Controversial Opinions: Part 1

We all have our little quirks of opinion that we find few people agree with. We find ourselves going against the general consensus of the critical community. We find ourselves going against popular opinion. These are some such cases for me.

1. Corpse Bride is as good as Nightmare Before Christmas.

Of all of Tim Burton's films, Corpse Bride is the most controversial. Many feel like the simplistic storyline and a lack of memorable songs made it disappointing and lame. I disagree. The songs aren't memorable, that is true, but the movie is very enjoyable to watch, despite a somewhat simple story. There's a lot of effort in the film, that comes out beautifully. Nightmare Before Christmas also had a simple, albeit original and interesting plot, but I never found myself invested in the characters as I was in Corpse Bride, and many of the jokes fall flat. However, Nightmare has the music on its side, with "Jack's Lament", "What is this?" and virtually every other song in the movie virtually being a classic. They're both good, but I'm sure a lot of people hate to even compare the two.

2. Beetlejuice is lame

Another Tim Burton film, I never really got Beetlejuice. Nothing really happens. We leave the film in the same situation that it begins. Michael Keaton is fine as always, but not stand-out. Alec Baldwin turns in one of the worst performances of his career. Most of the jokes fall flat, and the ghosts and stuff really aren't that creative. It's still an okay movie, but it's far from ever being considered a classic in my book.

3. Miyazaki is not all that.

To be fair, I've only seen four of his films. Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (2008), Howl's Moving Castle (2004) and Princess Mononoke (1997) and Castle in the Sky (1986). First of all, the animation is not all that. Sure, it's much better than most Japanese animation, and the don't do a lot of the shortcuts they do in those anime (like using excessive key frames, speed lines, etc.) but it's clear they needed more in-betweeners, it always looks quite stilted. Furthermore, and worse, the stories are confusing. Maybe it's because I don't know Japanese mythology or something, but the second halves of his films always involve some weird setting with weird stuff happening for no reason. Furthermore, the characters aren't that like-able or interesting, and they certainly aren't original. The exception to this was Ponyo, where I liked our two mains and Sosuke's mom, but the other characters in his other films are completely forgettable. Of the four films of his I've seen, Ponyo is my favorite. It's the most straight-forward, the most well explained and the least confusing, and (as mentioned before), you actually care about the characters. Even so, Mr. Miyazaki has yet to impress me, although I have yet to see many of his films.