A richly designed, pervasively atmospheric, and, thanks to its leading man, somewhat whimsical horror film, Tim Burton's "Sleepy Hollow" is a blustery, gory, and entertaining piece of work. With its superbly rendered and shot sets and landscapes, the film is a fine-looking chiller with an overarching sense of delightful wickedness.

A post-colonial police procedural that finds a city constable sent to rural New York to investigate a series of murders, "Sleepy Hollow" puts a contemporary spin on Washington Irving's classic tale. The film follows on Johnny Depp's committed yet squeamish investigator as he thumbs through witchcraft, superstition, and Revolutionary War-era myth on his way to the truth. Eventually, he, too, is hunted by the legendary, Hessian horseman.

The story is…

Part of Hoop-Tober 2015

“It is truth, but truth is not always appearance.”

The man in the trenchcoat and fedora was not cynical, though the accusation came often. He simply knew things. He knew what the woman wanted—her canted veil and tailored suit could not hide the baseness of her motives. And he knew what the other man wanted—money and power and control and moral impunity, in no particular order but in undiluted quantity. No, the man in the trenchcoat and fedora was not cynical—he had a moral code, and he lived by it, but it reflected the world around him. He would work to make that world a little bit better, for a little bit better was all he…

I saw this opening night as a 14 year old and it delivered everything I could possibly want—that intro alone is a perfect representation of visual incarnations of images I associate with the story as well as autumn in general—come to life via high end Hammer Horror gothic atmos slathered in that very particular Burton charm and hot damn... this is what I always want everything to look like.

I love the idea of taking liberties with the story and turning Crane into a constable investigating murders like some R-rated stuffy pbs masterpiece theater mystery where blood floods out of an Iron Maiden, a child sees his mothers head rolling about before getting offed himself, a spooky tree oozes blood,…

This was an interesting and enjoyable movie but I wasn’t really that engaged in the story. 

I really liked the visuals and the movie looked both dark and beautiful, while the effects also impressed me. The blood looked very fake in some scenes but everything else was just so well done and I especially liked how they made the tree.  
The movie had a great cast, who all did a fine job but I still think the characters could have used some more depth, as it was hard to relate to many of them and I also thought the romance felt a bit forced. 
The movie was both dark and fun but it could also feel a bit messy…

Tim Burton Ranked

Tim Burton may have not made a good film since 2007, he might have inconsistent since the start of the 2000’s however does that mean he’s not one of the most unique, original, talented directors of his time? No. When Burton is on top form, his shadowy, gothic style is something that cannot be recreated by even the most talented of directors. Not only is his style one of the most interesting in hollywood, he has had a huge impact on the film industry. If it wasn’t for his different perspective on how superheroes should be portrayed would we see as many superhero films as we do today? Probably not, whether that’s a good thing or not…

In the early 1990s, following the unparalleled box-office and critical success of films like Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Ed Wood, Tim Burton rose to become one of the genre’s foremost names and it seemed, with one hit after the other, that he could do no wrong. However, after Mars Attacks!, which was not exactly a financial, nor entirely a critical, flop as many have called it, Tim Burton’s star paled. Burton seemed to drop off of cinematic radars, spending the next few years in development hell with various projects, most notably the Nicolas Cage Superman Reborn vehicle.

Sleepy Hollow is an adaptation of Washington Irving’s classic short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.…