TheRetroCritic

  Art  by Aardman & @theretrocritic .

Episode by  by @ Badwolf66 .

 

Tim Burton's latest, Big Eyes , tells the true story of 1950's-60's artist Margaret Keane and her relationship with then-husband Walter Keane in what is the director's first biopic since Ed Wood . Though the film does explore Margaret's (Amy Adams) art and its popularity, the focus here is on how Walter Keane's (Christoph Waltz) appropriation of his wife's work changed her life in a time when women had little say. After Margaret allows Walter to take all the credit for her big eyed creations (despite a clear initial reluctance), the become something of a sensation and the couple's lifestyle improves radically over the course of only a few years but the cost of giving up her artistic rights become too much for Margaret who is soon forced to live a lie. Tim Burton directing Ed Wood made perfect sense: a big fan of horror and sci-fi B-movies, the man behind the likes of Sleepy Hollow and Mars Attacks!  wanted to pay homage to another hugely enthusiast

More Bat-related genius from AxisOfOrnament . Click on the jacket-wearin' bat for more.

Here's some cool Batman -themed art from up and coming UK artist Steven Farmer !  More can be found on his Facebook page and on Myspace . Watch out for a very special cameo appearance from Steven himself in one of the new Batman video reviews which will be posted towards the very end of Bat-Month. Stay tuned!

Hitchcock blonde Kim Novak’s now famous (or infamous?) expression of displeasure for The Artist ’s use of Bernard Herrmann’s classic Vertigo score may have caused a mini web-quake but how derivative is Michel Hazanavicius’ film, really? And how does that work to the film’s advantage and disadvantage? Looking at the director’s other Jean Dujardin-starring films: namely the OSS 117 duo ( Cairo Nest Of Spies and Lost In Rio ), it’s obvious the man already had a love for aged Hollywood genre movies. OSS 117 channelling the James Bond franchise and 60’s spy capers perfectly. What elevated the films from being pure carbon-copy homages to great comedies, though, really was how its main star stood out from that world. This is a guy who may very well be as misogynistic and insensitive as early Bond himself but for him specifically it’s simply impossible to hide his clueless, bigoted views making him stick out like a sore thumb from an environment seemingly so stylish, clean and perfect (on

After all the hype, The Artist was a film I almost wanted to dislike, even if it did star Best Frenchman Ever Jean Dujardin and dared to be a black & white silent film at a time when 3D, CGI and superheroes are kind of a given. I resisted but, like it or not, The Artist is a good film: a very good film, in fact. Not the masterpiece the critics unanimously agreed upon but definitely one to watch. For those who actually do watch old movies on a regular basis this is a tough movie to warm up to at first seeing how shamelessly derivative it is but most will love it instantly. For a while, frankly I reallycouldn't figure out what was actually original about The Artist in any way... You've got the plot of Singin' In The Rain , characters straight out of All About Eve , The Red Shoes or Sunset Boulevard and a dog straight out of... Beverly Hills Chihuahua ? Seriously, people need to stop raving on about that blasted mutt! Is everyone 5 years old?! I like that he saves