Three Kings vs. Sleepy Hollow
Ok, so when pixote sent me my latest matchup, I figured this would be fun. Pitting what looked like a typical Hollywood action movie set in the Gulf War and starring some reasonably big-name actors against a movie by Tim Burton - a directory I really like and enjoy (Lets pretend the Willy Wonka remake never happened, okay).
Three Kings
So as is evident from that prelude, I really wasn't excited at all about watching this one. The poster didn't look particularly encouraging either. Another Hollywood movie about how bad war is for the world... great. Suffice to say, this movie completely belied my expectations. Firstly, unlike the typical anti-war polemic, the first 20-25 minutes of this movie turned out to be really funny and totally won me over. The characters were likeable and recognizable and I just knew I would have fun spending time with them. The beginning is rather irreverent. There are a lot of images of soldiers partying to celebrate the supposed victory despite being confused about what had actually happened during the war. Lots of shots depicting mayhem really effectively. So by this time, I had set myself up for what promised to be, if nothing else, at least a really fun ride. Then the plot started to kick in with the finding of a map and a plan that sounded too good and too simple to ever work. At this point, I was sort of relieved that this movie seemed to be turning into a good old action adventure instead of the "war is bad" lecture series I had so feared. By the time the movie ended, I realized that the movie had actually cleverly delivered that dreaded lecture but in such a fun way that I actually didn't mind it at all. The movie tries rather dangerously to be a mainstream Hollywood action movie as well as a thoughtful engaging film that criticises Government policy and shows the audience just how thin the line between right and wrong / good people and bad people can be. Consequently, the movie is both a really exhilarating ride and thought-provoking. Yes, the film tries to be many movies at once and sometimes comes off as too cool and clever for its own good1 . Yes, the movie lacks subtlety. But what a completely fun time I had watching this one!
1 Too many jumpy angles and handheld shots that were distracting at times + the U2 song over the end credits felt rather cheesy to me and again felt like an exagerrated focus on being cool.
Sleepy Hollow
In case of sleepy hollow, I was inherently rather pumped up about watching the film. I vaguely remember watching the movie on TV a long time ago and had very pleasant memories of a movie that looked like it came out of one of the beautifully illustrated fairytale books I coveted as a child. The first 45 minutes of the movie confirmed this earlier memory. I especially loved the first few scenes in Sleepy Hollow. Everything in the town looks a little off-kilter. All the houses seem a little crooked and the people (barring Christina Ricci) never smile. I also really enjoyed the way Ichibold Crane's character was an atypical hero - a constable who is an intellectual and doesn't really have much of a taste for action and is even a little bit of a coward. Soon, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen and was really enjoying all the splattering of blood and rolling of heads!! My enjoyment was short-lived however. Somewhere around the halfway mark, the movie just completely lost me. I was no longer blinded by the novelty and beauty of the visuals and needed the plot to actually move forward. What happened instead was a mishmash of random plot twists that had zero emotional payoff. By the time we got to the climax, I really didn't care about any of the characters. Once the mystery and intrigue that made the first half so enjoyable was gone, the movie had nothing to offer. In fact, by the end the movie actually managed to irritate me on a few points. Firstly, there seems to be a whole back-story to Johnny Depp's character that only distracts from the main story and doesn't contribute anything to the rest of the movie. I can understand if the back-story is meant to give us additional insight into the character's motives and behavior. However, I didn't feel like that really happened in this case. Secondly, in a stylized fable like this, I am not sure I needed to really understand all the deep underlying neuroses that the characters suffer from. Another thing that really bothered me is a long scene where the perpetrator of the crime postpones killing one of the characters so that (s)he can deliver a monologue explaining his/her actions. I really don't want to believe that the movie had no other way to resolve the plot besides this monologue. So, to summarize, Sleepy Hollow is a really pretty movie that ends up seeming really empty and hollow by the end.
Verdict: Contrary to my initial expectations, Three Kings moves on and honestly, it’s one of the easiest decisions I’ve had to make for the bracket.