Dark Shadows

Well, here it is. My first review. For this occasion I decided to write about Dark Shadows and I have some reasons for that. At first, Tim Burton is one of my favorite directors. At second, Johnny Depp is one of my favorite actors. At third, Helena Bonham Carter is one of my favorite actresses. At fourth, I've been looking forward Dark Shadows since I heard about it. And at fifth, I hoped Tim Burton will get his reputation right after Alice in Wonderland. Did he succeed?
So, first of all, what is it all about? So, there was Barnabas and his wife. And she was beautiful. A foolish man and his wife. She was his reason and his life. And she was beautiful. But there was also a witch that loved this man. She cursed his wife, so the wife killed herself. When Barnabas found that out, he wanted to kill himself too, but the witch called Angelique changed him into a vampire, so he'll be immortal and he'll suffer forever. And Angelique buried Barnabas alive. Two hundred years later Barnabas is released from his coffin and he is going to revenge Angelique.

So, the story seems to be made exactly for Tim Burton. But his presence is not very noticeable in the film. It's more noticeable, than in Alice in Wonderland, but still it's not very much. If he could've had the R-rating, maybe Dark Shadows would be one of his best films. It just seems to me, as if he was not free enough. I just was expecting more. Not even from him, but from everybody. I found even Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter to feel queer. They're just too forgettable. The film is filled with many sequences, but somehow they do not seem compact. The reason of it may be the fact, that the film is based on a TV series, but Burton is too good director to allow this.

So, is there something worth mentioning about Dark Shadows? Of course there is. As we are justed from Tim Burton's previous films, it's especially art direction. I've heard some opinions saying, that it's is not as good, as in others Burton's films, but it's just not true. The art directions is really beautiful. Especially at the beginning I was very enchanted by some locations. This is the first serious contender for a nomination.
There is also costume design great in Dark Shadows. Colleen Atwood's work has always been adored by me and this film isn't an exception. This time she had a harder thing to do than in previous Tim Burton's films, because there are not so many showy fantasty costumes. There are some of them, but there are very much of the costumes of 70's, that had to be real and interesting at once. And she succeeded.

What I was really shocked about, was Danny Elfman. I just to like his score, it is always very original and charming, but this time it was nothing special. Don't misunderstand me, I liked the score of Dark Shadows, but it was just not anything spectacular. I've been expecting something more interesting, something noticeable, but his score just never really amused me.
What else is worth mentioning? Makeup, maybe. It's very typical for Burton. Lots of white color and that's it. But Johnny Depp's and Jackie Earle Haley's makeup were really great. On the other hand there is Helena Bonham Bonham Carter, whose makeup and hair were (in my opinion) not good at all.
Cinematography. I don't have very much to say about it. It's nice and very burtonish. But as much, as I really like Tim Burton and his films, there is one thing that has never really amused me. And it's cinematography. Dark Shadows are not an exception, unfortunately.
Visual Effects. They are surprisingly not bad! Before the film's release date I have seen some clips of bad visual effects, but now I see they were just not finished. Because there are not many bad effects here. And the most of the time they were really good!
The other thing I would like to talk about are performances. Are there any performances in Dark Shadows that I should advert? The best in show is definitely Jackie Earle Haley. He doesn't have much screentime, but he uses everything he has. It was a very entertaining performance. Johnny Depp is also very fine, but it's far from his best work. There are also Christopher Lee and Alice Cooper that have a decent chance to be nominated for a best cameo.