Tim Burton is now working on Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" for his next project!

[Beastfeast]

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Ed. Scissorhands, Ed wood, Mars Attacks were all GREAT films. His style is immediately recognizable and he's very visually literate.

 

He's not putting out the quality of stuff he used to do, but it's a ton better than most of the mess that gets passed for film nowadays.

 

Don't get me wrong...Charlie and the choc factory was hard to sit through. But Big Fish (even though it's a pile of sentimental barf) made me sob like an insufficiently_thoughtful_person.

[Beastfeast]

...Sleepy Hollow particularly is just gorgeous!

 

I forgot about that film. Beautiful stuff.

[Dano]

People dislike Burton, but love Whedon. Weird.

 

Dan

[Fireboy]

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Ed. Scissorhands, Ed wood, Mars Attacks were all GREAT films. His style is immediately recognizable and he's very visually literate.

 

He's not putting out the quality of stuff he used to do, but it's a ton better than most of the mess that gets passed for film nowadays.

 

Don't get me wrong...Charlie and the choc factory was hard to sit through. But Big Fish (even though it's a pile of sentimental barf) made me sob like an insufficiently_thoughtful_person.

 

Chocolate Factory is one of the worst movies ive ever sat through.

[Beastfeast]

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Ed. Scissorhands, Ed wood, Mars Attacks were all GREAT films. His style is immediately recognizable and he's very visually literate.

 

He's not putting out the quality of stuff he used to do, but it's a ton better than most of the mess that gets passed for film nowadays.

 

Don't get me wrong...Charlie and the choc factory was hard to sit through. But Big Fish (even though it's a pile of sentimental barf) made me sob like an insufficiently_thoughtful_person.

 

Chocolate Factory is one of the worst movies ive ever sat through.

 

I know. There were times I caught myself sitting there with my mouth open in complete shock at how TERRIBLE some scenes were. Not just bad/boring or bad/funny...but just plain baaaaad.

[fantastic_four]

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Ed. Scissorhands, Ed wood, Mars Attacks were all GREAT films. His style is immediately recognizable and he's very visually literate.

 

He's not putting out the quality of stuff he used to do, but it's a ton better than most of the mess that gets passed for film nowadays.

 

Don't get me wrong...Charlie and the choc factory was hard to sit through. But Big Fish (even though it's a pile of sentimental barf) made me sob like an insufficiently_thoughtful_person.

 

Chocolate Factory is one of the worst movies ive ever sat through.

 

I know. There were times I caught myself sitting there with my mouth open in complete shock at how TERRIBLE some scenes were. Not just bad/boring or bad/funny...but just plain baaaaad.

 

When he's doing these film translations of children's books, I expect this, which is why I was only moderately interested in seeing Alice in Wonderland. They're written to hold the attention of kids, not adults. I had a hard time making it through Alice, but the visuals were spectacular as I figured they'd be. The Cheshire Cat was just AMAZING!

 

What scenes did you think were awful in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Burton's version was closer to the book than the older Gene Wilder version...a lot of the plot and dialogue was straight from the book, with the exception of additions such as the flashbacks to Willy Wonka's father. I'm sure the Oompa-Loompa dance sequences were painful to watch for many people given how intentionally cheesy/campy he made them.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Burton is so overrated. His style is just so overdone. Always has that same gritty trendy cinematography. He needs to change it up...it's like he figured out a formula in the late 80s and hasn't deviated since.

 

I get it dude, your movies are "dark" and "weird"

 

Burton used to be an artist before a director and art design is what he puts most of his creative effort into...most visual artists come up with a distinctive visual style and tend to stick with it. Kirby, Romita, Schomburg, Frazetta, Ditko, Adams, Steranko...EVERY artist, it's just the norm. Like these artists, the entire reason you're able to identify his formula is because his visual style is so distinctive, so sour grapes and stylistic preferences aside, your criticism above is a compliment.

 

I can never tell if a Burton/Depp film is going to have good acting, plot, or story, but I always know they'll look fantastic, which is why I usually see them all.

FF makes a great point that extends across the entire spectrum of the creative arts. The public, once they accept a certain artist's "style", whether it be music, fine art, film, comics, novels, etc., are going to be very reticent to accept any radical change in that artist's style.

 

Very, very few artists ever successfully change their style once they become "known"...think Picasso, or the Beatles.

 

That's why Danny Elfman's film scores sound "mostly" the same...and why John Williams, with his french horn runs, trumpet fanfares, and always fat, pulsing strings underneath it all, is the most successful film scorer in history. Everything he does "sounds" like John Williams.

 

And that's what the public wants.

 

It's like JC always says...people want the same, with just a little difference.

 

It's true.

[Gemma]

Plus, what was the deal with the "dentist father" story that they created?

[Tatterdamillion]

I love you guys that dont like Tim Burton movies. I felt like I was on an island by myself.

[seanfingh]

 

When he's doing these film translations of children's books, I expect this, which is why I was only moderately interested in seeing Alice in Wonderland. They're written to hold the attention of kids, not adults. I had a hard time making it through Alice, but the visuals were spectacular as I figured they'd be. The Cheshire Cat was just AMAZING!

 

 

That's an excellent point.

[fantastic_four]

Plus, what was the deal with the "dentist father" story that they created?

 

The screenwriter added it to place Wonka's idiosyncratic behavior into some kind of semi-realistic context, but it still wasn't really enough to make him at all a believable character, so it could've been left out. I didn't mind it all that much.

[fantastic_four]

 

When he's doing these film translations of children's books, I expect this, which is why I was only moderately interested in seeing Alice in Wonderland. They're written to hold the attention of kids, not adults. I had a hard time making it through Alice, but the visuals were spectacular as I figured they'd be. The Cheshire Cat was just AMAZING!

 

 

That's an excellent point.

 

They replay Charlie all the time on family-oriented channels, so it's a point that television execs seem to get. I'm sure Burton is trying hard to create something that both kids and adults will love, and to a great extent he succeeds...but eh, a lot of adults just aren't able to relate to these kids' stories.

[seanfingh]

 

Funny that you mentioned the beatles. That is a band that seemed, to me, to change a great deal from the initial album to , say, Sgt. Peppers. But I'm not going into a music battle with you. Momma taught me not to bring a popsicle stick to a gun fight.

[fantastic_four]

Not all of Burton's films follow his "formula" either. The pacing and acting in Beetlejuice is a lot faster than most of his usual evenly-paced goth-artist-type films, and it's hard to even guess that Planet of the Apes and Big Fish are made by him if you didn't know it but were familiar with his usual style.

[VintageComics]

I love Tim Burton's flicks but then I am a bit of a throwback.

 

I thought 9 was a fun watch.

 

I love the dry, moderate campiness that his films possess....and I couldn't stand Beetlejuice BTW.

 

R.

 

 

[Bosco685]

Plus, what was the deal with the "dentist father" story that they created?

How else to insert a creepy scene with Christopher Lee short of a chocolate-sucking vampire.

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

Funny that you mentioned the beatles. That is a band that seemed, to me, to change a great deal from the initial album to , say, Sgt. Peppers. But I'm not going into a music battle with you. Momma taught me not to bring a popsicle stick to a gun fight.

 

Oh, yeah, absolutely. That's why they were an example of artists who successfully changed their style. They are one of the few creative acts....actually, Lennon and McCartney....that not only were able to successfully change their style and be even MORE popular...they did it 3-4 TIMES in their oh so short career from 1962-1970.

 

In the process, they revolutionized modern music. Picasso did the same thing with fine art.

[seanfingh]

Funny that you mentioned the beatles. That is a band that seemed, to me, to change a great deal from the initial album to , say, Sgt. Peppers. But I'm not going into a music battle with you. Momma taught me not to bring a popsicle stick to a gun fight.

 

Oh, yeah, absolutely. That's why they were an example of artists who successfully changed their style. They are one of the few creative acts....actually, Lennon and McCartney....that not only were able to successfully change their style and be even MORE popular...they did it 3-4 TIMES in their oh so short career from 1962-1970.

 

In the process, they revolutionized modern music. Picasso did the same thing with fine art.

 

Reading Comprehension FAIL

[RockMyAmadeus]

Funny that you mentioned the beatles. That is a band that seemed, to me, to change a great deal from the initial album to , say, Sgt. Peppers. But I'm not going into a music battle with you. Momma taught me not to bring a popsicle stick to a gun fight.

 

Oh, yeah, absolutely. That's why they were an example of artists who successfully changed their style. They are one of the few creative acts....actually, Lennon and McCartney....that not only were able to successfully change their style and be even MORE popular...they did it 3-4 TIMES in their oh so short career from 1962-1970.

 

In the process, they revolutionized modern music. Picasso did the same thing with fine art.

 

Reading Comprehension FAIL

 

That's ok...it's happened to dumber people than you.

 

[NewEnglandGothic]

....and I couldn't stand Beetlejuice BTW.

 

R.

Everytime I use a bridge in NH, I think of that movie, .