Memo to Tim Burton:

Don't listen to that snob Maslin. Anyone with the right Rolodex could have pulled together the quirky Oscar-bait about the handsome son's reconciliation with his dying father. (Grade: B-) But no one else on the planet could have made Mars Attacks!.

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MARS ATTACKS! rules, but I'm sure what you meant to say was EDWARD SCISSORHANDS or BEETLEJUICE, right?

The book is way to short for my taste. It's a wonderful little story but no one in the WORLD could pull off making it wierd like Tim Burton. He's a bit of a loon, but his signature style of filmmaking is beautiful. Haven't seen it yet, but I am looking forward to some feedback....

Posted by: Ryan Lapierre at November 22, 2023 03:49 PM

Well, I actually meant Mars Attacks!, but there's a bit of a backstory. I had just gotten home from a screening of the movie that was followed by an appearance by Burton and interviewer Janet Maslin. Maslin made a point of commending his "grown-up" movie before it was shown, and specifically slammed Mars Attacks! during the after-film discussion. So I wanted to speak up for it, is all. Anyway, I prefer Ed Wood to Beetlejuice, but Edward Scissorhands definitely roolz.

I'm working on a proper Big Fish review, but my initial take on it is that despite the assured acclaim, it's one of the most fundamentally conventional movies Burton has made. It's no wonder Spielberg was originally attached to it, etc. That doesn't bug me so much, but Burton's version suffers from a lot of the flaws of mediocre book adaptations — weird and impatient narrative rhythms, an overabundance of flat voiceover, development of "literary" themes at the expense of cinematic adroitness, etc. Had I been wearing a watch, I would have been checking it. But it gets dramatically better toward the end, mainly because it slows down a little and finally takes time to linger on interesting character notes. And there's a fairly magnificent scene in the final reel. You'll laugh, you'll cry, etc. But you probably won't be taken by surprise — which is something I think Burton's best films excel at.

I might be grading it up to a flat B, but I can't justify going any higher. I'd call it a minor disappointment. Mainly it made me want to watch The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen again!

-bf-

Posted by: Bryant at November 22, 2023 10:59 PM

May (2002):

I can't believe Ebert liked this film. It was like dragging your intestines through saltwater only more painful and more disgusting. I didn't believe it at all. I think severe loneliness and sociopathy are valid societal issues, but they aren't contrived like this. Taxi Driver follows through the dregs of these issues with purpose while May merely wallows in unlikely disgust.

Posted by: Mr. McFeelie at November 26, 2023 03:32 PM

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