823. Edward Scissorhands

Edward Scissorhands
1990
Directed by Tim Burton

Tim Burton is decidedly not for me.  I don't mind quirky films, but every character in his world is strange simply for the sake of being strange.  I just can never comfortably mesh with his fantasies.  I mean, who would even want to seduce someone with scissors for hands?  Wouldn't you be...nervous?  What a strange fetish.

Basically, a guy has scissors for hands and everyone has trouble dealing with it.  The beautiful Kim Boggs actually likes Edward for what he is, but her boyfriend Jim (their names rhyme! How fantastical!) is only interested in using Edward to steal his own father's money.  In summary, we are supposed to feel for the outcast, but everyone else is so weird, it's hard to feel like he is out of place in any way.

Something about the entire concept just rubs me the wrong way.  I feel like Burton was so in awe of his own creativity that he failed to notice the story wasn't that good.  Given how odd everything else was, I at least expected a unique ending.  Unfortunately, the climax was cliche and unsatisfying.

I am being particularly harsh.
RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

The film was inspired by a drawing Burton did as a child.  Ugh, give me a break.

Vincent Price's last screen appearance.

797. Batman

Batman
1989
Directed by Tim Burton

My ex boyfriend (who is still a good friend; take that Harry Burns) attends CMU and apparently Michael Keaton is now one of his professors/visiting scholars.  Now that I have someone on the inside, I can finally get my "marry Batman" plan started.  I will keep you guys posted!

I suppose there are only two things you need to know about most superhero movies: who's the villain and who's our screaming leading lady?  Our villain is the Joker, played by Jack Nicholson.  I feel like Heath Ledger played the role so well in The Dark Knight that Nicholson's performance is often forgotten.  This is a shame, as there is no denying that Nicholson nailed this.  Our damsel in distress is Vicki Vale, who, predictably, doesn't have much personality at all.

Superhero movies have really become an epidemic in our country.  This looked better than most of the films plaguing our universe right now. As lame as this sounds, I really did feel like I had really stepped into a comic book. The film seemed to care more about the style than the special effects, which is always a positive for me.  It was also interesting to see the Joker's origin story, which I was unfamiliar with.

However, I can't completely defend this film.  Batman always makes for a rather boring character.  To make matters worse, he is given a vacant love interest, making the audience just want to skip all the non Joker scenes.  Still, Nicholson's performance and the cinematography manage to make this a must see movie.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Tim Burton reportedly thought the film was boring.

Body count of 56.