Sleepy Hollow @ 25: Tim Burton's last great movie

by Cláudio Alves

When Beetlejuice Beetlejuice celebrated its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, many critics rejoiced, eager to announce Tim Burton's return to form. But were such proclamations accurate? While the ghost story sequel had its merits, besting many of the director's more recent efforts, it still felt lacking compared to his early triumphs, that dream run from the mid-80s to the late-90s. I'd go so far as saying that Burton's last truly great movie arrived at the end of the last millennium, when he re-imagined the Legend of the Headless Horseman and delivered a spooky season classic that feels like Fall vibes distilled into filmic form. That very picture celebrates the quarter-century mark today, so it should be an excellent time to revisit it. Dear reader, pack up your things and join me on a journey to Sleepy Hollow…

Click to read more ...

Happy Halloween with Hercule Poirot

by Cláudio Alves

I don't know about you, but after the double whammy of Belfast and Death on the Nile, I was ready to give up on Kenneth Branagh as a director. Yet, like Michael Corleone famously said: "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!"

Turns out that what Branagh and, more specifically, his Agatha Christie adaptations needed was a healthy shot of nonsense plus the spooky seasonings of horror. A Haunting in Venice, now streaming on Hulu, succeeds by untethering itself from literary fidelity, twisting Christie's Hallowe'en Party out of shape in pursuit of maximum entertainment. Though a sense of melancholy pervades, self-serious prestige is abandoned, or mayhap sacrificed at a witches' altar. And from its deadened carcass, Hercule Poirot emerges as the center of a ghostly storm, the skeptic anchor keeping this Hammer Horror resurgence from floating away on the Lido tide…

Click to read more ...

In defense of Jamie Lee Curtis

by Cláudio Alves

Yes, I know that title is ridiculous. After all, nepo baby extraordinaire Jamie Lee Curtis just achieved the highest form of recognition in her industry, winning the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award after having already nabbed a SAG in the same category. Moreover, Everything Everywhere All At Once, the film she's been championing ever since it premiered at last year's SXSW, became a sweeping sensation, our latest Best Picture champion. And yet, if you love the actress or have some fondness for her performance, social media has proved a hostile environment. It started way before the Oscar nominations when the possibility of Curtis making the lineup to Stephanie Hsu's detriment angered multitudes…

Click to read more ...

Tweetweek Cosplay

curated for you

this shot from #decisiontoleave just broke my brain. seo-rae in the foreground is out of focus while her reflection in the two-way mirror is in focus. but hae-jun in the foreground is in focus while his reflection in the mirror is out of focus.
i'm guessing there's no mirror here pic.twitter.com/98cPQEGERs

— Pramit (@pramitheus) October 30, 2022

Okay, so definitely need to see that movie again. Wow. Other showbiz (mostly movies) related tweets so you dont have to spend time on twitter after the jump including Halloween costumes spotted and enjoyed this week... 

Click to read more ...

Streaming Roulette (Halloween Weekend)

Happy Halloween Weekend! There are quite a few newish-to-streaming things to screen this weekend (many of them horror themed) so herewith 10 ideas to take you through Halloween on Monday night. 

If we can raise him up, we can raise up anyone in the cemetery.

WENDELL & WILD (2022) on Netflix
Went in with the highest hopes since Henry Selick is just great. Plus stop-motion animation is always such a treat in the more lifeless era of the absurdantly dominant CG 3D style. The animation here is definitely the highlight and it's perfect for Halloween...

Click to read more ...