My Favorite Film

So earlier in the year I remember seeing a lot of "My Favorite Film" posts on this blog, and it got me thinking about some of my favorite movies. My taste in films is all over the place and I often find myself liking films that others find either over the top or boring. Overall what I look for in films is to experience something new, to feel something that wouldn't come naturally to me in the real world. One director that has impressed me time and time again is Tim Burton. Burton has taken a lot of heat over the years for his creative choices, but to this day I cannot name a Burton film, aside from maybe Alice in Wonderland, that I did not thoroughly enjoy. So without further adieu here is a mini breakdown of one of my favorite movies of all time:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

I watched this movie four times in the theater when it came out. I even went to my town's local video rental store and begged them to let me have the official movie poster that they had hanging in their front window. This movie was successful for so many reasons but in the interest of not further outing myself as a weirdo allow be to begin my analysis with:

THE SETS

I mean just look at those bad boys. Each set is so unique and vivid and works perfectly to stimulate and emotional response from the audience. Burton gets a lot of heat for starting his movies off gray, british and bland, but that's only so he can make the introduction of color that much more significant.

The Music

So once the movie begins to kick off and we've established that Charlie Bucket and his family are literally in the brink of poverty we begin to understand the real stakes of this factory tour. All the music in this movie thus far has been mostly grand, emotional, and mystical. Everything feels so bleak and hopeless and then once the factory doors finally open we're greeted with this.

It's sugary ridiculousness borders on the psychotic. It's a perfect way of showing how distant Wonka's psyche is from the poverty and hardships that surround him. It also serves as a way of presenting his egomania to the children of the parents who are about to willingly allow a mad man escort their children around a chocolate factory.

Shot Composition

All about that symmetry. I'm gonna cap off my review here but let me just say that what I love most about Burton is that he seems like he cares deeply about the films he makes. Even after watching this movie about a bazillion times I still find myself catching little details that make the whole experience enjoyable again. I can honestly say that I think this film couldn't have been pulled off by any current mainstream director quite as well.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Last night when thinking of a "halloween-ish" movie to watch I immediately recommended Beetlejuice. If you have never seen the movie I HIGHLY encourage you to do so. It's directed by Tim Burton, and if that's not a reason enough, I'll give you some more.

The cast is amazing. The main couple are such cuties with such a contrast to the grimey but lovable, Beetlejuice. 

1) Alec Baldwin is one of the leads... look at how young he was!! 

(low key he was really hot too)

2) Only as a teen Winona Ryder rocked her role, Lydia. 

~Such Angst~

I also found out that makeup artists Ve Neill, Steve LaPorte and Robert Short won the 1989 Academy Award for Best Makeup for their work on Beetlejuice. Here's an article I found some other things that are usually unknown about the film: http://mentalfloss.com/article/59718/15-things-you-might-not-know-about-beetlejuice

It heavily involves several characters from "the other side." And following usual Tim Burton style, the movie is packed with creepy, strange, eccentric and whimsical doings. 

If you want a little taste of the cheesy 80's weirdness of the film, here's one of my favorite scenes I loved even when I was a kid. This is one of the ghost couple's (musical) attempts at scaring the family out of their home. It's pure gold. 

Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas

Since this is my final post, I felt I should end with one of my favorite movies of all time The Nightmare Before Christmas. Also it's good movie for this time of year to curl up with by the fireplace, where I assume your chestnuts will be roasting.
The Nightmare Before Christmas is a post stop motion animation film that was created and produced by Tim Burton (before he lost his stride in my personal opinion). This film broke so many barriers at the time (1993), it was one of the first mainstream post stop animation films released (before it came Gumby and other less known shorts). Henry Selick (also known for Coraline) directed the film. Burton had no hand in any of the animation work because of Batman. The score and lyrics were created by Danny Elfman, a well known collaborator with Burton (Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Batman, etc).
Two useful items were invented during the making of this that would make animators lives a little easier. The first was a light alarm. This device would alert animators if any of the lights on any of the sets were down before they took the next shot. The second was a replacement system where in the animator was easily able to switch out a broken puppet for a new one.
The Nightmare Before Christmas has created a cult following that gains still is growing to this day. I hope you take the time to watch this if not only to see the hard work and long hours the animators committed. Happy holidays y'all.

Pushing Daisies

Freshman year, I took a class where we looked at different TV shows and critiqued on its aesthetics and presentation. One show that really jumped out at me was called Pushing Daisies. This Tv drama was like no other. The colors and patterns shown on screen really made an impact to the viewer. The creator of the show, Bryan Fuller, told several magazines and publishing company's that he was going for a "Tim Burton trippy" look, with bright colors and exaggerated patterns. the picture below says it all.






It gives the viewer an Alice and Wonderland look, with a twist of a cartoon fashion. Many shades of red and orange brighten the picture, and you also get a sense of symmetry in ever shot. The NY times say the show looks like a Candyland version of life. Even the plot has a fantasy feeling.

New, the town pie maker, discovered a special gift he had when he was young. He had the power to touch anything dead, whether it was a person, plant, or animal, and make it come back to life. However, the next time he touched him, her, or it, it would remain dead forever. Watching the pilot episode, I really thought this looked corny and stupid. But the characters really kept the driving the story. Ned and a detective pair up to solve murder mysteries to collect the reward for catching the killer. There is no Law and Order terms in this show, and the dialogue is funny and easy to keep up with. The music sounds like a fairy tale Disney movie, but for adults, setting the tone of every scene. This is a show I definitely recommend to all looking for something new to pick up.