A Complete review of Tim Burton's work

1380   6.3   6.3 

Cast : Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Chloë Grace Moretz, Christopher Lee, Alice Cooper

What was it about?
An imprisoned vampire, Barnabas Collins, is set free and returns to his ancestral home, where his dysfunctional descendants are in need of his protection.

My two cents:
Ok, it was a flop for Tim Burton and Johnny Depp and it didn't get much love but, honestly, I thought it was actually pretty good. Indeed, the whole thing looked pretty awesome and, in my opinion, Johnny Depp gave his best performance for the last decade (ok, it doesn't mean much but still...). Unfortunately, they didn't manage to keep the tone and they kept switching genres every 5 minutes. Still, I had a good time watching this.

My rating: 07/10

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johanlefourbe's rating:

3665   6.5   6.5 

Cast : Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Michael Sheen, Stephen Fry, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Christopher Lee

What was it about?
19-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror.

My two cents:
Even though it was a smashing success at the box-office, many people really can't stand this flick. Honestly, I cannot blame them... At this point, everybody is getting tired of the Burton-Depp combo and we all wished they moved on with something else. Still, because it is visually impressive, because Johnny Depp was pretty good, I did like it but it is obviously not a masterpiece whatsoever.

My rating: 07/10

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johanlefourbe's rating:

3876   7.3   7.5 

Cast : Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall , Sacha Baron Cohen, Jamie Campbell Bower

What was it about?
The infamous story of Benjamin Barker, a.k.a Sweeney Todd, who sets up a barber shop down in London which is the basis for a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett. Based on the hit Broadway musical.

My two cents:
Honestly, I had absolutely no knowledge about Swneey Todd so I really didn't know what to expect beforehand. Eventually, I thought it was really good. I didn't care much about the songs but the visuals were quite awesome, something rather expected by Tim Burton, and Johnny Depp delivered a solid performance, which was expected as well. I'm not so sure about the story but it is the ending that really sold me out. I mean, it was so over-the-top, so bold, so bloody, it didn't see it coming and it was just plain impressive.

My rating: 08/10

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johanlefourbe's rating:

4588   7.1   7.4 

Cast : Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman, Albert Finney, Christopher Lee, Jane Horrocks

What was it about?
When a shy groom practices his wedding vows in the inadvertent presence of a deceased young woman, she rises from the grave assuming he has married her.

My two cents:
Since I'm a huge fan of 'The Nightmare before Christmas', I definitely had high expectations for this one and I was really eager to check it out. Eventually, I thought it was pretty good but still nothing amazing. I mean, it did look gorgeous but I thought that the story was nothing really spellbinding. Still definitely worth a look though.

My rating: 07/10

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6410   6.5   6.8 

Cast : Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, Helena Bonham Carter, Christopher Lee, AnnaSophia Robb

What was it about?
A young boy wins a tour through the most magnificent chocolate factory in the world, led by the world's most unusual candy maker.

My two cents:
Some people love it and some people hate. Eventually, it was a big success at the box-office anyway. It was before we got an overdose of the Burton-Depp mania and I personnaly enjoyed this flick. It was visually impressive and I thought Johnny Depp delivered the goods, as expected. Still, it is not one of their best efforts, that's for sure.

My rating: 07/10

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4757   7.6   8 

Cast : Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, Alison Lohman, Marion Cotillard, Danny DeVito, Steve Buscemi, Miley Cyrus

What was it about?
A son tries to learn more about his dying father by reliving stories and myths he told about his life.

My two cents:
In my opinion, it is probably the last great movie directed by Tim Burton, maybe his best one ever. The first time I saw it, I thought it was pretty good. But I don't know why, the second time around, I thought it was amazing and I was just blown away by the whole thing. The visuals, the directing, the perfomances,... Everything was just great. Above all, I thought it was such a deep, thougthful and inspiring tale which intermingled life, death, love, truth, lie,...

My rating: 09/10

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johanlefourbe's rating:

2633   5.5   5.6 

Cast : Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Paul Giamatti, Estella Warren, Kris Kristofferson

What was it about?
An Air Force astronaut crash lands on a mysterious planet where the evolutionary process is reversed. Evolved apes are the dominate species and humans are primitive. He may discover secrets that would change the planet.

My two cents:
Except for the giraffe, everybody seems to agree that this feature was a failure. Personally, I don't think it was really awful and I think it was a good idea to remake this classic, especially by such a director. Still, even though it looked really good, they didn't add anything interesting to the original and it felt like any other superfluous remake.

My rating: 06/10

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johanlefourbe's rating:

4681   7.3   7.5 

Cast : Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien, Christopher Walken, Christopher Lee, Lisa Marie

What was it about?
Ichabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of 3 people with the culprit being the legendary apparition, the Headless Horseman.

My two cents:
This movie is a perfect example of what I like and I don't like with Tim Burton's work. First of all, it looks gorgeous and they created a great immersive world. Furthermore, Johnny Depp gave a pretty good perfomance. However, I'm not so sure about the story. I mean, it is really entertaining but depending on my mood, I find it really fascinating or just ... entertaining but not much more than that.

My rating: 07/10

johanlefourbe's rating:

3159   6   6.3 

Cast : Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, Lukas Haas, Natalie Portman, Pam Grier, Lisa Marie, Jack Black, Christina Applegate, Barbet Schroeder

What was it about?
The Earth is invaded by Martians with irresistible weapons and a cruel sense of humor.

My two cents:
I'm always amazed when I see the low ratings concerning this movie here and on IMDB. Personally, I thought it was pretty awesome. Indeed, there was a huge cast delivering some pretty funny performances, above all, I thought the martians were just hilarious (F*ck E.T.!). I saw it back then when it came out in the theater and I was about 16-17 years old so maybe I'd lower my rating nowadays but I still have fond memories of this one.

My rating: 08/10

johanlefourbe's rating:

2292   7.6   8 

Cast : Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Vincent D'Onofrio, Bill Murray, Lisa Marie

What was it about?
The mostly true story of the legendary director of awful movies and his strange group of friends and actors

My two cents:
It is definitely one of his best effort, one of his most original project. Back then, 20 years ago already (!), Burton and Depp were amazing together, especially when you compare with what they come out nowadays... The directing is really good (you said black and white was out?), the casting is awesome and the story is quite spellbinding. My only complain would be that Ed Wood was indeed a really really bad director... I have seen 'Plan 9 from outer Space' and it was just plain bad, not fun bad or cool bad, just dead plain bad... And I find it rather odd to love this movie when in fact Ed Wood's work really stinks ... Still, It is a very good flick, no doubt.

My rating: 08/10

johanlefourbe's rating:

4037   7.8   8 

No, there won't be any review for this movie. Indeed, even though I really love it, in my opinion, Henry Selick is the one responsible for its greatness whereas Tim Burton was too busy working on other projects to actually directing it himself ... Selick should be the one credited for this jewel, not Burton.

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johanlefourbe's rating:

3627   6.7   7 

Cast : Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Vincent Schiavelli

What was it about?
When a corrupt businessman and the grotesque Penguin plot to take control of Gotham City, only Batman can stop them, while the Catwoman has her own agenda.

My two cents:
It is rather funny that when I was a kid, I was kind of desperate to see the first Batman flick but somehow, I didn't bother watch this one right away and I saw it only years later. It is actually pretty good and many think it is better than its predecessor. I think the mood was pretty good (really nice and dark) and I loved Catwoman and the Pinguin. I still think it was rather unfocused though compared to the previous installment, something common when there are so many bad guys in one movie. Still, it is definitely a pretty good Batman flick, no doubt.

My rating: 07/10

johanlefourbe's rating:

7244   7.7   8 

Cast : Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Vincent Price, Alan Arkin

What was it about?
An uncommonly gentle young man, who happens to have scissors for hands, falls in love with a beautiful teenage girl.

My two cents:
For many viewers, it is, so far, the best movie directed by Tim Burton. It was also the rebirth of Johnny Depp who was struggling back then with his teenage heartthrob image but with this flick, he made it clear he wanted something else in his career. I think I enjoyed 'Big Fish' a little more but it is definitely a closed call. The story is like a fairy tale, the whole thing looks gorgeous and Depp gives one of his best perfomances.

My rating: 08/10

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johanlefourbe's rating:

4264   7   7.6 

Cast : Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Palance, Jerry Hall

What was it about?
The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being the clownishly homicidal Joker.

My two cents:
When it came out, there was a huge buzz about it. There was some Batman merchandising everywhere and me and my little brother even got some Batman sweaters. It was so huge and I just had to see it pretty bad. Back then (I was 9-10 years old), I was really blown away. Indeed, I had never seen something similar. Of course, 20 years later, it does look pretty cheesy, especially when you compare it to Nolan's trilogy but back in those days, it was really groundbreaking and it still deserve some respect.

My rating: 07/10

johanlefourbe's rating:

3904   7.2   7.4 

Cast : Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder

What was it about?
A couple of recently deceased ghosts contract the services of a "bio-exorcist" in order to remove the obnoxious new owners of their house.

My two cents:
This flick is just awesome. It may not be Tim Burton's best effort but it is definitely his most fun movie to watch. Beetlejuice is just a great character, not really bad, not really good, just plain weird. Hands down the best peformance by Michael Keaton. Back then, Tim Burton didn't need a famous book to make a movie, he would just use his own imagination and the end-result was much more interesting.

My rating: 08/10

johanlefourbe's rating:

905   6.1   6.8 

Cast : Paul Rubens

What was it about?
Eccentric man-child Pee-Wee Herman embarks on the big adventure of his life across the US mainland, as he sets out to find his beloved bike, when it is stolen in broad daylight.

My two cents:
Allegedly, it is after watching 'Frankenweenie' that Paul Reubens decided to pick Tim Burton to direct this flick. It was a surprise success and the rest is of course history. I thought it was allright but nothing amazing though. Indeed, the directing was pretty good but Pee-wee is annoying as hell and not really funny, in my opinion. It is still worth a look though since it is Tim Burton's feature length directing debut.

My rating: 06/10

johanlefourbe's rating:

513   7   7.2 

Cast : Shelley Duvall, Barret Oliver, Sofia Coppola

What was it about?
A young boy sets out to revive his dead pet using the monstrous power of science.

My two cents:
In 2012, Tim Burton will release a new full length animated version of this short. It must be one of the darkest features produced by Disney and it is not really surprising they didn't want to release it. I thought it was pretty good and you can find already many trademarks that will keep recurring in Burton's work.

My rating: 07/10

johanlefourbe's rating:

1178   8.2   8.4 

Cast : Vincent Price

What was it about?
Young Vincent Malloy dreams of being just like Vincent Price and loses himself in macabre daydreams which annoys his mother.

My two cents:
It is pretty awesome and if you like Tim Burton's work and if you haven't seen it yet, well, shame on you! I like it so much, I think it may even be better than 'The Nightmare before Christmas'. It is a really dark tale but it is just very well made and completely spellbinding to watch.

My rating: 08/10

johanlefourbe's rating: