Someone please stop Tim Burton.

[Space Spoons]

He's directed some of my favorite films in years past(Batman Returns, Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice), but recently, it seems like the quality of his work has taken a downward turn. Don't get me wrong; visually, his stuff is still stunning. If there's one thing Burton can do well, it's design a bizarre, out-there set. It's his storytelling that seems to have been put on the back burner.

As much as I hate to admit it, Burton has kind of become an artsy Michael Bay in my mind. I'll see his movies because I think they're fun to look at, not because I'm expecting a well-told story. If he ever does a version of The Wizard of Oz (which will probably turn out to be a take-off on Wicked, as it's right up his alley), I'll see it with this mindset.

 

[Sprogus]

OK i will admit that after Sleepy Hollow and Edward Scissor hands, Tim Burton hasnt made one amazingly good movie, other then his astonishingly good Animated films (i love Coraline And The NightMare Before Christmas) But i have to admit, he is still an amazing director with his sense of style being unqiue if not gothic...

Those are both Henry Sellick movies. Burton wrote the story that Nightmare was based on and was a co-producer, but he didn't have anything at all to do with Coraline.

Thank you for clearing that up. And good thing I read your post before I replied because I was about to have a go at that guy. Rant averted.

 

[Willeus]

I sense Johnny Depp as the Scarecrow and that girl from Fight Club (her name escapes me) Tim Burton is married to as the Wicked Witch of the West... Just a hunch....

 

[TheGreatCoolEnergy]

I didn't quite care for Alice in Wonderland, as I didn't like the Mad Hatter, and that character got more screen time than Alice.

 

[Eddie Smith]

I have a massive poster of the funny dance depp did at the end of alice. I mean lets face it, that was pretty impressive. i mean how did he do that... wow.

 

[plastic_window]

May I ask a simple question of opinion?

Am I the only person who enjoyed Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland? I found the film rather enjoyable, so much so that I saw it twice in 3D. I found Depp's Mad Hatter to be quite entertaining, and the Red Queen was done very well.

All my opinion, of course. That's what movies are all about, right? Opinions? If you don't like Tim Burton, then don't watch his films. That's your opinion. But don't go around saying it was a bad movie, because, in all, it wasn't.

I think it's more that Burton is rumoured to direct a Wizard of Oz remake that the OP cares about. I guess she just doesn't want him to potentially ruin a classic movie. That's how I'd rationalise it, anyway.

I have to agree with you that what makes a good film is all down to opinion.

I used to be an ardent fan of Tim Burton, but he fell off of his peak a long time ago for me. Around the time of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory/Corpse Bride I pretty much lost faith in the man's ability to make interesting film. And then I watched Sweeney Todd, which just blew my mind with how bad it was.

Tim Burton for me has had his day, but it's time to find someone else who can do gothic like he used to do. I mean, Henry Selick did a pretty damn good job with Coraline. Just saying...

 

[mokes310]

I saw it in 3D and I loved and hated it at the same time. The 3D was pretty awesome, but the actual film was AWFUL! Either way, he's going to continue to make movies; I just have to be strong enough to tell my gf "NO" the next time she wants to see a new Burton film.

 

[Generator]

Don't know why everyone hated 'Alice' so much. Sure, it wasn't the greatest thing Burton's ever done, but it was entertaining enough.

But everyone seems so jaded on the subject of his career: every filmmaker has a style that they usually stick to, but Burton has been picked on for it quite a bit. It might be because he hasn't done an original work in quite some time, but I have no bone to pick with the guy, and I wouldn't terribly mind him remaking 'The Wizard of Oz' if someone has to. I don't know why anyone has to, though...

 

[TheGreatCoolEnergy]

Alice in Wonderland was awesome.
For once, there was a GIRL who had to go through the whole "The young boy grows up to slay the dragon" as it is in every other fantasy movie and it's dog <.<

Here is a small list of fiction with a female protagonist (off the top of my head):
-Alice in Wonderland
-The Inkspell series
-Buffy the Vampire Slayer
-Battle Star Galactica(Starbuck? Yes? No? Input?)
-Metroid Series

And besides, it's not that people dislike Alice in Wonderland, it's that people dislike that Tim Burton took a classic and butchered it. I'm sure nobody here has a problem with the original Alice in Wonderland

 

[plastic_window]

OK i will admit that after Sleepy Hollow and Edward Scissor hands, Tim Burton hasnt made one amazingly good movie, other then his astonishingly good Animated films (i love Coraline And The NightMare Before Christmas) But i have to admit, he is still an amazing director with his sense of style being unqiue if not gothic...

You should watch Big Fish. It's about as un-Burton as I've seen Tim Burton get (excusing Pee Wee's Big Adventure) and it's really worth watching if you like character-based drama.

Plus, Billy Crudup's in it. That guy isn't in nearly enough lead roles.

 

[twostripe]

i agree with the OP but he has so many fans behind him i do't think he can be stopped at this point

 

[Mythbhavd]

I think he should have stopped with his first movie. None of them are all that good.

 

[WitherVoice]

Tim Burton has made some astounding pieces of work, and some that do not live up to that legacy. I haven't seen anything of his that was horrible (haven't seen Alice yet). Charlie and the Choc Factory was the weakest I've seen so far; by no means a terrible movie, there was nothing to really recommend it either. It was a movie, something on which one could spend some time, but it wasn't particularily special, and he could have done better.

If you think Tim Burton is overrated, then I pretty much have to conclude that you're not being fair. Compare him to the greats, he may not blow them off the stage, but he certainly belongs in that kind of company.

What I don't get is why everything either has to be "the best" or "omg fail". Can't people just sit down and watch a frikkin movie anymore, without it having to be the best they've seen so far or a complete waste of their time? If the worst waste of time you've ever been guilty of was watching Alice, then I'm pretty much going to have to applaud you, for you have lived a truly blessed life. As for the rest of us, you could do a helluva lot worse with an evening than watching ANY Tim Burton movie.

 

[Paulie92]

May I ask a simple question of opinion?

Am I the only person who enjoyed Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland? I found the film rather enjoyable, so much so that I saw it twice in 3D. I found Depp's Mad Hatter to be quite entertaining, and the Red Queen was done very well.

All my opinion, of course. That's what movies are all about, right? Opinions? If you don't like Tim Burton, then don't watch his films. That's your opinion. But don't go around saying it was a bad movie, because, in all, it wasn't.

What's the point of having an opinion if you don't express it? I'd rather he tried to branch out from the disturbed acid trip film he usually makes because to me it seems that that's the entire point of his movies, that being said I haven't seen Alice in Wonderland and I probably won't

 

[CJ1145]

*Golf Claps*

Well said op, I agree.

As I have said before...

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.171099-Poll-Wrecking-remakes

...Tim Burton is not the director he once was. He, along with Michael Bay, Uwe Boll, M. Night Shaymayalananlayn, should have his film making equipment removed and UN weapons sent to his home to confirm that he isn't deveoping any more WMTs (Whatchamacallits).

For the love of Christ, would you people stop comparing ANY director to Uwe Boll? They are not that bad! In fact, they make cinema classics compared to Boll's shit.

 

[cuddly_tomato]

*Golf Claps*

Well said op, I agree.

As I have said before...

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.171099-Poll-Wrecking-remakes

...Tim Burton is not the director he once was. He, along with Michael Bay, Uwe Boll, M. Night Shaymayalananlayn, should have his film making equipment removed and UN weapons sent to his home to confirm that he isn't deveoping any more WMTs (Whatchamacallits).

For the love of Christ, would you people stop comparing ANY director to Uwe Boll? They are not that bad! In fact, they make cinema classics compared to Boll's shit.

Michael Bay is worse. Have you seen revenge of the fallen?

Also, Uwe Boll made a film which featured Ron Pearlman taking pigs for a walk...

...which has to count for something.

 

[Bat Vader]

I much rather would have seen Tim Burton make a movie out of American McGee's Alice.

 

[CloakedOne]

So I went to see 'Alice in Wonderland', directed by Tim Burton, a couple of weeks ago with low expectations and it was pretty awful. It did make alot of monies though so now he's being considered for a remake of 'The Wizard of Oz'. He just makes everything spirally and "dark". Now I'm quite biased as I haven't really liked one of his films since 'Sleepy Hollow' but I don't want him to piss all over 'The Wizard of Oz' too.
Do people agree or am I missing something?

You're not really missing anything, it's just a stylistic thing. He's putting his style on some old favorites and seeing how it goes. Honestly, I like Burton and I haven't seen one of his films that I didn't like but that's because his style is pleasing to me. A lot of people like it but if you don't, that's alright. It's okay if you don't like it, there are plenty of overwhelmingly popular franchises that I don't like but it seems like everyone else I know does including Halo, Twilight, and Final Fantasy (except VII and IX, those were awesome).

 

[SecondmateFlint]

Yes it was, it was awful. You know what made it awful? The association with Alice in Wonderland. It disgraces the source material and just reduced Wonderland into a good vs evil standard plot. Also the 3D was an afterthought. Ever since Avatar, everyone's getting raging hardons for 3D, and quite frankly it's annoying.

Nah the movie industry has been obsessed with 3D for awhile now. It's causing a split in the industry. I'm personally against it, because now movies are trying too hard to accommodate as a gimmick as opposed to using story to bring people to the theaters. It's not permanent.

I was actually surprised at how much I liked Alice in Wonderland. I was expecting it to be ALL about Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. Given it was about them more than it should have been, I feel like Alice got a fair representation in HER own story.

MY problem with this film is that now American McGee's Alice can't be made in a movie because it would forever be known as a "copy." Alice is a creepier idea than Tim Burton could ever hope to imagine and it's a damn shame it can't be made.

 

[desaaron777]

I agree completely, he always does the same basic style. He's done good stuff, certainly, but he's overrated. That's why I like this parody:

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1929453

hahahaha