Based on a European folktale, Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride gets off
to a rousing start as director Burton and co-director Mike
Johnson’s camera bobs and floats through the gray village
where the Van Dorts and Everglots live. There’s a great deal
of scurrying about for the wedding of shy guy Victor Van Dort
(voiced by Johnny Depp) and wallflower Victoria Everglot (Emily
Watson). The Van Dorts (Paul Whitehouse and Tracey Ullman) see this
union as a step up socially, not realizing that the Everglots
(Albert Finney and Joanna Lumley) are broke.
Nervous about the impending nuptials,
Victor is dismissed from the ceremony to calm down. As he walks in
the woods, he slips his beloved’s ring on what he believes is
a tree branch but is actually the bony finger of a young woman who
was killed on the way to her own wedding (Helena Bonham Carter). Now
she’s eager to be Victor’s bride.
What ensues is a journey to the land of the
dead, where the corpse bride resides. It’s an eye-bending
universe of rollicking carcasses that seem to be more alive than
the living. That, of course, is the irony of the film: The living
carry the weight of the world on their shoulders as the dead frolic
without a care in the world. Naturally Victor is tempted to join
this happy world. There’s really no suspense where this
conflict is concerned, and we find ourselves, like Victor, enjoying
the sights of the netherworld. In an age when most animated films
are computer-based, it’s refreshing to see this more basic
labor-intensive form, stop-motion animation, in the spotlight.
Astute viewers will enjoy the technique, but, in the end, Bride ends up more a
curiosity, a tip of the cap to the early days of the animated form
instead of an engaging motion picture.
Also in theaters this week. . .
Cry Wolf [PG-13] A
group of prep school pranksters create a fictitious killer to scare
the student body, but when a young woman shows up missing —
the wolf becomes all too real. Parkway
Pointe
The Exorcism of Emily Rose [PG-13] Restless lawyer Erin Bruner takes on the church
and the state when she chooses to represent a priest imprisoned for
performing an exorcism. ShowPlace
West, ShowPlace East, Route 66 Drive-In
Flightplan [PG-13]
Bereaved wife Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster) boards a plane home from
Berlin with daughter in tow, but when Pratt awakens her daughter is
missing — and the crew isn’t convinced she ever boarded
the plane. Parkway Pointe, ShowPlace
East
Just Like Heaven [PG-13]] There’s a ghost in David Abbott’s new
apartment; a charming and beautiful ghost. When Abbott falls for
his new house guest, an odd couple doth make. ShowPlace West, ShowPlace East
Lord of War [R] A
weapons dealer (Nick Cage) faces the consequences of his life
choices and profession when he is being pursued by an Interpol
agent (Ethan Hawke). Parkway Pointe,
ShowPlace East
Red Eye [PG-13]
Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams) is held captive on a red-eye flight
to Miami, and when Lisa’s captor threatens to kill her father
unless she agrees to help kill a rich businessman, she has nowhere
to go. ShowPlace East
Roll Bounce [PG-13]
When roller skates ruled, X (Bow Wow) and company’s rink
closed down forcing them to skate in a neighboring town and compete
for bragging rights. ShowPlace West
The Skeleton Key [PG-13} A young caretaker (Kate
Hudson) finds herself in the midst of voodoo and witchcraft as she
unravels the mystery of what’s truly ailing her patient. White Oaks
Transporter 2 [PG-13]
An action-packed film about ex Special Forces operative Frank
Martin. Think lots of car chases. ShowPlace
West
An Unfinished Life [PG-13] A single mother looks to her estranged stepfather for
comfort and a roof, but she receives an unexpected return —
forgiveness. Yes, it’s that cheesy. ShowPlace West
This article appears in Sep 22-28, 2005.
