Last month, this Blogger’s girlfriend penned an excellent
review about The Beetle House; a New York City restaurant inspired by the films
of strange and unusual director Tim Burton (read that review HERE). One blog
can often lead to another, and that review got this Blogger’s wheels turning
towards the career of Burton. The quirky, visionary, imaginative, and
frustratingly inconsistent filmmaker has one of the most distinct styles in
Hollywood in the last 20 years, and his contributions have altered pop culture
and continue to draw people with his name alone. This Blog is a look at his
best and worst films in the Reel Speak tradition of a Top Five ranking; using
criteria of story, character, visual impact, cultural impact, and personal
likes and objective dislikes…along with the tiebreaker of whether or not I ever
want to watch it again.
Since this is intended to be a celebration of Tim Burton,
this Blogger will spend more time on the good than the bad. Any film that
doesn’t appear here falls somewhere between the Best and Worst.
Now, it’s showtime…
THE WORST
5. BATMAN (1989)
More like BATMAN: THE MUSICAL with a ridiculous song and
dance routine every five minutes; led by a beer-bellied, middle-aged, receding
hairline Joker with the dumbest nefarious scheme of all time involving shampoo
and makeup. It’s a frustrating film because the first 20 minutes are outstanding,
only to fall into cartoonish, meandering, aimless nonsense.
4. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (2005)
Messy and cliché with a story that can’t latch onto any one
thing for more than two minutes. Johnny Depp mistakes eccentric for bizarre in
his portrayal of Willie Wonka.
3. ALICE IN WONDERLAND (2010)
A soulless, joyless bore with a messy narrative and CGI
looking like a Looney Tunes flick…topped off with a final battle/war that feels
like it belongs in another movie.
2. MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (2016)
Rushed, silly, and pointless.
1. DARK SHADOWS (2012)
A dull slog that drags on forever. It feels like 50 episodes
of the classic TV series crammed into one feature, and it is capped off by a
big stupid final battle with characters pulling shotguns out of nowhere.
THE BEST
5. A NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1993)
Even though the poster says otherwise, this is technically not
a Tim Burton film as he did not direct it, but instead acted as a producer. Henry
Sellick is the credited helmer, but the story, characters, and fantasy world
are all Burton’s. It is a clever, and outright brilliant take on our holidays
and where they come from, with the main character of Jack Skellington becoming
one of the most significant entries in pop culture.
4. BIG FISH (2003)
Burton’s best films are the ones that he has an emotional
connection to, and BIG FISH is the one that he threw his heart into and it
shows. A tale of a son searching for his father, BIG FISH combines elements of
fantasy with the power of storytelling, and the charming performances from Ewan
MacGregor, Albert Finney, Jessica Lange, Billy Crudup, Danny DeVito, Alison
Lohman, Helena Bonmah Carter, and Marion Cotillard makes the film a joy to
behold. It is one of Burton’s most critically acclaimed films with four Golden
Globe nominations and one Oscar nod.
3. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990)
Based on his own childhood, this mesmerizing story was
Burton’s version of the classic FRANKENSTEIN. The first of eight (!) films
Burton would make with Johnny Depp, ED was an exploration of what it is to be
human, and was one of the first films where Burton would run with his love for
characters who are outcast because they are different. It is a fairy tale
reinvented.
2. BEETLEJUICE (1988)
This mashup of horror and comedy is the ultimate Tim Burton
film and his biggest contribution to pop culture. It is an original twist on
hauntings and poltergeists, with an electric performance by Michael Keaton and
perhaps Winona Ryder’s most memorable role. When the conversation moves to
Burton’s imagination, this is the first film that comes to mind.
1. ED WOOD (1994)
Where BETELGEUSE may be his most memorable, ED WOOD is the
one film in Burton’s career that feels like genuine cinema. There are movies
and there are films, and this is
certainly the latter. Once again playing with his favorite themes of rejects
and horror, this true-story biopic is a love letter to classic Hollywood while
acting as an inspirational tale to any one of us who have been told that our
creative works aren’t good enough. What is art, and who gets to say if it is or
not is a battle every filmmaker, writer, painter, and sculptor faces…and ED
WOOD has a lot to say about that. The cast is inspired, with Depp once again in
front…but the towering, Oscar-winning performance by Martin Landau in his role
as real-life horror icon Bela Lugosi is one for the ages. Those of us who have
followed Tim Burton through his career have a clear love for film, and ED WOOD
is an expression of just that.
THE BEST AND WORST
OF TIM BURTON
BEST
- ED WOOD
- BEETLEJUICE
- EDWARD SCISSORHANDS
- BIG FISH
- THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
WORST
- DARK SHADOWS
- MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN
- ALICE IN WONDERLAND
- CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
- BATMAN
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