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Last night I went & saw the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland. Most of you’ve probably seen it? It’s like the halfhearted goth sequel to the original Alice. I mean, I enjoyed it fine. But I left feeling like Tim Burton was just going through the motions.

I keep going back to his movies because I’m convinced that there’s something he’s trying to do. They often have this funny flatness to them–none of the beats land right, the timing is off–either the delivery is a little too slow, or the scene cuts away too quick. And it’s just consistent enough that it must be intentional. And I kind of like it for that–for not having the rhythm we’re trained to expect.

Tweedledee and Tweedledum are being carried by the jubjub bird. They look at each other in consternation just before some kind of crash is going to happen. You expect acknowledgment–a goofy mutual “uh-oh” or something–but they only give each other blank stares, and then look ahead again. No build-up or artful big finish. Kinda like you really would, if you were being carried upside down with your brother by a giant bird. The whole movie is pervaded a little bit by a sense of “I don’t really know what to say next” or “this isn’t really that surprising” which *could* be interesting or smart or really motherfucking weird…but it’s not quite working.

I had this sense with Charlie and the Chocolate factory, too.  It feels like Burton has some idea, and maybe Depp is in on it, but they’re not quite taking it far enough–like it’s vague in Burton’s head and he’s still too rules-bound to follow it all the way.  There’s a real weirdness hiding in there that isn’t quite making itself known. He’s shackled by the mainstream-ness of the movies he’s making, like he’s playing in leagues too big to take any risks. I wish I could see what he’d do with a little million-dollar picture without any stars, something throw-away that he could experiment on.

Am I alone here? Am I making this up? Am I still too bedazzled by having seen “Nightmare before Christmas” through 13-year-old eyes, and there’s really nothing there but a blockbuster-maker with bad timing? What do you think?

I’m'a keep seeing his movies, anyway.

Alissa