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drained I think the one thing that annoys me most about the summer is the complete lack of anything decent to see at the cinema. I know that throughout the rest of the year there isn't really that much to choose from either, but the summer season is a perennial waste of time, and this year hasn't been anything different. I was confident this summer would be different for a short time. On paper everything was looking fine; Star Wars, Batman and War Of The Worlds all on paper looked promising, and there wasn't anything like Charlie's Angels 2 or Tomb Raider on the schedule. Well Star Wars was much more entertaining than I expected, but War Of The Worlds was dull with a complete cop out of an ending, and Batman was distinctly just ok. And now there is a whole load of nothing to see. Fantastic Four has been described as the least fun fun movie ever made, and I am not wasting any more of my money on superhero movies until there is something that could possibly be at least ok, and then there is Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. I am so sick of Tim Burton and the worship bestowed on him. By far the most over-rated director I can think of, he is the definition of one trick pony, each of his films being the same formula altered to the smallest degree. The most imaginative man in Hollywood my arse! The only time he breaks from his nice safe formula is to make a dire action movie like Planet of The Apes (it's convenient all the Burton acolytes forget about that isn't it!). If I am being kind Big Fish was a bit more of a leap than anything he had done before, but notice how the reaction to that was "yeah it's ok, but when can we have another one that looks like the last 97, has Johnny Depp in it, is SOOOOOO gothically valid and a Danny Elfman score that goes "dum dum de dum, dum dum de dum...."? Well the answer is next week. The trailer makes me cringe so much. While someone like Charlie Kaufman writes scripts that are actually 'out there', Burton relies on what he has been doing for years to create faux wackiness. "It's all so surreal!" everyone shouts. No the fuck it's not, and I'm not sure why noone else can see it!
Sorry, got sidetracked there a little. We had to go to Manchester to see The Descent, and will have to do the same to see The Devils Rejects. Low budget horror seems to be the only refuge from overhyped twonk. Land Of The Dead has been moved back to September though. I can count on one hand the films I am actually looking forward to, and one of them is Doom just because it has The Rock in it. Hollywood sucks, lets burn it down.....
*EDIT*: Oh, I forgot to mention that one film that could save this summer. You know the one, the one about the super-intelligent, computer piloted plane that goes Hal and tries to kill everyone. Doesn't that just sound like the best film since Last Picture Show?! No? Well it does have Jessica Biel in a bikini. Le sigh....
July 19 2005, 03:14:23 UTC 6 years ago
July 19 2005, 06:26:35 UTC 6 years ago
Shyamalan has made four films (not counting Stuart Little and so on), three of which share elements. Burton has made how many? From Nightmare Before Christmas to Beetlejuice to Sleepy Hollow and now Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, they are all the same, defined by style over substance, emphasis of the gothically valid at the expense of interesting filmmaking, and the pursuit of anything remarkably "wacky" (I stick by faux wacky). The first two Batman movies survive not because of Burton but because of Nicholson, Keaton, DeVito and Walken elevating them above shallow pap. He makes "ooh isn't it pretty!" films of the worst degree, and while he is not the worst director in the world, and should not be comdemned with the likes of Paul W.S. Anderson, Uwe Boll, 'the most boring man in Hollywood' Bret Ratner or Stephen Sommers, noone claims those directors are talented or worthy of praise. If Shyamalan remakes Sixth Sense for twenty years I'm sure I will get miffed at him too.
My DVD collection is already large and varied, and is always being added to. I was merely expressing an annoyance at the lack of quality cinema out there at the moment.
July 19 2005, 06:29:59 UTC 6 years ago
And another thing
I missed the most obvious point first time round that Signs, Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, while sharing some elements, are far superior films to anything Burton has ever put out there, so maybe that makes it less objectionable?July 19 2005, 06:43:33 UTC 6 years ago
Re: And another thing
Once again proving that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I have more fun watching Burton films than any Shymalan makes, with the exception of Unbreakable. If so many people like the two directors, they must both be doing something right.July 19 2005, 07:11:49 UTC 6 years ago
Re: And another thing
I hated Unbreakable. It was overly slow and ponderous, with an obvious ending that was apprant from the first time we meet The Glass Man. I really enjoyed signs on the other hand.I have little to no feeling towards Tim Burton. I loved Batman and I'm not adverse to Batman Returns, but I am sick to the eye teeth of the Nightmare Before Christmas. Shell owns it and Shell watches it from time to time, which is fine, but I know people who watch it over and over like its some sort of Devine Revelation. I'll not name names. You know who you are.