(1999) One of those films that make you wonder why the heck it took you so long to see it, I recently watched Sleepy Hollow for the first time and - not for the first time - was reminded of, when done right, just how brilliant the world can be through Tim Burton's eyes. Johnny Depp is Ichabod Crane, a British police officer and man of science and hard facts who, out of frustration, is sent by his superiors to the little village of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of beheadings. What Crane learns upon arrival, however, is that the killings are being done by a headless soldier on horseback - and the locals are terrified, turning to him for help. Determined there is a logical solution to the superstitions of the villagers, Crane is soon confronted himself with the legendary killer face-to-face (so to speak), and must come to turns with hunting down the motive behind the murders in order to bring a seemingly invincible supernatural villain to justice. The mood, atmosphere, and visuals of Sleepy Hollow (along with a stellar cast supporting Depp, led by Christina Ricci and some of the best British character actors every put on film) are astounding, immediately immersing you in the moody moors of a village beset by terror, and even with some thrilling sequences and set pieces Burton still manages to infuse the perfect amount of dark humor into the proceedings throughout. Fun and slightly brilliant - and again, a shame it took me even this long to see it. (rated R) 9/10 stars
(1974) One of the best entries of the entire "disaster movie" movement that began with The Poseidon Adventure in 1972, The Towering Inferno was producer Irwin Allen's follow-up to that Oscar-winning seagoing disaster ... this one set in the tallest skyscraper in the world, on opening night in San Francisco, that is beset by fire while a party full of the city's elite is being held on a top floor. The star-studded cast is headed by Paul Newman as architect Doug Roberts - the man responsible for the design of the luxury office/apartment high-rise, unaware that many of his specs for the building were compromised to save money - and Steve McQueen as Chief O'Hallorhan, the man in charge of the impossible: putting out a fire that starts on the 81st floor of a skyscraper and quickly grows out of control. The impressive supporting cast of partygoers/victims includes Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Jennifer Jones, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Wagner, Robert Vaughn - even O.J. Simpson and Bobby from "The Brady Bunch" get caught up in all the drama (in some cases, melodrama) - though even at 165 minutes the film never drags thanks to the brilliant cast, and for its time especially the special effects and pyrotechnics remain impressive even in 2017. Have seen this film maybe twenty times over the years, and would easily revisit it again and again; a true classic of the genre and its time, not to be missed. (rated PG)8.5/10 stars
