September 20th

Sunday is a great day to start the Six Weeks. No work for me, no school for the kids: we're free to wade into the holiday pool as we see fit. This year, that involved a morning shopping trip to the Halloween sections of several stores where we picked up all of the bits we needed for the kids' costumes (a witch and a black cat - thanks to the double-feature of Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Kiki's Delivery Service we had a few weeks back). After returning, we popped in the first movie of the season:

Halloweentown (1998) directed by Duwayne Dunham

"Well, I jumped the gun on this one.... Ah well, maybe I'll give it another shot with the daughters in 2015 or so..." I wrote back in 2012 when last I watched this.  I'll be damned, but I just happened to follow my own advice today without even knowing it. And, Past-Me was right; the daughters dug the movie just fine this time around and no one had to hide behind the couch.

Me, I feel the same as I did back then: it's a charming kids movie with some nice Halloween flavor. All of the adult actors seem to be having a hammy ball, especially Debbie Reynolds, who delivers every line just a hair over the line that divides serious from silly. I like the message of not ignoring your roots, no matter what they are. The classic trope of "you're not the normal kid you think you are" is always fun.

I did notice that, while the older daughter Marnie was supposed to be the main character, the younger daughter Sophie is the only one of the two showing any talent with magic. Sophie floats a cookie, changes a lock into a frog, and manages to perfectly memorize her grandma's spell to activate the wand-thing. Marnie doesn't do anything remotely as useful. We'll be watching a couple more of these movies, so I'd be curious to see if this becomes some kind of sibling rivalry side story. Though, I'm probably giving the writers too much credit, I suspect.

September 30th

Halloweentown (1998) directed by Duwayne Dunham

Well, I jumped the gun on this one.  I already knew this was a cute kids' show, having watched it seven years ago, and I was thinking it'd be great to watch with my daughters for Halloweentime.  It will be... just not yet.  The near-three-year-old, lacking a nap today, almost immediately fell asleep.  The near-five-year-old was fine and even got a kick out of the kooky monsters that lived in Halloweentown... until the real bad guy showed up.  From there, she made a series of strategic moves: to behind the couch, to just outside the door, to all the way upstairs.  It's really not that scary, but she has a low tolerance for creepy-looking characters acting mean to pleasant characters.  Even with less than 10 minutes of bad guy-ness in the whole show, well, that was beyond her limits.

It really is a charming little made-for-TV movie from Disney.  Debbie Reynolds has a ball and hams it up as the family's grandma and Halloweentown's most powerful witch.  The town itself is really fun, with a werewolf hairdresser and a giant jack-o-lantern in the square and a zombie Elvis broom salesman.  This also the only really girl-centric Halloween special I can think of, focusing on a 13-year-old girl's discovery that she's destined to be a great witch like her mom and grandma.  Ah well, maybe I'll give it another shot with the daughters in 2015 or so...

Watched: DVD from Disney.

Tales from the Darkside 1.10: "Djinn, No Chaser" (1985) directed by Shelley Levinson
Another goofy Darkside, this time with a pair of married goofballs acquiring a magic lamp.  In the realm of genies-played-by-basketball-players stories, this is easily the best.  Sorry Shaq, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has got you here.  He plays a genie who's so grumpy about being tramped in a tiny lamp for 10,000 years, he refuses to grant wishes.  Instead, he drives the married couple crazy.  He conjures lions in the hallway to trap them, makes the walls ooze slime, and won't stop yelling in a really loud voice.  Overall, the guy is pretty annoying.  Once they find the key to his release, though, all is well.  Not a story I'd imagine coming from a darkside, but funny and full of energy.

SWH: 2005 (28)

Halloweentown (1998)
Good kid show; wanted to see more of the actual town than anything else. (7/10)

The Wolf Man (1941)
Purer than Werewolf of London, and therefore more memorable. (8/10)

Monster by Moonlight: The Immortal Sage of the Wolf Man (1999)
Just fine, except it was hosted by John "Killer" Landis. (7/10)

The Real Ghostbusters,: "Citizen Ghost" (1986)
One of my favorites from childhood and I still think the ghost Ghostbusters look spooky. (8/10)

Tales from the Crypt: "The Switch" (1990)
It was directed by the Governator... good nuff. (7/10)

City of the Living Dead (1980)
Great thing to watch while sleepy; cool zombies. (7/10)

Rob Zombie: "Dragula" (1998)
Head-banging devils in the Munster's car = gold. (9/10)

Rob Zombie: "Living Dead Girl" (1999)
I'll take Sheri over Caesar any day. (8/10)

Rob Zombie: "Super Beast" (1999)
Sheri versus sci-fi ninja is too cool not to applaud. (8/10)

Rob Zombie: "Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy)" (2001)
Was that Tom Towles as a guard? (8/10)

Rob Zombie: "Feel So Numb" (2001)
Band playing their instruments type, but the crowd has some interesting people in it. (7/10)

Rob Zombie: "Demonoid Phenomenon" (2003)
Great song, crappy video. (6/10)

Rob Zombie: "Return of the Phantom Stranger" (2003)
Band playing their instruments, but at least there's zombies. (7/10)

Rob Zombie: "Spookshow Baby" (2003)
Band playing their instruments some more, but cut with energy. (7/10)

Halloween (1978)
#7: Evil pervades even a small town, but is ignored until too late. (10/10)