Happy Birthday, Tim Burton

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that last week (August 25th) was Tim Burton's birthday; he turned 53.

His detractors will say he's over-rated, but so what? These five films are arguably some of the best films made in their respective release years, and other really good ones like Sleepy Hollow didn't even make the cut.

And say what you will about his remake of Planet Of The Apes (I liked it), and I'm sure most would agree his Alice In Wonderland sucked - but even his, uh, less than stellar films at least look amazing.

He's like a gateway to David Lynch for teenagers.

Here's his first well-known short, Vincent:

Tim Burton: Fall From Grace

Tim Burton hasn't made a good movie in a long time: Alice In Wonderland, Sweeney Todd, Corpse Bride... and very few people liked Charlie And The Chocolate Factory as much as I did (no, it's not really for kids), or even Planet Of The Apes, for that matter, which means Big Fish is the only good thing he's made in the past decade.

Then again, it may be his best film ever. Was it his last, final bit of inspiration? It could very well be, considering his next project looks like it's going to be a remake of his 1984 short, Frankenweenie...

Or maybe his reputation got to his hair. After all, his output from the 90s is as impressive as anything anyone else could come up with, starting with 1989's Batman, then Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, Ed Wood, Mars Attacks! and Sleepy Hollow.

Whatever the case, let's hope he wakes up soon, 'cause he's an original voice in Hollywood, one that should not be silenced - and one that gives Johnny Depp too much work for all of it to be crap - it'd be a waste of Depp's talent as well.