Edward Scissorhands (1990) Film Review

Avon Lady Peg (Dianne Wiest), in an attempt to move some units, discovers Edward (Johnny Depp), a young man with scissors for hands. She is so kind, and brings him home to her family, husband Bill (Alan Arkin), son Kevin (Robert Oliveri) and daughter Kim (Winona Ryder) (who is away with boyfriend Jim (Anthony Michael Hall) and friends initially). He is accepted by the small community though things quickly turn ugly as he is unable to truly fit in.

Apart from the story device of the old woman telling her granddaughter the story (although without it, what would have happened to Edward?) it was so wonderful to watch it again. I forgot just how much heart the film had – and how much Burton is able to really capture the ugliness of suburbia.

Edward Scissorhands was nominated for an Oscar for Best Makeup.

 

Black Swan (2010) Film Review

Nina is a very fragile young lady, a ballet dancer, extremely controlled by her mother, who scores the role of the Swan Queen in Swan Lake. She has no problem dancing the innocent role of the White Swan, but struggles to find the darkness and depth of the Black Swan.

I’m not great with scary movies. They scare me. Lots. I’m also not great with suspense and anything that involves sudden shocks and loud noises. However, much of this film is very slow-moving and dark in a documentary style, and so the shocking parts are that much more shocking. Some parts that are absolutely horrible; violent, sudden and unexpected. It seems an odd film choice for Best Film Oscar, though Natalie Portman is fabulous as the extremely meek and soft-spoken ballerina.

Black Swan won an Oscar for Best Performance in a Leading Role (Natalie Portman) and was nominated for Best Motion Picture, Best Achievement in Directing (Darren Aronofsky), Best Achievement in Cinematography and Best Achievement in Film Editing.

Frankenweenie (2012) Film Review

Victor is a loner. He hangs out in his attic with his inventions, his video camera and his dog, Sparky. But tragedy strikes with Sparky, his only friend, is killed in a car accident. At school, Victor has a new science teacher, the mysterious Mr Rzykruski. He teaches the class about experiments and electricity, and Victor manages to use the nightly electric storm to bring Sparky back. The science fair on its way, and when his secret gets out there are strange and unusual consequences.

The first half of the film is exactly what you’d expect from a Tim Burton re-imagination of the Frankenstein film. Dog brought back from dead with a bunch of weird characters. I was even getting to the point where I’d had enough – and then it stepped up to the next level. Things got weird, but awesome weird, and I felt the film was redeemed. The style is so beautiful, but it does feel like the same old Tim Burton stuff. I always look forward to his next thing. I only hope that the next thing steps up in a big way.

Frankenweenie was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, a BAFTA for Best Animated Film and a Golden Globe for Best Animated Film, amongst many other award nominations.