Here's a shocker for you: Tim Burton casts Johnny Depp as the lead in his latest film once again!! Cause this pairing had never happened before..... oh wait. Dark Shadows marks the EIGHTH time these two have collaborated to make a movie, which, in my humble opinion, is about 5 times too many, (the only gems these guys have ever made together were Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hallow, and Sweeny Todd. An argument can be made for Ed Wood but...eh.) Dark Shadows is based off of a soap opera of the same name that was hugely popular during the late 60's, but, other then keeping the character names and general background, Burton's version takes a new direction. Plot: Barnabas Collins was the son of Joshua and Naomi, who, in 1792, immigrated their family to America where they established an extremely successful fishing industry in the city of Collinsport, Maine. But, after breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard, who just so happens to be a powerful witch, Angelique turns him into a vampire and buries him alive. Exactly two centuries later, after Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his coffin, he discovers his family legacy has been tarnished, and that his surviving Collins relatives are threatened by the same witch that cursed him 200 years ago. My Thoughts: I have a question for Tim Burton: um, why? The vampire, twilight-ish hype died a year ago, and there wasn't much potential in it anyway. This movie watches like a Tim Burton twist on the Twilight series, but he's doing so by knocking off another TV show with no relation to Twilight. But okay, let me be honest here. I'm not a Tim Burton fan. At all. Burton discovered through Edward Scissorhands that he struck a chord with American audiences by selling dark...really dark, stories. But unfortunately, he's almost entirely abandoned writing original stories. Let me repeat: He hasn't written a single original story for a major motion picture since The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). (Corpse Bride [2005] was technically co-written by Burton but the whole thing is based off of a russian folk tale...which he didn't write.) I find that pretty sad, but when you add the fact that Burton has marketed himself as a dark storyteller, that just makes it pathetic. We find this same issue here in Dark Shadows. There is, unfortunately once again, nothing in this film I can praise that Tim Burton had direct impact on. However, there is one area of this film that deserves praise, and that is, of course, the always-impressive acting performance by Johnny Depp. Even when Depp is handed the worst of scripts, and Johnny has a bit of a tendency to take those scripts, he excels beyond expectation. Depp makes his character, Barnabas Collins, very much real. A real human being born and raised as such, suddenly trapped in the body and chemical makeup of a vampire, and longing for love, respect, and grace. He's able to create the depth of his character and simultaneously focus on a (well done) comedic performance, albeit dark comedy. Anyone that has seen two or more films starring Johnny Depp cannot deny his ability to "become" the character he plays. And this talent is once again on display here in Dark Shadows. I can definitely say with confidence Dark Shadows would be in contention for one of the worst movies of the year if it wasn't for Depp. In summery, if you are Johnny Depp-obsessed, (which is a pretty good obsession to have) I'd go ahead and see this movie just for his performance. Even then, I'd wait for rental. But for the rest of you, I'd pass on this one. Flimsy script that implodes upon itself as the film progresses, (and the last 20 minutes leave you questioning how this film ever made theaters), mediocre acting from everyone besides Depp and Jackie Haley, (he plays the Collins family butler and is the funniest character in the movie), lazy cinematography and notably poor soundtrack. I'm just waiting on the day when Burton will actually write something incredible once again, but with every passing release by him, I lose a little bit more hope.
Here's something you don't see everyday: an indie movie as the highest critically rated horror movie of the year, and yet still people don't know about it. Yes, Stake Land was the highest rated horror film of 2011, according to Rotten Tomatoes, (For the record, Stake Land was originally released in the UK in 2010, but didn't show in America until April 2011.) It reunites director Jim Mickle and actor Nick Demici for their second horror film together after creating the cult favorite Mulberry St, but this time brings in supporting actress Danielle Harris, an expert at horror films with a two-decade long list of horror movie appearances, and Gossip Girl actor Connor Paolo for the lead. Plot: Everything seemed to go wrong at once. America has a political and economical collapse, and quickly after a vampire/zombie-like disease epidemic sweeps the nation, leaving no hope for any kind of social structure. While the nation is in shambles, a man known as Mister, (Nick Demici) takes a boy named Martin (Connor Paolo) under his guidance and protection as they travel north for a land known as "New Eden," where, according to rumor, there is safety. My Thoughts: If you were like me, I read the plot and the words "I Am Legend" kept ringing through my ears. And in some ways, it is similar to the recent I Am Legend remake, but certainly not a copy. Stake Land takes the intense scenes from I Am Legend and puts them in the landscape of The Road. Yeah, that's a good mix. The movie opens with one of the more disturbingly violent scenes I've ever seen, but it sets a false mood. The violence rarely picks back up to that level of brutality, and instead the movie focuses much more on the feel and atmosphere of the broken world rather then gore or "jump scenes." In fact, the movie almost entirely avoids jump scenes altogether, which you have no idea how much I appreciate. The focus of the film is the relationship between Mister and Martin, and Martin maturing from boy to man. Yes, that's also pretty cliche, but at least they do it very well; it's perfectly paced and well-acted. However, there's a side-note that sets this movie apart. Jim Mickle looked at a vampire-ridden, decimated world and dared asked "Where would religion be?" Religion plays a steady role in the film, and not a very positive role at that. Mickle very craftily slides a question into our brains as we watch Stake Land; "What's more dangerous? The monsters created by disease or the monsters created by religious beliefs?" You're left to answer that on your own. Stake Land was an incredibly low-budget film, but besides one scene with a racing car, you can't really tell. The sets and locations for the film were very well done, and, once again, create a beautifully scared landscape and atmosphere. My one real disappointment with this movie was the last 15 minutes. The ending feels very rushed and undeveloped to me; there was certainly more potential there. But all in all, Stake Land is a fantastic film that took an overused genre and brought it back to life again. Highly recommend for anyone who can handle some violence and gore and yet, enjoy a movie that isn't overloaded with both.
Well, unless you're a avid follower of the indie movie scene and from England, I bet you haven't heard of this one. Some American readers might recognize Steve Coogan from big budget films such as Tropic Thunder and The Other Guys, but neither men have had any lead roles in American-produced films. And that's about it for recognizable names or titles associated with The Trip as far as the American audience is concerned.
Plot: This film documents Coogan and Brydon, both playing themselves, on a week-long tour of England's finest restaurants hosted by The Observer magazine. Steve was originally offered the trip and planned to take his girlfriend, but after she drops the trip last minute, Steve is forced to take his long-time, yet fairly distant friend Rob.
My Thoughts: Since the film's plot is literally roaming around England for a week sampling food from exclusive restaurants, there really isn't much going on. The focus here is obviously the friendship of Steve and Rob.
Steve and Rob's interactions, which are virtually the entire film, are very entertaining, and, I must admit, get much better as the film goes on. It is a little slow at the beginning, but once they are a day or two into their week-long trip, their interactions are just brilliant. They will impress you, make you laugh, switch to deep topics, then give smart insights on the life of fame and enduring the mid-life crisis all in a very real way, as if you're sitting in the back seat of their (pricy) Range Rover roaming the hills of northern England with them. I had never seen a film like it before.
There is a lot about this film that I respect, specifically in its uniqueness and unconventional method of movie-making. First off, there was NO script. As far as we know, at least. About 90% of the movie is witty, entertaining, yet very real dialogue between Steve and Rob that was entirely improve. The second aspect that I admire, is that both actors are playing as themselves, but exaggerated forms of themselves, (that'd be kinda weird to do, wouldn't it?) Steve is a hurting man that's desperately holding onto an over-sized ego, even when all of his life situations at present do not justify one. He vents these feelings with a very negative, low tolerance attitude towards Rob. Rob, in contrast, plays a slightly socially awkward, yet happy man who loves his life, with a steady family and decent income. Both of their characters are truly them with their own personality, but with fictional life situations that both Steve and Rob let influence their natural character. Not very many actors have attempted something like that, and Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon not only attempted it, but they did it extremely well.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this charming film, and would recommend it to anyone looking for something a little different, yet still wants a good laugh and an occasional deep thought.
We live in a age where you are told to believe in no one and nothing but yourself, with the obvious exception of the world and it's telling you to do so, (see the irony here?) It is this standard of thought within society that has radically changed the way we view the world and ourselves. Statements like "Dude Taylor Swift sucks" and "Did you see the movie Footloose? Worst. Movie. Ever." now sound quite arrogant and uneducated, as if forming opinions are now a sign of one's inability to stay intellectually updated. We're not allowed to voice our opinions anymore, because opinions can hurt other people. We must be accepting of all things and other people, and yet we must also believe in no one but ourselves, and yet we must be careful never to offend or ostracize anyone, and yet we must not care about other opinions of ourselves because they don't matter, and yet we must understand all things are relative to each person's perception, except for our own of course.
Do you see this double standard the world demands from our society? It's maddening. I can't even voice my opinions without someone telling me to be more accepting. More accepting of what? Your view? The world tells me not to care about your view, just mine, but I'm not allowed to form a view because it'll offend someone else. But I'm not supposed to care about that right? Wrong?
Screw it.
I have a ton of opinions, and, call me 18th century if you want, but I'm going to share them. Pleeeease disagree with me; I love a good, rational debate. And if I offend you, I'm truly not sorry. These are my own analyzations and opinions and I fully believe I am entitled to them, as you are fully entitled to disagree with them.
This particular blog will cover my critiques of movies, from the biggest budget films to the littlest known indie flick. Anything I happen to watch and feel compelled to write about when it comes to cinema, I will.
If you happen to be interested in what I have to say, feel free to read on, send me a message, ask me questions, argue, challenge me to an old-fashioned dual, whatever. I genuinely enjoy discovering other's opinions on art, particularly movies, so I figure why not share my own.
Thanks for stumbling upon just another's guy's opinion :)
