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Showing all films by director Tim Burton
Big Fish
Director Tim Burton's (Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow) Big Fish tells the story of Edward Bloom, a man who's life is defined by tall tales. Since an early age Will Bloom has heard his father tell his incredible stories, but when he is grown up he realises his father's tales can't be true and feels like he doesn't know the real Edward Bloom. The film follows Will as he tries to find the truth behind his father's stories while at the same time telling some of the tales.
The adventures Edward has told of are numerous and involve such topics as witches, giants and some heroics during the Korean war. As the action moves between the present day and the tales we get a sense of the normal everyday juxtaposed with the fantasy of the make believe. The young Edward Bloom is played very well by Ewan McGregor.
Tim Burton brings us a well written, highly imaginative film with some very immersive stories from Edward's life but at the same time delivers an emotional side with the present day story line. The film is a good length and the different stories help to keep the viewers attention throughout. All in all I'd highly recommend this film to anyone who wants to see something different and who is not put off by the sometimes fairy tale like stories.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Director Tim Burton's film translation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a darkly comic adventure which turns into a crazy trip of song, dance and candy.
The film tells the story of young Charlie Bucket; hailing from a poor family with barely enough money to feed him, his parents and four grandparents, he is obsessed with the chocolate factory in his town run by Willy Wonka. When Wonka announces that 5 lucky children who uncover a Golden ticket in his chocolate will get a tour of the factory with one winning a grand prize; Charlie is eager to win the ticket even although his single hope lies in the one solitary bar of chocolate he gets for his birthday each year.
When the children who are winning the tickets turn out to be some of the most revolting children on the planet; Charlie loses faith in the world, but then his luck changes for the better and he gets to join the tour of Wonka's factory.
Although the films starts quite slowly, once the tour begins the real Tim Burton magic starts the sets are all excellent and the Oompa Loompas songs are done well, each in a different style for each child (Personal favourite has to be the glam rock ones). There are a lot of hilarious moments although the humour is very dark and I'm not sure how much of it children would get.
As with nearly every movie he's in, Johnny Depp is brilliant and makes the film. His portrayal of the eccentric Wonka with his father issues and moments of madness is excellent, at moments the character reminded me of Dr. Evil from the Austin Power's films, the man who is in charge but doesn't seem to have a clue what's going on. His delivery of the lines are excellent and make for some very funny momements.
Overall, an excellent adaptation from the book, fans of Depp or Tim Burton will not be disappointed.
Corpse Bride
12 years or so after the release of A Nightmare Before Christmas, director Tim Burton brings us a similarly themed and similarly animated tale in the form of Corpse Bride.
The story starts with the wedding rehearsal for the marriage between Victor and Victoria. Victor doesn't do to well remembering his vows and the parents of the bride aren't too impressed. He leaves the rehearsal disheartened and goes into the woods to practice his vows. In doing so he accidentaly slips the ring onto the skeletal hand of dead bride-to-be Emily mistaking it for a twig. Emily comes to life and declares his proposal binding taking him to the underworld where a troupe of dancing skeletons explain the situation via a trippy dance number.
Corpse Bride is very well animated and the screenplay is excellent with a good number of UK based celebrities adding their voice talents to the film. Dark and funny throughout, Corpse Bride is well worth watching.
Edward Scissorhands
With the recent resurgence of interest in Tim Burton's films sparked by the releases this year of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride many of his earlier films are available on DVD at reduced prices.
Edward Scissorhands tells the story of the perfect neighbourhood of Suburbia, everyone lives in their nice pastel painted houses with their perfectly trimmed lawns and their 2.4 children. One day the local Avon lady decides to make a visit to a rather spooky house on the hill overlooking their neighbourhood after an unsuccessful trip around the local houses.
In the house lives Edward (Johhny Depp), a young man created by an inventor, unfortunately before Edward was completed the inventor died leaving him with scissors where is hands should be. The Avon lady takes the young man down from the house to come and live in her house.
At first the neighbours love him; as he cuts their hedges and does haircuts for their dogs and the local women. But things soon change when Edwards is led astray and those who once lavished him with praises turn against him.
Depp is excellent in his role playing the sad Edward with his childlike naivety. All Edward wishes for is to be normal; but he is only so popular because he isn't; his greatest gift is also his greatest curse.
Edward Scissorhands is an amazing tale, funny in places and sad in others; a warning perhaps that the outwardly perfect life in Suburbia is not as happy or perfect as it may seem.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Tim Burton brings to the big screen his remake of the musical about a barber wrongly sent to the penal camps of Australia for a crime he did not commit. On his return he seeks revenge on those responsible for his sending away and society as a whole, so he sets up a new barbers above a pie shop and starts slitting the throats of his clients. Meanwhile his landlady Mrs Lovett is baking the bodies into pies.
Sweeney Todd has many Tim Burton trademark elements, it's dark, blackly comic and stars both Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. While the plot, acting and filming can't be faulted, I found the musical part of the film a little annoying. It's probably all very close to how it's meant to be but it just wasn't to my tastes, the songs are more like people singing the words and it left me with a feeling that I would have enjoyed it a lot more had it not been a musical.
Overall, a good movie but the musical nature of it might not appeal to viewers who aren't in to musicals.
Planet of the Apes
Tim Burton's version of the 1968 Sci-Fi film of the same name takes the same premise, an alien world where apes rule and humans are subserviant but that is where the similarities end.
The plot for the remake sees Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg), an animal trainer aboard a deep space research space ship, defy his superiors and fly into a deep space storm to rescue his chimp. When the storm transports him to another world, he finds that the planet is inhabited by intelligent apes who keep the humans on the planet as slaves.
At first glance, similar to the first, but the humans are much more human than the dumb humans from the 1968 version and the apes are much more ape like, this ruins some of the dynamic of the first, especially since the humans can now talk and seem a lot less defenceless and naive than in the previous movie. The main religion vs science theme is almost entirely removed and the whole thing boils down to a much more by the numbers Wahlberg must save the humans from their Ape oppressors.
This wouldn't be a bad thing if it had the acting and cast to back it up, but Wahlberg is less than stellar and he's the best of the bad bunch. Mrs Tim Burton Helena Bonham Carter pops up as the main human sympathiser in the apes, her character is whiny and annoying and there is little point to it.
Overall, vastly inferior to the 1968 version taking the concept and turning it into a rubbish Sci-Fi movie.
Alice in Wonderland
Having not read the book and with little knowledge outside the plot and the main characters, I came into Alice in Wonderland with little background. The film is set some 14 years after Alice's first adventures in Wonderland. Now 19, she is about to be married off, but while trying to make sense of her life once again tumbles down the rabbit hole, finding herself in Wonderland where she is expected to help save the day.
First up, the bad: Mia Wasikowska who plays Alice is pretty awful; her character is too whiny and although she is meant to be 19, for the most part she looks about 12; the plot is pretty simplistic and consists mainly of Alice going from one place to another, there are no sub-plots or unexpected twists and finally, there is far two much made up gobbledygook words and phrases. I couldn't work out half of the places/things they were talking about because they all had stupid names.
Having said that, the film does have its strong points. The presentation and look is amazing; the whole thing has a wonderful unreal shine to it and while I find 3D a bit of a gimmick, it does work for the most part. In some ways, this film is as visually stunning as Avatar. Johnny Depp is a hoot as the mad hatter and (when she's not shouting) Helena Bonham Carter is great as the evil Red Queen. Anne Hathaway is a bit annoying as the White Queen, but I assume her character was meant to be like that.
Overall, boring plot, annoying lead character, but visually amazing. I expected darker from Burton, but this is Disney after all.
Big Fish
Director:
Tim Burton
Year: 2003
Language: English
Country: America
Director Tim Burton's (Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow) Big Fish tells the story of Edward Bloom, a man who's life is defined by tall tales. Since an early age Will Bloom has heard his father tell his incredible stories, but when he is grown up he realises his father's tales can't be true and feels like he doesn't know the real Edward Bloom. The film follows Will as he tries to find the truth behind his father's stories while at the same time telling some of the tales.
The adventures Edward has told of are numerous and involve such topics as witches, giants and some heroics during the Korean war. As the action moves between the present day and the tales we get a sense of the normal everyday juxtaposed with the fantasy of the make believe. The young Edward Bloom is played very well by Ewan McGregor.
Tim Burton brings us a well written, highly imaginative film with some very immersive stories from Edward's life but at the same time delivers an emotional side with the present day story line. The film is a good length and the different stories help to keep the viewers attention throughout. All in all I'd highly recommend this film to anyone who wants to see something different and who is not put off by the sometimes fairy tale like stories.
Dave W - 14th February, 2004 - 14:56
Director:
Tim Burton
Year: 2005
Language: English
Country: America
Director Tim Burton's film translation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a darkly comic adventure which turns into a crazy trip of song, dance and candy.
The film tells the story of young Charlie Bucket; hailing from a poor family with barely enough money to feed him, his parents and four grandparents, he is obsessed with the chocolate factory in his town run by Willy Wonka. When Wonka announces that 5 lucky children who uncover a Golden ticket in his chocolate will get a tour of the factory with one winning a grand prize; Charlie is eager to win the ticket even although his single hope lies in the one solitary bar of chocolate he gets for his birthday each year.
When the children who are winning the tickets turn out to be some of the most revolting children on the planet; Charlie loses faith in the world, but then his luck changes for the better and he gets to join the tour of Wonka's factory.
Although the films starts quite slowly, once the tour begins the real Tim Burton magic starts the sets are all excellent and the Oompa Loompas songs are done well, each in a different style for each child (Personal favourite has to be the glam rock ones). There are a lot of hilarious moments although the humour is very dark and I'm not sure how much of it children would get.
As with nearly every movie he's in, Johnny Depp is brilliant and makes the film. His portrayal of the eccentric Wonka with his father issues and moments of madness is excellent, at moments the character reminded me of Dr. Evil from the Austin Power's films, the man who is in charge but doesn't seem to have a clue what's going on. His delivery of the lines are excellent and make for some very funny momements.
Overall, an excellent adaptation from the book, fans of Depp or Tim Burton will not be disappointed.
Dave W - 10th August, 2005 - 12:45
Director:
Tim Burton
Year: 2005
Language: English
Country: America
12 years or so after the release of A Nightmare Before Christmas, director Tim Burton brings us a similarly themed and similarly animated tale in the form of Corpse Bride.
The story starts with the wedding rehearsal for the marriage between Victor and Victoria. Victor doesn't do to well remembering his vows and the parents of the bride aren't too impressed. He leaves the rehearsal disheartened and goes into the woods to practice his vows. In doing so he accidentaly slips the ring onto the skeletal hand of dead bride-to-be Emily mistaking it for a twig. Emily comes to life and declares his proposal binding taking him to the underworld where a troupe of dancing skeletons explain the situation via a trippy dance number.
Corpse Bride is very well animated and the screenplay is excellent with a good number of UK based celebrities adding their voice talents to the film. Dark and funny throughout, Corpse Bride is well worth watching.
Dave W - 2nd November, 2005 - 16:46
Director:
Tim Burton
Year: 1990
Language: English
Country: America
With the recent resurgence of interest in Tim Burton's films sparked by the releases this year of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride many of his earlier films are available on DVD at reduced prices.
Edward Scissorhands tells the story of the perfect neighbourhood of Suburbia, everyone lives in their nice pastel painted houses with their perfectly trimmed lawns and their 2.4 children. One day the local Avon lady decides to make a visit to a rather spooky house on the hill overlooking their neighbourhood after an unsuccessful trip around the local houses.
In the house lives Edward (Johhny Depp), a young man created by an inventor, unfortunately before Edward was completed the inventor died leaving him with scissors where is hands should be. The Avon lady takes the young man down from the house to come and live in her house.
At first the neighbours love him; as he cuts their hedges and does haircuts for their dogs and the local women. But things soon change when Edwards is led astray and those who once lavished him with praises turn against him.
Depp is excellent in his role playing the sad Edward with his childlike naivety. All Edward wishes for is to be normal; but he is only so popular because he isn't; his greatest gift is also his greatest curse.
Edward Scissorhands is an amazing tale, funny in places and sad in others; a warning perhaps that the outwardly perfect life in Suburbia is not as happy or perfect as it may seem.
Dave W - 1st December, 2005 - 14:18
Director:
Tim Burton
Year: 2007
Language: English
Country: America
Tim Burton brings to the big screen his remake of the musical about a barber wrongly sent to the penal camps of Australia for a crime he did not commit. On his return he seeks revenge on those responsible for his sending away and society as a whole, so he sets up a new barbers above a pie shop and starts slitting the throats of his clients. Meanwhile his landlady Mrs Lovett is baking the bodies into pies.
Sweeney Todd has many Tim Burton trademark elements, it's dark, blackly comic and stars both Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. While the plot, acting and filming can't be faulted, I found the musical part of the film a little annoying. It's probably all very close to how it's meant to be but it just wasn't to my tastes, the songs are more like people singing the words and it left me with a feeling that I would have enjoyed it a lot more had it not been a musical.
Overall, a good movie but the musical nature of it might not appeal to viewers who aren't in to musicals.
Dave W - 21st January, 2008 - 12:26
Director:
Tim Burton
Year: 2001
Language: English
Country: America
Tim Burton's version of the 1968 Sci-Fi film of the same name takes the same premise, an alien world where apes rule and humans are subserviant but that is where the similarities end.
The plot for the remake sees Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg), an animal trainer aboard a deep space research space ship, defy his superiors and fly into a deep space storm to rescue his chimp. When the storm transports him to another world, he finds that the planet is inhabited by intelligent apes who keep the humans on the planet as slaves.
At first glance, similar to the first, but the humans are much more human than the dumb humans from the 1968 version and the apes are much more ape like, this ruins some of the dynamic of the first, especially since the humans can now talk and seem a lot less defenceless and naive than in the previous movie. The main religion vs science theme is almost entirely removed and the whole thing boils down to a much more by the numbers Wahlberg must save the humans from their Ape oppressors.
This wouldn't be a bad thing if it had the acting and cast to back it up, but Wahlberg is less than stellar and he's the best of the bad bunch. Mrs Tim Burton Helena Bonham Carter pops up as the main human sympathiser in the apes, her character is whiny and annoying and there is little point to it.
Overall, vastly inferior to the 1968 version taking the concept and turning it into a rubbish Sci-Fi movie.
Dave W - 8th February, 2009 - 17:24
Director:
Tim Burton
Year: 2010
Language: English
Country: America
Having not read the book and with little knowledge outside the plot and the main characters, I came into Alice in Wonderland with little background. The film is set some 14 years after Alice's first adventures in Wonderland. Now 19, she is about to be married off, but while trying to make sense of her life once again tumbles down the rabbit hole, finding herself in Wonderland where she is expected to help save the day.
First up, the bad: Mia Wasikowska who plays Alice is pretty awful; her character is too whiny and although she is meant to be 19, for the most part she looks about 12; the plot is pretty simplistic and consists mainly of Alice going from one place to another, there are no sub-plots or unexpected twists and finally, there is far two much made up gobbledygook words and phrases. I couldn't work out half of the places/things they were talking about because they all had stupid names.
Having said that, the film does have its strong points. The presentation and look is amazing; the whole thing has a wonderful unreal shine to it and while I find 3D a bit of a gimmick, it does work for the most part. In some ways, this film is as visually stunning as Avatar. Johnny Depp is a hoot as the mad hatter and (when she's not shouting) Helena Bonham Carter is great as the evil Red Queen. Anne Hathaway is a bit annoying as the White Queen, but I assume her character was meant to be like that.
Overall, boring plot, annoying lead character, but visually amazing. I expected darker from Burton, but this is Disney after all.
Dave W - 9th March, 2010 - 12:27
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