Spooky Viewing
Okay, so I don't celebrate 'Halloween' as such, really, (Okay, I lied, I guess I do, just in a different way) but if you're in the mood for some holiday-themed viewing (either after the trick-or-treaters stop ringing your bell, or if you shut the porch light off and eat the candy yourself), here's my recommendations, both serious and silly.
1. Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' On Heaven's Door (aka "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie")--This, IIRC, is supposed to occur between episodes 22 and 23 in the series. Spike and Jet run afoul of some hoodlums in a convenience store, eliciting one of the funniest exchanges between them in the whole series, as well as a line that drives all the Spike fangirls wild...you'll know it when you see it. Faye is on the hunt for the elusive hacker 'Spokey Dokey' (which is the name of a video game character) when she gets caught in a tanker truck explosion on the highway. Who was the mad bomber, and what does he want? The bomber, a man thought to be long dead, sends a grim message: The world will end on Halloween night...Spike spars (and flirts) with a beautiful woman who may hold the key to the bomber's identity...and then nearly gets himself killed when he comes face to face with the bomber himself. Very well done. I saw the sub for the first time in a ballroom full of fans during AX02, and then dragged my poor mother to San Francisco for the English dub premiere the next October.
2. Original Dirty Pair: No Thanks! A Totally Wasted Halloween Party!--You may have a hard time finding this one (mine's on videotape), but I think the whole series has now been released on DVD...Kei and Yuri, the beautiful and sassy 'Trouble Consultants' for the 3WA, are also known as the 'Lovely Angels' but are more often referred to as the "Dirty Pair" (for all the destruction they cause, though their morals ARE a bit suspect...). They may not understand what Halloween is all about, but all they know is that everyone else in the city is partying--and they're working! A tactical battle droid (which looks sort of like the Terminator) has been set loose by accident in the city, and it's up to the Dirty Pair to retrieve it before it goes into battle berserk mode in a city full of costumed revelers. I love their one liners; they're priceless:
Kei: Ugh, that thing's ugly! Y'know, if they're gonna make a man, at least make him handsome enough to keep MY attention.
Yuri: You mean you're into artificial men?!?
Kei: Is there any other kind?
Yuri: You have a point...
3. Something Wicked This Way Comes--It's been a while since I've seen this, but I also read the book, which is slightly different. Jason Robards plays a father of a young boy in this movie, and his son and the neighbor boy are best friends. When a creepy carnival, headed by the uber-creepy Mr. Dark, comes to town, strange things begin to happen to the townsfolk. Who is Mr. Dark? And what does he want with the boys? The power of a father's love becomes the most powerful weapon of all...
4. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes--Starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Most of my flist will know this one, but this is the first movie of the Rathbone/Bruce SH series, and the only one that is set in a timeline that could be considered close to the original stories. Holmes and Watson investigate what seems to be a silly thing--should a young lady attend a garden party?--but turns out to be a web of deadly secrets.
5. Sherlock Holmes and the Scarlet Claw--On the commentary track for this movie--one of the Rathbone/Bruce movies--I've heard it said that many fans cite this as the best of the series, but I have a few I like better. A small Canadian town is plagued by a set of gruesome murders. Who could the killer be, and can Holmes and Watson find out who it is before anyone else dies?
6. Hound of the Baskervilles--Okay, throw rotten tomatoes if you want, but I recently saw the version with Richard Roxburgh and Ian Hart (thank you, ladymoonhawke! ^_^ ) and it was very good. A little inaccurate as to Holmes' use of cocaine (the movie portrays him as using even when he's on a case, which I think is an easy trap for writes to fall into), but this was SCARY. Not quite as gory as Sherlock: Case of Evil but still pretty frightening. And Ian Hart is a great Watson. ^_^
7. The Devil's Foot, Granada version--Now this is downright FRIGHTENING. Holmes and Watson are on a holiday in the country, but Holmes finds himself in the middle of a very unusual case: A woman is dead and her brothers insane after a seemingly innocent night of cards. What could have happened? Holmes' quest for the truth leads him--and Watson--deep into the horrifying depths of their own subconscious minds...
8. Son of Frankenstein--Starring Basil Rathbone, the title is rather self-explanatory. Wolf von Frankenstein, the English-raised son of Frankenstein and his estranged wife, comes back with his own wife and young son in tow to claim the family heritage. A scientist himself, Wolf becomes fascinated--and later, obsessed--with the monster that his father created. The shadows in this movie are absolutely beautiful, and it's an old-fashioned nail-biter.
9. Meet Me in St. Louis--Though Halloween is only a short part of the movie, it's a fun look back at the customs of yesteryear. Little Tootie and her sister dress up as rag-tag ghosts and conspire to throw flour and prank the neighbors, while their older sisters (one of whom is played by Judy Garland) set their sights on the neighbor boys...Tootie earns the respect of the whole neighborhood, as well as a black eye for her bravery in pranking...
10. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown--The classic. Poor Linus; will he meet the Great Pumpkin this year? ~_^
Lucy: What'd you guys get? I got a popcorn ball!
Violet: I got a pack of gum!
Frieda: I got a chocolate bar!
Charlie Brown:....I got a rock.
Optional choices: Any of the Harry Potter movies, especially The Philosopher's Stone or Goblet of Fire. Granada's The Resident Patient. Any and all Twilight Zone episodes (though you can watch THOSE by yourself).
That's all I can think of for the moment...Enjoy!
1. Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' On Heaven's Door (aka "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie")--This, IIRC, is supposed to occur between episodes 22 and 23 in the series. Spike and Jet run afoul of some hoodlums in a convenience store, eliciting one of the funniest exchanges between them in the whole series, as well as a line that drives all the Spike fangirls wild...you'll know it when you see it. Faye is on the hunt for the elusive hacker 'Spokey Dokey' (which is the name of a video game character) when she gets caught in a tanker truck explosion on the highway. Who was the mad bomber, and what does he want? The bomber, a man thought to be long dead, sends a grim message: The world will end on Halloween night...Spike spars (and flirts) with a beautiful woman who may hold the key to the bomber's identity...and then nearly gets himself killed when he comes face to face with the bomber himself. Very well done. I saw the sub for the first time in a ballroom full of fans during AX02, and then dragged my poor mother to San Francisco for the English dub premiere the next October.
2. Original Dirty Pair: No Thanks! A Totally Wasted Halloween Party!--You may have a hard time finding this one (mine's on videotape), but I think the whole series has now been released on DVD...Kei and Yuri, the beautiful and sassy 'Trouble Consultants' for the 3WA, are also known as the 'Lovely Angels' but are more often referred to as the "Dirty Pair" (for all the destruction they cause, though their morals ARE a bit suspect...). They may not understand what Halloween is all about, but all they know is that everyone else in the city is partying--and they're working! A tactical battle droid (which looks sort of like the Terminator) has been set loose by accident in the city, and it's up to the Dirty Pair to retrieve it before it goes into battle berserk mode in a city full of costumed revelers. I love their one liners; they're priceless:
Kei: Ugh, that thing's ugly! Y'know, if they're gonna make a man, at least make him handsome enough to keep MY attention.
Yuri: You mean you're into artificial men?!?
Kei: Is there any other kind?
Yuri: You have a point...
3. Something Wicked This Way Comes--It's been a while since I've seen this, but I also read the book, which is slightly different. Jason Robards plays a father of a young boy in this movie, and his son and the neighbor boy are best friends. When a creepy carnival, headed by the uber-creepy Mr. Dark, comes to town, strange things begin to happen to the townsfolk. Who is Mr. Dark? And what does he want with the boys? The power of a father's love becomes the most powerful weapon of all...
4. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes--Starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Most of my flist will know this one, but this is the first movie of the Rathbone/Bruce SH series, and the only one that is set in a timeline that could be considered close to the original stories. Holmes and Watson investigate what seems to be a silly thing--should a young lady attend a garden party?--but turns out to be a web of deadly secrets.
5. Sherlock Holmes and the Scarlet Claw--On the commentary track for this movie--one of the Rathbone/Bruce movies--I've heard it said that many fans cite this as the best of the series, but I have a few I like better. A small Canadian town is plagued by a set of gruesome murders. Who could the killer be, and can Holmes and Watson find out who it is before anyone else dies?
6. Hound of the Baskervilles--Okay, throw rotten tomatoes if you want, but I recently saw the version with Richard Roxburgh and Ian Hart (thank you, ladymoonhawke! ^_^ ) and it was very good. A little inaccurate as to Holmes' use of cocaine (the movie portrays him as using even when he's on a case, which I think is an easy trap for writes to fall into), but this was SCARY. Not quite as gory as Sherlock: Case of Evil but still pretty frightening. And Ian Hart is a great Watson. ^_^
7. The Devil's Foot, Granada version--Now this is downright FRIGHTENING. Holmes and Watson are on a holiday in the country, but Holmes finds himself in the middle of a very unusual case: A woman is dead and her brothers insane after a seemingly innocent night of cards. What could have happened? Holmes' quest for the truth leads him--and Watson--deep into the horrifying depths of their own subconscious minds...
8. Son of Frankenstein--Starring Basil Rathbone, the title is rather self-explanatory. Wolf von Frankenstein, the English-raised son of Frankenstein and his estranged wife, comes back with his own wife and young son in tow to claim the family heritage. A scientist himself, Wolf becomes fascinated--and later, obsessed--with the monster that his father created. The shadows in this movie are absolutely beautiful, and it's an old-fashioned nail-biter.
9. Meet Me in St. Louis--Though Halloween is only a short part of the movie, it's a fun look back at the customs of yesteryear. Little Tootie and her sister dress up as rag-tag ghosts and conspire to throw flour and prank the neighbors, while their older sisters (one of whom is played by Judy Garland) set their sights on the neighbor boys...Tootie earns the respect of the whole neighborhood, as well as a black eye for her bravery in pranking...
10. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown--The classic. Poor Linus; will he meet the Great Pumpkin this year? ~_^
Lucy: What'd you guys get? I got a popcorn ball!
Violet: I got a pack of gum!
Frieda: I got a chocolate bar!
Charlie Brown:....I got a rock.
Optional choices: Any of the Harry Potter movies, especially The Philosopher's Stone or Goblet of Fire. Granada's The Resident Patient. Any and all Twilight Zone episodes (though you can watch THOSE by yourself).
That's all I can think of for the moment...Enjoy!