Monkey (Black and White)

Back in 2000 when I heard that Tim Burton would be directing a remake of the Planet of the Apes I thought, that might not suck. Burton makes visually stunning films and handles weird subject matter pretty well.

Then, when the publicity department started sending out folks for interviews, I caught Burton talking about the film. He said something to effect that he enjoyed working on the movie because monkeys are funny. At that point I was pretty sure that the movie would … be less than wonderful. Not because monkeys aren’t funny. They are. But they’re everything else that humans are as well. So, unless you’re making a comedy, the statement “Monkeys are funny” indicates that maybe you’re not thinking about your material properly. Also, MONKEYS aren’t APES any more than lemurs are monkeys.

And what does that have to do with this fellow? Not a thing really.

Why the Masque? (Black and White)

Why is he wearing the mask? Is he going to a costume party? Or is he getting ready slaughter a bunch of annoying teenagers (played by actors in their mid to late twenties)? Or does he plan to do some welding and he likes to personalize his tools? Perhaps he doesn’t like his face? Or perhaps he knows that others don’t like it so he keeps it hidden out of politeness?

What’s the story here?