Tim Burton's Dark Shadows - Part 2

[Octoberist]

It's hard to root for burton anymore. This is not out of cynicism but of reality.

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Just back from the screening, and I've got to be honest... I LOVED it.

The cinema was packed, with not an empty seat left. I had my popcorn in my hand with my friends nudging me playfully about how I was about to watch Michelle Pfeiffer. I was a little apprehensive due to the somewhat negative reviews, but I thought, ''To hell with it, show me what you got Burton''. And I was pleasantly suprised.

The movie looked absolutey beautiful (Burton's best since Sleepy Hollow), all the actors did a fantastic job with naturally Depp, Green and Pfeiffer making the most impact on me.

Yes the script could have used a little more work as it meandered in places, not to mention some odd (out of nowhere plot points)... but I actually felt fully satisfied when leaving the cinema.


To wrap this up... I loved it, and i'm not sure why its getting the reaction its getting. It's classic Burton and I'll be going to see it a second time on Sunday.

Also, people in my cinema laughed and gasped alot.

7/10.

 

[CConn]

In terms of Burton's arguably declining talent...

I dunno, for me, Burton's only misses have been Mars Attacks!, Planet of he Apes, and Alice in Wonderland. And they're pretty evenly spaced throughout his career.

I haven't seen Dark Shadows though (and sadly won't be able to until next weekend).

 

[Ultimatehero]

I liked it.

Spoiler

I have to say when that *w*itch said 'bastard' and 'orphan' like she did it really effected me lol. So, I loved when the boy called his mother in to take care of her. True orphan justice! I'm an orphan... so... yeah, biased, favorite part was the boy getting back at her. First time a character said that and made me flinch because it was a really sore spot to attack for anyone in that position.

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

I do think Burton needs another Big Fish at the moment.

Have a break from Johnny Depp/Helena Bonham Carter, discover a challenging script, stop with remakes and find a deeper connection other than quirky for quirky's sake.

He's still my fav director and I LOVED Dark Shadows. But he really needs to push himself with the next project.

 

[CConn]

I'm kinda really curious about how Frankenweenie will be considering Burton wrote it himself.

 

[Homer J. Fong]

I like it. It's not a great movie, but it has a peculiar flavor that would have me straining to find the right adjectives to describe it, and I like that. I don't even feel like there's a film in the Burton oeuvre to compare it to accurately. I'm not sure the tone was nailed, but I had a very good time with it.

That it's opening to mixed-to-negative reviews and will probably be crushed by The Avengers this weekend doesn't surprise me. Burton movies don't often open to really positive reviews across the board, and the ones that become Alice-size hits are few and far between. It won't really affect Burton or Depp's careers if/when this movie "flops," they'll keep making movies and they'll keep making movies together. What bothers me is that this movie will probably be labeled a failure the way Alice is, and the way Charlie is, if it isn't labeled a failure already. Charlie doesn't deserve it, Alice doesn't deserve it, and Dark Shadows doesn't deserve it. These aren't exceptional movies, but they're not bad ones.

 

[Man in the Suit]

I think Alice deserves it, but not Charlie.

Gonna check out this flick tomorrow. Hope I like it.

 

[Call Me Darkman]

What bothers me is that this movie will probably be labeled a failure the way Alice is, and the way Charlie is, if it isn't labeled a failure already. Charlie doesn't deserve it, alice doesn't deserve it, and Dark Shadows doesn't deserve it. These aren't exceptional movies, but they're not bad ones.

I agree... but I also can't blame people. Tim Burton made great movies in the `80s and `90s. So, his recent films are disappointing compared to what he used to make. Dark Shadows is good, but it's not Sleepy Hollow good. So, can't blame folks for being a bit letdown.

 

[EliteF50]

Everything about the movie besides Johnny and JEH failed, imo. The visuals were nice, but the story and the jokes were "meh". Also, was Michelle's character supposed to be british or what? Her accent kept changing.

 

[Spider-Man Luvr28]

Saw the movie, thought it was okay. Didn't like it thaaat much.

 

[Homer J. Fong]

I agree... but I also can't blame people. Tim Burton made great movies in the `80s and `90s. So, his recent films are disappointing compared to what he used to make. Dark Shadows is good, but it's not Sleepy Hollow good. So, can't blame folks for being a bit letdown.

Burton was on a hell of a roll from '88-'94, with Beetlejuice, then Batman, then Edward Scissorhands, then Batman Returns, and then Ed Wood, all remarkable movies. Since then, he's been less consistent, it's true, but I hate the way he's written off by so many people the way he is. And Dark Shadows...yeah, probably not as good as Sleepy Hollow, but I don't put Sleepy Hollow up there with his best, although I do like it a lot.

 

[Call Me Darkman]

Burton was on a hell of a roll from '88-'94

Do you hate Pee-Wee's Big Adventure? Also, I'd say Burton was on a roll till 2003. With the exception of Planet of the Apes, all his movies were good/great during this period. Since then, the quality of his work has dropped dramatically. He needs to challenge himself again and get off his comfort zone. And stop working with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter for a while.

 

[Wolfwood]

5/10

Meh. It starts off slow. I really liked the middle. Could have used a little more of the little kid, David. Third act is kind of a mess and some plot devices come out of nowhere, but maybe it could have helped if I was more familiar with the show.

The acting and visuals are good all around. Depp was not as annoying as he was in his last efforts with Burton.

That's exactly how I feel. I didn't go into this film with any prejudice, but I left feeling pretty disappointed. This film had the potential to be an "Adam's Family" type hit, but it squandered it.

Also, a little uncomfortable watching some of Chloe's scenes lol. I felt like Chris Hansen was going to pop out at any second. She was super sexualized.

 

[Project862006]

I'm kinda really curious about how Frankenweenie will be considering Burton wrote it himself.

last animated movies with a story credit by burton we got these so there is hope

 

[GregComicFan]

Also, a little uncomfortable watching some of Chloe's scenes lol. I felt like Chris Hansen was going to pop out at any second. She was super sexualized.

Yeah, I felt the same way. I read an article about upcoming movies and I think Chloe Mortez's next film is some indie drama that involves a teen who is super-sexualized as well, so... oh well...

I also thought the actress who played Victoria looked like she was 16-17 years old. Whenever she spoke, she sounded a lot older... but when just looking at her she looked like a kid.

Any ways,

I thought the movie was just "okay"... Burton's films have always been style over story to me. Dark Shadows seemed like a 45 minute film stretched out to its actual run time. A lot of scenes expressed the same information over and over and over (Depp and Green arguing over why she is so vengeful, why she cursed him to being a vampire, etc. Depp doing silly stuff because he's unfamiliar with the year 1972, etc. Depp explaining he wants to renew the family business, etc.)... so I found myself largely bored with the story at some points, with scenes repeating themselves.

The ending was a mess.

SPOILER:

Spoiler

Was Chloe Mortez being a werewolf foreshadowed at all? Because I'm usually good at picking up subtle foreshadowing... but her turning into a werewolf was OUT OF LEFT FIELD. All her scenes just showed her to be a teenage brat, exploring her sexuality, being crummy to her mom, etc. None of this said to me "She's a werewolf" lol

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

I understand the criticisms, but I don't think the movie warrants the reputation its been getting.

It reminded me of a cross between The Witches of Eastwick/Death Becomes Her.


Oh and John August did the screenplay for Frankenweenie, not Burton.

 

[DeGenerate10]

I havent seen it yet but as I type this I'm watching the 90's remake of the original show. I love this take on it and I've seen a handfull of the original series. So I have a question for those of you who did like it or didn't like it.

If you've seen the original series or the mini-series how do you think this movie was portrayed in comparison to those?

 

[mclay18]

This movie suffers from a jarring tonal shift. The advertising is grossly misleading -- there's a handful of funny scenes and one-liners but it's not a comedy (especially the jarringly different third act). Either Burton should've gone all-out and made this decade's The Addams Family or went all Sleepy Hollow for it. Not try and mix the two.

Bruno Delbonnel's cinematography is excellent, but his masterworks were A Very Long Engagement and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Dark Shadows fits Delbonnel's various filters and angles to Burton's skewed aesthetics.

5/10

 

[marvelrobbins]

from what I am hearing(won't be able to see it till sometime this week) It Is a hybrid tone like some suspected.It starts out very sleepy hollow style till barnabas awakens In 1972.
Then It IS suspose to go from comedy(mostly barnabas's reaction to 1972) to Soap Opera(Remember dark Shadows was a soap opera) to drama before becoming a bit of action during final act which features a major twist Involving a character.

Some of reviewers seem like they want to find reason to dislike the film.Some attack It since Burton and depp are working together again.One even tried to attack Michelle Pfeiffer by bringing out her voice used In film even though most are prasing her performance.For those who already know dark Shadows from what I have heard It seems like they watched the original series,House of Dark Shadows,and 1991 Remake In presenting what elements they would use.And a major twist Is In the film which fans of Original series
will apprecate from what I heard.

 

[C. Lee]

Oh and John August did the screenplay for Frankenweenie, not Burton.

Based on Burton's 1984 short film FRANKENWEENIE that he wrote and directed. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087291/

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Based on Burton's 1984 short film FRANKENWEENIE that he wrote and directed. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087291/

I'm fully aware... I've been watching FRANKENWEENIE since my childhood.

 

[Call Me Darkman]

Grossed less than $10 million on Friday. DACrowe, sorry, but this is a flop.

 

[DACrowe]

I haven't seen it and I'm not too upset because I've been disappointed with it since the trailers (I wanted Sleepy Hollow or Sweeney Todd and got The Addams Family from the looks of it).

But yeah, I overestimated how popular Burton-Depp are these days. Perhaps, his cooky characters only hit if it's a family film which this does not appear to quite be.

 

[Homer J. Fong]

Do you hate Pee-Wee's Big Adventure? Also, I'd say Burton was on a roll till 2003. With the exception of Planet of the Apes, all his movies were good/great during this period. Since then, the quality of his work has dropped dramatically. He needs to challenge himself again and get off his comfort zone. And stop working with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter for a while.

The only Burton movie that I don't think is at least good is Planet of the Apes, so no, I don't hate Pee-wee, or Mars Attacks!, or Sleepy Hollow, or any of them. I don't even hate Planet of the Apes, because it's too weak a movie to warrant the passion of hatred. '88-'94 just represents his most exceptional period.