7 votes

Dumbo review – Tim Burton remake lands with elephantine thud

10 comments

  1. [10]
    rkcr
    Link
    What happened to Tim Burton? He directed so many great films in the 90s, then it just seems like he's been (for the most part) flopping around ever since then.

    What happened to Tim Burton? He directed so many great films in the 90s, then it just seems like he's been (for the most part) flopping around ever since then.

    5 votes
    1. [5]
      alyaza
      Link Parent
      i mean, with this film i'm not sure you can really blame him necessarily for it being at best mediocre. dumbo is just not a film that lends itself to--of all things--a fucking live action remake,...

      i mean, with this film i'm not sure you can really blame him necessarily for it being at best mediocre. dumbo is just not a film that lends itself to--of all things--a fucking live action remake, especially not given disney's hit and miss track record with them so far. (honestly, i wouldn't even bet on an animated remake being able to do that.)

      5 votes
      1. [2]
        ghostsplosion
        Link Parent
        What really annoys me is "live action" remakes of cartoon films, that just end up being mostly CGI anyway. What's the point?

        What really annoys me is "live action" remakes of cartoon films, that just end up being mostly CGI anyway. What's the point?

        4 votes
        1. escher
          Link Parent
          Money. That's always the point. As much as we rave about "art", movie-making is a business. A really expensive but often ludicrously-profitable business.

          What's the point?

          Money. That's always the point. As much as we rave about "art", movie-making is a business. A really expensive but often ludicrously-profitable business.

          2 votes
      2. [2]
        rkcr
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        There's no reason Tim Burton had to take this job, though. Or is he locked into some contract that says he has to work on likely doomed projects? Edit: I want to clarify I'm not being glib on the...

        There's no reason Tim Burton had to take this job, though. Or is he locked into some contract that says he has to work on likely doomed projects?

        Edit: I want to clarify I'm not being glib on the second sentence - I know people sometimes get contract-locked into shitty situations.

        3 votes
        1. alyaza
          Link Parent
          i doubt he's locked in, but let's be honest: how many film makers could actually probably make a good movie out of the idea of live action dumbo, and how many of them would then actually take said...

          There's no reason Tim Burton had to take this job, though. Or is he locked into some contract that says he has to work on likely doomed projects?

          i doubt he's locked in, but let's be honest: how many film makers could actually probably make a good movie out of the idea of live action dumbo, and how many of them would then actually take said job to do so? burton might just be one of the few people who was willing to actually take a crack at it, because i bet you a lot of directors have no interest in trying to craft a good movie out of an idea that frankly isn't that good and doesn't really lend itself to being so.

          1 vote
    2. [4]
      vakieh
      Link Parent
      Probably the Lucas curse. He needs someone to kick him up the arse and tell him what he's doing sucks.

      Probably the Lucas curse. He needs someone to kick him up the arse and tell him what he's doing sucks.

      4 votes
      1. [4]
        Comment removed by site admin
        Link Parent
        1. [3]
          0d_billie
          Link Parent
          I think he's referring to the George Lucas curse, where he created something amazing in the 80s, and followed up by making absolute trash (YMMV on the prequels), in part because nobody had the...

          I think he's referring to the George Lucas curse, where he created something amazing in the 80s, and followed up by making absolute trash (YMMV on the prequels), in part because nobody had the nuts to tell him that his ideas were poor.

          6 votes
          1. escher
            Link Parent
            Watching the making-of on the Phantom Menace DVD was really eye-opening. Lucas is surrounded by yes-men and it doesn't hit him until they're all in their little theater watching the first...

            Watching the making-of on the Phantom Menace DVD was really eye-opening. Lucas is surrounded by yes-men and it doesn't hit him until they're all in their little theater watching the first rough-cut and they all, including Lucas, look horrified. After the screening, Lucas meekly says "I may have gone too far..." and finally people start telling him, in specific ways, how the movie is broken but there's not much time left to fix it at that point.

            4 votes