DARK SHADOWS (2012 - Cert 12A)

Tim Burton's first film after the glossy but bland and instantly forgettable adaptation of Alice in Wonderland was apparently a TV series in the late sixties. Clearly I'm not old enough to remember it the first time around but I hadn't actually heard of it either, at least not until the publicity march began up to the release of Dark Shadows film. Having said that a quick scour of the 'pedias' and it's clear that Burton isn't the only one who is a fan of the 'Gothic soap opera' (I know, sounds good already doesn't it?).

So I won't be telling you whether it's a faithful adaptation or a complete reworking, because I have no idea. Instead I'll be doing what you should arguably always do, regardless of where a film's origins lie, judge it on it's own merits.

It's essentially a family drama, all be it with a quirky and blackly comic sensibility, centring on the Collins family in 1972 Collinsport, the town named after them as it was built on a successful ancestral family fishing business in the 16th century. They're a classic rich family with classic rich family problems, knocking about in a huge old gothic mansion, with far more rooms than inhabitants. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch, Johnny Lee Miller is her brother, the weird uncle hanging on for the perks and wealth, Jackie Earle Haley is his troubled 10 year old son and Chloe Grace Moretz as the stroppy rebellious teenager. Other residents are Jackie Earle Haley, the creepy caretaker (think Filch from Harry Potter with marginally better personal hygiene) and Burton regular (and wife) Helena Bonham Carter as a live-in psychiatrist there to deal with the 10 year old boy and his belief in ghosts. 

So just a normal family set up eh?

That is until a long lost relative crops up, Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp playing a role he has apparently always wanted to play - yes, just like Robbie Keane was always a Spurs fan, that is until he signed for Celtic and Liverpool respectively). Not so strange you think, until you realise that Barnabas has been in a coffin for the best part of two centuries after being cursed and turned into a vampire. 

Now we are firmly into Burton territory. Barnabas heads straight back to the family home and integrates himself back into Collins family life. He also decides he wants to get back involved in the now failing family business, suffering at the hands of Eva Green's rival company. In the process of doing this he discovers that Green has a link to his past.....

So, there's a number of things going on and I think Burton deliberately doesn't quite hang it all together in a traditional way. You have the comedy of a 200 year old vampire waking up in the 70's (think California Man or Crocodile Dundee fish out of water stuff), there's a bit of unexpected horror and gore (we are dealing with vampires here) and black comedy, humorous and downright bonkers family exchanges, destructive sex scenes, a tale of corporate rivalry and more than a touch of the supernatural. And that's not even giving away any of the big plot developments. Perhaps, after the financial success of Alice in Wonderland, the studio gave Burton a bit more of a free reign and this is Burton going the opposite way from a big special effects fest, not wanting to get bogged down with traditional narrative and studio film conventions. He's chucking a hell of a lot at the canvas, some of it sticks some of slides off and ends up in a mess on the floor. However, for those moments that do work, it immediately made me think of Beetlejuice and the great off beat parts of Sleepy Hollow and Mars Attacks. This is Burton recapturing some of those joyous quirky triumphs, banishing the memories (mine, but perhaps his as well) of Planet of the Apes, Alice and Wonderland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 

He's helped by an excellence cast, all of which are great and keep the film pushing along, allowing you to forgive when it misses the target. It's great seeing Depp doing something other than Jack Sparrow, reminded that he is a fine actor and can carry any film. It's brilliant to have Pfeiffer back, Bonham Carter is as ever one of the best things about the film, despite her small amount of screen time, Eva Green is having the time of her life and is seductively chilling as the villain of the piece, Johnny Lee Miller looks like he was born to play a creepy, pervy uncle and Chloe Grace Moretz is definitely going places - bring on Kick Ass 2.

It's a funny film. I don't mean funny ha ha, although there is good comedy in there (not quite laugh out loud, sniggers, chuckles and chortles are the order of the day), funny as in odd. It starts in one way, you think you've got a handle on where it's going, only for it go in the complete opposite direction. Then you think it will romp along, only for Burton to slow things right down and focus on something right in left field, Burton relishes not letting the viewer ease into a comfort zone, it meanders, it plods, it plays knock down ginger with you, until it reaches a climax that is part Twilight, part Death Becomes Her, infused with Beetlejuice and a bit of Sweeney Todd. 

Am I recommending it? I am, it's well worth a watch, not a classic by any stretch, but there's more than enough in there to enjoy and there's a joy in having a film maker kick off the shackles and be given the freedom to just do something a bit different. And is there anyone better at doing 'different' than Tim Burton.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN VAMPIRE HUNTER (2012 - Cert 15)

It's clear from the title that this film is probably only going to really appeal to a certain portion of the cinema population. It's in the 'Ronseal' sub-folder along with Cowboys v Aliens and Snakes on a Plane, although if truth be told there is a lot more substance to Abe Lincoln than most films that crop up in this genre. The trouble is there should have been even more depth than is actually on show.

I've read the source material, a book (part of the 'mash-up'genre) by Seth Grahame-Smith (the chap who also gave us Pride, Prejudice and Zombies). I recall reading it (in proper book form, paper and everything, before the Kindle entered my life), on the train in the morning people would peer over the top of their Steig Larsson or their Penguin Classic and sneer at my choice of literature. Clearly I was an idiot who could only absorb historical material if it's diulted with creatures of the night. What they didn't realise, because they would never think to actually read the blurb of the book, is that Grahame-Smith managed to take the incredible life of one of history's most celebrated men and apply vampirism to it, tackling important issues like slavery, the Civil War, revenge and loss. It also took real life events and gave them a different and very interesting spin, the battle of Gettysburg, the death of Edgar Allen Poe. It wasn't cheap thrills, genre, b-movie lit, this was a well researched, intelligent epic that packed an emotional punch. Perfect for a film you might think.



The first name I heard attached to it was Tim Burton. Perfect director, I thought, a nice gothically, historical touch. Safe hands for something that is obviously a bit left field. Then it transpires that he was buying the rights along with Timur Bekmambetov, director of Day Watch, Night Watch and Wanted. Not quiet so appealing...the concern of style over substance ominously creeping over me.

So what do we get? An interesting Burton-esque oddity, cleverly taking us through the life of Lincoln, or a flashy, CGI-laden piece cherry-picking the showreel action sequences from the book, patchworking them together with exposition? The truth it's, ironically, it's a bit of a mash-up.

We meet Lincoln for the first time as a young lad during the obligatory scene-setting flashback (after a nicely polished Washington monument gradually going back in time), before you know it you've had a bit of slavery thrown in your face and a relative of his cops it at the hands of a set of fangs. Fast forward and we see Lincoln in his adult form (Benjamin Walker), he's still not happy with the murder of a loved one and is still hell bent on revenge. Dominic Cooper's Henry Sturgess pops up to help him and to help us with a bit of background as to how vampires have come to inhabit the USA. Crucially, the character of Sturgess also sums up the problem with the film. In the book he was comfortably one of the most interesting characters and really drove the narrative along. In the film, he is restricted to a paper thin element of the plot that doesn't really seem to serve that much purpose. His origins in the book were a vital part to the origins of vampires in the story and a huge influence over Lincoln's decisions on his career. In the film however, the backstory is limited to something much more formulaic, stunted and unfortunately predictable. This diluting has spread throughout the film, some of the more appealing elements have not made it on to the screen. Abe's political career gets next to no coverage, the Civil War becomes an excuse for an action scene, Slavery is touched upon before we are taken off on a rampaging chase scene. The 'issues' seem to be like a hot potato to Bekmambetov, he just can't seem to dwell on it long enough to make it count.

That little splurt of negativity isn't the whole story though, because there is plenty here to enjoy. Walker's casting is an interesting one, at first he comes across as far from prominent in the role but as the film pushes along it feels as though he really grows in to it. It could be argued that it's fine acting, it's not Walker that's growing, it's his character and his performance should be applauded. However, it could be that Walker is just like the film, inconsistent. He is supported nicely by Dominic Cooper and Mary Elizabeth Wanstead as the love interest and Rufus Sewell continues the fine British evil tradition with a nasty pantomime turn that looks alarmingly like a young Roger Daltrey.

If there is one thing Bekmambetov knows how to do, it's action. He pulls it off again here. It has his customary digital glean that doesn't smack of realism but it tick the box for entertainment, although it's nothing we've not really seen before. The train scene deserves praise in particular.

It also has moments of subtlety, which only make the cack-handedness found elsewhere all the more frustrating. The film isn't afraid off killing someone off and these moments do have an emotional touch to them. A nice scene on a Civil War battlefield has a quiet sombreness to it and Abe's death (not a spoiler, you all know what happens to him in the end) gets a curt nod with a wry smile. Nicely done.

So, a mixed bag, but worth a watch, probably on DVD in all honesty. Plus I can't help wondering whether had I not read the book I would have enjoyed it a lot more. It's a shame that you can't erase all prior knowledge and pre-conceptions from your noggin when you go into a cinema, the world would be a much better place with plenty more surprises.