Weekly Box Office and Film Discussion Thread

[Drtooth]

It was done better in the first movie, when it was part of various other intersecting plots. The CGI special was okay, but it was hardly in the same caliber.

There's supposed to be a Fleischer influence, and I wonder if that means they're doing a story book type plot. I kinda hope they don't. And I really hope that if this is an origin, they read the original Thimble Theater comics where he was introduced.

 

[Drtooth]

I just came from Frankenweenie, and I have to say, it does NOT deserve the box office it got. In fact, I dare say this is the Tim Burton I know and love, and not the goth/emo style he usually goes for. Johnny Depp and Helen Carter aren't anywhere to be found, and the only stock actors he used are from his early days, Wynnona Rider and Catherine O'Harra. The Movie takes a sharp turn back to the B-movie influence he used to have. There's a lot of early Tim Burton influence in the film, down to the fact Sparky looks like Family Dog.

It's the best thing Burton did since maybe Big Fish. Overall, I liked it better than Corpse Bride. Not quite NBX (though that's because Henry Selick directed it, Burton was the story and characters), but it was more fun and organic than CB. It's so nice to see a movie where he tried very hard to NOT fall into his familiar traps and habits.

Didn't quite like it as much as Paranorman, but I quite enjoyed it.

 

[Hayley B]

I just came from Frankenweenie, and I have to say, it does NOT deserve the box office it got. In fact, I dare say this is the Tim Burton I know and love, and not the goth/emo style he usually goes for. Johnny Depp and Helen Carter aren't anywhere to be found, and the only stock actors he used are from his early days, Wynnona Rider and Catherine O'Harra. The Movie takes a sharp turn back to the B-movie influence he used to have. There's a lot of early Tim Burton influence in the film, down to the fact Sparky looks like Family Dog.

It's the best thing Burton did since maybe Big Fish. Overall, I liked it better than Corpse Bride. Not quite NBX (though that's because Henry Selick directed it, Burton was the story and characters), but it was more fun and organic than CB. It's so nice to see a movie where he tried very hard to NOT fall into his familiar traps and habits.

Didn't quite like it as much as Paranorman, but I quite enjoyed it.

Thanks for the information. I'll take my time to go see it then. As for "Paranorman". I just have less interest in seeing that one. I'm just not a zombie fan. My mom is (she's addicted to that Plants vs Zombies game). But that's it.

---

I wonder about peoples thoughts about "Wreck-It Ralph"? Looks like a Usual and typical Disney movie to me.

 

[jvcarroll]

I just came from Frankenweenie, and I have to say, it does NOT deserve the box office it got. In fact, I dare say this is the Tim Burton I know and love, and not the goth/emo style he usually goes for. Johnny Depp and Helen Carter aren't anywhere to be found, and the only stock actors he used are from his early days, Wynnona Rider and Catherine O'Harra. The Movie takes a sharp turn back to the B-movie influence he used to have. There's a lot of early Tim Burton influence in the film, down to the fact Sparky looks like Family Dog.

It's the best thing Burton did since maybe Big Fish. Overall, I liked it better than Corpse Bride. Not quite NBX (though that's because Henry Selick directed it, Burton was the story and characters), but it was more fun and organic than CB. It's so nice to see a movie where he tried very hard to NOT fall into his familiar traps and habits.

Didn't quite like it as much as Paranorman, but I quite enjoyed it.

I’m finally giving up on Tim Burton! He stretched a 10 minute premise into a 90 minute feature and padded it with clichés from his previous, better films. The animation was lovely, but nowhere near the excellence of Laika and Selick. I really wanted to like this remake of FrankenWeenie and probably would have at its original running time. Unfortunately, Burton hasn't made a decent movie since Corpse Bride, and he hasn't made a great one since Ed Wood. It's clear he has nothing left to say. I left bored and deflated.
However, yay for Family Dog! Maybe Burton should partner with Brad Bird again or someone who understands the importance of storytelling .
ParaNorman is also a little weak in the story department, but the context and premise are really original. The character designs, motivations and personalities are also much more fleshed-out than in FrankenWeenie. Dare I say, I don't think cinema really needs Tim Burton anymore?
I'm definitely getting Paranorman on Blu-ray, but will skip FrankenWeenie. I think Disney knew it would perform poorly so they stuck it in a place to be forgotten - the week after Hotel Transylvania. Okay, I can at least say Burton's offering was better than Adam Sandler's 2 hour animated monologue.

 

[Drtooth]

Yeah, but at least he didn't turn it into a Johnny Depp wears a funny hat hooking up with Burton's wife story. There's just some weird personal issue right there. You can't blame him for trying to get back to his roots before the emo goth fangirls hijacked his films. I'd give him an Oscar for just that reason. I'd also give Spielberg an Oscar for the re-release of E.T. NOT being the crappy special edition, and totally sticking it to Lucas.

But it is hard to hit back once you've fallen on directing habits. Tim Burton was making the same film over and over, and there is something to this being a TV special rather than a full movie (I guess you really have to like crappy B-movies to get this one), but he beat the odds and didn't make another clone of Sweeny Wonka: The Demon Chocolatier of Scissorhands in Wonderland.

Though it is a shame on all levels that all the stop motion films underperformed. It's a shame that Frankenweenie wasn't released in August, and Paranorman was. I think, given a better, closer to Halloween slot, Paranorman would have done much better, and probably over take Hotel Transylvania.

 

[jvcarroll]

Yeah, but at least he didn't turn it into a Johnny Depp wears a funny hat hooking up with Burton's wife story. There's just some weird personal issue right there. You can't blame him for trying to get back to his roots before the emo goth fangirls hijacked his films. I'd give him an Oscar for just that reason. I'd also give Spielberg an Oscar for the re-release of E.T. NOT being the crappy special edition, and totally sticking it to Lucas.

But it is hard to hit back once you've fallen on directing habits. Tim Burton was making the same film over and over, and there is something to this being a TV special rather than a full movie (I guess you really have to like crappy B-movies to get this one), but he beat the odds and didn't make another clone of Sweeny Wonka: The Demon Chocolatier of Scissorhands in Wonderland.

Though it is a shame on all levels that all the stop motion films underperformed. It's a shame that Frankenweenie wasn't released in August, and Paranorman was. I think, given a better, closer to Halloween slot, Paranorman would have done much better, and probably over take Hotel Transylvania.

Burton's films are direction-less. I love stylishly morbid artworks, but there must contain a beating heart...even if it's in a box or a jar. I understand B-movies and I don't have a problem with directors reusing the same actors. I like Johnny Depp.

 

[Drtooth]

Gore Wazzisname uses Johnny better. He has more fun in POTC and Rango than any of Tim's movies. He seems to be more and more zombie like in his films. Willy Wonka, Mad Hatter, and Sweeny Todd just didn't seem half as fun for him to play as Jack Sparrow.

But directors need to break their habits. That's when young, bright visionaries become fuddy duddies that make the same movie over and over. It happens to the best of them. They make movies that are on cruise control that just contain recycled tropes from their last ones. Newer directors fall in that trap much faster. Look at M. Night Shamalan. Every one of his movies is worse than the last one.

Of course, as far as the film is concerned there are things that really should have been pushed more and explored in greater depth. The grumpy neighbor being the mayor and having a daughter that seemed to be more in line with Victor just seemed to go no where until the end, when it just seemed like there was very little motivation to it. I still don't get what the disappearing goldfish was about. That seemed like a minor concern, rather than a valid problem for the protagonist. And I wonder if the 1980's kids movie feel was intentional or not. Maybe I'm just thinking the politically incorrect Japanese kid was too John Huges? The script really should have been fleshed out more. And there should have been a little more expressiveness in some of the puppets.

I just hope the underperformance of the stop motion films this year don't mean we see the last of them. I love that craft too much to see it just disappear.

 

[jvcarroll]

Gore Wazzisname uses Johnny better. He has more fun in POTC and Rango than any of Tim's movies. He seems to be more and more zombie like in his films. Willy Wonka, Mad Hatter, and Sweeny Todd just didn't seem half as fun for him to play as Jack Sparrow.

But directors need to break their habits. That's when young, bright visionaries become fuddy duddies that make the same movie over and over. It happens to the best of them. They make movies that are on cruise control that just contain recycled tropes from their last ones. Newer directors fall in that trap much faster. Look at M. Night Shamalan. Every one of his movies is worse than the last one.

Of course, as far as the film is concerned there are things that really should have been pushed more and explored in greater depth. The grumpy neighbor being the mayor and having a daughter that seemed to be more in line with Victor just seemed to go no where until the end, when it just seemed like there was very little motivation to it. I still don't get what the disappearing goldfish was about. That seemed like a minor concern, rather than a valid problem for the protagonist. And I wonder if the 1980's kids movie feel was intentional or not. Maybe I'm just thinking the politically incorrect Japanese kid was too John Huges? The script really should have been fleshed out more. And there should have been a little more expressiveness in some of the puppets.

I just hope the underperformance of the stop motion films this year don't mean we see the last of them. I love that craft too much to see it just disappear.

What you're talking about is character development. There was none in Frankenweenie and that's a failure of Burton. I mean, who was Victor aside from a boy who makes sci-fi movies and loves his dog?

Each character in ParaNorman is specific and endearing. You understand who they are and why they act as they do even though the world of the film is odd.

I have no doubt that Tim Burton understands character development. Edward Scissorhands is a shining example of how to create an odd character that the audience can relate to. I expected to get more of that in this movie and it just wasn't there. I feel he's just stopped caring about that part of production.

I agree about the racist Asian character. Whatever they were going for, it just didn't work. Again, it's about character development. One of the dropped balls here was not including one (20 second) scene to illustrate Igor's home life. Heck, any of their home lives. However, Burton wasn't able to get much personality out of Victor even though much time was spent at his house. I just don't know.

Film starts on the page and the pages here must have been very thin.

 

[KremlingWhatnot]

Is Anybody Here Gonna See Wreck It Ralph??

 

[Hayley B]

^ I'll most likely will wait to see it when it's out on DVD. I have a little interest in this one. Though I'm sure no different from any other Disney movie.