I can understand this point of view. However, it can be argued that the same can be said about the Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite sequence at the end of 2001.

Dark Shadows

There seem to be two main drives to Tim Burton's auteur status. One is his visual flair, which is often gothic, often surreal and owes a lot to German expressionism. This is what draws me back to his work, and I can't say I'm disappointed with Dark Shadows in this regard. There's a lot for the eye to take in, from the eerie and beautiful Widow's Peak to the vivid colors of the "happening". The gothic and 1970s elements are in frequent contrast with each other, and combined with the decade's music, it sometimes gives it a quality not unlike Tarantino's genre mashups.

The second is his attachment to old B-movies, and this, at least taken too far, I could do without. Even in a comedy, I don't care for the sort of hokey supernatural action that this movie eventually gets up to, but I don't think it's unintentional on Burton's part. To the extent that his movies, particular later ones, come off as distinctly bad, I think it's because the director has a fondness for "bad" as it's often understood, not because he lacks the basic talent to avoid it. That doesn't make it more appealing to watch, though.

Eva Green is a talented actress, but here her over-the-top performance is just too much. She chews the scenery more than she tears it up, and her smarmy and in one case head-lolling performance makes many of her scenes my least favorite in the movie. I'm not blaming her, though; I'd be surprised if it wasn't what Burton wanted from the character. A lot of people take issue with the frequent Burton/Depp/Carter collaboration and Johnny's habit of playing "strange" characters (although there's as much variety in strange characters as there is in normal ones), but I have no problem with judging Depp by the given performance, and here he's filling the role expected of him, a stuffy, antiquated monster at odds with the world around him.

Chloe Moretz seemed to be off at first, but upon second viewing her performance makes a lot more sense. Bella Heathcote has a gentle pleasantness about her that could serve her well in light, warm-hearted fare.

I liked the 90s remake of Dark Shadows, but upon learning that this was more or less a comedy, I was willing to roll with it. The fish-out-of-water material works well while it lasts, like the tiny songstress and the glow of Mephistopheles. It just has to compete with the gradually impinging story between Barnabus and Angelique.


*Spoilers*For most of the movie, it seems that Barnabus is meant to be the hero because he can't help his monstrous nature. Even if I were to overlook the hypnotism and the killing of Hoffman, though, his making Victoria into another monster (and the lack of any resolution to this) creates a moral ambiguity that this particular movie doesn't need. If I could have cheered for Barnabus without reservation, wanting the goofy comic hero to stop the evil (and smarmy) bitch and get the girl, I think that would have been enough to push Dark Shadows to a passing grade.*/Spoilers*


Instead, there were too many parts that left me cold, and it was enough to downgrade this to just okay.

6/10

<3

I watched it once and didn't get it.

I watched it again and now I get it, though I have even less capacity to speak about how amazing it is, beyond to stress that, objectively, jesus fucking christ.

amen.

Monty Python and The Holy Grail
8.8/10

Th Meaning of Life
8.3/10

Life of Brian
9.4/10

Life of Pi
8.2/10

Killing Them Softly
8.3/10

The Dark Knight Rises
9.1/10

oh shii

Ruby Sparks

Sometimes I'll hear people say they're sick of all the superhero movies, but the subgenre I've grown tired of is quirky "indie" dramedies. They're dry more often than not, they can be cliched just like any other genre, and while I like some of them all right, I can't say I love any of them. I'm more of a fan of the John Hughes/Cameron Crowe school of comedy-drama. So movies like Win Win and Jeff Who Lives At Home get ignored by me, and standing out from the crowd is important if you want to climb to the top of my Netflix queue.

I watched Ruby Sparks precisely because it didn't look like every other indie comedy-drama, and it isn't. I like "what if" scenarios in movies. What if you repeated the same day over and over? What if you were given someone else's life? What if you could make your dream girl real just by writing her into existence? I enjoyed it when Calvin experimented with the movie's basic premise, and I would have liked to see it go further with that.


*Spoiler*Not just in terms of changing Ruby, but figuring out exactly what he's dealing with. Does her other apartment actually exist, and would her landlord remember her from before her creation? Can he track down people from her past? Can he create people other than Ruby? If he can create her clothes, could he also create a million dollars? Could he write himself a new book with a single sentence? Can he rewrite himself? For a writer, Calvin doesn't seem very interested in this ability of his. It's his brother who asks all the questions.

The movie was amusing at times, and there were a few hilarious moments involving him not believing she's real and him making her very, very happy. I found Kazan (who played Ruby) charming, and that added appeal to the more upbeat and whimsical parts of the movie. She isn't my dream girl, but I can understand the appeal. I liked seeing these two people together.

This leads me to my biggest issue with the movie. I can accept that the relationship can turn sour, running into some serious problems that threaten its existence. The breakup scene, though, is so dark that I have difficulty reconciling the sheer level of cruelty with everything else Calvin does. It makes me conflicted about the happy ending, because on one level I want them to work it out, and on another level I think he's a sociopath who has no business dating anyone, and I feel like these are two different Calvins I'm talking about. There isn't enough redemption after the fact to make up for that moment, and because she doesn't remember what he did, there's no sense that he's earned another chance with her.*/Spoiler*


Overall, it's pretty good.

7/10

Skyfall
007/007

The Iron Lady 08/10

I love Meryl Streep. She is so fantastic, and really melted into the role. The British ensemble cast was likewise brilliant (although it was odd for me to see Ian Glen in a role that was not some kind of villain). Pretty good biopic in all.