Movie Monday: Films that tried to be Steampunk and failed

The list of purely Steampunk movies in this world is a very short list.  The list of movies that attempt to use an aspect of Steampunk (or merely gussied-up Victoriana) to exoticize themselves is a long list.  Some of them do passable homage to the aesthetic and mood of Steampunk, and some fall laughably short, despite making a valiant effort.  Here are just a few in the latter category:

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen:  let's put aside the fact that this is nothing like the comics.  That's another battle altogether.  Neither the comic books not the film are entirely Steampunk, but the comics do get closer to the spirit of Steampunk.  The film tries to rest on Sean Connery's waning star power, and throws some monumental CGI Steampunk accessories into the mix to flesh out the life and death situations.  The problem?  That big fancy machinery isn't really what Steampunk is about.  It's part of it, but it's the independent, ingenious, creative mindset that is missing here.  Not even a sexy vampire can save this wreck.  I will say one good thing for this movie:  the Invisible Man is an intriguing character and I'd like to see more of him in another setting, no pun intended.  Result: one star for effort, and one star for fairly good CGI.  No Stars for Steampunk.  **OOO

Movie Monday: "Tin Man"

Tin Man is a semi-Steampunk, semi-cyberpunk, semi-sci-fi sequel to "The Wizard of Oz." It re-imagines the land of the O. Z. as a military state under the evil rule of the Sorceress Azkedellia. Midwestern waitress D. G. (Dorothy Gray) is tossed into the mix to rediscover her magical past and save her parallel universe from the witch. Along with memorable and surprisingly well developed characters such as Cain, Glitch, and Raw, she spends 4.5 hours trekking across the O. Z. and recovering her memories.