"What's Eating Gilbert Grape" Movie Review

Notice that the title of this film does not end with a question mark. It is not a thriller or a mystery; it is simply a visual description of the problems affecting a family with problems. The movie follows the daily life of an unhappy young man by the name of Gilbert who is dealing with caring for an autistic younger brother and a morbidly obese mother. This is a film that I believe everyone should see because it gives you a must greater respect for obese people and for caretakers in general. The acting is top-notch with an exceptional performance by Leonardo DiCaprio as the autistic boy. When everything comes together, what you get is a sad and moving experience.

9/10

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"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" Movie Review

"Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd.
His skin was pale and his eye was odd.
He shaved the faces of gentlemen
who never thereafter were heard of again.
He trod a path that few had trod,
Did Sweeney Todd,
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street."

Those are the opening lyrics to the 1979 Broadway production with Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou. The movie version, made 28 years later with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, will blow you away. The entire film is so unique and so strange that you can't help but take in the awe of it. It is the story of a troubled barber who was imprisoned after a judge took his wife away. Years later, he returns to London where there is no sign of his wife and now his daughter is locked away in the Judge's house. His goal now, is to bring in customers, primarily the Judge, and slit their throats so that his new friend, Mrs. Lovett can make them into delectable "meat pies". And the best part of it all is that it is a musical and all of the actors, never previously singers, have unbelievable good voices that are very enjoyable to listen to and fit the story. The majority of musical films seem to be quite upbeat and contain large amounts of dancing, but this has neither. I prefer dark musicals such as this and also "Les Miserables", because I think it is harder to bring those emotions out in song and this kind of musical has much more meaning to me. Every actor in this picture does an incredible job in their individual role and I don't believe that a single actor was miscast. What's more, the writer of the stage musical, Stephen Sondheim, approved which he often doesn't do with movie adaptations. Tim Burton really scores on this one.

10/10

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"Ed Wood" Movie Review

This is definitely a good movie about bad movies. I had seen every Tim Burton film except this and his remake of "Planet of the Apes" so, due to my interest in old movies and in Johnny Depp, I thought I would finally sit down and watch it. And I'm glad I did. Edward D. Wood Jr. was a bizarre filmmaker who movies are legendary for being awful. But he doesn't know. He is happy and optimistic about every penny he can get and every person he can meet. He is especially excited when he sees the no longer acting, Bela Lugosi, played by Martin Landau, winning him an Academy Award. The movie was shot entirely in black and white, primarily because no one knew how Bela Lugosi would look in color. And it looks incredible. From the promising start with the graves and the lighting, it really feels like an old horror movie. Now, the movie as a whole was good but it there are some questionable aspects of it such as the language, which was unnecessary, and the way Ed's crew disrespected the Baptist church. Other than those and a few other things, the film was a lot of fun to watch and was interesting to see an important piece of Hollywood history. Now, I''m gonna go watch some of Ed Wood's bad movies!

7/10

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"Secret Window" Movie Review

"You stole my story." the mysterious man at the door says. A dazed and confused Mort Rainey looks back at him and hesitantly says that he doesn't know him. "I know that, that doesn't matter, I know you, Mr. Rainey, that's what matters". Then repeating himself for emphasis, this Southerner says again: "You stole my story."

Mort Rainey is a writer who, as you can see from the above conversation, is accused of plagiarism. Now, he is certain he hasn't committed any crime but this strange man named John Shooter is persistent and demands justice. But the more Mort fights back, the more Shooter continues to fight back; harder. This entertaining, if fairly average, thriller is based on a Stephen King short story called, "Secret Window, Secret Garden". Johnny Depp is good in the role of the targeted author and it is fun to see Len Cariou, the original Sweeney Todd, starring alongside him who was to play the same role only three years later in the movie adaptation. The scenery is also quite beautiful. Although it is a fascinating film, no doubt, I am not sure it is worth repeated viewings. I suppose I will decide that when I revisit the movie at a later time.

7/10

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"Sleepy Hollow" Movie Review

Tim Burton has made two horror movies: first this and then in 2007, he made Sweeney Todd. Sweeney Todd was unbelievably great. This however, was not. The film opens with the first of three murders that occur in the small community of Sleepy Hollow. The victims are found decapitated, their heads missing. These strange happenings attract scientific detective Ichabod Crane, played by Johnny Depp, to solve the mystery. The townspeople are certain that the murderer is the ghost of the Headless Horseman, who lived in Sleepy Hollow years ago. Ichabod Crane is insistent on proving that this is not a supernatural figure, but after a few more murders, even he begins to believe it as well. First of all, this movie is in no way scary. I enjoy being scared and if I intend to see a horror movie, then I would hope and expect to be scared. This did not do it for me. After the first few murders, I lost interest. The movie mainly consisted of the Headless Horseman running around, and chopping people heads off. Oh, and don't forget, yelling "Aah!" It was a bit hard to take seriously. Also, Johnny Depp was quite mild and disappointing in the lead. He has had far better roles in other films. Despite the talented people involved, this movie was a major disappointment and a dud.

4/10

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"Dark Shadows" Movie Review

Barnabas Collins is a vampire cursed by a witch who is in love and, unfortunately for him, Barnabas does not return her love. He is left in a casket for more than a century and when released, he finds that he has landed in the year 1972. Johnny Depp can play almost any role that is thrown his way. A pirate, a hatter, and a vampire. The latter is shown here and it is interesting and amusing to see him play a vampire from the 1700s. Tim Burton's macabre and creepy humor comes out throughout, with Johnny Depp definitely helping with that. It is also considerably dark and while trying to maintain the comedy over the course of almost two hours, the movie has its ups and down. The sexual content is a bit much as well and would have been perfectly fine without it. However, I enjoyed it because you develop feelings for the characters and it certainly does grab you and make you want to learn how it all turns out. "Dark Shadows" is also a perfect Halloween movie.

7/10

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"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" Movie Review

If only Roald Dahl had been alive to see this. One of the greatest childrens authors of all time, Roald Dahl, wrote the story of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" in 1964. In 1971, a musical film adaptation was released with the title "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory". Unfortunately, Roald Dahl himself hated the film, so much so that he refused to allow them to adapt his sequel. Tim Burton didn't like the original either and, as he does so well, he put his own familar spin on it. Johnny Depp was the perfect casting choice as the lonely Willy Wonka, with similarities to his earlier character, Edward Scissorhands. I saw this film in the IMAX theater with its release in 2005 and instantly loved it. I have enjoyed it just as much every time since and I still smile when the Oompa Loompa's sing and when Willy Wonka presents to the children his chocolate room. Although I was one of the many who actually liked the original, I find this one better because with the absense of the unnecessary musical numbers, among other things, this is closer to Roald Dahl's story in tone and in content. I believe if he had been alive he would have enjoyed it, as I did, and I hope you do too.

9/10

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"Corpse Bride" Movie Review

"I do". Those are two words that Victor Van Dort just can't seem to say. He practices and practices but saying his vows aren't an easy thing for him to do. Perhaps it's because he barely knows her and doesn't love her. Or because he is a nervous wreck. Which is it? Either way, it clearly isn't going according to plan. Victor wanders off into the forest and while practicing his vows yet again, he finally gets them right. Unfortunately, it happens at a very inconvenient time. A dead woman, buried in the ground, has been waiting for the perfect man to come and say the exact words that Victor said and she believes it to be for real. She brings him into the world of the dead which is not at all what he is looking for. Tim Burton's idea is a strange and creative one but, to me, there was clearly something missing. Johnny Depp does a mediocre job playing the selfless and kindhearted Victor but that's just it; its mediocre. Same goes for Helena Bonham Carter as the corpse bride and most of the other voice actors. But as I said, Tim Burton's ideas are creative as usual, and the animation that he hadn't used since "The Nightmare Before Christmas", works well here.

6/10

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"Edward Scissorhands" Movie Review

It is movies like this that remind me why I love movies so much. As I sat and watched "Edward Scissorhands", I had a smile on my face almost from beginning to end. Once upon a time, there was an eccentric inventor who lived alone in a large mansion. Making gadgets was something he loved to do and there was something he created that was different and unique: a man with scissors for hands which he fittingly named Edward Scissorhands. The inventor planned on giving him real hands, but as he was old, he died before he could do so. This left Edward with those scissors for life. He continued to live up in mansion until a lady found him alone and decided to take him in. She showed him what it was like to live in the real world and he quickly fell in love with her daughter, Kim and became the center of attention for the whole town. As of 2012, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have worked together in exactly 8 films, this one being the first. Johnny Depp does a fantastic job as the innocent and often clueless Edward Scissorhands and his performance and acting style blends perfectly with Tim Burton's bizarre fantasy stories. Tim Burton is my favorite director of all time because he is able to produce movies with stories that are exactly what appeal to me and have appealed to me since I was a young child: dark, intriguing, creative, unique, and often creepy. I have only have one complaint about this movie: the neighbors were painful and quite annoying to watch. But the good scenes were so great that they helped compensate for these painful scenes. And Edward is not just a character; he is a symbol for those who are different than others and who don't quite seem to fit in in life and I am here to say that this alone made the him one of the most likable characters I have ever seen in onscreen. 

9/10

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