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Tim Burton

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – Tim Burton (2024)

Another revamp of a ‘modern classic’. Fortunately it was made by Burton himself. Burton got a part of the old cast together. Michael Keaton plays Beetlejuice, just as in 1988. Also Winona Ryder returns in the same role (Lydia Deetz), but then 30 years older and Catherine O’Hara as her mother. New actors are Monica Belluci as the evil ex; Willem Dafoe as a dead cop; Justin Theroux as Lydia’s husband-to-be and an amusing Dani deVito.

Burtons opens with the introduction of old and new story lines. Delores comes back from the (un)dead and Lydia Deetz is the hostess of a ghost TV show who has to travel back to the house where the first movie played. Her daughter wants as little as possible to have to do with her mother and grand mother, but she has to join the family at the villa.

There are no big surprises in the film. Needless to say that Beetlejuice has returned after 30 years with his gruely humour. The family has to travel through the ghastly world of the (un)dead and the world of the living in order to prevent things from going awry. Burton came up with a descent level of ‘joke density’ often referring to the first film. The film is still very much “Beetlejuice” and very much Burton, but -of course- more ‘contemporary’.

Quite amusing.

Big Eyes – Tim Burton (2014)

Burton made a very ‘normal’ film, a drama about Margaret who has a very distinctive style of painting children with big eyes. She flees her first husband, soon runs into her second. This second husband proves fairly good in promoting her art, but under his own name…

In the 1950’ies we see a woman who tries to be independent but society is not ready for independent women so she keeps living under male domination. Until she decides to bring out the truth that is!

“Big Eyes” is an alright drama, but nothing really out of the ordinary.

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children – Tim Burton (2016)

Burton’s latest already has a wonderful title. It is a fairly typical Burton. A surrealistic film with children as main characters and they are of course very weird characters, ehm I mean: “peculiar”.

Jake’s grandfather tells him weird stories of “peculiar” children living in Wales, but also about monsters. When he sets out to find his grandfather’s “home for peculiar children” he falls into a strange world of repeating time in which “miss Peregrine” (a beautiful Eva Green) leads the home. There is an invisible boy, a girl that floats away if she does not wear her leaden shoes, a girl whose touch makes fire, etc. You get it, Burton leads you into his strangest fantasy. There are also bad guys, lead by Barron, played by Samuel L. Jackson.

As expected this is another colorful film about a colorful world with subtle humor and great filmographic findings. Perhaps a bit too teen, but a good and entertaining film.

Frankenweenie * Tim Burton (2012)

There are still Burton films that I did not see. “Frankenweenie” is a bit too much of a kids-film for me though. A young boy revives his deceased dog and when his classmates fear he is going to use that feat at the contest of their weird science teacher, they try to copy the trick. Of course things go wrong.

Like I said, the film seems to aim at a younger audience. Besides a few jokes, horror themed references for the parents (the kid is called Victor Frankenstein, there is a family Van Helmont) and funny characters, the film is at its best amusing.

Dark Shadows * Tim Burton (2012)

Apparently I have not (had not?) seen each and every Burton/Depp cooperation. Not a bad surprise though.

“Dark Shadows” is a typical Burton/Depp. Depp is a vampire who returns to the world of the living after a few centuries, more particularly his family. This results in the known Adams Family like dark humour with laughs about modernity and old-fashioned language.

Nothing you have never seen before, but if you like Burton/Depp, an amusing film to watch.

Sweeney Todd * Tim Burton (2007)

Apparently I missed a Burton/Depp cooperation. Could it be because previously I knew that “Sweeney Todd” is a musical and I did not notice it now? It is, you know, a musical… Still this film is a real Burton/Depp. Magnificent stages, weird characters, nicely gloomy with black humour and horror-elements, but the difference is that a large part of the dialogues are sung. This does not really work like in “Repo!“, but on the other hand, it does not take down the film entirely. Perhaps it just adds to the weirdness. Depp is Sweeney Todd, a man who was abandoned for 15 years because some corrupt judge fancied his wife. Of course Todd is up for revenge. A strange story unfolds which is wonderfully told by the combination Burton/Depp, of course in combination with a host of other (sometimes well-known for Burton lovers) actors.

Alice In Wonderland * Tim Burton (2010)

I heard quite critical notes about this cinema-filler, but my girlfriend still wanted to see it, so yesterday we saw Tim Burton’s version of the famous story in 3D. The story is at the same time very recognisable, but there are also a couple of things that Burton changed. He created some superb versions of the famous strange characters. Of course you will think of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, but I was more impressed by the waterpipe-smoking catterpillar Absolem, the Chesire cat, the big-headed “Red Queen” and the magnificent twin Tweedledee / Tweedledum. Burton created a nice, weird atmosphere, great visuals (however with these 3D films I keep seeing out-of-focus parts and not very natural looking humans) with enough subtle humour. Nope, I must say that I was not disappointed. The 3D is a nice extra in the cinema too.

Sleepy Hollow * Tim Burton * 1999

It has been a while since I saw this film in the cinema, now it was already on TV. A real Tim Burton film with a strange atmosphere, weird stages retelling the often-told myth of the headless horseman. Johnny Dep had a very nice part which he plays quite well. Ah well, I suppose most of you have seen the film by now. A ‘horror’ for the entire family with a great soundtrack.

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory * Tim Burton * 2005

This film has on my wish-list for a while, Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, always a nice combination. Since this is a kids-film the priority wasn’t too high. The film was as expected. Burton of course filmed the famous book by Roald Dahl which I don’t think I ever read. There is a mysterious chocolate factory in a small town and five kids are allowed to have a peak inside. Director Willy Wonka (Depp) leads the kids and one family member each through the fantasyfull factory with invention-rooms, rivers of chocolate (and of course the waterfall), Oompa-Loompa helpers, etc. etc. Well, this is something that you can leave to Tim Burton to make! The factory looks great, the characters are weird and the film is very entertaining balancing on the edge of ‘over-the-topness’. There is even some moral put in the film for all the kids (and their parents) who watch it; one kid is a glutton, the next a bitch/know-it-all, a striver and TV-gamefreak and then of course the good kid Charlie who wins the special price. No need to rush to the stores to get this film if you have no kids, but if you like Tim Burton, be sure to see this one some time too.

Big Fish * Tim Burton * 2003

Ah, a new Burton. I had just heard about “Big Fish” and a relative already had it on DVD, so… As you may expect from Burton this is not your average film. It is again a fairytale-like film, fairly funny and of course strange. Ed Bloom is a story-telling father who bases his stories on his own adventures, but gives them heavily worked-on to make them more interesting, a bit like the Baron von Münchhausen a few centuries ago. The major story is about the catch of an enormous fish which isn’t really a fish. Funny are the stories of his life; his career in the circus, his friend Karl the Giant, the way he met his wife, etc. In all it became a bit too much a family-film, but still it is very amusing and has some wonderfull jokes and filmographic inventions. Also well-known actors in sometimes unusual parts: Ewan MacGregor (young Ed Bloom), Steve Busceni (Norther Winslow) or Danny de Vito (circus director).