candy Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The other day I saw The Kingdom, which features a very significant use of a Tootsie Pop. At first I thought, hey that's some good, functional product placement. Then I thought, hey now I want a Tootsie Pop. Then I thought, hey I should give out Tootsie Pops on Halloween. Then I finally thought, hey I should dress up as Jennifer Garner as "Agent Mayes" when I give out Tootsie Pops, for the added movie connection. But later I realized that nobody would get the reference. So, I thought about some other movie-related candy to hand out on Halloween, and I have paired them up with the recognizable movie character(s) they go with. Because what would be more fun when you have to stay home giving out candy than to dress up in a costume appropriate to the treat you're offering?

1. Wonka Bar

As a kid, I thought the Willy Wonka brand of candies existed prior to the release of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and that Warner Bros. had just worked with the brand as extensive product placement. In a way, the product placement thing was still the case, but actually Willy Wonka was the name of the man and company in Roald Dahl's original book. The brand was founded, by Breaker Confections, which changed its name, in sync with the making of the film in order for some cross-marketing genius. Of course, when Tim Burton's remake, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, came out, it could definitely be thought of as product placement for the well-established Willy Wonka brand, now owned by Nestlé. And around the same time as the film's release, a new kind of Wonka Bar premiered in the U.S.

It would be a great idea to dress as either the Gene Wilder version of Wonka, or the Johnny Depp version if you must, and hand out the bars to the kids. Personally, I don't like Nestlé chocolate and would prefer to give out Everlasting Gobstoppers. Plus, that candy is better related to the first movie. But I think kids these days would get the point more with the Bars.

Note: This review originally ran during the Toronto International Film Festival. It is being reprinted now because the film is in limited release.

I overheard some press folks the other day discussing whether to check out the film Candy, and whether it's even possible at this point to make a film about drug addiction and drug addicts, without resorting to the trite and cliched. The thing is, it's a truth that many stories repeat themes done over and and over again -- drug abuse, child abuse, adultery, politics, the line between love and hate -- misery and tragedy are great fodder for interesting stories. Who wants to see a film about perfect, happy people? It's not whether the subject matter has been handled any number of times, it's the way that it's handled in any given story, whether book or film, that will either make a story stand on its own merit or stumble as we agonize over the cliches. Two other (at least) films on the fest circuit this year, Sherrybaby and Half Nelson, told stories of drug addiction in completely different ways. Now director Neil Armfield tries his hand at the subject with Candy, an adaptation of the book Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction, by Luke Davies, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Armfield.

I overheard some press folks the other day discussing whether to check out the film Candy, and whether it's even possible at this point to make a film about drug addiction and drug addicts, without resorting to the trite and cliched. The thing is, it's a truth that many stories repeat themes done over and and over again -- drug abuse, child abuse, adultery, politics, the line between love and hate -- misery and tragedy are great fodder for interesting stories. Who wants to see a film about perfect, happy people? It's not whether the subject matter has been handled any number of times, it's the way that it's handled in any given story, whether book or film, that will either make a story stand on its own merit or stumble as we agonize over the cliches. Two other (at least) films on the fest circuit this year, Sherrybaby and Half Nelson, told stories of drug addiction in completely different ways. Now director Neil Armfield tries his hand at the subject with Candy, an adaptation of the book Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction, by Luke Davies, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Armfield.

Right now, I'm going to share something very personal with you. Not only is it personal, but it's embarrassing. It's a secret that I have lived with my entire life and, for the people in my life aware of this secret, our relationship with one another has never been the same. I've decided, once and for all, to get this off my chest. Today. To you. And if things change between us, then I hope it will be for the better. Ready?

I have no sweet tooth. Yes, I was born without an ability to crave sweets. My worst enemy: Chocolate. I hate it. I've never liked it. It doesn't matter what form the chocolate arrives in, it can never come anywhere near my mouth. One time a friend of mine tried to pull a gag and gave me a handful of M&Ms saying  they were Skittles. Needless to say, no one has seen or heard from this person since. Yes, it's that bad. Yes, I have a disease. Yes, in a way, this has ruined my life.

I decided to share this with you today because all of the following films have a sweet quality about them and, at the same time, provide a nasty bite. They also prove that, sometimes, we have to put ourselves through spoonful of crap in order to enjoy the gigantic bucket of light at the end of the tunnel. Anyone want some chocolate ice cream? Welcome to this week's Trailer Park ...

ThinkFilm has picked up the North American rights to Candy (which is nice, because it gives them something to distribute that doesn't have "f*ck" in the title), an Australian film that had its world premiere at Berlin earlier this year. The movie stars Heath Ledger as a straight poet who happens to enjoy a spot of heroin now and again. Happily, he meets a young lady (the film's titular character, played by Abbie Cornish) who is in to the same sort of thing; the movie traces the ups and downs of their relationships with one another and the smack.

According to an early review in Variety, the performances (including that of the totally awesome Geoffrey Rush, in a supporting role) are uniformly good, but the film's screenplay is uneven, its tone varying so wildly as to be occasionally off-putting. Plus, there's reportedly a cold turkey scene that's not too much fun to watch. Basically, it's Trainspotting, except in Australia. And with a girl.