Sleepy Hollow (1999)

  I love this movie.  It still makes me happy to watch, even a decade later.  This was a great re-imagining of the old Washington Irving story that was originally about a cowardly schoolteacher running in fear from a local legend.

Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) is a man of science.  His methods are unorthodox for 1799 New York and he annoys the local magistrates so much that they send him upstate to the little town of Sleepy Hollow to solve a series of murders.  The locals are convinced that the Headless Horseman, the restless spirit of an angry Hessian mercenary (Christopher Walken), is behind the killings.  Crane disbelieves but stays to investigate, especially after being introduced to the lovely Katrina (Christina Ricci).  The bodies continue to pile up and, after a personal encounter with the spirit, Crane begins to entertain the notion that maybe the locals are onto something.  He must untangle a web of small-town secrets in order to discover who is calling the Horseman from his grave and using him for revenge.

I never liked Christina Ricci as a blonde -- I think it makes her look washed out -- but other than that, I have zero complaints about this movie.  It's got science and magic, humor, some creepiness, a great cast, and an even better story.