Film Review: Dark Shadows

I've never heard of a soap opera-to-film adaptation until I saw Tim Burton's Dark Shadows. I now see why they are not a regular occurrence!

The story begins with the back-story of Barnabus Collins (Johnny Depp), who is truly in love with Josette (Bella Heathcote). The only problem is that his previous lover Angelique (Eva Green) is incredibly jealous about this relationship. Inconviently for the lovebirds, Angelique just happens to be a witch and curses Collins' family, sends Josette off a cliff and turns Barnabas into a vampire. Not satisfied at that point, she rallies a mob that buries Barnabas in a coffin.

Fast-forward two centuries, Barnabas is released from his prison into an era totally alien to him - the 1970's. He returns to the family home to find his home inhabited by his descendant Elizabeth (Michelle Pfeiffer), her daughter Carolyn (Chloe Grace Moretz), her brother Roger (Jonny Lee Miller), Roger's son David (Gulliver McGrath) and his shrink Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter). A new addition to the household is David's new governess Victoria (Heathcote again), with whom Barnabus is instantly taken with due to her resemblance to his former lover Josette.

Upon learning that his family has been at war with Angelique (who has taken to running a fish canning factory), Barnabas decides to end the curse upon his family and challenge her. However it seems she is still (or more so) the spitefully spurned lover she was two hundred years ago and subsequently isn't willing to go without a fight!

Unaware of the existence of pornography in the 1970s, Barnabas uses alternative methods to get his kicks

With soap-operas there is often a pursuit of several storylines simultaneously that can develop fantastically, if well written, over a period of time. Being limited to a film Dark Shadows doesn't haven't this luxury and as a result there is a serious lack of depth to the story and the direction is very skewed. Whilst is starts quite promising at the first half, the core plotline seems lost for most of the latter half when Barnabus takes on his family's struggles and challenges Angelique. The ending seems rushed and, quite frankly, cheap.

Regarding the acting, only one person truly stood out for me and it wasn't Johnny Depp. Eva Green's portrayal of the manipulative villain is really the only thespian related treat - she's slick, seductive and downright sinister. Depp, in Burton related projects as of late, is becoming stale and unchallenged - otherwise he is a fantastic actor. But Burton has lately made Depp very one-dimensional and I don't enjoy watching their collaborative efforts as a result this.

Visually, it's typical of Burton. Dark and eerie, yet juxtaposed with colour, kitsch and vibrance. But his visual style just caves to the erratic and sometimes illogical nature of the film. Perhaps a TV series adaptation would've best suited Burton's true vision for this film. 

Film Review: 21 Jump Street

I've made it to late March and 21 Jump Street has to be first remake/adaptation of 2012 that I've watched. Shocking, isn't it? With the endless foreign film/comic/book adaptations that pollute Hollywood these days, you really have to count yourself lucky if you manage to catch something that's original and good, as opposed to re-makes - which tend to be regurgitated crap (and usually have nothing on the original). 21 Jump Street seems to have bypassed this rule.

The film centres around two cops, once polar opposites back in their school days but are now thick as thieves today. Problem is they have a hard time properly busting thieves along with all the other bad guys. As a result of their combined incompetence, they're sent to take part in the 21 Jump Street program - going undercover as school students to bust the supply system of a new drug that is blighting local schools.

A verbal gaffe in the principal's office results in them adopting the wrong undercover identities. Morton Schmidt (Jonah Hill), the awkward outcast as a teen, is now supposed to be the cool kid. Greg Jenko (Channing Tatum), the former prom king, is now the unlikely science geek (much to his chemistry teacher's delight).

The reboot of the Police Academy franchise looks promising...

I don't imagine Hill being particularly popular at school (therefore embracing the cool kid life with arms wide open) nor do I imagine Tatum being anything but the school jock at his (hence his frustration at actually having to concentrate in class seems genuine) . It doesn't matter though because the chemistry between the two is what makes this film tick. I lamented in my review of This Means War that Chris Pine and Tom Hardy make and unlikely pair. In 21 Jump Street, Hill and Tatum are effortlessly the dynamic duo.

I do worry for Dave Franco however. Not only does he have older brother James to contend with for film roles, but it seems that already he's being typecast as the high school twat (played one in Fright Night). Maybe being a douche just comes easy to the Franco boys?

Toilet humour is abound in this film (one scene does indeed feature an actual toilet!). The film tag line itself is "The only thing getting blown tonight is their cover". Smooth. Yet the depraved humour that runs predominately throughout is the film is what makes it such a hit. I almost had tears coming out of my eyes when the undercover brothers take the drug in question, resulting in undeniably hilarious consequences.

I've not seen the original mostly because I'm currently on the right side of 30. So I can't compare. Even if I had though, I wouldn't. This is a film that represents the current generation living the social networking era, where trends last as long as Kim Kardashian's marriage. Whilst the trends of today might alieniate the majority of the population, this is a film that all of mankind can relate to - old and new.