Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

The Juice is loose...all over the front of my pants.

36 years later, everyone's favorite trickster demon is back! And this time, he's NOT going Hawaiian (?). One of the most anticipated releases of my inner child, it feels appropriate to nut this one after the franchise had been dormant for so long. The results are mixed, to be sure, but enough of it works if you hold your memories of the original in high regard. If nostalgia is more your speed, this will stoke your childhood delights. Keaton, as in the original, is the highlight and major draw here, but Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Monica Bellucci and Jenna Ortega all bring something to the table. Beetlejuice remains a lovable miscreant as ever, and best yet, it doesn't tarnish the legacy of the original. One only hopes it won't be so many years before the whole gang gets back together once again.

3½ cakes left out in the rain out of 5

MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN [2016]

Without the aid of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter or Danny Elfman, director Tim Burton steps out of his comfort zone for the best with his adaptation of Ransom Riggs' Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.
When his storytelling grandfather dies, young Jake travels to England where he discovers the tales are true, after he time travels into the 1940's to a hidden orphanage that houses a group of bizarre super-powered children.
Like the black & white photos that litter the novel itself, Burton's film can get immensely creepy and oddly disturbing, so don't take the wee ones to this one.  It's filled with beautifully frightening imagery and fantastical music, so naturally it's going to please fans of the director's earlier works.  The characters are a little thin and things are a bit rushed in moments but overall it's the perfect answer to the over-exposure of dystopian future YA stories.

3½ delightfully tasty eyeballs out of 5

FRANKENWEENIE [1984]

Before it was a stop-motion animated film in 2012, Tim Burton's Frankenweenie was a 30-minute black & white live-action short film that got him fired from Disney Studios for being too damned weird for their taste.
After his dog is killed by a car, Young Victor Frankenstein resurrects the poor mutt from the dead much to the dismay of the quiet suburban neighborhood's snooty residents.
It's a pleasant little "horror" film for the whole family with it's Ed Wood-ian like film-making and monster movie aesthetics tossed into a typical white picket fence suburb.  While still an inspired film-maker Burton makes the best with what little budget he had at the time, including some nifty dog POV shots that reminded me of an adorable Evil Dead salute.
It simply tickles the twisted funny bones and reminds one why they liked Burton's work in the first place.

4 jump-starts out of 5

BIG EYES [2014]

In the last 12 years or so, I've thought Tim Burton's only truly good films have been the ones excluding the involvement of Johnny Depp and Big Eyes continues this theory.
It tells the true story of 50's pop artist Margaret Keane (terrifically played by Amy Adams) who finds herself in a heap of problems when her husband successfully takes credit for all her work.  As odd as the story might be, Burton never ventures off into his trademark kooky visuals (with the exception of a few disturbing "daydreaming" moments) and that's where the film works best.  It's maturity shines brightly over a sadly still-relevant social commentary on feminism and the love of being to create your own art for your own sake, which may or may not be obvious to Burton working on one his first independent films in many, many years.

4 postcards & posters out of 5

CHARLIE & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY [2005]

Tim Burton directs the 2nd adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic novel Charlie & The Chocolate Factory and in turn we get a more faithful and darker version than Mel Stuart's 1971 film.
Johnny Depp is deliciously off the wall as he turns Willy Wonka into a germaphobe, child-detesting dandy with a love for latex gloves and flashbacks but it's Freddie Highmore who really impresses in the title role with a natural and likeable performance.  It's a Burton film so expect some awkward moments that seem out of place and disjointed bridges into the next scene.  As dedicated to it's source material as the film is, it still has a problem pinpointing where it's heart is, amidst all the outrageously bizarre sets and musical moments.  Nevertheless, it's a fine film to please Burton, Depp and composer Danny Elfman fans with it's paint-by-numbers style the team have come to be known for.

3 bad nuts out of 5

BIG FISH [2003]

Tim Burton's most mature work to date, an adaptation of Daniel Wallace's novel Big Fish is a fantasy flavored Southern Gothic tear-jerker that is sure to please fans of the director's work.
Like most of Burton's personal films, he ditches the idea of a standard narrative and tells it like a fairy tale vingette layered over a bigger picture as the heart of the picture, almost like a zanier version of Forrest Gump.  It's themes of father & sons, the curious mysteries of a bigger world and determination for what you believe all join each other seamlessly and will form a lump in your throat as you realize this.  It relishes itself in fantasy and larger than life storytelling but never loses touch with reality enough to insult your intelligence or lose your belief in it all.

4 soles in Spectre out of 5

MARS ATTACKS! [1996]

As much of a hugely unfocused mess Tim Burton's sci-fi comedy Mars Attacks! is, it's still one of my top five favorite films of his.

Inspired by 1960's Topps' trading cards of the same name, the film is more of a homage than a satire of 1950's sci-fi b-movies and 1970's ensemble cast disaster films.  Beneath all the goofiness and scattered chaos is a ruthlessly funny dissection of American society and culture that ultimately hurt it's popularity in the States but was a great success in the rest of the world.  It's colorful, loud, hilarious, tremendously corny and occasionally shocking, all of which makes for one of Burton's craziest films to date.  

3 peace doves of war out of 5

Ed Wood (1994)

A ‘mostly true’ biopic of film maker Ed Wood, known affectionately as the world’s worst director. It’s one of the many Tim Burton films starring Johnny Depp, so you’ll likely know right off the bat if you’re going to love it or hate it. Depp occasionally acts like Christian Slater, which is a little irritating, but mostly he’s on fine form.
What makes the film extra special for me is Martin Landau; his performance as a crotchety old washed up horror actor is filled with a deeply tender pathos that gives the film much needed heart. Seeing him act alongside his daughter Juliet was also fun. I like her.
Is Burton’s wife in it? Yes, of course she is. Stupid question.

4 painted pie plates out of 5

FRANKENWEENIE [2012]

Director Tim Burton's third venture into the stop-motion animated world, Frankenweenie is based off his own original short film made back in the early '80's.  

It tells the charming story of a boy and his dog all the while paying homage to Mary Shelley's classic Frankenstein story, even going so far as to film it in beautiful black & white, just like the 1931 Universal adaptation. 

Burton may have been lacking quite a bit in the past 10 years, but Frankenweenie nearly stands up side by side with some of his earlier films, in heart, charms and quirkiness that will have horror film buffs squealing with glee at the army of homages and nods to all their favorites. 

4 cat shit surprises out of 5

SLEEPY HOLLOW [1999]

Director Tim Burton and Se7en screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker loosely adapt Washington Irving's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow and turn it into a slasher flick homage to the Hammer films.

It's visually stunning, musically powerful and features a top-notch performance from Johnny Depp, but a script that stinks of multiple rewrites and an awkward performance from Christina Ricci drags it down a bit, sometimes brining nearly bringing the pacing to a complete halt.  

It's not quite a film to lose your head over but enough to please Burton/Depp fans.

3½ bleeding Trees Of Death out of 5

CORPSE BRIDE [2005]

Tim Burton & Mike Johnson co-direct Corpse Bride, a lovely little stop-motion film based on an ancient Jewish folktale entitled The Finger.

It's hard not to compare this to Burton's earlier stop-motion film The Nightmare Before Christmas but once you get past that, it's actually quite a charming and impressive film on it's own.  Obviously the gorgeous animation and character designs are the stars here but it's carried by the noteworthy voicework as well. Whether or not this is a kid's film I find it difficult to tell.  It's not really the type of story that would interest children or at times is it suitable subject matter either but it's sure to please Burton fans nevertheless.  

3½ Peter Lorre maggots out of 5

DARK SHADOWS [2012]

Director Tim Burton's big screen adaptation of the 60's gothic horror soap opera Dark Shadows rounds up the usual suspects: Johhny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Christopher Lee, Danny Elfman and quirkiness.

It's still fun to see these folks all work together, granted the material is quality, sadly that is not the case here.  Burton's usually good at blending campy humour with gory Hammer type horror but unfortunately he never seems to find the right balance and it hurts the film quite a bit.  As a dedicated longtime fan of Burton's work I still found some limited enjoyment in this mess but I'd advise you steer clear if you have no love for the man.

2½ glass witches out of 5 

ALICE IN WONDERLAND [2010]

Director Tim Burton seemed like the perfect choice to take up the task of recreating Lewis Carrol's Alice In Wonderland for the silver screen.  Unfortunately he sets us up for a colossal disappointment. 

The highlights of this film are, surprise surprise, the colorful visuals and Danny Elfman's quirky music.  Mia Wasikowska holds her own very well against the wonderfully crazed performances from Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter.  The problem here is the boring story, and lack of emotional character development.  By the end of the film, I couldn't help but feel this was one big pointless spectacle.

2½ "Where's My Obligatory Tim Burton Main Titles Sequence? God Dammit!" out of 5

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Oh, somewhere deep inside of these bones
An emptiness began to grow
There's something out there far from my home
A longing that I've never known~

I remember excitedly watching this movie on opening day, and being thrown into a stopmotion world of wonder and delight. It's not so much a Christmas or a Halloween movie, so much as a lonely skeleton trying to find his place in the world. Oh, how I identify with the plight of Jack Skellington, the poor pumpkin king who longs for something more in his life, something new and exciting. The forest of holidays is the stuff dreams are made of. The union of Tim Burton and stopmotion was a spectacle simply "meant to be." (Ugh, that was bad.)

5 clowns with the tearaway face out of 5

BATMAN RETURNS [1992]

Tim Burton never does sequels, so Batman Returns was somewhat of an oddity...in many different ways.
Michael Keaton is welcomed back sporting the cape and cowl, while he is joined by a host of other creepy characters. Danny Devito is both repulsive and oddly tragic as The Penguin, Michelle Pfeiffer is seductively hilarious as Catwoman and Christopher Walken is a delight as the shrewd cold-hearted businessman Max Schreck.
The satirical Returns comes off as more of a Tim Burton film this time around, with it's disjointed storytelling, Metropolis like sets swept over with a Christmas snow and wonderfully ludicrous humor.
It's my favorite of the live-action Bats flicks, because it never tries to replicate reality. This is pure dark fantasy and exactly what I want in a superhero film.

4½ Elephant Man references out of 5

BATMAN [1989]

I still remember seeing this film on opening night. It was like going to a rock show, the audience was so insanely loud and excited. I haven't experienced anything like it since.
Tim Burton's Batman brought life to the comic book superhero film unlike any film in it's genre had done before then. With a scene-stealing Joker from Jack Nicholson and a unexpectedly great performance by Micheal Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Burton's vision redefined how the general public would view the world of Gotham City. A vastly large and dark metropolis like the grim reaper had cast it's shadow over everything, Anton Furst's Gotham design is easily one the best elements in the film. Complimented with Danny Elfman's iconic theme, Sam Hamm's delightfully comic booky dialogue and Bob Ringwood's stylish noir-like fashion.
It's dark, gloomy and dripping with Gothic imagery but never takes itself too seriously and maintains the comic book style that is a step closer to fantasy than reality.

4 Gotham is a Vancouver map? out of 5

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Boy with scissors for hands meets girl, falls in love, and is promptly ostracized by society for being different. There's not much else I can say about this. It's simply my favorite movie of all time. Dark, moody, brooding, sad, happy, innocent, inventive, tragic, funny. Contains all the pathos and visual splendor to be found in my heart and my soul. Edward will always be representative of how I feel about the rest of the world...cut off, lonely, and misunderstood.

5 Ice Dances out of 5

Beetlejuice (1988)

This was the movie that made Tim Burton a household name for me. I watched this so many times as a kid, it borders on creepy/psychotic. Michael Keaton is inspired as the "Ghost with the Most" and Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis have great fun as the dead couple who have to deal with the gaudy new family that move into their house. Winona Ryder is equally amazing as the dark, Gothic girl (decades before emo). I love this movie so much, I can't even verbalize it into words. So I'll have to settle for: "It's showtime."

5 Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice's out of 5

Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

Greatest Movie Ever Made. Period.

This is the most fun I've ever had with my pants on (and sometimes off). I saw it for the first time when I was a wee lad—and over and over again—and more than two decades later, it still holds up as well as the first time as I saw it. Paul Reubens is maniacal fun, and the pairing of Tim Burton and Danny Elfman was a match made in heaven. Informed so much of my weird, twisted sense of humor as a kid. Still as inventive and funny as ever.

"I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel."

5 movies within a movie out of 5

Planet of the Apes (2001)

I've read Pierre Boulle's original novel, watched all of the original films multiple times, and even the short-lived television series, so it's fair to say that I'm an Apes fan. I'm also a fan of some of Tim Burton's work prior to this, which makes reviewing his unnecessary remake all the more troublesome.
Pros: a great ensemble cast, Mr Elfman on score duties, Rick Baker's flawless make-up and the amazing costumes.
Cons: Everything else.
To date, it's Burton's worst film by far and a well-deserved winner of a Golden Razzie for worst remake. It's a travesty.

1½ spring-powered ape legs out of 5