Movie Review: Sleepy Hollow

This is my fourth and final movie review as part of the Gothic Film Club, hosted by Write For A Reader and sponsored by Michelle Zink, author of Prophecy of the Sisters. It's been quite fun, and has given me a reason to watch movies that I haven't seen before. I'll definitely participate in any similar events in the future.

This week, I watched Sleepy Hollow, which is obviously based on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod Crane is sent from New York City to Sleepy Hollow, to investigate a series of murders in which the victims have been beheaded by a Headless Horseman. He doesn't believe what the locals tell him, and sets off on his own investigation - until he meets the horseman for himself.

For me, this movie got off to a slow start. For the most part I found it somewhat entertaining, and able to hold my attention well enough with interesting parts here and there. But near the end was when I really started to get into it; when the plot twist was revealed and a lot of the action started. I think that Johnny Depp did a good job playing Ichabod Crane, but I didn't feel like I really got to know any of the other characters that well. Maybe that's why I felt the movie was lacking something, but couldn't quite place my finger on it. Overall, it was interesting enough, but probably something I'd only re-watch on a rainy day with nothing else to do.

Overall rating: 3/5

Movie Review: Interview With the Vampire

Welcome to my third movie review as part of the Gothic Film Club, hosted by Write For A Reader and sponsored by Michelle Zink, author of Prophecy of the Sisters.

This week, I chose to watch and review Interview With the Vampire. Louis shares his story of how he got to be a vampire, and the others that he shared the experience with over hundreds of years.

I'm honestly not quite sure how to review this one. I enjoyed watching it, but in a strange way. It was interesting hearing about the life of a vampire, and unlike any movie I've seen before. As new vampires were either met or brought in to the family, I was drawn in and wanted to learn more about how everything worked. Watching how they sucked the blood of their victims was intriguing, but eerie (if the sight of blood makes you queasy, this is probably not a good movie to watch.) Honestly, the first half of the movie held my attention better than the second half; though the latter still had some entertaining moments. Probably not a movie I'd watch again, but it was worth seeing once.

Overall rating: 3.5/5

Movie Review: Edward Scissorhands

Here's my second movie review as part of the Gothic Film Club, hosted by Write For A Reader and sponsored by Michelle Zink, author of Prophecy of the Sisters.

This week, I chose to watch and review Edward Scissorhands. Created by an inventor who died before he could finish him, Edward has scissors for hands. When Peg finds him, she decides to bring him home with her so he can have a family to live with. Everyone in the neighborhood is curious about the new visitor, except for a few who don't think too highly of him. But when Edward meets Peg's daughter, Kim, he begins to fall in love with her.

I'm probably one of the few people who, until now, hadn't seen this movie. I'm glad that I finally got around to it. Edward's character was so innocent; I instantly loved him from the beginning. This movie was well put together, and combined many different themes. Love, humor, curiosity, acceptance, and even a bit of fear and sadness. It was one of those movies that leaves you with an overall warm feeling at the end, but you also can't help but feel a bit sad. Edward Scissorhands definitely holds a place in my heart now, and this is a movie that I will watch over and over again.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Movie Review: The Talented Mr. Ripley

Usually I only do book reviews. But I'll be reviewing a movie each week for the next four weeks, as part of the Gothic Film Club hosted by Write For A Reader and sponsored by Michelle Zink, author of Prophecy of the Sisters.

This week, I chose to watch and review The Talented Mr. Ripley. It's set in the 1950's, where Tom Ripley, a young man from New York, is sent to Italy by Mr. Greenleaf in order to bring back Dickie Greenleaf, his rich and spoiled son. But when the plan fails and Dickie makes Tom angry, Tom kills him and begins to assume his identity.

I thought the movie started off slow, and it took a while for everything to fall in place so that I could understand it. But once I started to get a clearer idea of what was going on, I was drawn in and couldn't keep my eyes off the screen. It was intriguing to see how crazy a person can get, to kill someone and then assume their identity. Tom Ripley started out as someone you felt sympathy for, but turned out to be a very twisted man. But even after he starts doing psychotic things, you can't help but feel sympathy towards him. I love how it was set mainly in Rome and Venice; I think that added an interesting depth to it. I felt that the last scene somewhat left me hanging, but at the same time was a great way to end it. The movie was complex and requires that you pay attention the whole time in order to follow everything, but it's definitely worth it because in the end you'll be left with a million different thoughts swirling around in your head.

Overall rating: 4/5