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Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd (2007)
The Carbuncle gives out screening notes - the purpose of which is largely to give away the plot, but the blurb on Tim Burton suggests he will be making excellent and inventive films for years to come. The last film it mentions was Ed Wood (1994). By a curious coincidence that's probably the last time he made a film worth watching (I think Big Fish was Terry Gilliam in disguise).
In the meantime we've had Kevin Smith movies, and a peculiar connection:
1)Smith writes a script for Superman Lives; Burton is attached and the script junked.
2) Smith writes Chasing Dogma featuring references to Planet of the Apes; Burton directs Planet of the Apes.
3) Smith incorporates Sweeney Todd into Jersey Girl; Tim Burton directs Sweeney Todd.
4) Smith includes interspecies erotica into Clerks II; something cruel about Helena Bonham-Carter springs to mind.
Yes, Mrs Burton is in Burton's latest film, which is a mark against it from the start - I suddenly realised she reminds me of Su from The Sooty Show, only more goth-y. On the other hand, it's Johnny Depp, possibly the only actor who the entire audience wouldn't mind shagging, including the straight boys. Especially the straight boys. And it's a musical. Not that the trailer admits to this, although Depp looks like he's about to break into song.
London, the middle of the nineteenth century. But not the nineteenth century we know. Tower Bridge isn't opened until 1894. Ben Barker (Depp) returns from transportation for a crime he didn't commit to seek revenge on the the Judge (Alan Rickman, as in Dogma) who sent him down and who has stolen his daughter and led to his wife's death. Barker, now named Todd, sets up a barber's business, slitting the throat of his customers, and letting Mrs Lovett (Bonham-Carter) use the meat for her pies.
A bloody premise, and blood splatters all over the screen. And I guess it feels at odds with the classical musical, which is probably the point. I'm not sufficiently attuned to Sondheim's style to be sure, but it struck me that only one of the principals had a decent voice - Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G, Borat) - and the kids were better than the adults. I found it difficult to care for any of it.
In the end, not a bad film, but I just felt it left me flat.
Totals: 18 [Cinema: 6; DVD: 11; TV: 1]
The Carbuncle gives out screening notes - the purpose of which is largely to give away the plot, but the blurb on Tim Burton suggests he will be making excellent and inventive films for years to come. The last film it mentions was Ed Wood (1994). By a curious coincidence that's probably the last time he made a film worth watching (I think Big Fish was Terry Gilliam in disguise).
In the meantime we've had Kevin Smith movies, and a peculiar connection:
1)Smith writes a script for Superman Lives; Burton is attached and the script junked.
2) Smith writes Chasing Dogma featuring references to Planet of the Apes; Burton directs Planet of the Apes.
3) Smith incorporates Sweeney Todd into Jersey Girl; Tim Burton directs Sweeney Todd.
4) Smith includes interspecies erotica into Clerks II; something cruel about Helena Bonham-Carter springs to mind.
Yes, Mrs Burton is in Burton's latest film, which is a mark against it from the start - I suddenly realised she reminds me of Su from The Sooty Show, only more goth-y. On the other hand, it's Johnny Depp, possibly the only actor who the entire audience wouldn't mind shagging, including the straight boys. Especially the straight boys. And it's a musical. Not that the trailer admits to this, although Depp looks like he's about to break into song.
London, the middle of the nineteenth century. But not the nineteenth century we know. Tower Bridge isn't opened until 1894. Ben Barker (Depp) returns from transportation for a crime he didn't commit to seek revenge on the the Judge (Alan Rickman, as in Dogma) who sent him down and who has stolen his daughter and led to his wife's death. Barker, now named Todd, sets up a barber's business, slitting the throat of his customers, and letting Mrs Lovett (Bonham-Carter) use the meat for her pies.
A bloody premise, and blood splatters all over the screen. And I guess it feels at odds with the classical musical, which is probably the point. I'm not sufficiently attuned to Sondheim's style to be sure, but it struck me that only one of the principals had a decent voice - Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G, Borat) - and the kids were better than the adults. I found it difficult to care for any of it.
In the end, not a bad film, but I just felt it left me flat.
Totals: 18 [Cinema: 6; DVD: 11; TV: 1]
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