and chose the Mann Theater near my house as the best place to see it. (Plus, we needed a change of locale since I've been spending quite a bit of time at his place in Long Beach.) Surprisingly, no line trailed from the box office nor were many people seated inside the theater.
We sat toward the back of the theater, fingers gently rubbing along each other's legs, previews flashing across the screen. Then, the magic began. tells the tale of poor Victor, the son of middle class fish sellers, who is about to wed the plainly beautiful Victoria, the daughter of penniless aristocrats.
During the wedding rehearsal, Victor can't seem to get the vows right and runs from the house, ashamed and frightened. In the woods, near Victoria's home, he practices and practices the vows until, getting them just right, he slips the wedding band onto what appears to be a gnarled branch, but instead changes into a skeletal hand that tries to pull him beneath the ground. Breaking away, the corpse bride Emily pushes her way to the surface to greet her new husband.
The stop-motion animation stunned us both, from the flawless movements of the characters to the art direction of the scenes themselves. It seemed hard to believe that these were puppets, they moved so fluidly. The world of the living came across as a drab, dreary place with people moving about as if they were dead; whereas, the land of the dead turned out to be colorful and, in fact, more lively than its counterpart upstairs.
Danny Elfman's music and songs added just the right comic-macabre flair. Grant, Joana Lumley, Christopher Lee, Emily Watson, and the entire cast, fit perfectly into the entire scheme of things. And, of course, Burton added his own unique view of their world, with elongated or compact characters, people and buildings slightly twisted and askew, and a few homages to other artists (Victor/Victoria for Blake Edwards, the piano Victor plays is a Harryhausen, a character from Edward Gorey books).
We certainly enjoyed the film and discussed favorite scenes or songs all the way to the restaurant. I'd never eaten at Hurricanes Bar Grill but heard that the food was generally good so I suggested checking it out. We first had to find the stairwell, as the restaurant overlooked Main St.
from the second floor of another restaurant. Once inside, someone had painted an underwater scene on the stairwell walls, rife with lobster, shrimp, fish, seaweed and all types of sea life. However, I doubted the stale urine smell was meant to enhance the experience.
We cautiously climbed the stairs and stood just inside the doors, wondering if we should venture any farther. The dining area consisted of hardwood floors, black walls, pine furniture that had been shellacked within an inch of its life, and something indefinable. I'm not sure why, but I got a bad vibe from the place; he must have felt the same thing because without a word, we both spun on our heels, quickly walked down the stairs and across the street to The Longboard for fish and chips.
Sunday, he made plans to visit his folks for the day so I used my free movie pass to see The Exorcism of Emily Rose I expected something akin to -- you know, heads spinning, pea soup being vomited all over the place, Linda Blair performing unnatural acts with a miniature crucifix. For the most part, was a courtroom drama, dealing with the trial of Father Richard Moore, accused of negligent homicide in the death of Emily after a failed exorcism. That part of the story, acted impeccably by Laura Linney, Campbell Scott, and Tom Wilkinson, turned out better than I anticipated.
But what really astonished me were the flashbacks to Emily's alleged possession. Jennifer Carpenter, who portrayed Emily, blew me away with her presentation of the young girl's ordeal. She was scared and scary and translated that from the screen to the audience.
(The entire exorcism sequence was astonishing.) What I liked most about the movie was that it didn't try to say one way or another whether the possession were real; the facts were presented for both sides and the decision left to the audience. And, it scared the bejeezus out of me!
Once the movie ended, I called CS -- using my new cell phone, of course -- and we met for dinner at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen for some Drunken Chicken and a Double Chocolate Soufflé. Just what I needed to end the day. posted by Greg at 11:45 PM and chose the Mann Theater near my house as the best place to see it.
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