Movie Review #64: Sleepy Hollow (1999)

I was going to save this for later in October but having just reviewed the pilot to to Fox's new show of the same name and story, how could I not?

Sleepy Hollow is directed by Tim Burton who is one of my favorite directors. I admire his gothic visual style, dark humor and the fact that many of his films are easy to watch. That is something you can't say about many directors is that you can pop in any of their films on a whim and enjoy them. And Sleepy Hollow is no exception.

The story goes that a young Ichabod Crane, played by a young Johnny Depp, is sent to a sleepy little town called Sleepy Hollow to investigate the unsolved murders of the towns citizens and solve the mystery of The Headless Horseman.

Of all of Tim Burton's films, Sleepy Hollow is the one that feels to be the most "Tim Burtony". What I mean by that is that Sleepy Hollow has perhaps the most Tim Burton elements. These are what I like to call the "Six Degrees of Tim Burton".

1.) Johnny Depp
2.) Tim Burton's friends fill the supporting cast (Ex: Christopher Lee, Jeffrey Jones, Martin Landau)
3.) Danny Elfman score
4.) Oscar winning art direction
5.) Style over substance
6.) Unintentional humor

Every single one of these elements is represented in this film. Let's start with the acting:
Johnny Depp was pretty good in this movie. It's always refreshing to be reminded that there was a time when Tim Burton gave Johnny Depp serious roles that didn't involve him getting decked out in white make-up. The supporting cast was also pretty good. Nothing special stood out about their performances except for Christopher Walken as The Headless Horseman. He made me chuckle quite a few times.

Danny Elfman's score is phenomenal. Just like with Depp, Burton and Elfman just click. They just understand each other so well. They're like the creepy version of Stephen Spielberg and John Williams. The visuals in typical Tim Burton fashion are lavishly macabre that completely immerse you in the scene. I actually find them kind of beautiful in a way.

The biggest issue I had with the movie is that with such a great story, this could have made a decent horror movie. It ended up coming off as silly and campy in the end. I mean really, how can you not laugh when someones head gets lopped clean off their shoulders and rolls in between Johnny Depp's legs? It could have been scarier, but I'm not complaining too much because I'm a wimp when it comes to scary movies.

Final Report: Sleepy Hollow might not be as scary as it could have been, but that is quickly made up for by the gothic visuals and elements, quick pace, entertaining action set-pieces and a phenomenal score by Danny Elfman.

Television Review #8: Sleepy Hollow Pilot Review (2013-)

Dang. Has it really be over two months since I reviewed a TV show? Now that truly is frightening.

I have an interesting relationship with TV shows. I only watch shows that are on the air if they intrigue me from the trailers or if my close friends personally request them to me. And Sleepy Hollow was the only show that looked intriguing.

It's created by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman who have co-written the scripts for Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness and for J.J. Abram's shows like Fringe. I was also interested in seeing what these two could do without J.J. Abrams around.

So how is Sleepy Hollow? Intriguing to say the least.

I like the guy who plays Ichabod Crane. I think he fits the part perfectly. Not only does he look and sounds the part, but he's also pretty likeable. His counterpart, a female cop named Abbie was not as easily likeable as he is. It took me a while to fully adjust to her. Also because she looks like a discount version of Martha Jones from Doctor Who. I just couldn't shake that thought from my mind during the entire episodes 44 minute run-time. Her boss also looks like a discount version of Phillip Broyles from Fringe!

But luckily, the chemistry between our two leads, Crane and Abbie, works. It's obvious that their relationship is going to grow because from the start, Abbie isn't quite sure what to think of Crane but she can't just let him go because she knows that he is their best chance at defeating the Headless Horseman. Which leads me to my next point and that is that the Headless Horseman is completely awesome. There are multiple decapitations in this one episode, (also awesome) but what really sold me was when he picked up a machine gun. I feel like I don't even need to go on anymore to get your interest.

And, without spoiling anything, the episode ends in a way that actually kind of disturbed me. The last minute alone made me eager to see the next episode.

The writers have a great, huge, interesting story to tell, the lead actors click and the visuals are top notch. Let's hope Fox doesn't cancel it after lest than 20 episodes!

Final Report: Sleepy Hollow has more than enough potential to be great. It's like a combination of Elementary and Supernatural mixed with the visual flare of J.J. Abrams and the gothic, creepy vibe of Tim Burton. Where it stands on just one episode, it's a good deal of fun.

My Top Five Favorite Films of Summer 2013

Summer might be long gone but that doesn't mean you can't still talk about summer movies! So I am going to rank my top five favorite films I saw at my local theater.

Please keep in mind that I wasn't able to see every movie I wanted to. I wanted to see Man of Steel and Fast & Furious 6 but I didn't get around to it. I will end up reviewing them when they come out to rent.

So here are my picks:

1. Star Trek Into Darkness.

This was so much fun! It ended up being everything I wanted the sequel to be. It was an easy movie to watch with fast-paced, intense, thrilling action, quick witted humor and a phenomenal performance by Benedict Cumberbatch. Even though it might be considered to be a remake of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, I'm not complaining. Both are fantastic movies and I can't wait to see what J.J. Abrams has in store for the Star Wars universe.

2. Pacific Rim.

I felt like a kid in a candy store when I was watching Pacific Rim. My eyes were huge and my mouth started to hurt from smiling too much. It was just beyond words incredible seeing enormous robots fighting equally massive monsters. Pacific Rim is a shinning example of what a movie can be if the studio executives don't rule over everything and calling more shots than the director. The fact that this lost to Grown Ups 2 in the box office is another fact of what's wrong with humanity.

3. The Wolverine.

This was a huge surprise for me. I didn't think anything of this when I was planning out all of the movies that I wanted to see during the summer. The trailer didn't entice me, but I was wowed by how awesome The Wolverine was! The story was fascinating, the Japanese culture was exquisite and Logan's backstory got more fleshed out. Not to mention the action sequences he was in were completely awesome! This gets me all the more excited for X-Men: Days of Future Past.

4. World War Z.

Of all of the many films that bombed at the box office this summer, I'm very glad that World War Z wasn't one of the many that did. Especially with all of the odds that were against it! The story, much like the zombies, moves. The action is pretty intense with quite a few surprising scares thrown in here and there. And a finale that is so white knuckle you will hold your breath with anticipation and anxiety. I eagerly look forward to a sequel.

5. Iron Man 3.

The final spot was a tough one to choose. I flip-flopped between Iron Man 3 and Elysium for a long time. It was really tough to choose because both films had moments that I could have done without. But I settled on Iron Man 3 because I realized that I would rather re-watch this over Elysium any day. And this was vastly superior to Iron Man 2. Although I still can't get over the complete bait-and-switch they pulled on us with The Mandarin.





So that's my list of my favorite summer movies. Do you agree? What was your favorite movie of the summer/year? Tell me down below!

Movie Review #63: The Breakfast Club (1985)

Here is the first of many high school movies to come and what better film to start with than perhaps the most famous one of them all?

The Breakfast Club is about five high school kids with nothing in common have to serve a saturday detention (because back then schools actually disciplined kids.) And by the end of the day they end up learning that they really aren't that different.

I only recently watched this for the first time and I understand why this is one of my mom's favorite movies.

The main thing that makes The Breakfast Club so great is also what makes Arrested Development so great, and that is the characters. They are all so relatable and realistic that I have met people at high school that are like these characters. I even met someone named John Bender! That was just pure luck I guess.

You can relate and empathize with them because the problems they are going through are problems. I know people who have had to deal with the problems of the characters. The scene when Emilio Esteves pours all his problems out is one of the most emotional and sincere monologues I've heard.

And the song Don't You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds is such a great track. One of the best songs in any movie from the 1980's. I would put it up there with Kenny Loggins Footloose.

John Hughes films should be one of the few things that Hollywood should stay away from remaking because they are perfect how they are. Flawed, but perfectly flawed.

Final Report: The Breakfast Club works so well because nothing about it seems fake like with other high school films. You can easily connect with the characters because you either know someone like them or you are one of them.

Very Important News: The Future of the Blog

As I said in my last review, school is starting up for me and that means that the reviews will become less frequent because of homework, projects, stress and all that fun stuff. I will try to post one a week. Most likely on the weekends, (or if I get sick for a few days then I will go on a movie marathon!)

I will still try to go to see the new releases in theaters. There are a couple films that I will definitely be reviewing. (I'm looking at you Gravity.) I will also be reviewing new releases at the video store and some movies that are thematic with what I am experiencing in my life, (so there are going to be a lot of high-school movies.) And when December rolls around I will be reviewing some of my favorite Christmas movies so there is that to look forward to.

So I'll do my best, but in the meantime please enjoy the reruns.