depp and burton are at it again

Who wouldn't enjoy a Tim Burton movie about a cryptic barber with a lust for blood and revenge? Throw Johnny Depp into the mix, and you're almost guaranteed a success. I have to admit that I have always been a big fan of the Burton/Depp combination, particularly when complimented with a soundtrack by Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo fame. It's like an award-winning recipe with all the right ingredients.

From early films like Edward Scissorhands and his non-Burton appearances in the Nightmare on Elm Street horror flicks, Depp's been around for quite some time now, and amazingly he never seems to age. Sure, he had more of a baby face when he was playing the bad boy on 21 Jump Street but you'd never guess that almost thirty years has passed. Must have been that Hollywood lifestyle, or maybe the fact that he now lives in France.

One of my favorite Depp scenes has to be his role in Freddy's Dead where he returns as a cameo in one of those "This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?" public service skits that we used to see on TV so often, where someone cracks a couple of eggs open onto a hot frying pan. But in this scene, Freddy pops in, smacks him in the face with the frying pan, and says, "What are you on? Looks like a frying pan and some eggs to me." At least that's how I remember it - it has been a long time. But it was so uncharacteristic to see Depp allow himself to be the butt of a joke that it was hilarious.

Another favorite Depp moment was from Once Upon a Time in Mexico, (a Robert Rodriguez film - another *great* director) where he plays special agent Sands of the FBI, although he's about as crooked as they come when it comes to government agents. His interactions with the "chicklet boy" are just hilarious. I also loved the scene where he's actually wearing a shirt that has "FBI" in really big letters on the front. Those FBI shirts have become popular over the least few years, but the idea of an actual FBI agent wearing one in public, while working undercover, was ingenious. It also featured the only blind shooting standoff I've ever seen in a movie. Classic.

And Depp has been extremely flexible since that time, unlike so many Hollywood actors who seem to be only be able to play the same role across different movies. There have only been a few movies starring Depp that I didn't appreciate. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was one of them. Although it developed something of a cult following, I just couldn't get into his character or the plot. The other film that I didn't enjoy was the Secret Window. I don't like movies that spend so much time developing the plot, and then just cop-out at the end with the old insanity excuse. It was like that movie Falling Down. It had such great momentum going and was making such a bold statement, and then they had to go an ruin it by making him crazy and suicidal at the end.

At first, I was skeptical about Depp's role as Willy Wonka, too. The original was one of those classic films that we cringe at the idea of it being remade in any way. But Burton managed to put his own spin on it, and managed to allow it to stand on its own two feet, quite separate from the original. We went to see Sleepy Hollow (another Depp/Burton/Elfman combo) with my parents, and they didn't enjoy it, but we loved it. We're into darker films, though, and I find that I dig just about anything with Christoper Walken in it. Depp did an awesome job as Ichabod Crane, even if he didn't match the stereotypical tall and lanky schoolmaster that had been burned into my mind as a child watching Disney's cartoon version of the famous story.

And of course, what discussion of Depp's career would be complete without mention of the Pirates of the Carribbean trilogy, perhaps Depp's best performances to date?

It's hard to pick a favorite Depp role, as he's been very good at most of what he has done over the years. Sweeney Todd should be fun, and it will be interesting to see Burton's quirky approach at such a dark and sinister film. Burton has a strength for taking evil subject matter and making it more comical and acceptable. You can visit the official Sweeney Todd movie site or visit Sweeney Todd on MySpace for more info.

It will also be interesting to hear Johnny Depp attempt to sing, as I have heard that it is something of a musical!