Tim Burton's new film and exhibition Entertainment 22 May 2012 by Sophia Hélène Price Totally nuts and full of imagination, American film director Tim Burton landed at the Cinémathèque Française in Paris with an exhibition showcasing his early works right up to costumes and story-boards from his most recent film, Dark Shadows. The event was a huge success in New York where his collections of sketches, paintings, photographs, storyboards, puppets and costumes were displayed at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 2010. Unlike the thousands of crazed 'Burton-maniacs' (I refer to those with a penchant for Jack Skeleton accessories, Beetlejuice t-shirts and anyone who can honestly say they enjoyed his adaptation of Alice in Wonderland!), I was not overly enthusiastic about this particular visit but given all the rave reviews, I felt I should at least have an opinion. Well I can't say I was pleasantly surprised in any way, I have not been converted into the above maniac but I did enjoy the insight into the much celebrated filmmaker's life, with many of the pieces coming from his own personal collection. I particularly liked his series of sketches all roughly drawn on various hotel and restaurant napkins (perhaps time to find more entertaining friends, Tim?). Nonetheless, inspired by my trip to the exhibition, I decided to give Burton a second chance (I had originally written him off after he sucked all the joy and colour from my childhood favourite, Alice in Wonderland). I went to see Dark Shadows, starring Johnny Depp (bien sur!), Michelle Pfeiffer and Helena Bonham Carter as the hilarious psychiatrist. This time, I was not disappointed at all, far from it! The film is fun, light-hearted and surprisingly for Burton, full of colour! It's an adaptation of a 60s gothic horror soap opera in which a young man is turned into a vampire by a jealous witch and wakes up after 200 years to find himself thrust into modern life. I loved Chloë Grace Moretz as the provocative and rebellious teenager and thought Eva Green was excellent in the role of the witch, Angelique. As expected, Johnny Depp stole the show with his laugh-out-loud interpretation of Barnabas Collins, despite critics' reviews stating that he overacted the part... it is a Burton film after all!? I most definitely recommend this movie for an evening's entertainment. Don't expect a revolutionary film but you will get a few laughs and that's reason enough for me! WATCH: THE DICTATOR TRAILER