Tim Burton

Superman

12/07/25

Cineworld, Edinburgh

Many cinema-goers have fond recollections of Richard Donner’s Superman (1978). Though the film’s special effects were nowhere near as sophisticated as they are now, the story had true heart and vivacity. We really believed a man could fly.

Since then there have been several attempts to relaunch the Man of Steel, all of them underwhelming.

James Gunn, the head honcho of DC (and the man who gave the world Guardians of the Galaxy) now takes on the daunting task of bringing Superman up to date. It would be pointless to retread the origin story, we’ve seen it so many times it now feels like genuine history. So the film begins with some pithy headlines alerting us to the fact that there have been major changes since we last checked in. A fictional country, Boravia, has attempted to invade the neighbouring made-up land of Jarhanpur – and Superman (David Corenswet, last seen by B&B as the young projectionist in Pearl) has stepped in to prevent major loss of life. This is ruled as an illegal action by the American Government. Billionaire entrepreneur, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who has been secretly orchestrating the invasion, unleashes the ‘Hammer of Boravia’ (actually Ultraman in disguise) to take on Superman in combat.

Poor old Soops has his arse royally kicked.

Lying in the Antarctic snow, he’s rescued by his faithful dog, Krypto, and dragged to the Fortress of Solitude, where a battalion of sophisticated droids are waiting to nurse him back to health. (Krypto, by the way, is based on the director’s actual dog, which may be taking nepotism a step too far.) In the ensuing struggle to put things right, Soops is assisted by Mister Terrific (Edi Cathegi), a member of The Justice Gang, which also includes Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced). This rather obvious homage to The Fantastic Four seems to indicate that Gunn is suggesting that DC and Marvel should work together, rather than being in opposition – or is that just my interpretation?

It’s pointless to say more about the storyline, which is unnecessarily convoluted and features so many characters that the result feels cluttered, almost to the point of incomprehension. Yes, there are scenes here that are nicely done, but frankly not enough of them. I shudder to think about the millions of dollars that must have been poured into this enterprise, but there’s the overriding sense that an essentially simple story – flying guy fights to save humanity – is repeatedly steered into a labyrinth of quirky sub-plots. Gunn also wrote the screenplay. Perhaps he was unwilling to ‘kill his darlings.’ There are several attempts to mirror contemporary real-world incidents that don’t quite come off

Corenswet is decent in the lead role but doesn’t have the charm of Christopher Reeve, while Rachel Brosnahan makes an appealing Lois Lane. Hoult, in his usual winning form, strides around in perfectly-tailored suits as Luthor and handles the requisite villainy with aplomb. In many ways he’s the most interesting character in the film, which is a problem in itself. I can’t help thinking of the way Jack Nicholson’s Joker overshadowed the Caped Crusader in Tim Burton’s Batman. If the character the film is named after isn’t your main takeaway, then something’s not right.

Everything builds to a mighty tussle in Metropolis with Soops whizzing around trying to save human lives – and in one case, a frickin’ squirrel! A sequence where our hero visits his foster parents in Smallville results in some truly syrupy dialogue and I’m afraid to say that Krypto’s exuberant charm soon wears thin.

So, worth checking out? I’ll admit this film doesn’t really work for me and that’s a shame, not because I had such high hopes for it but because the future of DC films may be riding on its box office takings. Whilst applauding Gunn’s brave decision to go for a radical reinvention of the franchise, it just doesn’t tick enough boxes to make this a satisfying two hours in the cinema.

You’ll believe a man can plummet.

2. 8 stars

Philip Caveney

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

06/09/24

Cineworld, Edinburgh

The juice is loose!

Look, there’s no getting around the fact that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice isn’t a very good film. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy it. I do; I’m not immune to nostalgia. I was seventeen when the original movie was released and I loved Winona. “I myself am strange and unusual,” was every teenage goth girl’s clarion call and Lydia Deetz was my style icon for the next decade. So of course I’m watching Tim Burton’s long-awaited sequel on the day of its release.

It’s been thirty-six years but Ryder has barely changed. Nor has Michael Keaton: his Beetlejuice is as repellant as ever. Still, at least his lust for Lydia is a bit less creepy now that she’s an adult.

Adult Lydia is a celebrated medium. This makes me laugh: it’s gloriously obvious. She’s in the middle of recording her TV show when her stepmum, Delia (Catherine O’Hara) calls with bad news: Lydia’s dad, Charles, has died. It’s time to head back to the haunted house in Winter River, with dodgy boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux) and angry daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) in tow. It’ll be fine. All she has to do is stay away from the model village in the attic and make sure no one says “Beetlejuice” three times.

Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. Beetle… Oops.

Sadly, from hereon in, the plot veers out of control, as wild and unpredictable as its eponymous antihero. In the underworld, a brilliant sequence where Beetlejuice’s ex-wife, Delores (Monica Bellucci), declares vengeance on him even as she’s stapling her dismembered body parts back together peters out into nothing, squandering a fun idea and a strong performance. Willem Dafoe is similarly under-used as Wolf Jackson, a dead actor struggling to differentiate between himself and the long-running character he played. It’s a neat set-up with nowhere to go. Meanwhile, in the land of the living, Rory is pressuring Lydia to marry him, Delia is turning Charles’ death into an art installation, and Astrid – still mourning her own dad, Richard (Santiago Cabrera) – has met a cute boy (Arthur Conti), who likes reading almost as much as she does… It’s scattershot to say the least.

Of course, when you throw this much at something, some of it sticks – but there’s a lot of wastage. The animated sequence showing Charles’ death is nicely done, but it feels like a segment from a different film. Even more out of place is the black-and-white Italian flashback, the nod to horror pioneer Mario Bava an easter egg for the wrong audience.

It’s much more of a kids’ film than I remember. In fact, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice reminds me of Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll’s original, not Burton’s dismal remake). The imagery is remarkable, there are a lot of memorable characters and some gorgeous set pieces – but the rambling story doesn’t make much sense. Still, I guess there are worse insults. Alice isn’t exactly a failure, and maybe Beetlejuice X 2 will prove similarly popular. At tonight’s screening, the prevalence of gleeful tweenagers in stripy costumes suggests it well might.

So why not go see it and judge for yourself? If you’re happy to sit back for a couple of undemanding hours of gothic silliness, buy your ticket now. You get a free demon possession with every exorcism…

3 stars

Susan Singfield

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

09/05/24

Cineworld, Edinburgh

When author Pierre Boulle published his science fiction novel La Planéte des Singes in 1963, he could have had no idea of the protracted cinematic legacy that awaited it. In 1968, Planet of the Apes starring Charlton Heston was a massive hit and had one of the most iconic final scenes in history. It spawned four (admittedly patchy) sequels and, in the 1970s, became a long-running television series, of which I still have fond memories.

In 2001, Tim Burton attempted a big-screen reboot, but only his staunchest fans would claim that it was in any way a success.

So when, ten years later, director Rupert Wyatt made another attempt to apply the old defibrillators, I had low expectations (which, in retrospect, may have helped). Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a cracking film which centred on a remarkable mo-cap performance by Andy Serkis as Caesar. Two more films (both directed by Matt Reeves) continued in the same vein, rounding off with War for the Planet of the Apes in 2017. Surely there was nothing more to be said on the talking simian subject?

Ahem.

Wes Ball’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes begins with a glimpse of Caesar on his funeral pyre and then scampers nimbly onwards for many years, introducing us to a new hero, Noa (Owen Teague). Noa is one of a tribe of chimpanzee hunter-gatherers, who specialise in training eagles, which they send out to catch fish for them. The apes are now the dominant species on the planet and the few humans that Noa encounters are savages who, thanks to a mysterious virus, have lost their ability to speak.

Noa is approaching a coming-of-age ceremony for which he needs a freshly-laid eagle’s egg but, when the one he’s been carrying around with him gets scrambled, he’s obliged to ride out in search of a replacement. He comes up against a gang of aggressive bonobos, under the despotic leadership of Proximus ‘Caesar ‘(Kevin Durand), who has realised that – much like the Romans before him – he can make the name a hereditary title and subvert everything that his illustrious progenitor ever believed in. Noa also meets a wise old orangutan called Raka (Peter Macon) and a human called Mae (Freya Allan), who, unlike most of her species, can speak eloquently. She has a secret mission to carry out in the ruins of the nearby city where Proximus reigns, so Noa and Mae travel there together. They are captured and made to swear allegiance to Proximus. Another captive human, Trevathan (William H. Macy), tells Noa that Proximus is spending much of his time trying to gain entry to a massive underground vault which may just contain a ‘book’ which could restore the power of speech to humanity….

If this is beginning to sound complicated, let me assure you that on the screen it’s even more so – and this gives the story a muddled quality, particularly in the saggy middle section of its lengthy running time. Don’t get me wrong, the film has many qualities to commend it. Like its three predecessors, the world-building here is brilliantly done and the exotic (Australian) locations are awe-inspiring to say the very least. Also, the mo-cap characters are depicted with astonishing nuance and it’s to the film’s credit that, despite a massive cast of simians, I am never confused as to who is who.

As the film thunders into its final stretches there’s a major revelation – and I remind myself that Wes Ball has made no secret of the fact that he sees KOTPOTA as the opening salvo in a trilogy. But looking around the scant audience for this afternoon’s performance, I can’t help wondering if there’s any appetite for it. Maybe this lucrative franchise is finally approaching its extinction. If that’s the case, it’s had a pretty impressive run – and, even if this instalment feels like something of a step down, it’s nonetheless a fantastic visual achievement.

Those with a taste for mo-cap marvels should swing down to their nearest multiplex, choose the biggest screen available and… go ape.

3.3 stars

Philip Caveney

The Nightmare Before Christmas (30th Anniversary Edition)

03/12/23

Cineworld, Edinburgh

Let’s talk Christmas movies. There are many cinema fans out there who will tell you that It’s a Wonderful Life provides the perfect festive viewing. Others will argue that Love Actually is the real deal. There are even a few diehards who will doggedly insist that the ideal place to spend a couple of seasonal hours is Nakatomi Plaza.

But listen up. The Nightmare Before Christmas is (improbably) thirty years old and has been rereleased in a new digital print. What’s more, it’s currently showing in cinemas across the UK in 4DX. Those looking for a cinematic treat in the run up to the festivities should take the chance to revisit its charms.

The twisted brainchild of Tim Burton, this animated fantasy adventure is more of a team effort than much of his later output. Henry Selick takes up the directorial reins, Michael McDowell and Caroline Thompson handle the screenplay and Danny Elfman composes the score – even handling the vocals for lead character, Jack Skellington (elsewhere voiced by Chris Sarandon).

Jack is the unofficial King of Halloween Town, expending all his efforts on the annual task of providing its creepy inhabitants with all the grisly delights the big night demands. But he’s become jaded with the predictability of it all and longs for something a wee bit different. When he chances upon the festive preparations happening in neighbouring Christmas Town, he spots an opportunity to make a dramatic change for the better. Why can’t his followers get in on the act? They may be a collection of undead horrors but don’t they deserve a little fun?

But of course, even the best of intentions can go awry.

Meanwhile, Jack is unaware that Sally (Catherine O’ Hara), an assembled creature put together by the villainous Doctor Finklestein (William Hickey), worships him from afar and is having terrible premonitions about this new change of direction. She wants – more than anything else – to help Jack but he seems totally focused on his new direction…

Deceptively simple yet virtually bursting at the seams with visual invention, TNBC‘s stop-frame animation provides a constant source of delight and achieves the near-impossible, managing to be simultaneously both deliciously creepy and suitably heartwarming. Indeed, the two different ingredients are juxtaposed with such panache, it’s a constant thrill to see what will happen next. One minute I’m wincing as a child pulls a horrendously unsuitable ‘gift’ from its wrapping, the next I’m sighing with relief as Santa Claus (voiced by Edward Ivory) steps up to the plate to ensure that Christmas comes in as planned. Elfman’s score is memorable and the new 3D print looks absolutely gorgeous.

The 4DX experience, normally reserved for big action blockbusters and violent punch ups, works a treat here, as we are swirled and jolted back and forth along with the frantic onscreen antics. Not sure I’m mad about the sudden stench of ‘Frog’s Breath’ that assails us at one point, but hey, it all contributes to making this a Christmas treat we’re unlikely to forget in a hurry.

Glancing around at this afternoon’s audience, I’m surprised to see that it’s entirely composed of grown-ups, which seems a shame, because kids will adore this quirky alternative to the latest anodyne Disney animation. Big kids like me will surely love it too. Win win.

4.6 stars

Philip Caveney

Dumbo

 

31/03/19

Disney’s 1941 animation Dumbo is one of the House of Mouse’s greatest achievements. The simple tale of a baby elephant with oversized ears and the mouse who gives him the confidence to fly, it’s also one of the most affecting films ever made. Only the hardest of hearts can sit through the scene where Dumbo goes to visit his captive mother, without collapsing in floods of tears. Continuing the trend for making live action versions of Disney cartoons, Tim Burton offers us a much more complex reimagining of the original, devoid of its snappy songs, its inspirational mouse and, I’m afraid, also bereft of any real sense of emotion.

It’s 1919, and the little travelling circus belonging to ‘the Medici Brothers,’ pluckily makes its way across Florida, just about managing to survive despite the economic ravages that have laid the country low. There is actually only one Medici, ringmaster Max (Danny DeVito) and he’s doing everything he can to hold things together. Former stallion-master, Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) returns from the great war minus an arm and is reunited with his children, Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finlay Hobbins), who he has left in the care of a couple of other entertainers. To add to the family’s woes, their mother has recently died after succumbing to the Spanish flu.

Holt soon learns that his beloved horses have been sold and he is now expected to take control of the circus elephants, one of whom, Mrs Jumbo, is heavily pregnant. The result, of course, is her son, Dumbo, who’s oversized ears make him the subject of much derision, but who, it turns out, has an amazing skill.

Matters become even more complicated when that skill comes to the attention of V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton), an entertainment entrepreneur who senses an opportunity to make some money. He swiftly incorporates Max’s circus into his unfeasibly massive Dreamland complex on Coney Island and teams Dumbo with another of his acquisitions, French trapeze artist, Colette (Eva Green). Vandevere is an interesting addition to the story.  With his fake hairstyle, his predilection for making money and the fact that he is in hock to the banks up to his eyeballs, he is the very embodiment of a certain Mr Trump, and Keaton plays the role with evident relish.

I emerge feeling strangely conflicted about this film. On the one hand, I’m delighted that Burton hasn’t produced a cut and paste imitation of the original – on the other, I fail to understand why it’s so curiously dispassionate. There’s so much potential sadness here, yet Burton and his screenwriter, Ehren Kruger, seem unable to bring it out, often having to resort to characters telling us how sad they are just to make sure we haven’t missed the point.  The problem is, I need to feel that sadness and try as I might,  I do not – and trust me, I’m usually a sucker for that kind of thing

This is, of course, by no means a complete dud. As ever with Burton, the film looks absolutely stunning and the acting is pretty good throughout. Dumbo himself is a marvellous CGI creation, cute but not sickeningly so. It should have been a contender.

But without the heart that lies at the core of the original, the film is fatally skewered. Though it occasionally flaps into life, it never really soars.

3.5 stars

Philip Caveney

Big Eyes

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30/12/14

Tim Burton’s latest offering eschews the weird and wonderful fantasy for which he is best known and concentrates instead on a ‘so weird it has to be true’ tale about bad art and flawed people. In many ways, this is Burton’s best work since Ed Wood, with which it shares some DNA – scriptwriter Scott Alexander worked on both movies.

The film opens in the late 1950’s and Burton has skilfully evoked the era in his own exaggerated, slightly surreal way. Amateur painter, Margaret (Amy Adams) has just run out on her husband, taking her young daughter Jane along with her for the ride. She finds work and in her spare time tries to sell her paintings, a series of (rather dodgy) portraits of big-eyed children. She soon encounters Walter Keane (Christophe Waltz) another wannabe artist and the two of them hit it off. Within weeks they are married. When Keane’s flair for publicity starts to kindle interest in Margaret’s art, he persuades her to let the world believe that he is actually their creator and to release them under the signature of ‘Keane.’ She reluctantly goes along with it. But neither of them have realised quite how successful Margaret’s paintings will become. As the millions begin to roll in, Margaret finds herself increasingly tortured by the deceit that they have created; and the desire to be recognised as an artist. When the marriage starts to founder, it’s clear that one way or another, the truth will have to come out.

This is an intimate, small scale story that gets to the heart of the thorny subject of intellectual property. Adams and Waltz are both superb in their roles (Waltz has some particularly funny scenes, particularly in the courtroom drama at the film’s conclusion) and Burton is always better, I think, when his creative juices are reined in and he works with somebody else’s script. (Like many critics, I feel he’s lost his way lately – Alice In Wonderland was a particular disappointment, even though it racked up huge receipts at the box office.) Big Eyes however, is an excellent film and one that stands with his best work.

4.4 stars

Philip Caveney