Death between Brides & Men

So, I've watched three films from 2005 in the last 24 hours and all of them are about DEATHDEATHDEATH. I already reviewed Wolf Creek, now it's time for short but sweet rundowns for...

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (2005, dir. Burton & Johnson)


Even child actors and dogs are becoming anorexic! When will it end...?

This is a delightful claymay movie from the minds of the same people that brought us the masterpiece The Nightmare Before Christmas. This one that actually has Tim Burton behind the camera (Nightmare was directed by Henry Selick), isn't quite as good as that one, but it still a rip-roaring good time. The main problem I think is in the songs. They aren't as toe-tappingly fun as Nightmare's, and there's not as many.

But still, the movie is fun! It moves along at a crackling pace and if there is one thing that Burton's claymay movies absolutely EXCEL in it is character design. The many characters - both living and dead - all look wonderful. Skinny rake legs, big bouffant hair, obese bellies, giant round noses, as well as the best looking skeletons I've seen on the big screen. The sets as well are also spectacular to marvel over. The voice work too is pretty good. They haven't gone overboard on celebrities like the Shrek franchise, but have instead selected a great primarily British cast. Good on 'em. B+

Oldboy (2005, dir. Park)


Yeah, I dunno what to make of it either

Ugly. That was the word that kept popping up in my mind whilst watching this trashy movie. It is ugly. Ugly to look at, ugly to watch, ugly to sit through... you name it, it's ugly. It's also: Distastful, grotesque, overblown, muddled, screwed up, confusing and whacked out of it's mind.

I. Did. Not. Like. It. I wasn't liking it all that much for the first two acts, but I was going along with it well enough. And then care the final showdown. A horrible horrible climax that buries the film so far into the ground nothing it could do could save it (it doesn't even try). It is also really long. Like, seriously. It felt like three. Blah.

D

SPOILERS ABOUT OLDBOY

I think the idea of an American remake is quite silly as well. The main function of the movie revolves the final scene's twist (yes, it has a twist ending) and there is no way that any American film company will let Nicolas Cage (who I believe was attached but nobody is listed on the IMDb page) have sex with his daughter. Nuh-uh. No way.

END SPOILERS

I'm not soothing myself with Sugababes' great new CD, Taller in More Ways.