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Kim Hollis: I really love Depp, and have going all the way back to 21 Jump Street (when I was all like, oh, it's that guy that was decimated by Freddy Krueger in Nightmare on Elm Street!). Like some others have mentioned, I'm really fond of Rango, which I think was a very bold choice for an animated film. And I love that the character of Rango has so many of Depp's mannerisms even though he is a cartoon lizard. The most disappointing decision he has made has been Alice in Wonderland, because even though the film was great financially, it was a truly horrible movie and Depp was just annoying in it. I know other people might say the same of his Willy Wonka, but I liked that his Wonka was very similar to the book version.

It's hard to choose. On both sides.

Kim Hollis: What's your favorite Tim Burton movie? What's your least favorite?

Edwin Davies: Ed Wood, closely followed by Big Fish. I still admire Burton's aesthetic choices - there are few directors working today whose work is so unmistakable - but his skills as a storyteller seem to be degrading with each film these days, as the style overwhelms the content. Both Ed Wood and Big Fish use his style well, but they're wedded to sweet, heartfelt stories that he seems deeply invested in (Ed Wood clearly speaks to his love of cinema, particularly shitty B-movies, and Big Fish was his attempt to use his art to come to terms with the deaths of his parents). That same quality runs through a lot of his best films, and the worst are the ones that are completely devoid of any particular heart or investment. The absolute worst, in that regards, would be his remake of The Planet of the Apes, which is completely lifeless and has one of the most thuddingly dumb endings I have ever seen.

Brett Beach: I hate to be in repeat mode, but Planet of the Apes strikes me as the film that least gives an audience anything recognizable as Burtonesque. I started wiping it clean from my brain right after I got out of the theater 11 years ago.

On the positive front, I also adore Ed Wood. It's the kind of uplifting bio that Hollywood traffics in. Yes, it ends (perhaps thankfully) before Wood's ignominious end, but it celebrates the idea of filmmaking, making the argument that talentless enthusiasm may be preferable to glossy hackwork. Plus, it gives us a droll Bill Murray supporting turn before he was snatched up by the Anderson/Jarmusch contingent, and Martin Landau cursing up a blue streak.

Bruce Hall: I'd like to say Ed Wood is my favorite, because I really do love that movie. But I have to admit a soft spot for The Nightmare Before Christmas. It was a special time in my life. What can I say? The worst? Planet of the Apes. Get your hands off me, you damn dirty movie.

Max Braden: There's so much great visual style in his filmography, it's hard to pick the one I most like. I think I'm biased toward Sweeney Todd mostly because of the music. To pick the one I like most because of his role as director, I think I'd go with Big Fish. I like it most for the way Burton's visual style goes beyond just setting an environment and mood, but really helps the story as well. I can see the criticism of Planet of the Apes, but I actually prefer the depiction of the apes in that movie over Rise of the Planet of the Apes. My least favorite of Burton's movies are the stop-motion ones, so I'll pick The Corpse Bride. It's not my favorite animation style, and it's just too Gothic for my taste. For that reason I don't have much interest in his upcoming Frankenweenie.

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