TIM BURTON
Whether you love him or hate him, you can bet the farm that director Tim Burton will surprise you with something different every time.  Big Fish (2003) is a prime example. Albert Finney (with a pitch-perfect Alabama accent!) is an old-time Southern yarn spinner. His son (Billy Crudup) wants to know the real Dad behind all the stories. There are circus acts, a mystical city, a giant named Carl, a witch who can show you your future, and a 15-foot-catfish. The thing is, the stories are the life of the father. Well, I really liked it but admit it is not to all tastes.
Neither is Edward Scissorhands (1990) with Johnny Depp as a boy whose hands are cutting tools. In this fabulous fairy tale Edward creates wonderful topiaries with his hands, and nearly everyone wants a piece of him. He spices up the lives of the residents of this grimly charming suburb and tries to save them all from..themselves (?). 
Mr. Burton wrote (but did not direct) The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). This weirdly wonderful film is made from a combination of stop-motion and replacement animation, and doesn’t look like anything else. Halloweentown hero Jack Skellington tries to redefine Christmas with decidedly mixed results. You’ll know in the first 15 minutes if you’ll like it or not.
Ed Wood (1994) was a labor of love for Tim Burton. It is the story of probably the worst director to actually get films made, and he is skillfully and perfectly played by Johnny Depp. Wood’s movies included Plan Nine From Outer Space, and Glenn And Glenda. Martin Landau won an Oscar playing Wood favorite Bela Lugosi. This movie is filled with campy delights and rides along on the oblivious optimism of Wood.
Sleepy Hollow (1999) owes little to the Washington Irving tale but lots to Mr. Burton’s penchant for making strange but effective movies. Johnny Depp (yes, him again) is a New York detective sent to Sleepy Hollow to catch a headless horseman who is killing the residents. If you like creepy and scary, this is for you!
Remember those hokey paintings that were popular in the 50's and 60's featuring children with enormous eyes? Okay, maybe you’re too young to remember them. Well, anyway, Big Eyes (2014) is the more-or-less true story of the shy female artist who painted them, how she was victimized by her controlling husband, and what finally happened. Amy Adams is splendid as the artist and Christopher Waltz convincingly slimy as her husband. 
Be on the lookout for Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children, an upcoming Burton outing that sounds just right for his resume’.
Less effective Tim Burton outings include Beetlejuice (1988), the first two Batman movies, Mars Attacks! (1996), and a doggy remake of Planet of the Apes (2001). All these are graded Miss It If You Can. All of the movies in this column are available on DVD and for streaming. All are for grown-ups, and all are weird!
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