1. Dark Shadows (Warner Brothers, 3,755 Theaters, 113 Minutes, Rated PG): So, if you are as old as I am, you’ll remember the kerfuffle over Tim Burton’s being named director of Batman. I spoke on it a bit here, but the gist of it was that comic book fans were afraid that Burton, known mostly for comedies, would be delivery a comedic version of Batman to the big screen.
He didn’t. He delivered a serious take on the character, albeit one with splashes of humor. It was a great film and made many a fan put their trust in Burton as a director.
A lot of that trust might be lost now, as he brings us this adaptation, which takes the unintentionally campy soap opera and turns it into a full-blown comedy farce. I’ll speak more about this on Tuesday, especially how it relates to the state of the modern film adaptation, but I’d imagine fans of the original sudser are experiencing now what Bat-fans in the late-80s only feared. They shouldn’t worry too much, though. The Avengers is going to stomp all over it this weekend.
