one but Burton could possibly have so perfectly nailed Dahl's blend of whimsical fantasy and withering comeuppance, or the Dickensian glee and extravagance of its morality-play tableau, with abject poverty and decency lavishly rewarded while excess and surfeit and decadence are mercilessly punished."

Steven Isaac (Plugged In) says, "The tone of the script owes more than a little to Wilder's 1971 movie. … And it burrows deeper into the book and the stage play while it's at it. An added bonus is that the special effects are super-cool, kid-friendly and positively hunger-inducing, and the Oompa-Loompas' song-and-dance routines are a riot. All told, I'm sure author Roald Dahl, were he still with us, would be pleased. His playful morality tale is respected here, and the lessons he sought to teach arrive alive and kicking."

Andrew Coffin (World) says the film's "strong points mostly overcome the film's weaknesses. One is Charlie himself—British actor Freddie Highmore, one of the best things about last year's very good Finding Neverland. Another is Mr. Burton's emphasis on the familial aspects of the story, staging wonderful scenes in Charlie's poor but happy home. … This Charlie is a worthy improvement [on] the original film and a decent companion to Dahl's book."

Lisa Rice (Crosswalk) says, "The message of the movie is that the importance of the love and unconditional acceptance of a father cannot be overstated. And [the movie] does a fine job in making this theme clear. The production value is high, with some good acting, a brilliant music score, and some clever special effects."

Mainstream movie critics turn in primarily positive reviews, while a minority finds Burton becoming more stylist than storyteller.

Luke Wilson, his brother Owen, Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, Steve Carrell, and Jack Black—these guys seem determined to try out every possible combination of their talents. Zoolander. Old School. Starsky and Hutch. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Dodgeball. Every few months, it seems they're together again on screen. With Wedding Crashers, we get Vaughn and Owen Wilson as two immature, girl-crazy bachelors who show up at weddings uninvited and seduce vulnerable, brain-dead women. They're joined by Christopher Walken, The Notebook's Rachel McAdams, and Jane Seymour of television's Dr. Quinn.

But, in spite of these combined talents, Wedding Crashers is under heavy fire from religious press critics who finds its humor far too crass and sophomoric.

Christopher Lyon (Plugged In) says it's "an ugly, soulless, unfunny film about a couple of guys in their mid-30s who only give up mistreating women for sex when they happen to fall for a couple of gals unbalanced or dumb enough to fall for them, too. Good times."

David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) considers the chemistry of Vaughn and Wilson. "Hope and Crosby they're not, but they work well together, injecting a rascally levity into a summer playing field dominated by brooding Batmen and menacing Martians. Unfortunately, director David Dobkin chooses to pander to the lowest common denominator—rather than trusting his leads' considerable comic competence (and chemistry)—mucking up what could have been a smart screwball buddy film with lewd sight gags and foul language."

But Josh Hurst (Reveal) disagrees: "Vaughn and Wilson conjure up charm and charisma like black magic, making uproarious comedy seem as easy as breathing. Their work here tops just about anything done by their peers in recent years—they make Ben Stiller and Jack Black look like a pair of amateur hacks—and their supporting cast is surprisingly strong. … And indeed, an R rating—as opposed to the more commercial PG-13—is what's needed for the subject matter presented here in this randy send-up of sexual irresponsibility, destined to be a classic."

Mainstream critics find the film funny in some places, frustrating and forgettable in others.

More reviews of recent releases

War of the Worlds: Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin (Cinema in Focus) write, "Although the resolution to the war is inherent in telling this story, the lack of coherence in the overall tale is unsatisfying. Suspenseful and dramatic, the tale loses our minds and souls as it focuses on tantalizing our eyes and ears with special effects. Unlike the radio program which made Wells's story so well known, this film will cause few of us to believe its premise or face our fears."

Fantastic Four: Andrew Coffin (World) says, "The dynamic between the characters, mostly played for laughs, keeps the film moving briskly over copious narrative holes and gaps in logic. Unlike the recent Batman Begins, we're not really meant to buy into what's happening on screen—just to go along for the ride."

Dark Water: Andrew Coffin (World) says, "The unknown is much more frightening than the known, and some ambiguity in the conclusion would have extended Dark Water's claim on both class and the more provocative themes it explores. But those not inherently uncomfortable with a ghost story may enjoy the elements a skilled filmmaker can bring to a tired, often repulsive genre."

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