SLEEPY HOLLOW

I LOVE Hammer Horror films. Remember them? Cheesy, but elegant in their own way. Dripping with Technicolor. Castles. Sleepy villages. Cleavage...ahem.
Well, with Sleepy Hollow, Uber-Cool director Tim Burton brings us a film that has Hammer written all over it! Everything just looks perfect. The lighting. The always overcast sky. Trees that REALLY would have scared the Blair Witch kids. It's all there...and it's a whole lotta fun!

Sleepy Hollow stars Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane, a New York constable in 1799 sent to the little town of Sleepy Hollow to investigate some gruesome murders. Now, we all know the story of Sleepy Hollow. The original short story by Washington Irving is hardly represented here. GOOD! I mean, I'm all for the classics, but this movie has much more story than the original did. However, in the classic story Ichabod was, well, a dork. Johnny Depp's Ichabod is too. No really. Here we go again, another pretty boy actor playing against type, and doing it very well! Oddly enough, I have only seen three of Depp's movies; Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, and now Sleepy Hollow. Yes, all three are Tim Burton movies! Go figure!
His "romantic interest" is played by Chrsitina Ricci. Can I get an Amen?!? Wow, she has grown up SO nicely. Even better though, is the supporting cast of a bunch of faces you know, even if the names escape you. There are some great "cameos" in this movie if you're into inside jokes or at least have some knowledge of Burton movies, and the aforementioned Hammer movies!

The real star of Sleepy Hollow IS Tim Burton. The look and feel of this movie are just so great. True escapist entertainment. It picks you up and drops you flat on your back in this world that never existed. Even as you see it, you know it's just sets and Hollywood magic, but you just don't care! Burton is a big fan of Hammer, and other horror movies of old, and this film is proof. His last movie was the not so well received Mars Attacks. I liked it well enough. I mean it had Natalie Portman in it, so it can't be too bad. Besides, it also had Lisa Marie, Burton's real life (how the fuck did he get her) girlfriend playing that female Martian. Wow. Well, I don't think it's a surprise since she's clearly seen in the commercials for Sleepy Hollow, to say she has a small role in Sleepy Hollow. Yummy really.
Also very noteworthy is the music by long time Burton cohort Danny Elfman! Let's just say as soon as I'm done writing this, I'm gonna go see if Best Buy has the Musical Score! It was typical Elfman...PERFECT!

I whole heartedly recommend this movie to anybody who has a childlike fascination with movies and magic and monsters. If you're the kind of person who can still go to Disney World and be taken in by the Haunted Mansion, you'll LOVE this movie! By the way, Tim Burton is unhappy with the film's rating; It received an R. He doesn't think it warrants one. I'm not so sure. I mean it isn't really a horror movie, and the violence is,well, it's as innocent as multiple be-headings could ever be. Did that make any sense what so ever? Still, I guess there can only be a certain number of decapitations before a film gets an R rating.
I guess what I'm trying to get at is don't let the rating discourage you from seeing it. It's a great trip!

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