For years, I've referred to Tim Burton as God. He's my favorite director of all-time, which is not to say that his movies are perfect, nor am I trying to say that he's the best director of all-time. All I'm saying is that for me personally, Tim Burton's movies are MY kinda movies. They speak to me.
Like lotsa people out there, I spent most of my school years trying to fit in, but never quite succeeding. I couldn't figure out why people didn't like me. At the time, I was very short, very skinny, I looked Asian (so I was often called derogatory Asian names), and no one seemed to find me particularly good-looking. Then there was my personality. I liked movies a LOT more than everyone else, and I couldn't understand why I would get excited about a movie while others were indifferent. Almost everyone thought I was weird (and NOT the "good" weird). I was very shy and quiet, but when I DID talk, odd things seemed to come outta my mouth.
Elementary school was bad, junior high (I think they're called middle schools now) was worse, and in high school, fortunately, things improved... but not by much. I was no longer short, but I was still frighteningly skinny. I no longer looked Asian, but the girls weren't paying attention anyway. In my junior year, I had my very first girlfriend. Did that help me to fit in? Nope. Although most people had no problem with it, I was suddenly hated by a couple of people I cared about, which made those two years very difficult. We broke up way back in 1991, but the topic remains forbidden with those people who hated me back then.
I'll spare you from what things were like during my acne years (thank you so so so much Dr. Rosen for curing me of that humiliating affliction).
Because of how my life was during those years, I've held an intense bitterness towards "the cool people." The ones who did drugs, got laid, always seemed to catch the eye of the girl I liked, picked on me, and laughed at me. But then I went to "Full Sail," the place where I got my degrees in Film/Video and Digital Media. The cool people were there, but they were the kinda cool people who didn't look down on the geeks. I'd known only one girl prior to my going to "Full Sail" who was like that. She was a friend in high school named Jennifer, but unfortunately, I haven't heard from her in many years. Anyway, wanna know a strange twist regarding some of the cool people at Full Sail? Some of them thought that it was ME who was cool! They liked the strange things I'd say, my film geek ways, and they were impressed that I'd never done drugs or any of that stuff! The irony of it all.
Today, most of my friends are geeks like me, but I have a few friends who'd easily be considered "cool" (but the kind that don't look down on geeks) and they're great people. Also, I really don't give a shit about what people think about me anymore.
Now what the hell does ANY of this hafta do with Tim Burton? Well, watch "Edward Scissorhands," my favorite of Tim Burton's movies. Like all of his other movies, it features an odd character living in a world where no one else can seem to figure him/her out, not that they'd WANT to. All of Tim Burton's movies have that theme somewhere, but in "Edward Scissorhands," it's most obvious. So watch that movie and then think about it. Then you'll know. And you'll also see why he's my favorite director.
Now, on to my review of his latest feature, "Sleepy Hollow" (about time I got to that, huh?).
So yeah, Tim Burton is God. "Sleepy Hollow" is an incredible movie, and perhaps his best looking one yet. Johnny Depp is amazing, Danny Elfman's score is perfect, and the movie as a whole was awesome.
Johnny Depp is a great actor. He totally disappears into his characters, especially when he works with Tim Burton (like he did in "Edward Scissorhands" and "Ed Wood"). As "Ichabod Crane," he nails it. It's very obvious why Tim Burton likes casting Johnny Depp as his misunderstood characters.
I don't really know why, but I didn't like the idea of Christina Ricci being cast in this movie. I guess it's because I still see her as "Wednesday Addams" or something (even though she played more grown up roles in "The Opposite of Sex" and "Buffalo '66"). Casper Van Dien (who played "Rico" in "Starship Troopers"), an actor I'm not a very big fan of, actually did well in this movie. I even kinda wish they showed more of his character. Tim Burton's girlfriend, the very sexy Lisa Marie, made another appearance in one of his movies. Her role is small, but it's definitely one that grabs your attention. Jeffrey Jones, Michael Gough, and a few other Tim Burton regulars (which are surprises, so I won't reveal who they are) have small roles in the movie. Probably the most amazing performance is by the man whose face you never see. For many of the shots of the Headless Horseman, he's played by Ray Park, the same man who was "Darth Maul" in "Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace." There's even a fight scene that's fairly reminiscent of the three-way lightsaber duel in the "Star Wars" prequel. That fight scene was marvelous. Actually, every time the Headless Horseman comes on the screen, it's a thrill. The music, the way it's shot, the way he dressed... the Headless Horseman is just a very exciting figure in the movie.
"Sleepy Hollow" was obviously based on "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving, but the adapted script takes many liberties, which I think is a GOOD thing. The story was by Andrew Kevin Walker and Kevin Yagher (a make-up and special effects guy who's debuting as a writer, but he was also the "Alan Smithee" who directed "Hellraiser: Bloodline"). The screenplay was by Andrew Kevin Walker. Regular readers of this web site know who Andrew Kevin Walker is because he's one of my favorite writers. He wrote "Seven" and "8mm." I really like his work. As for this movie, I liked it a lot, but there were problems in the script as far as the characters go. Very little is explained that SHOULD be explained. For example, much of it has to do with the relationship between the triangle of characters played by Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, and Casper Van Dien.
By the way, I'm not sure how true it is, but I heard that Tom Stoppard (the brilliant writer who co-wrote "Shakespeare in Love," among others) had an uncredited rewrite on the script.
So there you
have it, my first review for a Tim Burton movie on my web site... and it's
almost a freakin' novel. Sorry about that, folks. But yes, I really enjoyed
this beautiful, dark, exciting, funny, quirky movie. I've said it once,
and I'll say it again, Tim Burton is God.
Scale of 1-10: 9