Movie Reviews - Dumbo

Director: Tim Burton
Genre: Family/ Adventure/ Fantasy
Runtime: 112 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, Alan Arkin, Finley Hobbins, Nico Parker

Description: A young elephant, whose oversized ears enable him to fly, helps save a struggling circus. But when the circus plans a new venture, Dumbo and his friends discover dark secrets beneath its shiny veneer.

Review: Disney is trying go through their animations quickly, into creating live-action versions of them. In 2019 alone, we will get 4 of them. The first this year is “Dumbo”, about the little flying elephant. And it’s not a remake, because Tim Burton used his creative mind well.
What the original animation and this version have in common, is that they are both based off of the same children’s book. Director Burton is known for his visual stories with a dark edge and gave this story his signature touch. “Dumbo” has a darker and more cynical look at the circus world.
Circus director Max Medici is trying to keep his head above water in these crisis times, to keep his circus going. His main attraction was his horse act, but he had to sell the horses. When war veteran Holt returns, missing one arm, he is reunited with his children Milly and Joe. They find comfort now he’s back, because in the meantime their mother had died and their horse act has been removed from the program.
Max wants the elephants to be the major act now and he managed to buy a pregnant female. When the baby is born, Max thinks it’s an ugly creates. Baby Dumbo, what they call him later, is born with huge ears and many people mock him for it. But Milly and Joe see something special and find out that Dumbo can actually fly.
Visually this film is beautiful, as we are used to from burton. Dumbo looks adorable. His level of cuteness is very high! What also looked great was Dreamland, the giant circus by Max’ competition V.A. Vandevere. It looks like a typical steampunk fantasy world by Burton and I loved the look of it.
Not only the visuals are amazing. Burton managed to combine it with a heart warming story which had a sincere moral about confidence and the power of money. And there are many moments where you feel warm insight or need tissues for tears. Because even though it has a lot of happy moments, it is a pretty sad story as well.
Dumbo has to share his stage with some human characters and their side stories. They don’t all work, like the story of Eva Green’s character. It’s neglected a bit, which makes it flat.
I was surprised by the many negative reviews, because I think it was a beautiful film. It looks amazing and has a good story. Burton used his dreamy style to turn it into a live-action film and I think he did a wonderful job.

Rating: 4/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 143: White Bird in a Blizzard

Director: Greg Araki

Genre: Drama/ Thriller

Runtime: 90 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Eva Green, Christopher Meloni, Shiloh Fernandez, Angela Bassett, Thomas Jane, Gabourey Sidibe

Description: In 1988, a teenage girl's (Shailene Woodley) life is thrown into chaos when her mother (Eva Green) disappears.

Review: “White Bird in a Blizzard” is a genre mix of thriller and drama, with an okay result. It’s the fall of 1988 when Eve, mother of the rebelling teenager Kat, disappears. Nothing leads to a crime and soon father and daughter have to adapt to the new situation. Although Kat doesn’t really get any support from her sexy yet dull boyfriend Phil, she starts to see the much older macho cop Scieziesciez (I always hate it when a character has a name I can’t pronounce). The investigation gets a new impulse when Kat returns from college in 1991.

The story is brought to us in flashbacks. Here we see how Kat’s mother changed in the last months before her disappearance. Did she have an affair? Was she planning on running away? The search for the truth and the performances by Eva Green and Shailene Woodley are the best part of the film.

Less successful is the character development. There is a lack of depth in characters. In “White Bird in a Blizzard” we don’t see a lot of character development, we are stuck on the surface. There are hints and you feel that there is longing and frustration, but it never becomes really clear. This makes it hard to relate to the characters.

Even without this element, it’s an easy to watch thriller/ drama. The story and climax are interesting enough and even though the characters are a bit superficial, they are believable. An okay film.

Rating: 3/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 144: Dark Shadows

Director: Tim Burton

Genre: Fantasy/ Comedy

Runtime: 113 minutes

Year: 2012

Starring: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Chloë Grace Moretz, Christopher Lee, Alice Cooper, Michael Shannon, Bella Heathcote

Description: An imprisoned vampire, Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp), is set free and returns to his ancestral home, where his dysfunctional descendants are in need of his protection.

Review: Bringing a vampire story to life is off course perfect for director Tim Burton. His good friend Johnny Depp portrays the leading character Barnabas Collins, who has been obsessed by this character for years. Both actor and director are fans of the series created by Dan Curtis, aired during 1966 and 1971.

In the prologue of “Dark Shadows” we see the history of the Collins family. In 1752 they move from Liverpool to Collinsport, Maine where they earn their money with fish. Son Barnabas becomes the big shot, a man who can get any woman. Everything changes when he breaks the heart of maid Angelique Bouchard, a witch who takes revenge by killing Barnabas’ love Josette and changing him into a vampire. He is buried alive and is freed two centuries later. In 1972 Barnabas sees that Collinwood Manor is a big mess.

Tim Burton made the movie look dark and it’s filled with great décor, beautiful costumes and morbid humor. Depp fits his character perfectly. And Eva Green is a strong opponent. Other character don’t get much room to exploit, but do have their moments. And the plot twist around Chloë Grace Moretz’ character doesn’t really work. “Dark Shadows” is above all the big ‘Johnny Depp show’. The execution doesn’t really meet the expectations we all had. The humor does also lose its edge.

“Dark Shadows” is a perfect movie for both Burton and Depp, with the bizarre characters and macabre setting. It’s still a fun film to watch, but not surprising at all for Tim Burton fans.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 105: Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Director: Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller

Genre: Crime/ Thriller

Runtime: 103 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis, Eva Green, Powers Boothe, Dennis Haysbert, Ray Liotta, Christopher Meloni, Jeremy Piven, Christopher Lloyd, Jamie King, Juno Temple, Stacy Keach, Marton Csokas, Jamie Chung

Description: Some of Sin City's most hard-boiled citizens cross paths with a few of its more reviled inhabitants.

Review: “Sin City”(2005), the original adaptation of Frank Miller’s successful graphic novel, was a dark telling of the underworld of the society in the fictive town Basin City. Especially the style of the film caught everyone’s eye. The sequel adds the 3D effect and makes it an experience again.

Like the first movie “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” is a beautifully made movie. The film noir style is clearly present, the contrast of the black and white and sometimes the color of green eyes, golden blond hair and red lips looks amazing again. The violence is grotesque and the narration feels gloomy and raw, filled with memorable one-liners. Animation and live-action are combined. The 3D effect gives more depth and it really adds something extra to the movie experience. Everything together makes this movie a joy to watch.

Some might feel that the story is much of the same, but to me there was never a moment of boredom. I never expected it to top “Sin City” but it came damn close. Exactly what I expected from “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For”.

Rating: 4,5/ 5