When I read that Tim Burton and Johnny Depp were partnering up to tackle a remake of the 1960′s goth soap, Dark Shadows, all I said was OMG and I said that for several reasons, all of them good.
Jonathan Frid
Dark Shadows ran from 1966 to 1971. It was created by Dan Curtis (Burnt Offerings) with Jonathan Frid, Joan Bennet & David Selby (The Social Network; on TV: Tell Me You Love Me) amongst the cast.
Despite a few efforts to remake the show and capture the imagination of fans, remake efforts have been a bit flat. For those who take the time to settle in and check out an episode or three of the original, the show seems to still have what it takes for appreciative fans.
But with Seth Grahame-Smith (TV: The Hard Times of RJ Berger) tapped to write the screenplay for the remake, I can’t help but wonder how much pressure comes from looking at an established classic tale of love & hardship amongst the supernatural genre of monsters? Yes, this was the soap that predates The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, True Blood and Twilight!
This week for opening movies, we finally get to see what I think are two fun, anticipated films for the summer. Robert Rodriguez’s Predators & Despicable Me. A quiet film that has been smothered by all the hype from these previous mentioned movies, is The Kids Are All Right.
- – -
Predators
-
Do I even need to note the movie summary? Sure, what the heck: A group of elite warriors are hunted by members of a merciless alien race known as Predators.
Predators stars Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktarov, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Trejo, et al.
Dixie Carter, image via Wikipedia Commons, Lukeford.net
Dixie Carter, best known for her role on Designing Women, passed away at 70 Saturday. Where and how she passed away has not been disclosed by her husband, Hal Holbrook or her publicist.
Aside from Designing Women, Dixie Carter led a prolific acting career on Broadway and other TV roles like Family Law, Ladies Man, Desperate Housewives, Diff’rent Strokes, Filthy Rich, Out of the Blue and On Our Own.
Her last movie was the 2009 movie, That Evening Sun, which starred Hal Holbrook, Mia Wasikowska & Walton Goggins amongst others.
Designing Women
Our sympathies are with her family and friends and I’m sure when they’re ready, they’ll let the fans know more details.
This week, we have 2 movies opening on Friday, March 5th. The Johnny Depp starrer Alice in Wonderland and the Richard Gere platform, Brooklyn’s Finest.
I’m worried about the Tim Burton / Johnny Depp flick. Johnny Depp fans are pretty happy to have a new project with Depp in it, but the previews all seem very 3D gimmicky. The makeup looks 3 dimensional as it is, the previews have a lot of scenes where things come at you or away from you. Scene props look stacked in odd fashions that would take advantage of 3D. Maybe they’re pushing to give it an over-the-top 3D experience. We’ll see.
Also check out the pictured from the February 25th Alice In Wonderland Royal World Premiere in aid of The Prince’s Foundation for Children and The Arts.
When Tim Burton comes on the scene, most of the time we forgive most potential foibles going into a movie. I mean heck, it is Tim Burton.
Yet this year seems to be an odd year for hitting on Alice in Wonderland. The Syfy Channel just did their version of a sequel for Alice in Wonderland called Alice. You can get Cinema Static’s take on the show in my review of Alice.
I ran up a quick survey on People’s Choice Awards site 46% of my respondents said anything from Tim Burton is good and will see it while 23% won’t see it if it seems gimmicky.
But I have to wonder.. and worry. Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is geared towards 2 & 3D and the trailer for it really makes me ponder why Tim Burton pandered to the 3D gimmick. Watch it with a critical eye and tell me how many moments look like the old-school 3D shots and angles? (From about 1:17 mark and on is when most of the U.S. trailers start but they’re all blocked from sharing while this vid from Disney UK is sharable for now from YouTube. (I have got to learn how to snag videos like all the other sites out there do it! Sheesh!)
