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it's no secret that i don't like tim burton's work. Edward Scissorhands will always remain the one film of his that i can get behind because in its time it was original and so freakishly "out" there that it had a sort of charm. And the character was charming himself (charmingly played by mr. depp), and the story was a nice re-envisioning of the frankenstein myth.
but burton's never done anything really worth much since. and i've watched nearly all of his films just to avoid being an: "i-hate-that-and-won't-watch-it-snob". throughout his career i've found myself offended (Ed Wood is a truly insulting movie, i think), bored (pretty much take your pick, they all leave me cold), or just flabbergasted and exasperated (Legend of Sleepy Hollow: great special effects, horrendous casting and the worst screenplay based on the ol' standby i have ever seen ~ yuck!)
nevertheless, i finally got around to seeing Corpse Bride, another mind-boggling foray into that murky world between "what the hell?" and "who cares?"
The premise is interesting, but the plot devolves into a facile good vs. bad thing, the characters are largely wooden and uninteresting (the bride is about the most lively thing on there), the songs are boring, the overall effect of the design is mostly gloomy and dull.
on the plus side, i appreciate that this was all shot in stop-motion, an art form i love and much much much prefer over computer-generated animation. but it still hangs like old moss, the story is buried under a lot of antics that are merely distractionary, and most of the characters you just want to go away the minute they appear on the screen (especially the maggot homage to peter lorré ~ barfola). somehow, in spite of superb art direction and lovely designs, this film is just flat flat flat.
i'd say more, but even though i just finished watching it, i've already forgotten most of it. burton's world and rawling's world are both of similar ilk to me: highly derivative, dependent on a set of cultural assumptions, and so over-stylized that nothing grounds you in a way that makes you care about what's going on.
so there you have it. another thumbs-down from me for burton.
this piano-playing scene was the
only moment in the film i really liked
though overall, i guess i can say the movie
at least didn't make me wish i were dead
but burton's never done anything really worth much since. and i've watched nearly all of his films just to avoid being an: "i-hate-that-and-won't-watch-it-snob". throughout his career i've found myself offended (Ed Wood is a truly insulting movie, i think), bored (pretty much take your pick, they all leave me cold), or just flabbergasted and exasperated (Legend of Sleepy Hollow: great special effects, horrendous casting and the worst screenplay based on the ol' standby i have ever seen ~ yuck!)
nevertheless, i finally got around to seeing Corpse Bride, another mind-boggling foray into that murky world between "what the hell?" and "who cares?"
The premise is interesting, but the plot devolves into a facile good vs. bad thing, the characters are largely wooden and uninteresting (the bride is about the most lively thing on there), the songs are boring, the overall effect of the design is mostly gloomy and dull.
on the plus side, i appreciate that this was all shot in stop-motion, an art form i love and much much much prefer over computer-generated animation. but it still hangs like old moss, the story is buried under a lot of antics that are merely distractionary, and most of the characters you just want to go away the minute they appear on the screen (especially the maggot homage to peter lorré ~ barfola). somehow, in spite of superb art direction and lovely designs, this film is just flat flat flat.
i'd say more, but even though i just finished watching it, i've already forgotten most of it. burton's world and rawling's world are both of similar ilk to me: highly derivative, dependent on a set of cultural assumptions, and so over-stylized that nothing grounds you in a way that makes you care about what's going on.
so there you have it. another thumbs-down from me for burton.
this piano-playing scene was the
only moment in the film i really liked
though overall, i guess i can say the movie
at least didn't make me wish i were dead
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