When Tim Burton has a Lobotomy

Rating: 4/10 (14 April 2007)

I'll admit I'm not the biggest Burton fan. I don't like Corpse Bride (gasp! How dare I?) and Nightmare Before Christmas still creeps me out when the little creepy Lock, Shock and Barrel kids start singing. I think I can pick out two movies from Burton's bag of tricks that surprised me, that I really like: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Edward Scissorhands. So, being a fair-weather fan of this cinematic veteran, I did my best to put on a happy face and give this movie a chance. I was, deep down, not expecting much. And that's exactly what I got. Not bad, but not good either. It was somewhere in the middle, but I'm rating it toward the lower end of the scale. Ewan, my sweet Ewan, what the heck was with that accent? I've seen some darn good souther accents in my short days as a critical movie viewer, and honey, you didn't cut the mustard. I don't mind Albert Finney, he does a pretty good job as a dying old guy with just a touch of senility. The costumes have their shining moments, and they storyline rises and falls throughout. All around, I didn't like this movie. But, if I was forced into a corner and told to watch this movie, I'd do it.