Tim Burton's DARK SHADOWS (1 Viewer)

[Colin Jacobson]

Originally Posted by Michael Elliott /t/319251/tim-burtons-dark-shadows/30#post_3925519
There were about ten people in the crowd and everything was about as silent as the coffin Depp's character was in for the 200 years.

I think about 20 people saw it at my showing, but it was equally silent. Might've been an occasional chuckle, but most of the jokes fell totally flat.

Real snoozer of a movie. Not sure if it wanted to be a comedy or a romantic horror film - favored the latter but did so unconvincingly. The characters were thin and forgettable, and many tended to disappear for extended periods. We'd get one of them built up and then poof! We'd not see them for ages. The script was a total mess, as it showed no coherent A-B path. The whole thing just rambled along with massive boredom as the result.

What the hell happened to Tim Burton? He used to be great...

 

[David Deeb]

I think about 20 people saw it at my showing, but it was equally silent.  Might've been an occasional chuckle, but most of the jokes fell totally flat.
Real snoozer of a movie.  Not sure if it wanted to be a comedy or a romantic horror film - favored the latter but did so unconvincingly.  The characters were thin and forgettable, and many tended to disappear for extended periods.  We'd get one of them built up and then poof!  We'd not see them for ages.  The script was a total mess, as it showed no coherent A-B path.  The whole thing just rambled along with massive boredom as the result.
What the hell happened to Tim Burton?  He used to be great...

I think part of the problem is he's gotten stuck in doing these "stunt" movies... remakes or take-offs on other works, with big budgets & high profile casting... rather than doing something original....Alice, Planet of the Apes, Charlie and Chocolate Factory, Dark Shadows, Sweeney Todd and even Batman. Now he's even recycling himself with the upcoming Frankenweenie.
Another problem is the films now tend to scream "Tim Burton". It's like Woody Allen using the same style of credits and music during the opening sequence on EVERY SINGLE movie. Why? At some point the style is so repetitive it turns into a self-parody.
Burton's films used to have an original stylized look. Full of unique, moody atmosphere. What was fresh for a movie or two, though is now just tired. They still have the moody atmosphere, but it feels like you've seen it in every other one of his films.
Like some pop star wearing the same outfit for 25 years. "oh great, another burton remake with Johnny Depp with weird, creepy atmosphere". People are yawning.

 

[TravisR]

I think part of the problem is he's gotten stuck in doing these "stunt" movies... remakes or take-offs on other works, with big budgets & high profile casting... rather than doing something original....

I agree but I think the big budgets that he gets and needs are what's 'requiring' him to do a known property. Or rather Hollywood being too scared to take a chance on spending a ton of money on anything that hasn't been done before in some form.

Now he's even recycling himself with the upcoming Frankenweenie.

I have to say that I think he has more freedom in animation (due to lower budgets) so Frankenweenie is probably the most interested I've been in a Tim Burton movie in a long time.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Originally Posted by David Deeb /t/319251/tim-burtons-dark-shadows/30#post_3926380
It's like Woody Allen using the same style of credits and music during the opening sequence on EVERY SINGLE movie. Why? At some point the style is so repetitive it turns into a self-parody.

This is getting off-topic, but I think I understand why Allen does that. I believe he views title credits as a utilitarian thing and not something that needs to be embellished, so he uses the same style.

If all his movies looked/sounded the same, that'd be one thing, but I have no issue with the virtually identical credits...

 

[Patrick Sun]

This film was rather a chore to sit through, I almost left in the middle of it, hoping it would gain some traction and my interest, but it did not, and the conclusion was nothing that I haven't seen before in terms of spurned supernatural love. There just wasn't enough of a hook or storyline that elevated this to a film worthy of its budget. Definitely a miss for Depp and Burton, who are probably batting .500 at best for me now.
I give it 1.75 stars, or a grade of C-.

 

[Ockeghem]

As I was watching Dark Shadows yesterday at our local cinema, I told my son that I thought it would go over $100 million this weekend. The figures are somewhere around $142 million for the first two weekends. Some of my family members and I are responsible for ten of those tickets.
http://darkshadowsnews.blogspot.com/2012/05/dark-shadows-takings-reach-130-million.html

 

[John Weller]

Depp is superb in this. Otherwise, its a disapointing mess. Fantastic visuals, fun cast, but a really lame script. Burton's done far better for sure.

 

[Malcolm R]

It was better than I'd expected. I think the studio made a huge marketing mistake to emphasize the comedic elements. They showed almost all of them in the trailers and while they're present in the film, it's not really a comedy.
They were really inconsistent with the whole "vampire hates sunlight" thing, though. Barnabas spent an inordinate amount of time outside in sunlight, and while we saw it burn him a couple times, at other times the sun seemed to shine directly on the back of his neck or on the side of his face, with no adverse effect.

 

[Ockeghem]

I was pleased to read this today. It looks like it will pass the $200 million dollar mark after it has been released elsewhere soon.
Dark Shadows Takings Reach $190 Million
http://darkshadowsnews.blogspot.com/2012/06/dark-shadows-takings-reach-190-million.html

 

[TravisR]

^ I'm pretty sure that Tim Burton is still a fairly big draw in foreign territories and Johnny Depp is HUGE outside the U.S.

 

[Malcolm R]

BoxOfficeMojo already has it at $203 million worldwide. And I don't think it's opened yet in China.

 

[Ockeghem]

^^^
I wasn't including the $13 million I personally spent on seeing the film.

 

[EricSchulz]

Is the original series even known outside the US? Just curious...I'm thinking that the Burton/Depp team alone is selling this in foreign countries.

 

[Ockeghem]

Is the original series even known outside the US?  Just curious...I'm thinking that the Burton/Depp team alone is selling this in foreign countries.

Eric,
I agree (Burton/Depp). It was only recently that the DVDs (a 'best of' collection of sorts) were released in Britain. I don't know about other countries, but I would say the original series is not known all that well outside of the United States. Hopefully this film will help to change that.

 

[TravisR]

^ I think one of the cool things about the internet is that there's probably a chunk of people outside the US that have found out about Dark Shadows (or any show that never really played outside of the country) from a message board or fan site, imported the US discs and now love it.

 

[Ockeghem]

Travis,
Yes, definitely. I can't go a day on (e.g.) Facebook without seeing something about Dark Shadows (either the new film or the series). I think that's a good thing.

 

[Bryan^H]

I saw Dark Shadows and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The trailer looked awful so my expectations were low but it was fun and I think Tim Burton fans will dig it.

I'm with you Travis. I am in love with this movie. My favorite Burton film since Scissorhands. I thought Johnny Depp as Barnabas, and the actress that played Angelique were stunning.
One of my favorite films of the year! Just sad I didn't see it in the theater, and now feel guilty guilty buying the Blu-Ray as a price drop to $10. I should have supported this one since day one.

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

Is the original series even known outside the US?  Just curious...I'm thinking that the Burton/Depp team alone is selling this in foreign countries.

AFAIK, it never aired in Sweden, and I don't think the original is available (except imported), but the movie did OK. Personally, I liked it, perhaps not Burton's best, but not his worst either. Can't say I got the urge to hunt down an old TV series thogh

 

[platinumadvice]

Thanks for sharing the trailer