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Tim Burton's Corpse Bride opened in New York and L.A. last week, and will expand to screens across the U.S. tomorrow. Early buzz indicates that Burton is ready to score his second hit of the year; in fact, his summertime smash Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is still in theatres.

But in Corpse Bride, Burton has cooked up confections of a different quality. He has reunited with the masterful stop-motion animator Harry Selick, who supplied the visual effects for Beetlejuice and the fantastic Nightmare Before Christmas, and together they've created another dazzling show of whimsical storytelling, one that shivers with affection for such gothic tales as The Addams Family and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The only thing missing here is the voice of Burton's hero … Vincent Price.

This morbidly enchanted fairy tale finds a spindly youngster (Johnny Depp) dodging the altar to practice his wedding vows in a dark woods. The vows are overheard, and taken seriously, by a decomposing beauty (Helena Bonham Carter). Colorful mayhem ensues, accompanied by the ghoulish musical flourishes of Danny Elfman, of course.

Do all of these dancing cadavers have anything to offer audiences? Mainstream critics are raving that the film is one of Burton's very best. So far, only one Christian press publication has posted a review. (Christianity Today Movies' review will be posted tomorrow.)

David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) says, "While some may disagree with the film's depiction of death as liberation from the sepulchral stuffiness of the world above … a visually poetic coda suggests a more empyrean heaven beyond the purgatorial partying. … Despite its fablelike milieu, the movie—with its necromantic undertones—is a bit morose for young children."

DiCerto concludes by recommending the film. "Corpse Bride imparts a gentle message of selfless love that should warm most hearts—beating or not."

Mark Ruffalo has been gaining more and more critical acclaim as he morphs from one type of role to another, in such films as You Can Count On Me, Collateral, We Don't Live Here Anymore, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Can he succeed as "the guy" in a romantic comedy, opposite a big name star?

Apparently so. Ruffalo, opposite Reese Witherspoon, conquered the box office this week with Just Like Heaven, the latest film from Mark Waters (director of Mean Girls).

Witherspoon plays Elizabeth, a doctor who can't get herself out of a coma. While her body lies in the hospital, her spirit hangs out at her apartment, pestering the landscape architect (Ruffalo) who has moved in. When Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder turns up as a psychic, the proceedings may remind you of Ghost, and you won't be the first to make that connection. Several mainstream critics mention the beloved Demi Moore/Patrick Swayze romance in their reviews of Just Like Heaven, even though they're not too fond of the results.

Christian film critics, on the other hand, seem quite pleased with these romantic, old-fashioned antics.

Carolyn Arends (Christianity Today Movies) says, "Just Like Heaven is a terrific romantic comedy and one of the best times I've had at the movies in a while. It's not perfect. It's not very deep. But it's a whole lot of fun and even a little moving."

Steven D. Greydanus (Decent Films) raves, "Just Like Heaven is the first Hollywood film since Return to Me that I would put in the same league as that earlier film, and that's saying something."

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September (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49