Guest Review: Sweeney Todd  

Posted by: ~ames~ in , ,

Our first guest blogger!! Woot. LOL Nath has given into my pleading and written a movie review for us.

Directed by Tim Burton
Starring: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman…

Movie Description: Fifteen years ago, Benjamin Barker was sent away for a crime he didn’t commit by Judge Turpin, who was in lust with Benjamin’s wife. Now returning to London as Sweeney Todd with the help of young sailor Anthony Hope, Sweeney’s only desire is to reunite with his wife and daughter. Upon learning that his wife has poisoned herself with arsenic and that Judge Turpin has adopted his daughter, Johanna, Sweeney now thirsts for revenge. With the help of Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney puts his plan into motion by opening a barber shop above Mrs. Lovett’s Meat Pie Shop where you can find “the worst pies in London.”

This is a musicale and it was based on a Broadway show… and it’s not a funny movie ^_^; Fair warning: Johnny Depp plays a serial killer in this movie and the entire title is: “Sweeney Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” Personally, I didn’t know what to expect when my friends dragged me to this movie. All I knew was that Johnny was in it, which was a good reason for me to go see it, and that he was singing. It’s only when I sat in the theater and the movie started that I realized it was going to be very bloody… and when Johnny sang his first line, I knew that I wouldn’t understand half of the movie. I don’t have a good ear and I’m used to listening to foreign music, so I never pay attention to the lyrics… so even if the movie was in English, I had difficulty understand everything. However, it didn’t ruin the movie too much for me.

The plot is quite simple, but interesting… if not a bit disgusting… My only complaint is that I would have like to know what happened to Anthony and Johanna at the end, although I understand that they were not the focus of the movie. Also, I did find it a bit unrealistic that Johanna would trust Anthony that much by simply seeing him once. Perhaps it was because he was the complete opposite of Judge Turpin and his dog, Beadle Bamford.

The actors all did a great job. I loved Helena Bonham Carter’s interpretation of Mrs. Lovett, she was perfect with all those facial expressions and emotions while singing. The pillar of the movie was obviously Johnny Depp, but if it wasn’t for Helena Bonham Carter, I think the movie wouldn’t have been as good. She was the comedic relief element in the movie and was very much needed. I applauded Johnny Depp for taking this role. The great thing about Johnny is that he varies his roles and appearances for the movies. All his roles have been very distinctive and that proves how great of an actor he is. Again, he pulled out a great performance in this movie and his singing is quite interesting LOL. However, he must be careful, because we do see some of “Jack Sparrow” movements and demeanor at odd moments during the movie. Some people do not mind, others will. Alan Rickman did a good job as well as Judge Turpin and bad villain as well as the little actor for Toby.

Finally, I’d like to say that the costumes and make-up were great as well as the grey-ish color of the movie… it all added up to make the movie very somber and “unhappy” just as it should be. It puts the viewers in a better context I think. Big warning though is that there is a lot of blood in this movie, very bright, liquid-y and fake-looking… but I think that was the goal of the movie… and the noises they make when the victims die can be disturbing.

So I’m giving it a B+ and hope you all enjoy it…

This entry was posted on Monday, January 28, 2008 and is filed under , , . You can leave a response and follow any responses to this entry through the Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) .

8 comments

I can't WAIT to see this! I love Johnny! (and Helena and Alan...)

i want to see this movie. I found out that musical is coming to town too this summer. I'm thinking of getting tickets for it.

I always think of Jesery Girl when I hear Sweeney Todd. lol

Mollie-I like Helena too. She's kinda kooky. LOL But it works for her.

Isabel-What does JG have to do with ST?

HEre ya go. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkLSFdvrhq0

What else did Helena play in? I didn't recognize her...

I hope you enjoy Mollie! Did you watch it yet, Ames? and I think it'd be really interesting to see the musicale, Isabel... just to see the differences :P

Johnny Depp is so cool! This looks like a great movie!

I wanna see this movie now, thanks for the review Nath, it was cute.

Thanks Izzie! LOL I did not remember that scene at all. haha

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