Losing my head over a series of unfortunate events

Sorry, that was the best I could come up with after three days of thinking about it.

6/15/13 Sleepy Hollow, Best Art Direction, 1999

Another Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaboration.  This is the story of Ichabod Crane (Depp) in turn of the 18th century New York. Ichabod sets out for upstate New York to investigate a series of strange murders. He learns more about the unusual circumstances involving a headless horseman, also known as the Hessian (played by Christopher Walken). I'm starting to get used to Burton's style, so some things don't shock or bother me as much as they might have a few movies ago. However, saying that, I was a little surprised at the amount of blood splatter, and after a while, it almost seemed comical to me. All the gore (blood and headless torsos) is probably what earned it an 'R' rating, otherwise, with some slight changes, I would have thought that a PG-13 would have been appropriate. (so the 'family friendly' tags do not apply to this movie, but the next one). I liked it; Depp characterizes Ichabod rather well, I think bringing an earnestness to Ichabod, and a sensitivity as he tries to understand his past. There is always a danger in characters like this and what Jim Carrey does in A Series of Unfortunate Events (see below) to make it a caricature, and I think he deftly avoided that. Christina Ricci plays Katrina Van Tassel (Crane's eventual love interest), Miranda Richardson plays Katrina's step-mother, Lady Van Tassel and Michael Gambon (Harry Potter series, among others) plays Balthus Van Tassel, Katrina's father. I really like how Burton and his cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki, light the sets; it really captures the atmosphere. Overall, I found the movie very visually appealing, and fun to watch; it won for Best Art Direction. I recommend it, and if you have an older child (14 and over), I don't think the movie will scar them (please note, I don't have my own children and I have not been able to experiment on my friend's son, but I don't think he would be upset by the movie); there is so much worse stuff out there, on television no less. But you should watch it first to make sure, and since there's a lot going on, you could probably watch it twice and see something new.

6/15/13 Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Best Makeup, 2004

Just to show that I am not afraid to admit when I've made a mistake, I originally marked this on my Netflix as 'not interested' and after watching it, I gave it four stars. FOUR STARS I tell you, I liked it that much. I think I shied away from it because I've had mixed success with Jim Carrey movies, and I think the previews at the time just turned me off. Well, nine years later, I've changed my mind. I loved the movie, and I think kids will enjoy it as well because it has so many elements that connect with kids: adventure, adults who are more than slightly hopeless and clueless, danger, pretty cool effects, and books to be read after movie is over. The Baudelaire children (Violet, Klaus and Sunny) are orphaned after their family home inexplicably goes up in flames. Each child has a unique 'talent': Violet is an inventor (in my opinion a great role model for young girls), Klaus is a voracious reader with almost photographic recall, and Sunny has a propensity for biting and speaking in baby talk, but providing astute observations (I know this because she has subtitles). Mr. Poe (played by Timothy Spall) is responsible for the family estate and placing the kids with a suitable guardian. There was something about this that reminded me of one of my favorite Jerry Lewis movies (sadly, not an Academy Award winner) The Family Jewels, 1965. The children are placed with Count Olaf (Jim Carrey in one of three roles) who is an act-or, and very excited to be so close to the children's inheritance. You'll have to watch the movie lest I spoil it. I will say there are several cameo appearances that might seem gratuitous, but they worked for me (Dustin Hoffman, for one). Meryl Streep has a longer role as Aunt Josephine who re-defines neurotic. I enjoyed watching the kids figure their way out of different predicaments, dealing with the adults (including Billy Connelly and Catherine O'Hara). The set design is fantastical, very similar to Tim Burton's style. Jim Carrey can be very over the top, but I don't think he is here, or if he is (I could be wrong) then I think it works; this is an over the top movie, which requires 'big' acting and 'big' sets, while the children remain islands of calm. I don't know if that explains it or not, but if any of my friends want to watch this, I can clear my oh so busy calendar.