Day 198 - Sleepy Hollow

October 14th, 2012

And now for something completely different...

Sleepy Hollow

 

        Two things that are incredibly awesome about this movie, one - the highly sophisticated scientific equipment used in Ichabod Crane's investigation of the headless horseman.

Two - Christopher, Freakin', Walken as the headless horseman. I didn't know he was involved in the movie until he appeared on screen, then I was like "Holy shit! This is awesome!"  Christopher Walken is just about the creepiest yet lovable actors that ever lived. Even Christopher Walken wouldn't want to meet Christopher Walken in a dark alley. Cause he knows what goes on in that guys mind. 

Out of all the live action movies directed by Tim Burton, I find Sleepy Hollow to be the most reminiscent of the stop-motions films that I love so much. The scenery,  the costumes and characters. I know these are preexisting characters but Burton twists them into his own creation and aesthetic. And again you have the subdued and mundane worlds colliding with the vibrancy of the otherworldly. A place I think Burton is quite comfortable with and portrays extremely well. Again themes of life/thing not always being what they seem are present but there are darker tones here as well of lust, greed, obsession, murder, retribution and the like. a definitely more grown up film but at the same time still have some moments of innocence and true discovery.

Day 197 - Nightmare Before Christmas!

October 13th, 2012 

3 Nights of Tim Burton continues.........

The Nightmare Before Christmas 

        Again I have previously written about this movie and it will not be the last but Jack Skellington is pretty much synonymous with Hallowe'en in my house.  I love this time of

year because Nightmare Before Christmas is everywhere. In fact I bought some new Jack socks today.  Let's revisit what I previously published on the topic.....

        The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride really resonated with me when I first saw them and every time after. First of all, Hallowe’en and Christmas combined? Holy Shit! Best thing ever! Just saying. Then when I got over that, the characters and their world real moved me.  I love the style; I find these realms very aesthetically pleasing. But the idea of a whole world devoted to Hallowe’en or Christmas or Easter. That our fantasies come alive having their own little kingdom to rule was an amazing concept to me. Did they manifest because we believe in them or do we believe in them because they manifested? (If they were real) And do they live just on the fringes of our reality so we never have real confirmation of existence? The use of grey/ black shades with stunning colour also inspired me. Wait until you see my Jack Skellington coat

         

        A theme I also like in both movies is things are not as they seem. The scary monsters and the dead are not to be feared. They have no malice. They just have different ideas about social norms, like being scared and want to share their joy.  A divergence in taste from what most people if you like. Jack actually believes he can bring joy like Santa. The intentions are good but the execution is off. Oh well maybe next time.  

        Again on to new thoughts. Yesterday I wrote about Scraps from the Corpse Bride. Today I want to give an honourable mention to Jack's dog, Zero. The floating, glowing ghost dog. He is a cinematic triumph. The fluidity of his movements, like a scarf in the wind, is quite the accomplishment for the stop-motion medium, I have read Zero is simply animated and overlaid but I also read he is stop motioned and overlaid and this is the explanation I prefer. (The gown of the Corpse Bride also flows like this) Zero floating at the head of the team of Jack's sleigh, the dexterity of the team is amazing to watch. But Zero is not the only impressive aspect of TNBC. The plot for one thing.  The change-up of good and evil. Then you have the scenery, the curling hill unfurling as Jack walks is an amazing detail, a time consuming one at that in stop-motion production. And let's not forget this is a musical. A popular musical at that. Oh and the voice of Jack is Humperdink from The Princess Bride...seriously, look it up.

Day 196 - 3 night of Tim Burton

October 12th, 2012

Last night I started writing about Halloween specials that I really liked. I turn a few movies but I didn't really focus on them.  I mentioned two movies both Tim Burton works. There's a third Tim Burton movie I really enjoy so I decided to have a weekend of Tim Burton. 3 movies on the docket are Corpse Bride, Sleepy Hollow, and Nightmare Before Christmas. Without further ado, the Corpse Bride.

Now I have already written about this topic, so let's see what I already wrote.

     

 Corpse Bride was a real mind bender for me. The idea that society being so restrictive causes life to only start after death was very profound to me. You can see it in the lack of colour in the living world. It is also very apparent in the songs. They are much more lively and vibrant in the world of the dead. It also give a sense of class division, we see very little of poor class in the living world except as servants. They have no class division in the world of the dead and no one seems to mind. Although most of them seem to be servants, except the general, maybe it is saying they worked themselves to death and now get to live it up. So make the most of your life while you can.

        And time for  some new thoughts. Set design I mentioned previously about the colour or lack of colour, in this the sets are also very telling. You have a bar in the underworld. But we only have churches and proper estates are present in the living world. 2 completely different sets of circumstance, 2 completely different atmospheres. Again showing a divide between those living with enjoyment and those dead from all feeling. Funny that it seems only the corpses are the ones able to express themselves.

        Another stop motion classic, I enjoyed the use of the medium. So much is able to be done with the characters. Like a man split in half or a nose falling into the cake batter. Scraps  the dog is just 1 example of how stop-motion can bring to life even a skeleton dog. I mean is there anything scrap can't do? Final thoughts the costume design and colour choice are very Gothic in some ways. The dark tones, the shadows and the vibrant colour contrast, pretty perfect. The land of the dead sort of feels like what do we get if you walked in Tim Burton's brain.

Day 195 - Hallowe'en Specials and a few movies!

October 11, 2012

Here are some Hallowe'en Specials I watch every year to get me in the spirit...hee hee hee.

        Hallowe'en is Grinch Night - If you love when he stole Christmas you will love his Hallowe'en shenanigans 

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! All I have to say is Linus the blankie ghost is super sweet.

Scared Shrekless - Puss, Donkey, Shrek and Gingie are back and cuter than ever.

        Garfield's Hallowe'en Aventure - Odie & Garfield get more than they bargained for while trick or treating this Hallowe'en.

        The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Ichabod Crane and Pumpkin Headed Ghosties!! A classic in Technicolor!

 

 The Simpson - Tree House of Horrors - Too many to mention. All pretty good though

Now for some movies....

Nightmare Before Christmas... Jack... the Pumpkin King!!!

Corpse Bride... I touch a burning candle I can feel no pain
If you cut me with a knife it's still the same
And I know her heart is beating
And I know that I am dead
Yet the pain here that I feel
Try and tell me it's not real
For it seems that I still have a tear to shed

Day 194 - How to make a Pirate Captain's hat

October 10th, 2012

How to make a pirate hat

You will need:
One square meter of felt
A strip of felt 6 inches wide, at least 2 feet long

White felt cut into Skull shape

Red strip of material 6 inch wide at least 3.5 feet long 

Ribbon, white or black or red, your choice
Scissors
measuring tape
needle and thread
String
Chalk pencil
Pins

Possibly a sewing machine

P

Step 1
Measure your head circumference. Across the forehead and around the back.

Step 2
Using the string and chalk pencil, draw a circle on to felt as close to the edge as possible.

Step 3
Cut a hole in the center of felt.  try to keep this piece whole. It will act as the top of the hat. you want to cut this whole with a half inch seam allowance on the brim.

Step 4
measure and cut the strip. It should be to inches longer then the circumference of your head. Sew the strip and the top of the hat together. So the ends of the strip together. You should have a little beanie now.

Step 5
Sew the brim on to the beanie. You should have something that looks like a big sun hat right now.

Step 6

Take ribbon, starting in the back wrap ribbon over edge. Sew in place with machine.

Step 7
Grab the center back of the hat basically where the strip was sewed together. Grab the center front. Both front and back should be standing straight up. Sew into place.

Step 7

Place skull on front brim of hat, sew in place. Attach red material strip to underside of hat.  Cut ends into points. Place on head.Tie knot on side.

Step 8

Rock with other pirate gear.

Day 193 - A salute to old-fashioned Hallowe'en treats!

 

October 9th, 2012

Old-fashioned Hallowe'en Treats

        When I was a kid, and that wasn't really that long ago, we would walk around the neighbourhood where my grandparents lived, where everyone knew each other, and Treat or Treated. If we were lucky we would get small bags of chips, occasionally a full chocolate bar. And if we were really lucky we got home made treats, only from people mom knew, but they were the best. No one does this anymore, between allergies and weirdos. But I still remember those amazing treats. Like...

Candy Apples

 Popcorn Balls






















Caramels

 
 




Molasses or ginger cookies

 

Day 192 - one more costume

October 8th, 2012

A tribute to lobster babies!