nando820

I don't know if that's a stupid way to title a thread but that's basically what i want to ask.

When I was younger I considered Tim Burton a genius and one of my favorite filmmakers. But disappointment with his recent output has really made me reconsider his status as a good director.

"Alice in Wonderland" was a bore. "Sweeney Todd" was entertaining but didn't do much. I hated Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. And I recently revisited "Beetlejuice" and although still visually striking it wasn't as engaging as I remember.

riotinmyskull

washed up. CHARLIE and ALICE IN WONDERLAND are horrible...everything else i enjoy on some level. i doubt he'll ever top BEETLEJUICE or EDWARD SCISSORHANDS.

sauce07

I've never felt more disappointed by a director. For the past 15 years i've been waiting for one of his movies to hit me like his early work and every single time it's either medicore or horrible.

Kal-El

I just want to ask if he knows that there are other actors in Hollywood besides Johnny Depp.

Yeti4623

I like that he isn't crazy about CGI. I like most of his movies. I'd like to see him with a great script.

Groucho

Of course there are! Helena Bonham Carter!

Randy Miller III

He has a great sense of atmosphere and visual flair, but not much else.

Jaymole

Very overrated. I loved one of his films (Ed Wood), liked a few others and disliked the rest. To me he is an example of style over substance, and it is getting harder for me to appreciate the style anymore.

Giles

I'm generally a fan, but lately he's become a one-trick pony with the sole casting of Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp in nearly everything.

notkevinbacon

I love most everything before Ed Wood, which I think he peaked at (in my opinion Ed Wood is his best work and a fantastic all around movie).

I just think he's lazy now. He's obviously an imaginative guy and he's talented. He has such a built in audience that he doesn't have to work very hard to make money at this point in his career. It doesn't hurt that he also casts Depp in EVERYTHING and Depp is quite a box office draw.

So, yeah... I admire his talents, truly love some of his movies and detest the fact he's just become this bloated, endcap at Hot Topic. His movies used to be as unique as the haircuts in Scissorhands and now they look like shitty bowl cuts from BoRics.

I do think he has to potential to "get it back" so here's hoping he does.

Solid Snake

All the teens and die hard fans may go nuts for him. I KNOW he has talent, we've seen it. But his style is just killing whatever impact a film can give out at times. He's a fucking MAJOR hit and miss. I liked Sweeny Todd, but hated Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and Alice In Wonderland. He's WAY too much style over substance. And the problem w/ his style is that it's become a cliche.

very true...He needs to stop using Depp as a crutch. I know he likes Depp, and that's cool, I like Depp too. Stop putting him in as many movies as you want cuz he's your pal. He's a talented actor and he likes you too. But maybe...just cuz you two like each other a lot doesn't mean it's going to be a good film.

I'd love to see Helena Bonham Carter in some strong leading role that doesn't have Burton involved. I know she can act in a strong role. So far it's just her husband's work and the Potter films...which isn't much. Oh..and for some reason she was in Terminator: Salvation.

Giles

forgot she was in that, well come to think of it, that whole movie was pretty much forgettable in of itself.

devilshalo

Since Mars Attacks, he's gone cuckoo! Big Fish is the only one even close to being somewhat 'normal'.

GoldenJCJ

I liked Beetlejuice as a kid but mostly for Michael Keaton's performance (I'll still argue it was Oscar worthy) but the film hasn't held up very well over time.
Ed Wood is great
Big Fish was alright. Props for making me tear up at the end (though to be fair, my dad died not too long before I watched it).

Never cared for any of his other films.

Between Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Danny Elfman scores, all Burton's films seem so redundant.

Fist of Doom

Love Tim Burton. Hollywood is a more interesting placing having him in it. His only misfire to me is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (I blame Wahlberg's comatose performance for hurting Planet of the Apes).

As for relying too much on his "style," well, that's just his particular Muse. And I don't see the big deal with casting Depp so often. Plenty of great directors work with the same actors over and over. They work well together, so if it ain't broke...

Ash Ketchum

His best film: PEE WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE.

His other good films: BATMAN, ED WOOD.

That's it.

Fanboy

The Infidel summed up Burton's oeuvre in the "Burton to Make Alice" thread:

andy434343

always loved Big Fish.......I don't care for too much else from him. I also liked a lot of his movies when I was younger, now upon watching them I think they are not as good as I remembered.

davidlynchfan

Ditto, majority of his other stuff just doesn't deliver for me.

DRG

I liked The Corpse Bride, but most of his work from the past decade just feels like calculated quirk & whimsy where it used to feel genuine. It's like when some second rate director tries to blatantly rip off another, more talented, director's style... except in this case he's both directors.

Artman

Sleepy Hollow and Sweeney are my favs. Apes, Charlie and Alice were lucrative paychecks, can't fault him for that...and I didn't think they were atrocious or anything. If we still get a good, creative Burton film every 3-4 yrs I'm happy.

FRwL

His Batmans are OK (although better than the Nolans) but really like Ed Wood, one of the coolest tributes to an underrated filmmaker and the cast was so good, i mean even freakin Bill Murray?? The rest of his movies don't care for, saw Alice and it was a diahrrea swirl. But then again there are many directors who haven't even made something as great as Ed Wood in the first place.

JumpCutz

I Love Batman Returns and Ed Wood. I enjoy Pee Wee's Big Adventure. I respect Edward Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow.

Everything else he's done I pretty much loathe or have no interest in seeing ever again.

EdTheRipper

I like a lot of his stuff but his newer work definitely leaves something to be desired.

GoldenJCJ

The thing about his newer work is that they had so much potential. Sleep Hollow, Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Alice in Wonderland all SHOULD have been great; instead they barely rise above mediocre making the disappointment that much worse.