#i just watched the angela lansbury sweeney todd for the first time and god i love it

[raviniaraven]

Can I just. If you like the movies of Sondheim musicals I am begging you to watch the stage production. I think the version of Into The Woods with Bernadette Peters is still on Youtube in its entirety and I'm 80% sure the Angela Lansbury Sweeney Todd is on Netflix.

The movies are ok but the full plays are some of the best dark comedy musicals I've ever seen and I love them

[blood-and-lilacs]

Hello! Really love your blog!! wanted to ask u if you had any other favorite toxic codependent m/f ships apart from gretchen/archie.

Hello! Thank you so much! This was such a fun list to make!

Hannibal/Clarice -- The Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal: I mean, this is the obvious one, right? In many ways Archie/Gretchen is just a gender swapped version of Hannibal/Clarice (which gives me hope -- if Hannibal and Clarice can run away together in the end, so could Archie and Gretchen!)

Martin Whitly/Vivian Capshaw -- Prodigal Son: God I wish they had done more with these two. She only arrives in the back half of Season 2 and they SUPER rushed their storyline and then the show got canceled. There were so many possibilities! Enough that I actually wrote a quick fic, which I almost never do for non-Beauty Killer stuff. Here it is!

Sweeney Todd/Mrs. Lovett -- Sweeney Todd: I don't mind the movie, but I so so so recommend watching the original Angela Lansbury production. There are a couple versions on youtube, none of them are very high quality but for me it was worth it. This is the best one I could find right now. I like this production because, whereas the movie goths everyone out, in this they all just look like totally normal people, which I think makes it more interesting and more creepy. Plus, you know, having grown up knowing Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Potts, it's so much fun to see her originate such a fucked up role.

Lord Asriel/Mrs. Coulter -- His Dark Materials. Honestly I don't really know what these two have going on, since we get to know a very limited amount about them, but whatever it is, I love it. That part where they're kissing but his daemon like has its CLAWS in hers and hers is just like spaced out in love? And obviously the, you know, suicide pact of diving into the abyss to kill the angel or whatever it was. Not even necessarily suicide cause it's implied that like, their ghosts are gonna keep falling together forever? FUCK. (I've heard that the new books explain more about them, but I've also heard that the explanations kind of retcon some of their development from the original trilogy, so I'm opting out of that).

Gaius Baltar/Caprica-Six -- Battlestar Galactica: Okay I have actually never made it through the series and I have no idea what happens later on. But I keep on trying and making it through the first season or so over and over, EXCLUSIVELY because of this couple. He essentially betrays his entire SPECIES for her. She demands that he "repent" and follow her God. She's tall and gorgeous, he's a dark-haired weasely guy. Also she spends most of the season existing only as a hallucination. They're perfect. Also I need to share my favorite promo image of all time.

Macbeth/Lady Macbeth -- Macbeth: For some reason I never had to read this in school and only discovered it by chance recently. I feel so silly for being so impressed, like, yes, it's Shakespeare, everyone already knows it's good, but IT'S SO GOOD?? There are quite a few complete productions available on youtube. Here's the one that was recommended to me, it's the only full play version I've watched but it's awesome. I also tried watching this opera, which is just very bizarre but you should at least watch this scene cause it's sexy.

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Where I Want To Apologize For Not Finishing Duke's Monsterween This Year...

Alot Has Happened In My Life Since I Disappeared, My Mom The One Person Who Believed In Me And My Reviews Passed Away Due To Organ Failure And Possibly Leukemia, Leaving My Whole Life In Question To The Point That I Don't Know If I'm Going To Continue Doing This Or Not...

But Until It's Figured Out And Handled, The Show Must Go On As It's What My Mom Would Have Wanted So, Slowly I Am Going To Return To Doing Duke Reviews...

But I Am Going To Release Them On My Time And Do Whatever I Want Not Just Something On One Subject So For Now Our Look At Disney Is Over...

But Lately I Have Been Watching Some Musicals, So To End Duke's Monsterween Right, We're Going To Look At Horror Related Musical But Since I Don't Own Rocky Horror And I'm Definitely Not Ready To Dive Into Phantom Yet, Let's End Monsterween With Tim Burton And Sweeney Todd...

With Music By Stephen Sondheim, This Film Is About A Former Barber Named Benjamin Barker Returning Home To London After Spending Time In Jail On A False Charge Only To Find That His Wife Is Dead And His Daughter Is Living With The Man Who Had Him Arrested...

This Leads Barker To Become Sweeney Todd And Go Down A Path Of Revenge Against The Man Who Wronged Him...

So, Let's Watch Sweeney Todd And See How Tim Burton Handles The Musical Genre..

So After A Bloody Opening...

We Open At The London Bridge On A Boat As We Meet Our Supporting Protagonist, Antony (Played By Jamie Campbell Bower) Who Is With Our Main Protagonist Benjamin Barker (Played By Johnny Depp) As We Get Our First Song There's No Place Like London

Where As They Arrive Into The Port, Benjamin Tells Antony His Backstory...

(Start At 2:24, End At 3:56)

As The 2 Separate, Barker Heads Into Town Until He Reaches Mrs. Lovett's Pie Shop Where He Meets The Owner Herself, Mrs. Lovett (Played By Helena Bonham Carter) Who Sings Our Next Song The Worst Pies In London

But Despite Me Having No Problem With Bonham Carter, She's Still Not As Good As The Original Mrs. Lovett, Angela Lansbury Who Actually Recently Celebrated Her Birthday...

Happy Belated Birthday, Angela!

Feeling Bad For Barker When He Eats Her Rotten Pie, Lovett Takes Barker Up To Her Apartment Where He Asks If That Room Upstairs Is For Rent But She Tells Him No But That's Mainly Because No One Will Go Near It Because It's Haunted Which Leads Her To Tell A Story...

(Start At 0:39, End At 3:13)

With Lovett Figuring Out Who He Is, Barker Asks Where His Wife Is Only For Lovett To Tell Him That His Wife Is Dead And His Daughter Is With The Man Who Arranged For His Arrest, Judge Turpin (Played By The Late Alan Rickman)

This Leads Barker To Decide To Change His Name To Sweeney Todd And Have His Revenge On Turpin...

Going Upstairs, He Finds His Old Shaving Equipment Which Leads To Our Next Song, My Friends

Which Is One Of My Favorite Songs In The Musical And Depp Pulls It Off Well...

Meanwhile, On The Other Side Of Town, Antony Spies On Barker's Daughter Johanna And After Learning Her Name From A Homeless Woman, He Instantly Falls In Love With Her To The Point He Starts Singing A Love Song...

But His Interest Is Spotted By Her Caretaker, Judge Turpin Who While Nice At First Ends Up Having His Right Hand Man, Beedle Bamford (Played By Peter Petigrew)...

I Guess Once A Rat Always A Rat...

Beat The Hell Out Of Antony With His Cane Before Sending Him On His Way, Which Leads Antony To Swear To Save Johanna From The Clutches Of The Evil Turpin...

Travelling To The Town Square, Barker And Lovett Watch A Show Run By Kid Named Toby...

Thank God It's A Kid Here As In The Show It's Usually A Guy Who Plays This Role When Actually It Should Be A Kid Playing This Role...

Who Is Attempting To Sell A Miracle Elixar Created By A Man Named Pirelli Which Is Guaranteed To Grow Back Hair, But When Sweeney And Lovett To Be Nothing But Pee (I Refuse To Say P***) And Ink, Pirelli (Played By Borat) Himself Comes Out To Confront Them...

(Start At 3:05, End At 7:39)

After The Contest A Guy Who I'm Laying 10 To 1 Is Giles From Buffy's Ancestor (Because He's Played By The Same Guy) And Beedle Bamford Himself Offer Todd Congratulations As They Promise To Visit His New Barber Shop Above Mrs. Lovett's Shop By The End Of The Week...

Days Later, Johanna Tosses Antony A Key To Her Room, Before We Cut Back To Sweeney And Lovett As They Wait For Bamford To Visit With Todd's Patience Starting To Run Out Which Leads To Our Next Song...

Afterwards, Antony Drops In To Tell Todd About His Plans With Johanna And Asks If He Can Hide Her There In The Shop Until He Can Get A Coach Which Will Take Them Away From London Forever To Which He Agrees...

But As Antony Leaves, Pirelli Arrives To Talk With Todd While Lovett Takes His Assistant Toby Into His Shop To Give Him One Of Her Pies Which Surprisingly He Likes...

Entering His Shop, Pirelli Reveals His Name Is Really Davey Collins And That He Knows Who Todd Really Is Mainly Because He Used To Work For Him Years Ago...

With Collins Blackmailing Him, Todd Decides To Kill Him By Bashing Him With A Teapot Before Hiding Him In A Case As Toby Comes In Looking For Pirelli...

But Telling Toby To Tell Mrs Lovett To Open A Bottle Of Gin On Him, Toby Leaves So Todd Can Finish Off Pirelli By Slitting His Throat...

Meanwhile At The Courthouse, Beedle Bamford Talks With Judge Turpin Who Has Decided To Marry Johanna In An Effort To Shield Her From "The Evils Of The World"...

But With Johanna Showing Reluctance To Turpin, It Leads To Our Next Song...

As Lovett Comes Up For Todd To Show Her That He Killed Pirelli And To Tell Her That He Intends To Kill Toby But Mrs Lovett Convinces Him To Spare Toby's Life As She Wanted To Hire Someone To Help Her Run The Shop...

Noticing That Turpin And Beedle Bamford Are Coming He Tells Mrs. Lovett To Get Out, So He Can Prepare For Turpin Who Eventually Enters, Leading To Our Next Song...

(End At 4:06)

But As Todd Is About To Kill Turpin, Antony Enters Which Causes Turpin To Storm Out Promising That He Will Never Be Back Again Which Leads To Our Next Song And One Of My Favorites, Epiphany And Depp Seriously Nails This Song...

It Was Like It Was Made For Him As He Expresses Every Emotion That Sweeney Is Feeling At This Particular Moment Perfectly...

Going Downstairs, They Plan To Get Rid Of Pirelli's Body As Toby Sleeps Off The Booze But Mrs. Lovett Comes Up With A Better Plan Leading To Our Next Song...

And This Song Is Just Devious With It's Rhymes...

Returning Home, Judge Turpin Decides To Teach Johanna Some Respect By Having Beedle Bamford Throw Her Into Fogg's Asylum...

Don't Do That, A Nun Told Me A Girl Got Raped There Only Be Born With The Bastard Son Of 100 Maniacs...

This Leads To A Reprise Of Johanna Between Todd And Antony Who Walks In The Streets While Todd Kills People While Shaving Them, Practicing For The Day That Turpin Returns...

While Downstairs, Mrs Lovett And Toby Feed People Her New Pies Made Out Of People...

Leading To Our Next Song...

The Next Day, Lovett, Toby And Todd Go Down To The Park Where Lovett Talks About Her Buisness Despite Sweeney's Mind Being On The Judge Either Way Though It Leads To Our Next Song...

(Start At 0:47, End At 3:26)

And I Swear, Throughout This Song Johnny Depp Only Has One Expression, To The Point You're Begging For Him To Blink Or Something.,..

Eventually Antony Drops By To Tell Sweeney What Turpin Did With Johanna, This Leads Him To Suggest That Antony Pose As A Wig Maker's Apprentice In An Attempt To Bust Her Out Of The Asylum...

Afterwards, Todd Has Toby Deliver A Letter To Turpin About Antony And Johanna In An Effort To Lure Him To His Parlor So He Can Kill Him...

Later That Evening, Toby Returns To Mrs Lovett After Delivering The Letter To Turpin, Leading To Probably The Most Well Known Song From This Musical, Not While I'm Around...

I Mainly Say That Because Every Singer From Michael Ball To Josh Groban Has Most Likely Done This Song...

Discovering That Mrs Lovett Has Pirelli's Coin Purse, Toby Is About To Go To Beedle Bamford So He Can Arrest Todd But Convincing Him To Hold Off Doing That, Lovett Takes Him Down To The Pie Room Telling Him To Eat As Many Pies As He Wants While She Runs An Errand...

And By That She Means, Tell Todd What Toby Said So He Can Kill Him But Before He Can Do That, Beedle Bamford Shows Up Complaining About The Smell From Their Chimney, Which Leads Todd To Offer Him A Free Shave Which Bamford Takes Despite Wanting To Do His Civic Duties First...

So, As Todd Kills Beedle And Scaring Toby After The Body Falls Into The Pie Room, Antony Saves Johanna From Fogg's Asylum While Todd And Lovett Look For Toby Who Has Run Off Into The Sewers To Hide From Them...

Taking Johanna To Todd's Shop, She Hides In The Box Where Todd Had Pirelli's Body As The Old Beggar Woman Who Talked With Antony Earlier Enters Looking For Beedle Only To Be Confronted By Todd Who Kills Her As Turpin Is Arriving...

With The Somewhat Dead Turpin Scaring Lovett, Sweeney Enters Telling Her To Open The Oven Door And When She Does, Todd Makes A Discovery About The Old Beggar Woman He Killed, It Turns Out That She Was His Beloved Wife....

(Start At 0:23, End At 1:56)

As Todd Holds His Wife's Dead Body, Toby Comes Out Of The Sewers, Grabbing One Of Todd's Razors Before Going Behind Him To Slit Todd's Throat Killing Him Once And For All, Ending Our Film

And That's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street And Tim Burton Makes A Good Musical...

The Film Is A Visual Wonder, The Cast Does Well In Their Roles, The Songs Are Well Transfered From Stage To Screen And The Effects And Camera Work In This Movie Are Very Well Done All In All I Say It's One Of Burton's Best And I Say See It...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #148 - Sleepy Hollow

Spoilers below.

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: No.

Format: Blu-ray

Disclaimer: I will not be commenting on the accusations, controversies, or public opinion which surrounds actor Johnny Depp in this analytical piece. This is strictly an analysis of the film Sleepy Hollow and those involved, and whatever my feelings on the actor are they do not change the film or its quality. So I am avoiding the topic altogether.

1) In his time as a filmmaker, director Tim Burton has only worked on three films which have received R-ratings: Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, and Sweeney Todd. The R-rating here allows the director to play with some fun gore which is definitely fighting of his personality but rarely seen in his PG and PG-13 fare.

2) Martin Landau - who won an Oscar under Burton’s direction in Ed Wood - has a cameo as early murder victim Van Garrett in the film’s prologue.

3) It says on IMDb that this is the same scarecrow from The Nightmare Before Christmas but I question the legitimacy of that claim.

4) The prologue is a very nice way to kick off the film. It showcases the visual style perfectly, as well as the fantasy-horror which will come to define the picture. Not to mention Burton’s well crafted decapitation mania.

5) Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane.

Depp based on his performance on a number of actors who have portrayed heroes before, but not your typical stunning heroes. Depp based his performance on Angela Lansbury, Roddy McDowall, and Basil Rathbone. Ichabod Crane is a character noted for not being the most stunning of leading men in the original text (in fact he’s pretty ugly), and Depp asked Burton if he could portray this. Burton opted to have Depp show off Crane’s more unattractive personal qualities though, primarily his squeamishness and his superiority.

This was the 90s. Marked with action movies like Speed, Con Air, and The Matrix. I think having a more nerdy hero works for the film. And Depp is primarily a character actor who gets more leading roles than most characters actors, so having Ichabod Crane not being your standard leading man works very well for the film. It’s one of my favorite Depp performances. A little more reserved than - say - the Mad Hatter, but still filled with the quirky oddball-ness and extravagance the actor is known for.

6) The scariest thing about this is that it’s actually how police work used to be done.

Police Officer [after Crane says he wishes to examine the body for cause of death]: “When they find him in the river the cause of death is drowning.”

7) Crane’s devotion to science/reason is his defining character trait and is established early on in the film. It is not only his defining quality but his key character conflict as he’s thrust into a world of magic and monsters. But more than that, it is very telling of who he is as a person and - as we latter learn on - comes from a place of deep sorrow and pain. The origin behind this devotion makes Crane all the more human and sympathetic, something which I think works great.

8) Christopher Lee cameo!

9) The marks on Crane’s hands are a nice little detail which ties both into his history & motivations as a character.

10) According to IMDb:

The town Sleepy Hollow was created from the ground up in three months. At the time of filming, it was the largest set built in England and was put up in record time. The last set that held this record was built for Billy Elliot (2000).

The cast and crew often said "The feeling one had walking around Sleepy Hollow's sets, and in particular the town at Lime Tree, was almost as if you were walking around the inside of Tim Burton's head."

In a film where the title is derived from a place, that place must be memorable. It has to have a character of it’s own. Through the visual style and community, the town of Sleepy Hollow is as much a character in this film as the Headless Horseman is.

11) There are so many tiny details in this film which become wildly relevant later on. The first of these is the makeout session between two anonymous people that Crane witnesses upon arriving to town (later revealed to be Dr. Lancaster, who’s affair was leverage the villain of the film had over him to commit conspiracy).

12) Christina Ricci as Katrina Van Tassel.

If you’re weirded out by the age difference between Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci, don’t worry. So was Johnny Depp.

Johnny Depp initially found the idea of Christina Ricci being his love interest in the film to be rather odd, seeing as he's known her since she was nine years old.

Winona Ryder was offered the part, but turned it down. I have to say Ricci does a very fine job in this film. You don’t feel like you’re watching Ricci, she immerses herself so totally as Katrina. This isn’t Wednesday Addams or Zelda Fitzgerald, Katrina is a character all on her own. Ricci does the job justice but I’m afraid she isn’t nearly as developed as Crane is. She’s hardly a one note damsel in distress. We get a peak into her relationship with her mother, her belief in nature over science, the love she has for her family...actually, that all sounds really good. I think I just realized we do learn a bit more about Katrina than I initially thought. Okay, disregard the earlier note. She’s developed pretty well.

13) I gotta use this line someday.

Brom Bones: “And who are you friend? We have not heard your name yet.”

Crane: “I have not said it. Excuse me.”

14) The council of townsmen.

Made up of fine performances from Michael Gambon, Ian McDiarmid, Jeffrey Jones, Richard Griffiths, and Michael Gough, it is when we meet this council that we not only get a clear sense of what this town is like but also when the mystery sets in (something I’ll discuss more later).

Reverend Steenwyck [after Crane observes that the victims’ heads were found severed from the body]: “Their heads were not found severed. Their heads were not found at all.”

15) Christopher Walken has a small but memorable role in this film as a pre-headless Headless Horseman.

Walken and Burton worked together on Batman Returns and he does a job in his flashback scene of showing just how BRUTAL the Horseman was back when he was a hessian. He delights in the carnage, the murder. He feels less like a man and more like a demon, a trait which gives us our initial fear of the monster and will come to define his character as the film continues. Walken plays a brief but important part in the film.

16) Another tiny detail in the film: the twin girls who get the hessian caught and killed.

17) According to IMDb:

Burton is a major fan of Mario Bava's Gothic horror films, and, as an homage to Bava's Kill Baby, Kill (1966), Burton adopted the basic plot of Bava picture: a skeptical investigator who places his faith in science and reason treks to an out-of-the-way hamlet plagued by a murderous ghost, only to have his skepticism of the supernatural forcibly broken down by the experience.

This film is first and foremost a murder mystery with supernatural elements. There is conspiracy in Sleepy Hollow, the horseman does not kill at random, it has a human master, and then you have this line from Richard Griffiths:

Magistarte Philipse: “Five victims, four graves.”

As the film starts to progress you see the motivations and mystery become clear, you start to understand what is going on in a very detective like way. I think that is why this film succeeds so well. It is more than horror, it is more than a slasher film, it is a mystery which elevates those two genres. I really enjoy that.

18) According to IMDb:

Star Johnny Depp adopted Goldeneye, the horse that played Gunpowder, Ichabod Crane's horse in the film, when he heard it was going to be put down.

19) This line has always made me laugh.

Crane [upon arriving at the scene of a murder]: “You have moved the body?”

Dr. Lancaster: “I did.”

Crane: “You must NEVER move the body.”

Dr. Lancaster: “Why not?”

Crane: “Because.”

It gives us a nice moment of comedy, reminds us of Crane’s scientific methods in a superstitious world, AND shows off one of Crane’s less attractive qualities (his ego).

20) Young Masbeth.

I love Young Masbeth. I’m a fan of found family relationships and the relationship Young Masbeth forms with Crane is very familial. It’s not exactly father/son, more like concerned uncle and his nephew. Young Masbeth avoids the pitfall of being an annoying pain. He’s honest, enduring, has incredible devotion towards not only his father but also (later) Crane and Katrina. He’s a nice, surprising addition to the film and I think it’s better for it.

21) Crane has a lot of sass that I love.

Dr. Lancaster [as Crane brings in a body for an autopsy]: “This is most irregular, constable.”

Crane: “I would hope so...”

22) There is such nice blood spurts in the autopsy scene! Burton really revels in the R-rating.

(GIF originally posted by @deppster)

23) Tim Burton is a Disney fan, and included a number of references to their film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Most notably, the scene in which Ichabod Crane crosses the covered bridge and hears the frogs underneath croaking "Ichabod". Not only that, but the scene where Brom Bones (disguised as the Horseman) chases down Ichabod is also very similar to the climactic chase from the Disney film.

24) Crane’s recurring dreams of his mother use some stylish imagery which conveys that it’s a dream while still fitting with the fantasy tone of the film.

25) The scariest thing about this is that it’s actually how some people used to think.

Katrina: “My father believes romance stories caused the brain fever which killed my mother.”

Because god forbid women read.

26) If you want further proof that Burton DELIGHTS in this film’s gore and gruesomeness.

27) There are quite a few chilling lines in this moment.

Young Masbeth [while riding in the woods]: “Listen.”

Crane: “I hear nothing.”

Young Masbeth: “Nor I. No birds. No crickets. It’s all gone so quiet.”

28) Miranda Richardson is delightful in this scene with the witch, even though you don’t know it’s her right now. Through her voice and physicality she creates such a creepy and fun character it’s hard NOT to enjoy the scene.

29) The Tree of the Dead is an incredible piece of design. It both fits perfectly in the real world of Sleepy Hollow while seeming out of place. The visual and the thematic choices of having its roots be veins filled with blood make it just so memorable. It can be gross but in a fun way.

30) This is the saddest, scariest, and hardest scene to watch in the entire film. It is such powerful drama and conflict but damn if it isn’t just hard to stomach. And not because it’s gory, but because of the victims and the pacing and the point of view and...gah! Watch at your own discretion. This is heartbreaking:

31) Ray Park brings a lot of presence to his role as the Horseman. Park is probably best known for his role as Darth Maul, but he is one of the best stunt-actors in Hollywood. He is able to carry the character of the Horseman established by Walken’s flashback in an honest, consistent, and memorable way.

32) This scene is very telling.

Crane [after Brom picks up an axe]: “Wait, he’s not after you!”

Brom: “I’ll get him.”

Brom may be a bully but at least he’s got guts. Crane has intellect and tenderness but he lack courage. If he can avoid fighting he will; he’s largely looking out for himself and his ways.

33) The second hardest scene to watch in this film is Ichabod’s full memory of his mother’s demise, the explanation of how he lost his faith, and the reason his hands are marked. This is the scene which ties in DIRECTLY with his devotion to logic and reason and it just makes it all so match sadder.

Ichabod [about who murdered his mother]: “...by a bible black tyrant behind a mask of righteousness. I was seven when I lost my faith.”

His father - a reverend - killed his father because he believed she was doing witchcraft. He locked her in an iron maiden and Ichabod found her. And he pushes away anything he can’t prove with logic and reason because of it. It was his mother’s faith was got her killed, and it was his father’s faith which led him to kill her. So he forget faith.

34) This would melt my heart if I weren’t distracted by the age difference.

Crane: “Perhaps there is a bit of witch in you, Katrina.”

Katrina: “Why do you say that?”

Crane: “Because you’ve bewitched me.”

35) Young Masbeth is great, but why does he just assume the symbol under Crane’s bed (and later that Katrina is learned to have drawn) is the evil eye? Like any weird looking eye is evil to you? Because guess what Young Masbeth, while I love you, you are wrong! Quite assuming so much.

36) This random sex scene also becomes weirdly (and yes, I meant to type weirdly) relevant later on.

(GIF originally posted by @rocktheholygrail)

37) The church scene is when things sort of take a twist. As the audience we are totally expecting Michael Gambon to be the master behind the conspiracy, but we soon learn that this is not really the case.

38) According to IMDb:

Michael Gambon wanted to keep his severed head and send it via proxy to interviews and dinner parties as a joke.

39) These two lines are very key to Crane’s internal conflict.

Young Masbeth [after Crane accuses Katrina of being the horseman’s master]: “Then you are bewitched by reason!”

Crane: “I am beaten down by it.”

Crane: “Villainy wears many masks. None so dangerous as the mask of virtue.”

His father wore a mask of virtue. Crane has lost all ability to put his faith in anyone, and that destroys him sometimes. How much better would his life be if he could just ignore reason and trust? That is his key transformation in the film. It’s not that he accepts witchcraft is real. It’s that he accepts people. He learns to trust and put his faith in people again (albeit not many, but still).

40) Miranda Richardon as Katrina’s Step-Mom is the murderer!

All those random little moments in the film become relevant!

She was able to blackmail the doctor because of his affair.

She was sleeping with the reverend.

She was one of the twins who got the horseman killed, and her other twin was the witch who freaked out Crane!

Now that the veil is lifted everything becomes clear and Richardson is able to delight in her villainy. She even gets cheesy one liners!

Lady Van Tassel [as the group runs through the windmill door, pursued by the Horseman]: “Watch your head!”

Nothing like a good crazy villain, and Miranda Richardson is great at it!

41) Tim Burton included the windmill scene as an homage to 1931′s Frankenstein, which he paid homage to in both his 1984 short film Frankenweenie and it’s 2012 feature film successor.

42) Finally, a film character who gets that you can’t kill a ghost!

Katrina [after the windmill is burned down]: “Is he dead?”

Crane: “That’s the problem: he was dead to begin with.”

43) The scene where the Horseman reattaches his head is...sorta gross.

You don’t see it in this GIF, but we get to watch as all the muscles grow back which is...not exactly fun but definitely memorable.

44) Christopher Walken likes to say that this was his first kissing scene in a movie (warning, violent content):

It wasn’t (he had kissing scenes in The Deer Hunter, The Dead Zone, and A View to a Kill), but I can understand why he claims it was. It would be a memorable first on screen kiss.

45) I’m a sucker for found families, so the fact that this film ends with Crane, Katrina, and Young Masbeth - all orphans who had no one - end up living in New York together gets me every time.

I think Sleepy Hollow is one of Burton’s more under sung films, which sucks because it’s great. He REVELS in the fun blood and gore an R-rating gives him, his visual style is on full display, the murder mystery is incredibly interesting, and it has a number of great performances. It’s just a wildly entertaining horror film. If you like horror, mystery, Burton, or any of the actors involved, you should give this film a watch.

[galaxygolfergirl]

Some of my new/old favorite things that I think you should take a look at

New favorite movies:

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1982, with George Heard and Angela Lansbury) - It’s one of the most entertaining performances I’ve seen in a while, and despite what people say about Johnny Depp’s take on the character, I think I love George Heard’s portrayal a lot more. He just seems more sympathetic and has a certain aura of that of a mad genius- his dynamic with Angela Lansbury’s Mrs. Lovett is also pretty fun as well, as she seems to have a really quick and diabolical sense of humor, which is quite enjoyable. The music is also really catchy and well crafted around the dark subject matter of the play, and is lyrically masterful in some fun wordplay. This is quite a tragic comedy, helmed by quite a tragic comedian, Mr. Sweeney Todd.

Sabrina (1995, with Julia Ormond and Harrison Ford) - At first I didn’t like this movie- mainly because I didn’t pay too much attention to it, which made its flaws stand out a lot more. However the second time around I was able to appreciate the simple beauty the film was trying to portray; I really did believe Ormond’s Sabrina had transformed into a sophisticated young woman and that Ford’s Linus was genuinely a tired businessman falling in love with her. Yes there are some things I wish had panned out a lot differently (David’s excuse for hitting on Sabrina being basically, “Well she’s hot now, let’s get man-whoring!”), the film isn’t perfect, but with a delicately beautiful score crafted by none other than the man himself John Williams, and a postcard perfect setting with some award-winning actors and actresses, you just might fall in love with Sabrina as many others had before.

Phantom of the Opera (1925) - Boy do I love some aesthetic and some cheesy 1920′s melodrama! As you would expect from any film in the 1920′s, many loved to deal with the subject of romanticism, albeit heavily Victorian overtones, but married with it is the want of complexity and depth- such want or presentation being rampant throughout that type of literature and film- but being unable to present such depth. Basically, 

“I’m ugly but I hope that you can love me despite all that! I’ll treat you like a queen!” Said Erik.

“Gah! You’re ugly so that makes you evil! Byeeeeeeee!” Cried Christine.

And that’s about as deep as the waters of love and insanity got, but then again the imagery and ideas this film provokes is very satisfying- though I can’t say anything about the music since this is a silent film.

Alice Adams (1935) - It’s a little old favorite of mine; I saw it last year and it made me think of my own situation. It just proves that middle-class girls today had it rough even back then, and that’s practically one of the only reasons I like it- that and I think Katherine Hepburn gives a good performance. I’d say though that this film isn’t for everyone, as it was made in the 1930′s (you can draw your own conclusions there), but overall it’s a simple little film about trying to overcome financial adversity.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017): OKAY DON’T KILL ME. I did not like this movie that much the first time I saw it. I thought there were no stakes and everything seemed too nostalgic, bright and cheery, and not very deep in writing the plot and characters- the CGI backgrounds got on my nerves as well. HOWEVER, after watching Linday Ellis’s review of the film, presenting some things I hadn’t noticed before, I had second thoughts and evaluated what the movie actually was. Family is integral to the theme of the Guardians, and with family it can make a franchise last a lot more. I also found after my reconsideration, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 presents a lot more darker aspects of family and how to deal with them. With this in mind, I think I might give this film another watch to try and understand what I missed.

Link to her review of the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VulkN5OLEM

New Favorite Songs:

Tatsuro Yamashita, “Love Talkin’ (Honey it’s You): Okay Tatsuro Yamashita YOU ARE A GENIUS. Oh my god I wish American radio let us hear more foreign music, this is so lovely to listen to! It makes me think of summertime, coffeecake, and lemonade- it’s just so sweet! :D

Saint Pepsi, “Skylar Spence” (Love talkin’s vaporwave counterpart): Saint Pepsi turned Yamashita’s summery feel-good song into a fun, catchy, dance-club/future disco/funk anthem, and I never grow tired of it. I always want to dance!

Tatsuro Yamashita, “Magic Ways”: It’s bouncy and lovely as usual, but also very romantic and sweet- it never gets old.

Fleetwood Mac, “Rhiannon”: Another good song to listen to when it’s raining outside (turn off the lights and let the natural light come in)

Electric Light Orchestra, “Don’t bring me down”: I think this should be the anthem of teachers everywhere- it really captures the rhythm of starting the day and makes me think of the little struggles we try to move past, everyday drudging on trying to not let life get you down. It’s catchy and bad-ass. 

La la land, “Someone in the crowd”: This makes you want to find a stage and dance all over it.

Coldplay, “Green Eyes”: Imaging sitting in a little restaurant and bar with your bf/gf- warm, casual, and chill.

The Struts, “Ballroom Blitz”: This is a perfect cover and it will spur to to dance and jump up and down your living room, playing air guitar.

New/Old Favorite Shows (on cable, I don’t have netflix):

Svengoolie: Saturdays at 8/7c on MeTV (1250), the Macabre and cheesy Svengoolie will introduce a classic horror movie and interject with some bad puns, a really nice way to spend your Saturday nights.

The Carol Burnett Show: Reruns air on MeTV (1250), her comedy is treasured and golden, there are several great old skits that are legend in the comedic world that really shine even to this day.

The Bold and the Beautiful: Airs on CBS (3), This soap opera has no other value other than to laugh at its absurdity and dream-like logic. It is the most vapid and shallow shit you’ve ever seen, but that just makes it even more enjoyable! It’s Greek mythology in LA, where everyone is stupid, lies their asses off to get what they want, has the most black-and-white and empty morals, and basically everyone including their grandfather can’t keep it in their pants.

Friends: Who doesn’t like Friends?

The Big Bang Theory: Debatable, but I like it anyways, it’s funny at times.