All posts tagged: movies
Matthew Borne’s Edward Scissorhands
I have been a huge fan of Matthew Borne and his ballet company New Adventures since I saw their production of Sleeping Beauty on tour in 2013. His award winning productions usually lean toward the avant-garde, such as a gender swap production of Swan Lake. In Borne’s ballet version of Edward Scissorhands, he keeps Danny Elfman’s original score, and preserves the film’s pinnacle scene where Edward creates snow by scraping an ice sculpture for Kim. I especially love how Edward’s twitchy hand motions are carried over in the choreography.
Strange Happenings in December
December is typically a month that horror fans and Halloween enthusiasts bemoan as the glitter encrusted, eggnog soaked, saccharine month of Christmas. I myself don’t mind the holiday itself, but the commercials, crowds, parties, and over wrought feel goodness that leads up to it can really wear me out. Well fear not grinches, because there are plenty of things in December for us to look forward to. There’s Krampusnatch and the winter solstice to celebrate ( I’ll show you how as the month goes on), one more Friday the 13th, the brightest meteor shower of the year, and darker entertainment to enjoy. I’ve even got a list of Christmas horror movies at the bottom of this post. So muster up some enthusiasm worthy of Gomez Addams, and enjoy December your way. December 5th Not much is known about the origins of the European holiday Krampusnatch, but we do know that it is celebrated the night of December 5th, before the feast of Saint Nicholas. The holiday pays homage to Krampus, the hairy, horned companion of …
A Night on Bald Mountain
A few years ago I bought a Halloween compilation with a mix of movie themes and dark classical music. After it downloaded, I noticed that the recording for Night on Bald Mountain was actually titled A Night on Bald Mountain. I spent a few minutes trying to google whether adding “A” to the beginning of the title was correct or not (did not find a definitive answer) and didn’t think much of of it after. Until this summer, when I finally bought a car with a USB connection that lets me connect my phone to my car’s stereo system. By default, it will play the first song alphabetically listed in my music library, which is A Night on Bald Mountain. Mussorgsky’s tone poem is now what I wind up listening to while I back out of my driveway. Which is fine with me, since Night on Bald Mountain was my favorite part of Fantasia growing up. Leopard Stowoski‘s blending of the piece with Ava Maria is the reason why I chose to walk down the …
Strange Happenings in November
November 1st All Saints Day November 8th Doctor Sleep in theaters November 9th Fathom Events airs Madama Butterfly from The Met in Theaters November 13th The Preppy Murder: Death in Central Park , New true-crime series on AMC November 14th Mistletoe by Alison Littlewood on shelves November 17th Black Bequeathment by Simon Strantzas on shelves November 18th Peak of the Leonids Meteor Shower November 27th Thanksgiving Knives Out in theaters
Muse of the Day
Muse of the Day
Mickey’s House of Horrors
Only in a Disney movie would the biggest fright in a horror movie be providing music for a skeleton dance party, and that’s exactly the position Mickey Mouse finds himself in Disney’s first horror themed cartoon. The cartoon had some difficulty getting passed censors, but was released in early December of 1929. My favorite part is the skeleton who plays himself like a xylophone and winces every time he hits his own head.
Muse of the Day
