Tim Burton movie reviews part 2: 1994-2012
written by: Gavin Miller
Ed Wood (1994)
Ed Wood is commonly regarded as one of Burton's best films. And justly, it it. Johnny Depp delivers one of his best performances as the title character, as does Academy Award winner Martin Landau, as Bella Lugosi. Presented in this movie is a great story with fascinating and hilarious characters. Ed Wood has a little of everything, and it's very entertaining. It's a celebration of film making and one of my favorite bio-pics.
my score: 95%
Sleepy Hollow is quite a show. It's a dark, gothic, atmospheric horror/thriller that expertly did exactly what it set out to do. Johnny Depp tones it down a bit; and his performance is quite, but effective. Christina Ricci does a decent job along side Depp, and though her performance isn't exactly memorable, and she lacks chemistry with Depp, it dosent really take the film down for me. I like this film a lot, the visuals are so good that they pretty much compromise any other flaw the movie has, and for pure entertainment and escapism, this a great flick.
my score: 8.9/10
Big Fish (2003)
I find Big Fish to be one of Burton's more mature directing pieces. That's not to say he tones down the wacky visuals and quirkiness - by no means; but the story and characters are more fleshed out than previous Burton films. In essence, Big Fish is one man's life story, deep fried in Tim Burton. Also look out out for Danny Elfman's fantastic score.
my score: 95%
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
This is a movie that has a required a somewhat bad reputation over the years. And while I do understand the complaints, I think that it's a slightly underrated and even misunderstood film. Depp's performance doesn't quite fit, but that dosent mean it's a bad one. Charlie isn't bad, but I'd stick with 1971's Willy Wonka if I were you.
my score: 64%
Corpse Bride (2005)
Corpse Bride is a great stop-motion film. Yes, it will always live in the shadow of the superior Nightmare Before Christmas but by no means does that make it bad. The claymation is some of the best I've seen, and the voice acting (Bonham-Carter in particular) is superb. The music is great, and while the songs are less memorable than Nightmare Before Christmas', they still work just fine, and are a lot of fun. The visuals, the story, and Tim's direction all come together; and the result is a slightly imperfect, visually stunning, gothic animated musical with a heart.
my score: 84%
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2006)
If I had to say what's Johnny Depp's greatest performance is, I would go with Sweeney Todd. This is a film that Tim Burton was made for, and a role that Depp was born to play. This movie is so beautifully staged, Burton's direction is pitch-perfect and the tone he takes on works in every aspect. Considering that none of the actors really had any vocal training, the singing is fantastic. Depp, Bonham-Carter, Rickman, and Baren Cohen all do great jobs with the songs, all of which are very well written and staged. The cinematography is also a marvel. The film is perfectly shot and filled with countless memorable shots. Sweeney Todd is a period piece, a horror story, a musical, and a tragedy. It is my favorite musical and one of my favorite Burton movies.
my score: 100%
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Alice in Wonderland is not a horrible movie. In fact, it's not even a bad movie. But unfortunately, Burton didn't use his full directorial potential, and instead of a grand vision, as he presented with Sweeney or Batman, the result is a somewhat middling, tired effort that doesn't leave you with much. Yes, the visual effects look good; but I would have preferred it not to have been shot all on a green-screen. Johnny Depp gives his usual wacky performance, and Bonham-Carter does a good job - but there's just something missing here. The first part of the film is actually pretty good, and until the final act I don't mind it at all. But the film ends with a somewhat pointless and anti-climactic battle scene that serves the story or characters no purpose what-so-ever. In the end, Alice in Wonderland could have been wonderful, but it turns out restrained, and surprisingly dull considering the source material.
my score: 66%
Dark Shadows (2012)
While I understood the criticism for Alice and Charlie, I thought that Dark Shadows was a very underrated piece. It's no where near perfect, and some elements just don't work, but overall, it's funny, entertaining, and visually it's just awesome. I like the premise of this movie a lot, and for the most part, Burton used it too it's full potential. The cast is star-studded, and as imagined includes most all of the Burton regulars. After 2010's Let Me In (my favorite film of 2010) I was thrilled and pleasantly surprised to see Chloe Grace Moretz play another super-natural beastie.My only real issue was the film's lackluster "climax". It was conventional and didn't feel right along side the originality of the first hour and thirty minutes of the movie. But ignoring that, Dark Shadows was fun, unique, and imperfect entertainment, I enjoyed myself and found the film to be legions better than Alice in Wonderland.
my score: 7.7
Conclusion: Tim Burton is one of my favorite directors. I love his style, his commitment to being unconventional, and his dark visions. Although his films aren't always masterpieces, I always take away the good from them, and as a whole, his films are a wondrous sensation and experience. I look forward to Frankenweenie, and I hope he does more original projects in the future. For the most part, it seems more of his mediocre movies are re-imaginings (with an exception to Sweeney Todd).
Finally I have decided to rank his films, based on my humble opinion.
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