Hello and welcome back to another week here at Mindless Movie Reviews. In honor of the release of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice a few weeks ago and to honor my review of said movie last week (you can read that here), I present to you my list of my favorite Tim Burton movies. A few things to note. One, these are all movies from his earlier works. That’s not saying his newer stuff is bad, I just prefer his older stuff. Two, there might be some spoilers in here, but if you haven’t seen these movies at this point, should there even be a warning? Third and final point, I am a huge fan of Burton and his films, so this is a fluid list. If you ask me in 2 weeks, it may be slightly different. That’s what makes his movies so great! Also, one more quick side note. This is based solely on movies he has directed, so don’t expect to see “The Nightmare Before Christmas” here. Ok, with all that out of the way, let’s get to the list.
5. Mars Attacks (1996) – This fifth spot is probably the most fluid. There are quite a few of his films that could be “top five material”, but Mars Attacks is a great choice with all its over-the-top action, bad alien CGI, and cheesy lines throughout. This really is a big swing by Burton with the way this was filmed to look like an old sci-fi flick, to the insane All-star cast (too many to name here), and the outrageous comedy of the aliens as they obliterate humans while they are shouting “We come in peace”!!! This is a film that I regularly pull out and watch just because it’s so silly and it makes me feel good all the way to the end when the old country song is the thing that eventually takes them out. Personally, I get it, it’s my weakness too!
4. Ed Wood (1994) – Here is a movie that doesn’t get as much love as it should…and that includes myself. This is the one Burton film I have seen the least out of all his big releases. This is another one of those films that shows off Burton’s talents. Shot in entirely black and white gives this a classic era of filmmaking vibe, plus another great cast delivering on screen with a great set of characters. Johnny Depp playing the lead here is the second time of many that he and Burton would work together, but this one is one of the best.
3. Edward Scissorhands (1990) – Burton was never afraid to tell an odd story, but “Edward Scissorhands” is perhaps one of his most bizarre. Depp steps in front of the camera for Tim for the first time and puts on a show with another great cast at his side including the great Vincent Price as “The Inventor”. This truly is a fun and heartbreaking story with lots of laughs and hedge-trimming along the way. The way Edward learns to cope with being left alone and all of the side hustles the ladies in town put him through is exactly like what I think would happen in a small town if someone like that showed up. Overall, this is a great movie and it deserves more of your attention if you haven’t seen it.
2. Batman Returns (1992) – OK, controversy time. I really love both this and “Batman”. Could I have put them both on the list? Yes, I could, but I decided to choose only one of them so I could make room for something else. Also, going back to the earlier comment, if you ask me tomorrow, I may swap the two out. Nicholson is absolutely phenomenal as The Joker, but I have always loved DeVito’s turn as Penguin. That along with the additions of Walken and Pfeiffer, it’s hard not to have this sitting at number two. There have been several other takes on Batman over the years and they seem to grow darker and darker. I have always enjoyed these first two since they relied on the “comic book” look so heavily and with Burton’s touch on the story, they stand out.
1. Beetlejuice (1988) – Finally, and as if there was any doubt, my favorite film by Tim Burton is “Beetlejuice”. One of the reasons (and yes this is a trend in this list) is the amazing cast. Burton always assembles the best cast that always plays off each other very well. With this only being his second full-length movie to be released (see the full list here thanks to IMDB) after Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, that is quite the way to make a statement. This is a cult classic type of film that still lives on very strong even 36 years later… which is why he just made a sequel to it after all this time. Even though Keaton is only on the screen for a grand total of 12 minutes, the rest of the cast fills the void and we get to discover the afterlife like never before. It still makes me laugh, even all of these years later.
So, there you have it for my top-five Tim Burton films. What are your thoughts on this? I assume you’ve seen these all, if not, what are you doing with your time? Please let me know in the comments what changes you would have made or if I left out any of your favorites.
Also, if you haven’t done so, check out my other lists here or some of my other reviews as well here. I will be back next week with some more mindless movie fun!
Love the line-up!