Sweeney Todd

Sweeney Todd reunites the Holy Trinity of creepy-cool... Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter... for the cinematic interpretation of the hit Broadway musical. The story centers around Benjamin Barker, a London barber who is falsely imprisoned by a maniacal judge trying to get his hands on Barker's wife. After fifteen years in jail he returns home only to find that his wife drank poison after being maliciously sought after by the judge and he has since taken their daughter in as his ward. Barker finds his way to his old apartment/barber shop, located above a pie shop that is lacking in quality and cleanliness. Barker decides to seek vengeance and to do so he changes his name to Sweeney Todd and reopens his barber business with the intent to take more than just a little off the top of the judge. It's not quite that simple though, as other players get mixed up in a tangled web of drama and violence. The killings continue and new tasty ingredients are found for the pie shop... I'll give you a hint... it's human flesh. Songs and slit throats galore keep your eyes and ears on the screen. Now, let's get into the ratings shall we?

Original Release: 2007
Running Time: 118 minutes
(Read up on the rating system.)
Death - $2
Oh yeah... there's a little bit of death in this movie. It takes a little time to get started, but the body count just keeps adding up. Todd's weapon of choice is his straight razors and they cross many a neck with blood-splattering efficiency.

Acting - $2
Depp and Carter bring their incredibly quirky styles with perfection, but they are far from the only strong acts in Sweeney Todd. Alan Rickman plays the judge and is attached at the hip with Timothy Spell as Beadle. Even Sacha Baron Cohen has a small role that lets him flex his comedic and acting muscles. Most of the time it is children actors that ruin a movie for me. I was pleasantly surprised that the three main youngsters here held their own. Oh, and I mentioned that this was a musical right? The only thing harder than acting is acting while singing.

Pump up the Jams - $1
Follow the format of the play, the film version of Sweeney Todd is a musical. That means (for our less cultured readers) that songs are used in place of spoken words for some or all of the show. There are some pretty bad musicals out there, but I have to say that I enjoyed the songs from Sweeney Todd. So, they get a dollar. I'd give them a pat on the back too, but I'm pretty sure their security guards wouldn't be ok with that.

Shock Value - $1
There were a few surprises here and there, topped by a violently shocking end. I have to say that I was honestly a little surprised and that doesn't happen too often. I can't really say much more without telling you what the surprises actually are.

Billicious - $2
Sweeney Todd has a certain oddness to it that I just enjoy. It is somewhat typical as a Burton film, but is that necessarily a bad thing? While he tends to make quirky movies, they are still each unique in their own way and Sweeney Todd is one of my new favorites.
Total Rating: $8

Here's a fun fact... in the Ben Affleck movie Jersey Girl, the performance they do for his daughter's talent show is part of the Sweeney Todd play. Notice that there wasn't a link right there? Yeah, that's because I do not own that movie and will not own that movie. I digress... Sweeney Todd is a new twist on the Burton classic and a funky fun time. For you guys that don't want to watch a musical, there is MORE than enough blood to make up for it. Give it a try and I think you will thank me. Now, I'm assuming you went to school and learned how to read and write. Now that you've read, why not write by leaving a comment? (Thank you to "Anonymous" for requesting this movie as a Reader's Choice!)