Tim Burton Marathon/Retrospective, Day Two
Today lufwood-emilius joined me for Batman, because she is an excellent person like that! Her Thoughts were mostly inside jokes about the Great Mouse Detective, though, so they don't particularly feature prominently in my analysis.
Okay so, I am probably the only serious Batman fan in the world that genuinely likes this movie. But hear me out- There are a lot of elements that could have been really clever, and I like to think that the reason they weren't was pretty much that in 1989 the mainstream world didn't really know superheroes COULD be clever, I think it took until Batman Begins (which wasn't even very clever) for them to figure out that adults care about Batman.
Thing That Could Have Been Clever And Wasn't, Number One: Vicki Vale. They kind of set up this whole thing where nobody takes her seriously, for the longest time she could only get jobs for like, fashion magazines and stuff even though she is really good at investigative reporting. She is a pretty girl, and everybody is really patronising to her about it and about her work.... But nothing ever comes of it. She doesn't go to press with Bruce's secret (obviously, for plot reasons, but it also sets up that she cares more about Love than Career. Which turns out pretty bad for her, because by the next movie he's moved on and found a new love interest with whom he has more in common....)
Thing That Could Have Been Clever And Wasn't, Number Two: The whole nemesis thing. This is the only time the Joker is legitimately Batman's nemesis. They created each other, guys! Jack Napier is Joe Chill! I think this is a really cool twist on their stories, forcing them to be connected on a personal level, which I find way more interesting than the whole Dark Knight "order vs. chaos" business. But they don't really run with this as much as they could/should have, imho.
In conclusion, this could have been a pretty neat Batman movie! It kind of isn't, but it's miles ahead of a few others I could name.
Have you ever danced with the Devil in the pale moonlight? (Link is mostly unrelated, but I told Lufwood I'd post it)
I don't actually have much clever to say about this one. I mean, it's all rather obvious: This is a movie about an awkward artist who wears a lot of black and does not own a hairbrush. And he is misunderstood by the suburbanites around him, and his father-figure is Vincent Price.
...Nope, doesn't sound like anyone I know at all.
This is a pretty depressing movie all around, but the bit that always gets me is Vincent Price's last scene. It would be sad enough without it being, y'know, his final scene ever. The man was a spectacularly talented actor, and I think it's great that Tim got to work with him. Given that he, y'know, basically just wants to be Vincent Price when he grows up...
Even this picture is making me tear up a little. 'Cos I am a SAP.
Tomorrow: Batman Returns & Nightmare Before Christmas!
Okay so, I am probably the only serious Batman fan in the world that genuinely likes this movie. But hear me out- There are a lot of elements that could have been really clever, and I like to think that the reason they weren't was pretty much that in 1989 the mainstream world didn't really know superheroes COULD be clever, I think it took until Batman Begins (which wasn't even very clever) for them to figure out that adults care about Batman.
Thing That Could Have Been Clever And Wasn't, Number One: Vicki Vale. They kind of set up this whole thing where nobody takes her seriously, for the longest time she could only get jobs for like, fashion magazines and stuff even though she is really good at investigative reporting. She is a pretty girl, and everybody is really patronising to her about it and about her work.... But nothing ever comes of it. She doesn't go to press with Bruce's secret (obviously, for plot reasons, but it also sets up that she cares more about Love than Career. Which turns out pretty bad for her, because by the next movie he's moved on and found a new love interest with whom he has more in common....)
Thing That Could Have Been Clever And Wasn't, Number Two: The whole nemesis thing. This is the only time the Joker is legitimately Batman's nemesis. They created each other, guys! Jack Napier is Joe Chill! I think this is a really cool twist on their stories, forcing them to be connected on a personal level, which I find way more interesting than the whole Dark Knight "order vs. chaos" business. But they don't really run with this as much as they could/should have, imho.
In conclusion, this could have been a pretty neat Batman movie! It kind of isn't, but it's miles ahead of a few others I could name.
Have you ever danced with the Devil in the pale moonlight? (Link is mostly unrelated, but I told Lufwood I'd post it)
I don't actually have much clever to say about this one. I mean, it's all rather obvious: This is a movie about an awkward artist who wears a lot of black and does not own a hairbrush. And he is misunderstood by the suburbanites around him, and his father-figure is Vincent Price.
...Nope, doesn't sound like anyone I know at all.
This is a pretty depressing movie all around, but the bit that always gets me is Vincent Price's last scene. It would be sad enough without it being, y'know, his final scene ever. The man was a spectacularly talented actor, and I think it's great that Tim got to work with him. Given that he, y'know, basically just wants to be Vincent Price when he grows up...
Even this picture is making me tear up a little. 'Cos I am a SAP.
Tomorrow: Batman Returns & Nightmare Before Christmas!