It's 2007. Tim Burton is a man mimicking his own shadow. He heard the cutesy-macabre market is his alley, and he's out reclaiming everything in it. "A murderer who aspires to slay London and serve their asses back to them in meat pies? Hmm. Maybe a bit toooo dark. What's that you say? It's a musical?! Well sweet Panic! at the Disco, this shit is MINE!"
The movie was unwatchable, from the vantage point of a human anyway.
Burton didn't write the script, but without having seen the original play, I speculate that the failure was in his screen interpretation. Revenge marbled with nihilism isn't an objectionable theme. I'm sure the musical's original author Christopher Bond was inspired on the subject. The idea: to use the legend of murderer Sweeney Todd as a plot in which to convey and abstract this universal feeling of rage and despair by illustrating it beyond conceivable limits. The massacre is a charicature of these complex feelings you and I have. One can relate to the character's trauma, and can relish in the concept of his unconventional coping strategy: to butcher all of London in his plight to exact revenge on his wife's killer. A fucking ocean liner of a concept to try to navigate into an audience's heart. How to properly wink and nudge it through? Make it a musical--the last medium you'd expect to tell such a story.
Extra! Extra! Mr. Burton launches a nuclear attack on nuance. The characters were no more dimensional than coloring book pages or a Bush press conference. The females are cleavage with a musical refrain of "pretty women". Sweeney emerges from vague exile with a brief and trite nostalgia recounting his love for his wife for reasons of "beauty and virtue". He then delves into pints of blood and a new exile, this time from my sympathy.
The sets, costumes, and art direction were beautifully morose, and I send my sympathy to those fantastic artists whose skills were squandered crystal coating such an ugly result. It was a really difficult movie to watch.
I was surprised with my revulsion-- I love Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction, which are gratuitously bloody. In those movies, I feel like me and Tarantino are sharing an inside joke about the all-pervasive violence in modern media, and I'm nudged by him through the shock concept of overdoing the already copious amount of pop culture violence. In Sweeney Todd, I got the feeling that Burton missed the idiosyncrasies of the contradiction and just didn't get the joke.
Being Burton or Johnny Depp means that fans are going to see whatever film you choose to work on. Like buying an album recommended by a friend to find it to have only a few listenable tracks, I couldn't help but feel slighted or fooled, and hey, maybe this is the desired effect: nihilistic marbled with a hunger for revenge. But as much as I hated Sweeney Todd, I only figuratively wish to slit the movie's jugular.
The movie was unwatchable, from the vantage point of a human anyway.
Burton didn't write the script, but without having seen the original play, I speculate that the failure was in his screen interpretation. Revenge marbled with nihilism isn't an objectionable theme. I'm sure the musical's original author Christopher Bond was inspired on the subject. The idea: to use the legend of murderer Sweeney Todd as a plot in which to convey and abstract this universal feeling of rage and despair by illustrating it beyond conceivable limits. The massacre is a charicature of these complex feelings you and I have. One can relate to the character's trauma, and can relish in the concept of his unconventional coping strategy: to butcher all of London in his plight to exact revenge on his wife's killer. A fucking ocean liner of a concept to try to navigate into an audience's heart. How to properly wink and nudge it through? Make it a musical--the last medium you'd expect to tell such a story.
Extra! Extra! Mr. Burton launches a nuclear attack on nuance. The characters were no more dimensional than coloring book pages or a Bush press conference. The females are cleavage with a musical refrain of "pretty women". Sweeney emerges from vague exile with a brief and trite nostalgia recounting his love for his wife for reasons of "beauty and virtue". He then delves into pints of blood and a new exile, this time from my sympathy.
The sets, costumes, and art direction were beautifully morose, and I send my sympathy to those fantastic artists whose skills were squandered crystal coating such an ugly result. It was a really difficult movie to watch.
I was surprised with my revulsion-- I love Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction, which are gratuitously bloody. In those movies, I feel like me and Tarantino are sharing an inside joke about the all-pervasive violence in modern media, and I'm nudged by him through the shock concept of overdoing the already copious amount of pop culture violence. In Sweeney Todd, I got the feeling that Burton missed the idiosyncrasies of the contradiction and just didn't get the joke.
Being Burton or Johnny Depp means that fans are going to see whatever film you choose to work on. Like buying an album recommended by a friend to find it to have only a few listenable tracks, I couldn't help but feel slighted or fooled, and hey, maybe this is the desired effect: nihilistic marbled with a hunger for revenge. But as much as I hated Sweeney Todd, I only figuratively wish to slit the movie's jugular.
106 Comments :
That was an interesting take on the film. Personally I liked Sweeney Todd. Although, I did not look into it as much as you did.
[Insert The Barber's Unhappiness joke]
Wow.
You forgot to add that neither Johnny Depp or Helena Bonham Carter could sing all that well.
haha i was thinking the same thing(barber's unhappiness)
wow.... that was an interesting post its a shame you didn't like that movie personally I enjoyed it alot. It was quite strange but in the movie I noticed a resemblence between you and Sweeney Todd(Johnny Depp) despite that you can sing well and him well not so much
haha yeah the barbers unhappiness!
Don't dis musicals! Stephen Sondheim is a genious! Sorry you didn't enjoy the movie, but I would highly suggest seeing the show. It's a difficul message to convey properly, and I give them props for trying. I didn't think the movie was all that bad, yet I do have a biased opinion considering I am in love with anything Johnny Depp related.
well im disappointed that you didnt like it...i was just checking to see when it was playing at the local theater (apparently the word 'demon' in the title bothered some people around here so ill have to trek somewhere else). im a fan of carter, burton and depp so i have to see it whether it gets good reviews or not. i thought the previews were visually pleasing so maybe that will be the movie's saving grace for me. we shall see.
(the barber's unhappiness should have been used during the credits...or not seeing that you didnt like it...i dunno)
I am incredibly glad to find someone else who thinks Burton gets entirely too much credit for his films.
I have not yet seen Sweeney Todd, though I was intending on it. However, I would not be surprised if it was an utter disappointment. After all, that's exactly what Corpse Bride was. I thought that movie was great in theory, but the execution made me want to, well, execute someone.
In this decade, it's such a trend to love Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, and I do think they make a great team in some instances, however, they get rave reviews when they most certainly do not deserve it.
Depp is an amazing actor, and Burton's had his share of amazing films, but it's too much like buying a band's new album simply because you liked their last one.
Anyway, I'm just glad that at least some people can think for themselves and form their own opinions, while the rest of them follow blindly the trends and opinions of others.
That was miraculous. I have yet to see it, and to be honest I'm still looking forward to it. Now it's more one of those things you know you're gonna regret but still just can't move on without knowing what it's like.
The last bit made me laugh, though.
Well, if the whole music thing doesn't work out you can always review movies for a living.
I was really looking forward to seeing Sweeney Todd, now I guess I'll just go watch Juno ten more times.
Hmm...I rather enjoyed Sweeney Todd. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to like it that much cause I never pictured Johnny Depp or Helena Bon-ham as 'musical' people, nor Tim Burton as the director of a musical (especially after Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.) Even with the insane amounts of obviously fake blood, and Borat singing about "to shave-a da faze" I thought it was a half decent movie.
Oh well, on to Walk Hard.
I might be more excited to see it now. Hopefully it won't be painful to watch as it was for you, Shawn! :\
And I lol'ed at the Barber's Unhappinness joke. First I laughed because it's funny by itself, and then I remembered when Lauren called it Barber McHappiness on the boards, like it was some kind of Happy Meal. Aaaanyway.
Ohhh wait. I think it was Ashley, not Lauren. But yeah.
Marie my dear, that was definitely Ashley. Or else I was temporarily posting with a different mind. Entirely possible, but unlikely.
I for one enjoyed the movie. Despite the blood (all too similar to the wonderfully bad Japanese horror films my friends are fond of showing me) and the one-dimensional characters, I didn't have trouble sititng through it...then again, I didn't and don't have a problem with accepting it as cinematic eye candy. Suitably "dark" to sate my appetite and stave off holiday platitudes, and acceptable enough that seeing it with my parents and younger sister wasn't a problem.
I kind of feel like i have to defend it because you don't really give it all the credit it deserves. the movie is visually, aurally and (almost) temporally flawless. but i think a lot of people are having trouble connecting with it because its a tragedy - more or less a dead form thats been replaced in modern cinema by the subtler "melodrama." and your main complaints coincide exactly with what a tragedy is... over the top, dramatic, almost unbelievable. think of the old greek tragedies.. like oedipus rex. they used crazy, unlikely coincidence and ridiculous plot devices to create these incredibly hopeless and agonizing stories. people aren't used to watching pure tragedies anymore. they're uncomfortable, unbearable and almost hard to watch because we (as a whole) don't like to see someone getting royally fucked by fate and ultimately losing in the end. in the postmodern era we've adopted a "too cool for school" kind of attitude where we refuse to suspend our disbelief and become a part of the tragedy. we've developed hard outer shells that protect us from tragic stories by means of a simple "oh, that could never happen."
basically, the story of sweeney todd, as a tragedy (with bits of black comedy), was never supposed to be easy to watch.
and oh. please. do not compare a tim burton movie to anything by that hack tarantino. every tarantino movie is PURE pastiche - all he does is take parts of other movies and piece them together into his own. they're all show with no emotional value whatsoever. kill bill is basically tarantino saying "look how much i know about old kung-fu movies"- he takes bits and pieces of each old movie and uses them to make a new one. and pulp fiction is the same with crime/heist films. they're completely unoriginal. reflections of reflections. in the words of a great film professor i knew once.. "get a life, quentin."
and a part of that i left out - the characters are meant to be one dimensional in a tragedy. its made that way so you KNOW how to feel about them. again, we're used to characters in melodramas which tend to be more ambiguous... so the audience can decide whether they're likeable or not. traditionally, tragedies tell you whether a character is good or bad much more directly so it doesn't interfere with the story.
I thought Pirelli's drawn out, 'boxed in' death was most revolting. The way it played and felt to me as an audience member (I lack the proper descriptive vocabulary to express my thoughts! My apologies.) reminded me of Hostel. That numbed me for the rest of the movie.
Some parts were just so unnecessarily blatant.. I guess my imagination wants to get in on it, so I'd rather be given allusions sometimes.
It was aesthetically pleasing though.
As for other Burton movies.. what did you all think of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remake?
I couldn't sit through it, so I can't really critique it.
Im no longer so excied about seeing it when it comes out here now.
Cheers for bumming me out Shawn
I agree with kg.
kg, i also agree with you...
shawn stop sipping on the haterade.
Thank you kg. I must also point out something about the complaint about the women just being valued for being "pretty." Yes, Sweeney speaks of his wife as being beautiful, but beautiful doesn't just mean pretty in appearance; it can also mean a wonderful personality. Remember the ending. Was she still beautiful then?
And also, to the clevage comment: what movie from that period have you seen where the women's outfits DON'T feature their clevage?
I agree with kg. Very nicely put.
And I don't think the women were just portrayed as clevage. First of all that's how a lot of women dressed at that time and I have seen much worse. And with the whole Pretty Women thing he's not just singing or talking about physical beauty throughout the movie. He is talking about his wife and daughter as a whole. When you think of someone that you miss don't you think of their sent, or hair, or the warmth that they bring to you when you are around them? Thinking about those things makes them more real to you. You minipulate your senses into thinking that they are really there or at least a part of them is. He is talking about their whole being.
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I think it is a syndrome acquired by a handful of (directors, artists, authors, musicians, etc.) who become so enamored with their own work that they are too in on the joke, and future ventures are parodies of once-great style. In the case of Sweeney Todd I felt that Burton's message was, "You call that the Niagra of throat-slittings? Ten more pints, and make it splatter more this time! Am I cute enough to kiss or what?"
I didn't hate it, but was disappointed by how so much talent and potential became something flat and flavor-less. Thankfully a showing of Juno started five minutes after the last meat pie had been served, so the evening wasn't a total wash.
Oh, and once again I strongly recommend Delicatessan: Even if Sweeney Todd had lived up to its potential, it still wouldn't hold a candle to Jean-Pierre Jeunet's muderous butcher. Rent it, watch it online, whatever, and pretend you never saw Burton's version.
I had almost the exact discussion in the car on the way home from the movie saturday night. My dad hated it for the EXACT reasons that you listed.
I was left wondering if I liked it or not. My response to anyone who asked how it was ended up being-
'It was dark.'
It was a hard movie to watch, there was no bright side, no joke. It wasn't the gore, I'm also a fan of the kill bill and pulp fiction movies. The difference lies in how I felt. The previously mentioned movies had a definite style. They left me with something. This one just keeled me over with no room to think, and not in a good way.
I wanted to like it because of how great most of the production values were, but it was just...a little too much.
(and too the previous posters, hahahaha I actually loved Johnny Depp's voice)
I don't like Tim Burton at all. There must be something I don't get about his films made over and over with the same underlying creepy yet love-themed tones. Tarantino is my fave and maybe he repeatedly makes over-the-top homage films but at least he explores different genres. Plus, I usually like when people in Hollywood work together multiple times (like QT and Uma) but When a Tim Burton movie comes out and without knowing ay details I can already imagine Depp and exactly what his character will be like, I wanna barf.
"It was a hard movie to watch, there was no bright side, no joke."
that's my point exactly, though. it's not supposed to be easy to watch. it's pure tragedy. there is no bright side. and as a society in this time we're not used to that - we're used to there always being some underlying sarcasm or cynical humor in what we watch. its cynicism that distances us from any emotional matter in the story because hey, "we've seen it all before", right? we want happy endings and hope and optimism and its uncomfortable for us to watch something in which the guy we're rooting for loses and loses hard. this isn't a satire. we're not supposed to be thinking how ridiculous the plot is or how the blood squirtage is kind of funny - yet those are the things we get caught up on. because that's what we're so used to looking for. and that's just an unfortunate circumstance of the time we're living in. ohhh well. <3
^ The thing about that, though, is why would you want a story to be so simple? It's the same thing with one-dimensional characters. It makes them easy to understand, but do I necessarily want that? After all, I don't want everything to be so in-my-face obvious that I fall asleep watching it. It's a fine line. You want it to be complex but so not involved that the humor of it gets lost and you end up feeling like Shawn did, like they didn't get the joke.
I wish I could remember my password so I could post with my username. Sigh.
-User formerly known as bikethief
THERE IS NO JOKE TO GET.
it is a tragic story with a tragic end.
we're so used to expecting everything to have some clever social message or ironic commentary so when it doesn't we feel like we missed the punch line. but this is a case where there really is no punch line.
That isn't quite what I meant.
I mean...it was just too much too fast.
I think that it was a beautifully made film. It's all opinion.
that is true, i guess it kind of expects you to know something of the story beforehand.
Maybe Tim Burton does rely on his dark themes as a crutch. Perhaps he should branch out into something happy and optimistic and just different for him entirely. I liked the movie, but then again, when I go to a movie, I don't often pick out the symbolisms and nuances in characterization. I liked the music, especially his epiphany, and I thought it was twisted and funny, in some ways. The gore was absolutely fake looking, which just added to the humor.
I'm sorry you hated it so much, perhaps the fact that it had Johnny Depp in it, and was directed by Tim Burton, was much too commerical or attractive to the teen goth-drama kid crowd for you. If it was I understand, you don't seem like the kind of person interested in such genres, but I always like reading what you have to say and I think you have a very different view on the movie than most other reviews I've read.
keep on keep'in on
You should write movie reviews in your spare time
(do you have any, would be the question, I suppose)
You know,
they really do pay people to sit and watch movies,
than list off everything they didnt like about them,
which is something humans seem to do instinct.
However, you use fancy words and phrase your sentences in such a fashion that people wouldnt be mad at you for bashing a movie,
they would smile and laugh along with you!
I dont know, movie reviews should be something you look into.
Me?
I'll probably go into career services, and tell people what they should do with their lives
I have yet to see Burton's take on Sweeney Todd myself but I am looking forward to it greatly.
I am thinking he wished to stay true to the stage show in adding song to the mix. But only time will tell if indeed it is as terrible as you have described and I hope for the sake of my $8, it isn't.
I know off topic, but damn you only have to pay $8 for a movie! Here you're lucky if you can get in for $13.
"THERE IS NO JOKE TO GET."
This made me realize that we all might be arguing about two different things. There's the story itself and the movie.
Here's my opinion: to say that the movie is too dark and wasn't obvious enough about it's intentional overdoneness is valid. However, to say that the story is too dark and everything else I just said, is basically saying that you don't like the story (which is a definitive tragedy), and that it is therefore not a failure by the film, it just means you don't like the story Steven Sondheim wrote.
Steven Sondheim said (during the "making of" special) that the movie has a few too many dark streets and a few too many chimneys with black smoke rising from them, and stuff like that. That's the 'joke' we can refer to. Apparently it didn't come across like it should have, but the joke people should be referring to is the overdoneness and the overly-darkness, not an actual joke with a "punch line."
If anyone is disappointed that the story has no up side, take your argument elsewhere because that's not really a failure on the part of Tim Burton or the movie.
-Marie
Too bad,I was quite looking forward to that movie. Oh well, maybe I will feel diffrently about it, but I do love the play, and musicals. It reminds me of the 50s and 60s, back when movies were good.
Singing in the Rain,Guys and Dolls, movies that made you want a dance coach.
i saw the movie last night and i rather liked it
seeing johny depp in a striped cover-all bathing suit was priceless and it was kind of bitterly pretty in some odd way
but anyways...i dunno
i never think to deeply about movies
it was definitely a tragedy hence the fact that there was no upside at all (unless you consider antony running away with his daughter happy)
im not much help
but i do think that the younger benjamin barker/cleaned up depp had an uncanny resemblance to a certain rocker dude that we all love but im not mentioning any names
I gotta admit, I did love the whole 'at the beach' scene.
I can't sign in to my blogger account for some reason right now.
kg- good point about the lost art of the tragedy, and Sweeney being a return to the form. I just don't yearn for that genre's golden age. According to my opinion, modern tragic dramas like American Beauty are an evolution from the tragedy-- noting the 2D flaws of the traditional tragedy, and inserting real characters with virtues, flaws, and idiosyncracies.
Delicatessen is one of my favorite movies. We get a happy ending in that one though, which begs the question: would I have been appeased enough if Sweeney Todd hadn't ended a tragedy? I think not. But perhaps I wouldn't have been driven to criticize the movie here. I probably would have just been unappreciative and quickly apathetic, as I was with the forgettable Corpse Bride.
Oh, man...
Some ten years ago I was introduced to this show. It was a filmed version of the Broadway show with George Hearn and Angela Lansbury. They have one rotating set piece and it's a beautiful production.
Yes... it's a musical, and yes... it's Sondheim. But it's different. It's unusual. And who better to bring it out of the London streets and New York stages than Tim Burton?
It seems your main complaint is with the blood. It's everywhere, and it's fake as hell. I believe it to be a nod to the theatre folk, those of us who are just glad to see Sweeney meet the light of day. In stage productions, the faker the better. Shock and awe. :)
Burton brought all he could offer to this film. As a lover of the original, I was so so pleased with the results.
Perhaps you didn't hate the movie too much to do some backtracking? Maybe give Sweeney a second chance? He's a man who deserves one, after all...
oh that's completely fine.. i'm not saying that everyone has to love watching traditional tragedies. i'm just trying to point out that the story is supposed to be like that. so we shouldn't really accuse tim burton of fucking it up when he's really just conveying it how it was intended to be conveyed.
flaws in characterization and believability shouldn't be blamed on burton. sondheim is a well respected high-cult musical writer and burton kind of had to stick to what he was given. he couldn't exactly change it around as he pleased.
think of it this way. one night you go to watch some orchestra perform one of beethoven's symphonies. the conductor pulls it off flawlessly - leading the orchestra in hitting every note and beat exactly the way beethoven wrote it. afterwards, you realize that you don't like the melody at all. and that's fine.. but you can't really blame that on the conductor. he doesn't have a say in the notes themselves, he's just responsible for delivering them in concrete form. and its the same with burton.
i prefer a lot of the more complex modern melodramas that have evolved from the classical tragedy too - something more subtle or ambiguous - but i think we need to realize that sweeney todd was never intended to be one of these movies. in order to appreciate it, we have to approach it differently.
Marie: "...and that it is therefore not a failure by the film, it just means you don't like the story Steven Sondheim wrote."
Stephen Sondheim didn't write the story or play, he just wrote the music. Just felt the need to clear that up and give credit where credit is due.
i adored sweeney todd. but to each his/her own. :)
Oh come on, can't you take a little tragedy?
"Marie: "...and that it is therefore not a failure by the film, it just means you don't like the story Steven Sondheim wrote."
Stephen Sondheim didn't write the story or play, he just wrote the music. Just felt the need to clear that up and give credit where credit is due."
Thanks! *red face* I thought he wrote the story and the music. Thanks for setting me straight.
-Marie
I'm sorry, but American Beauty was a joke of a movie. "OH MY GOD THIS PLASTIC BAG BLOWING IN THE WIND, IT'S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING I'VE EVER EXPERIENCED." Yeah, I cried at that scene, all right. Due to it's ridiculousness, that is.
I think you don't like it only because everyone would assume you'd like it. And that's just too predictable and mainstream.
I went and added to the millions last night...
You forgot to mention there's no way Sweeney wouldn't have recognized his "life and reason" wife to the point of slicin' her. I hated that ending...
I do love those striped dresses though, all of the sets and costumes were pretty impressive.
♥ V
wow shawn. that is a really good review. you should send it in. being shawn harris of the matches i think it might be written. i havent seen it, though i like the way you describe it. it makes sense, like Ron Paul
i know your an obama fan, and so is mc lars, but im still voting for ron paul. obama is my second choice though.
Shawn, although your review was understandable, I think there are several elements you have overlooked.
Burton is the forefront of the macabre. It's what he's always done; just like Tarantino has always done overly unnecessary gorefests. The two cannot possibly be compared on that level.
Aren't you yourself catering to the punk rock teenage goth crowd? I was sitting in the movie and I kept thinking about how Johnny Depp really resembles you in Sweeney Todd.
Capturing the macabre in modern day cinema is such a difficult feat, because it will either be very poorly done, or brilliantly executed (which is rare nowadays).
Aesthetically, the movie was flawless. I don't see the harm in what Burton has done. He has had a distinct filmmaking style for years now; if it works for him, why knock it? I'm not saying the movie was fantastic, but I definitely didn't think it was a total letdown. Burton took an obscure musical and approached it with his usual twist; did you honestly expect something different?
The blood in the movie was intentionally unrealistic to keep the mood light. Burton didn't want to take himself too seriously in this film. For the people that actually think it was gory...are you serious? Have you watched any Tarantino films? If Burton had made the gore more realistic, audiences would have been completely turned off. That, and you would never see realistic murders onstage, and I think Burton was trying to honor that.
Coming from a theatre background, I think Burton was able to approach a classic with modern appeal. So what?
I know hot topic is not punk rock, but overrated or not, Burton is selling. And you bought a ticket anyways.
Hmm, well I didn't hate the movie, but I was very dissapointed. To review how I really feel about a movie I generally think....if it was on TV right now would I watch it or turn the channel.....And I would have turned the channel.
I went into the movie expecting it to be good, I have been looking forward to it for months. I Personally do not like most of Tim Burtons movies with the exception of edward scissorhands. But I do think Johnny Depp is a great character actor so I expected something not great, but at least good.
I found myself bored throughout the movie, and I never really found myself sympathizing with any of the characters. They didnt develop any of the characters at enough length so that the audience would identify with them.
And whoever played the daughter in the movie....when she started singing I was afraid my ears would bleed. Luckily she only did it the once.
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In the production that I saw of "Sweeney Todd" they basically just changed the apron around the persons neck to one covered in blood and flashed a bunch of red lights. It works well on stage, but I'm happy Tim Burton didn't do that in the movie. So many things that look amazing on stage, look utterly ridiculous on film.
i think a lot of people went expecting to see captain jack sparrow and got disappointed when they realized depp wasn't playing a stumbling, flamboyant drunken pirate.
stop expecting so much before you go to see something because it'll almost never match up. start with nothing and build from that.
I adored Sweeney Todd but then again... I adore musicals, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Burton, shiny-sharp objects, the guy that played Borat, and blood... so I was pretty much born to love it.
If I was near broadway, I'd go see it somewhere near there.
But I don't... *tear*
Anyways-
I went with my parents to see it and my mom and dad squirmed in their seat when Sweeney was about to slit a throat and my mom covered her eyes and my dad jumped each time Sweeney DID cut a throat. THEN when the bodies went down the shoooooooooot... they about had a heart attack. Haha. I, on the other hand, didn't flinch. When he was singing, I was doing facial expressions with it as though I'd seen it before. When he was about to slit a throat, I scooched up in my seat. When he DID slit a throat, I smiled. When they went down the shoot I made an "OH! That would HURT!" face then rubbed my neck. Haha. And I would die laughing at everyone else in the theater's reaction. (I mean, COME ONE people. You came to see Sweeney Todd, the movie about the demonic barber that slits people's throats!!! You know, it's a true story. Except he didn't sing... I don't think *ponders* and instead of how the movie ended, they actually put Sweeney and Mrs. Lovetts on trial and found them guilty so they locked them in the building then burnt it down. =^] And their names weren't Sweeney Todd or Mrs. Lovetts.)
THEN of course the lyrics to the songs. HYSTERICAL. Was it just me or was it funny when Mrs. Lovetts was singing while Sweeney was sitting next to her under the tree and she started to kiss him saying "Oh Mr. Todd. I'm so happy. I could just eat you up." that the "eat you up" line was sort of... ironic? I just thought "Omg!" and started laughing and people gave me a weird look. I liked that scene though, it was funny.
I thought the movie was hysterical.
Then again... I'm odd.
My only problem (which was later fixed) was that I thought it wasn't that lifelike. I thought "With the money they have by now, they could've made that SO much more believable!" and I told my dad that. I said "The blood was WAY to red, like... it looked like ketchup or red gook. Not blood. And it even looked like he was just cutting a slit in plastic like a babydoll or something." Then my dad, who is in the military and saw those terrorist tapes where they slit people's throats... remember those? Yeah, he saw them. And he told me that the reason he couldn't really watch Sweeney slit the throats when it was just one after the other was cause it was DEAD ON how it would look. He said it looked EXACTLY how it did in the videos he saw.
So after he fixed that problem. I really had NO problem with the movie.
And I liked Johnny's voice. It wasn't like... normal, smooth, flowing like most musicals... it was unique and rugged. Sexy. Haha.
I'm sick, I thought when he was covered in blood that he was just OMG to die for. Like, I wanted me some Sweeney.
Haha.
I wasn't a fan of the ending.
I mean... what happened to his daughter and that boy? And when he threw Mrs. Lovetts in the fire it looked so much like a cheesy Sci-Fi movie. And the little boy SO lied. He said that nothing was going to harm her, not while he's around... and he showed up after she was killed! Liar.
Oh well...
This is a really long comment but I liked the movie. It's not my FAVORITE (thats The Rocky Horror Picture Show, has been since I was 5... it's just a jump to the left and then a step to the right, put your hands on your hips and tuck your knees in tight. And it's the pelvic thrusts that really drive you insane. Lets do the time warp again! Haha) movie and it's not my FAVORITE musical (there is a difference in favorite overall movie and favorite musical... Moulin Rouge is my favorite normal musical and RENT is my favorite broadway musical made into a film) and it's not my favorite Johnny Depp movie (thats What's Eating Gilbert Grape) or my favorite Tim Burton movie (Big Fish) but it is my favorite Helena Bunham Carter movie. =^]
...I'm rambling. I'll stop now.
And I'm going to agree with all those Corpse Bride comments.
It was one of those movies where I expected a WHOLE lot but was sort of confused on the story line (...how does someone mistake a finger for twig? I still don't understand that) so I went to the movie expecting to LOVE it and to understand that one question.
I only remember that the movie exsists because I have a movie poster on my wall that I bought before I actually saw it, I have Tim Burton's biography (which I'm upset cause they have more Corpse Bride stuff then Big Fish stuff and Big Fish was such a good movie... it wasn't like his other movies and you had to be sort of out there and ADD like me to get it, none of the people I know got it but people exactly like me) and I own the movie. If it wasn't for those 3 things, I wouldn't remember it was ever made.
Yeah I was never ineterested in seeing Corpse Bride. I just passed on that one. Also Sweeney Todd revival is no longer on Broadway. They had their last show at least a month ago which saddens me. They'll probably bring it back eventually since broadway has run out of decent ideas so their only chance of survival are the revivals. Oh well! Lastly. I cannot stand Rent. The movie was absolutely retarded and I refuse to see the play. That story was not meant to be on screen. The way that they segued into the songs was incredibly awkward. I just generally disliked it all. Chicago. Now that was a good movie and show.
The incredible amount of obviously fake blood was a little much, and they cut out and downplayed a lot of the better parts. But it was enjoyable enough to not have to pay for it. [shrug] To each his own.
Really? Broadway stopped having Sweeney Todd like a month ago? Damn. That sucks. They'll probably bring it back after this movie comes out on DVD and they see how big it is. It's all about marketing these days. I mean, not the majrity of people like the movie but the majority of the people that do are the kind to obsess and buy everything for it, so I've seen so far.
And as for Rent... I think you have to be a certain kind of person for that movie. Like, I didn't like how they just burst into song for no apparent reason but I liked the words to the songs. I didn't like some of the characters and the one I liked died. But still, I liked it. The only reason it's my favorite Broadway Musical is because it's the first one I saw. Just like Chain Me Free will always be my favorite E. Von Dahl song because it was the first one I heard.
I've never seen Chicago. I wanted to. And I started to. But I started to with my grandparents in the room on Christmas Eve and they were really uncomfortable so we turned it off and watched something else and now I can't find it.
And I think C missed that part about my dad (I'm really close to my family, if you can't tell) and how my dad said it looked exactly like that.
I mean, I thought the blood looked fake too and he said that thats what it looks like when he's coming out like that.
I'm not going to test it but... ya know, he's seen it. I'm going to take his word for it.
But if you don't want to believe me, go ahead.
Well at least you enjoyed the artistry. Here's an interview Thread Heads did with the costume designer, it's really cool. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcEXl1OfyzU
Oh and with the whole question about Johanna and her lover there, Anthony I believe is his name (I'm not very good with names). They do run off together. And I don't think if the movie is big that they will bring it back because that means that first of all they would need to prepare and get the theatre back from whoever may be using it or find another theatre. I think it did pretty well, but I could be wrong. They probably will revive it within the next 20 years! haha Not any time in the near future though. At least I highly doubt that.
It's really heartbreaking though. I was just talking to some broadway actors/actresses tonight, when I saw the final performance of The Drowsy Chaperone *tear*. I love that show! And Bob Saget starred in it and did an amazing job. Anyway back to what I was saying, the main question I asked them all was why they were closing because they were originally supposed to stay open for the next couple months at least. And one of them was like well we've been open for two years and we're not Disney. Basically saying that they don't draw in the bigger crowds because they don't have a huge world corporation supporting them.
Disney has seriously corrupted Broadway! Tarzan so bad that they had to take it off after a short time. Mary Poppins another one I refuse to see. Like the movie but wouldn't waste my time seeing the show. I haven't heard anything great about it either. Lion King looks pretty good and everyone I know that has seen it liked it, but what substance does it really have? Beauty And The Beast was good but that closed. And now they have the Little Mermaid. I can't even imagine that on stage. So at the moment they have three shows on Broadway. That is crazy!
Supposedly Cry Baby may be playing at the theatre that Drowsy Chaperone was playing in so that was exciting to hear. But we'll have to see.
Someone needs to get laid...
haha I have a strong love for theatre! So?
Well, although we do all have different opinions. Yours is as just as the rest of ours.
Did you notice at all that at the moment of nostalgia in Mr. Todd's life he looked nearly identical to yourself? That is not meant as praise nor criticism. It was just simply observant.
-Emily
you DO realize your strong resemblance to the actor playing the title character, right?
seriously, every time i show anyone a picture of you or the band their immediate reaction is "IS THAT JOHNNY DEPP?"
Nobody I know thinks you look like Johnny Depp, including me. I mean I guess I can see it a little... but not really. You're just completely different from each other, and I can't relate or associate either of you together. I just see Johnny Depp whe I see Johnny Depp, and I just see you when I see you. I can't communicate my feelings very well.
I liked Sweeney Todd but I have to admit I was a bit disappointed because I found it very predictable. But despite that fact it was an interesting film and I am a little shocked you didn't like it. Like all Tim Burton movies it was very abstract and surreal which I thought you would like. But on the other hand it is really dark and sinister which is a turnoff. As far as Johnny Depp not being able to sing which some people commented I am not convinced that he didn't do that just for the part of Sweeny Todd because if you have seen Crybaby you would know johnny depp has a pretty nice voice by the way your gorgeous!
I agree with Dani. I see you not him when I see The Matches in a picture.
Just like I see Johnny Depp when watching a Johnny Depp movie.
But I do see the resemblence.
There is this one picture that was used in AP one month (I don't remember which issue and I'm not about to go look through my pile to find out) where you looked sort of like if Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp could've had a love child... That is meant as a compliment.
I don't find Orlando Bloom attractive at all... my mom does though. Haha...
But still... that picture... made me see the resemblance... (and you got mostly Johnny's genes ;^] haha)
And Thank you Dani for telling me that they do get away together. I figured they did, I just wasn't sure.
Ew... Disney on broadway...I wouldn't be able to go see it. Disney is meant to be on a screen or at one of the many Disneyland/Disneyworlds. Not broadway. I would go see the Lion King because I've heard so much about it if a friend of mine offered me a ticket but I wouldn't buy one myself.
There is a Mary Poppins show on Broadway? I didn't have a clue! I didn't like the movie at all. The only good part about it was the dancing penguins... and thats just because penguins are cute. =^D Haha. But seriously, I didn't like it. Yet it's a "classic"... whatever.
And Little Ms. Ariel (Little Mermaid) is a bad influence on children. Most Disney movies are horrible stories but no one notices it cause it's a bunch of bright colors on a screen (which is why I like Tim Burton movies, it may be a horrible story to tell but he doesn't try to hide it behind bright colors like most people... it's like those people are liars and he's telling the truth.) and it fools us. The Little Mermaid teaches little girls "When you're 16, GO AHEAD! Break ALL of daddy's rules! Meet a boy, get married after knowing him for only 3 days. Don't worry about daddy! Once he sees you're in love... he wont mind you breaking all those rules, almost killing him, or getting married to someone he said you couldn't see!"... life is nothing like that and Disney shouldn't show that junk to kids. AND Disney had mommy issues. In almost all the movies, there was no mom or she was an evil step mom or she died (like in Bambi)... oh yes, Disney will corrupt all the little kids and take over the world.
...sorry for that little rant... >.>...<.<...
ANYWAYS!
Cry Baby? As in the Johnny Depp singing, making fun of the 50's version of rebeling, John Waters film? I LOVE that movie! =^D
I may have to take a road trip to go see it if it's true. =^]
Thank You!! ha ha i have had that theory about Disney for such a long time! Some of the story lines are soo dark acctually its not just disney alot of those old rhymes are pretty dark too, like jack and jill...they both die at the end or at least seriously injur themselves and that has no lesson to it at all that i can detect, i mean the boy who cried wolf's violence is kind of justified because it has a good lesson to it but jack and jill i mean come on there is something seriously messed up with the people who write these stories for children also because im so paranoid i think disney does a lot of subliminal messaging in there movies look it up on you tube ok so i mean i know its on the internet so it may not be true but dont spoil my fun
Thank You!! ha ha i have had that theory about Disney for such a long time! Some of the story lines are soo dark acctually its not just disney alot of those old rhymes are pretty dark too, like jack and jill...they both die at the end or at least seriously injur themselves and that has no lesson to it at all that i can detect, i mean the boy who cried wolf's violence is kind of justified because it has a good lesson to it but jack and jill i mean come on there is something seriously messed up with the people who write these stories for children also because im so paranoid i think disney does a lot of subliminal messaging in there movies look it up on you tube ok so i mean i know its on the internet so it may not be true but dont spoil my fun
Thank You!! ha ha i have had that theory about Disney for such a long time! Some of the story lines are soo dark acctually its not just disney alot of those old rhymes are pretty dark too, like jack and jill...they both die at the end or at least seriously injur themselves and that has no lesson to it at all that i can detect, i mean the boy who cried wolf's violence is kind of justified because it has a good lesson to it but jack and jill i mean come on there is something seriously messed up with the people who write these stories for children also because im so paranoid i think disney does a lot of subliminal messaging in there movies look it up on you tube ok so i mean i know its on the internet so it may not be true but dont spoil my fun
Haha
I figured Jack And Jill was to teach kids to not go after things that are in the path of danger. Like don't run into the middle of the road for your ball.
Did you ever notice that they never said that Humpty Dumpty was an Egg?...yeah. Thats to teach kids not to climb/get on things (didn't work for me) and they just put an egg in the pictures so parents are all "Oh! Such a cute little way to teach that lesson." But no, he was not an egg.
And in the REAL (non-Disney) Cinderella... the evil step sisters cut off their toes and the back of their heels to get into the slipper. Mmmmhmmm.
And I'm sure everyone knows that Ring Around The Rosy is about the Black Plaque in England. If you didn't, here's the meaning! (I did a paper on it for my History class... they think I'm weird... wonder why... *ponders*...haha. =^]) ready? Meaning... NOW!
Ring around the rosy is speaking of a rash that people would get around their face in a ring shape. =^D
A pocketful of posies is speaking of how they carreid flowers or other things that smelled nice in their pockets because they believed that the smell is how the disease spread. And doctors told people not to take baths because they believed that doing so would open the pores and then they would get the disease by taking a bath. Of course, this wasn't true. So they carried flowers in their pockets to keep the smell away.
Ashes, Ashes is of course talking about all the cremated bodies. And then there is another theory of what it means where Ashes Ashes is to represent the violent sneezing which was one of the symptoms of the disease.
We all fall down is of course another word for the people dying.
=^]
Isn't that just one of the weirdest little thing ever? I love it. Haha.
I've seen the Disney message things.
Some of them I could see...
That whole "Sex" think in the Lion King... I can't see that.
Like, I looked. I looked HARD. I even found a picture where someone connected the dots.
It didn't look like it to me.
The person who figured it out and showed it to everyone must've been smokin' something SERIOUS.
Speaking of smokin' something serious...
I've figured out that I like movies that are about drugs or you have to be on drugs to understand.
I'm not on drugs... and I understand them.
The Wall... Alice In Wonderland... I can't think of another one right now cause I'm like hyper tired which is where I talk a lot but have no real idea of what I'm saying at times... But anyways-
I've found that people I know who's favorite movie is Disney's Alice In Wonderland when they're little grow up to do drugs. Is that the message Disney is sending?
Aladin and the Lion King were my favorite Disney movies when I was little... so what were the messages in those?
I'm still trying to find out.
=^]
Any theories?
Hmm Its me again well as far as Aladin i saw somewhere once when he is on the balcony and is with that girl and the tiger is there or whatever he whispers in it ear good little girls have sex or something like that but thats one i wasnt totally convinced about as far as alice and wonderland i dont think you have to be a druggie to like it but it is pretty trippy so i can see how that would make it better but anyway i looove the wall its like the best movie ever and i tottally get it and ive never watched it high but i see what ur saying
well if u ever wanted to fix the movie a little bit u could... you look just like Johnny Depp (ur both so beautiful)and i would so be willingto star with you... make-out scenes?
I heard that Aladin one the other day. It's "Good Teenagers take of your clothes" but I thought when I was little that he was saying something like "Good kitty, go off and play" or something like that. Who knows.
I wasn't saying that you HAVE to be on drugs to like Alice In Wonderland. I was just stating the fact that all the people I know that loved that movie as a child have done drugs. And I don't mean like drinking. I mean like pot. So I'm saying that maybe Disney put out the colorful version of the story to get kids on drugs.
I've been high like twice. Both times was oxycodine and it was perscription. I sing and pass out. When I wake up, I don't have a headache but I feel worse everywhere else. It's like the going up is awesome but the coming down sucks. Then after a week of those pills I was physically addicted but not mentally and luckily my mind is stronger than my body because I didn't want to take the pills anymore. So my body got thrown into withdrawls. THAT sucked. And those pills only got me high the first two times because I was born with such a HUGE tolerance that it takes a LOT of something to get me drunk or high and after the first two times taking that pill, my body developed a higher tolerance. Totally sucks when I am in pain cause the tolerance is so high that any aspirin barely works. And my tolerance is so high that I can drink liquor without a buzz, always have. My first glass of beer (full glass) was when I was 5. My half brother, my gay cousin, and his cousin all got a full glass so I got a full glass (my half brother wanted to know why everyone liked beer so much but he wanted permission so my dad said 'ok, you can have one glass' and my cousins shouted 'I want one too!!!' so I got one too so it was fair). When my brother was done with his glass, he was drunk. My cousins were buzzed. I was perfectly natural. As if I had junk been drinking water. When I was in 5th grade my mom discovered the wonderful drink called a Mimosa (which is orange juice and champagne) and she LOVED it. So she would have a mimosa night starting my freshman year in high school. After one drink, she'd be so drunk that she'd give me one. Mimosas are good. My mom would drink about 6, be completely drunk. I would drink about 6 and still act like I had just drank water. I've TRIED to get drunk... never worked. So I find it'd be pointless to even attempt any drugs because I'd have to take so many to get anything and then the coming down and withdrawls would tear me up. So I've never had an interest in it. I got a high tolerance because I'm Scotish and Irish and my dad's side of the family is full of people that drink like ALL the time.
Sooooo I've never seen The Wall high either.
Its a magnificent movie when you're sober and open minded.
My parents watched it with me... totally didn't get it. They were all "...are you on drugs? You understood what was going on... hand it over, we'll watch it again, maybe I'll understand then." Lol.
I love my family >.<
I wouldn't say that The Wall is the best movie ever...
But it's up there on the list.
In my opinion... the greatest movie ever is The Rocky Horror Picture Show. =^D
...I ramble when I'm tired. Sorry.
Ha the rocky horror picture show that movie is weird in like the best possible way i love it the wall is still the best movie ever but its not necessarily my favorite if that makes any sense at all my favorite is donnie darko or maybe transamerica both totally weird but thats what i like about them and also what i like about sweeney todd :)ur problem kind of sucks that would get really frusterating at times i can hold my liquor better than most of my friends but thats just cuz they r lightweights ha ha and i wasn't arguing with u so i hope u didn't think that by the way u should check out those movies i was talking about u will either love them or hate them thats just the kind of movies they are also i love all those old cheesy 80's movies like st. elmo's fire and pretty in pink (why the hell didn't she pick duckie) also anything by Quinten Tarantino (especially Planet Terror, Four Rooms, and Kill Bill Etc.) and Tim Burton(everything he's ever done)
OH NO! I didn't think you were arguing with me. If I seemed mean it's cause I'm sort of have this guy thats driving me freakin' CRAZY. The whole time I was on Christmas break he'd text me and try to prove to me that he was mature enough and would call after I said "don't call me, I don't have any reception for a call" and junk. And now he's like borderline stalking me AND blaming me for loosing a paper I gave him. It's frustrating me so if I seem mean or defensive, thats why.
Anyways- I saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show when I was 5 and it's been my FAVORITE movie EVER sense. But I totally understand that "not my favorite but still the best" thing. It's like... it's AMAZING but it just didn't HIT you like your favorite movie. I have Donnie Darko, it's a great movie. I like weird movies too. Like... have you seen Little Miss Sunshine? It's one of those like really dry movies but it's like twisted and weird... I LOVE that movie. It's so... I don't know how to explain it. It's just hysterical but in that way where it's like "I don't think I SHOULD be laughing at this but I can't help it." Lol.
Yeah, my problem does suck. BUT it does make it MUCH more fun at parties where someone is drinking that can't hold their liquor. Watching them make a complete fool of themself, tumbling over, puking... it's great to know I don't have that problem. I'll never forget... I was at this Halloween party when I was like 14 at my friend's house. She got into the Jack Daniels. She asked if she could get me something to drink and I said "Sure. You have diet coke?" and she said "Yeah, in the kitchen. I'll be back." So she went in and she poured half the Jack Daniels in my cup and half the diet coke in my cup. Then did the same in her cup. Well, I had NO clue. I just took the drink and took a sip. I said "Mmm. This is some weird tasting coke. It's good though." (it tasted REALLY sweet like... woah) and I started to REALLY drink it and she said "Don't drink so fast!" and I said "why not? I want to ditch the cup to dance." and she whispered "I put Jack Daniels in there." And my eyes got HUGE cause our parents were there and I never break the rules like that when my parents are on the same property I'm on. And I shrugged and said "Lets not waste." so we drank it. I just went back to dancing... she about fell over. And I'm a LOT lighter than her. I'm not skinny but I'm not as big as her. I'm more of... 5 pounds less, I might be skinny. ANYWAYS- So I just kept going (that was my first time ever having Jack Daniels. I mean, I've had HARD whiskey mixed with normal coke but I didn't like it so after a sip I would leave it alone) and started dancing with the token gay guy (haha, I love them) and she just fell flat on her face. I looked at her like "WTF?" and she was able to get on her hands and knees and crawl over to beside the house, in the shaded area (it was night... but it was shaded from the house lights) and started puking. She didn't have a whole lot of hair so I didn't have to hold it but I went and said "Maybe not so much next time? At least, not 10 minutes into the party." and she flipped me off so I walked away. Everyone got pissed at her cause after she puked she just kept acting stupid cause she was still REALLY drunk from just half a bottle of Jack Daniels. And it was a pretty small bottle. Not the smallest I've seen but maybe the next size up. I don't know how big it was. But it was nothing to me and like she couldn't stand up straight. It was great. A high tolerance is good in that situation.
I normally love the movies like that. They're great. Everything thats "either you'll LOVE it or you'll HATE it"...I normally LOVE it. Have you seen Harold And Maude? I adore that movie. And 80's movies like Pretty In Pink and Sixteen Candles. OMG Say Anything! Him outside of that window (I have a crush on John Cusack so thats probably why I adored this movie) with the radio over his head and her NOT going to the window? I got PISSED and started screaming "NO NO NO GO GO GO PLEASE!" and when I first saw the movie I was at my Grandma's house and she looked at me like 'you know... it's just a movie.' Lol. It was great. But one of my favorite movies that you have to see if you haven't already is The Frighteners. I saw it a long time ago and it's just... wow. It's about this guy (played by Michael J. Fox) that can see these dead people. And the credits play Don't Fear The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult and it's been one of my favorite songs since I was like 9. It's just a great movie. And I love most Tim Burton movies. Like Nightmare Before Christmas (My next dog's name is going to be Zero because of that movie... Beast and Bella just need to reproduce first before I get him or her) and Sleepy Hollow and Big Fish (OMG... I LOVE that movie... it's so bright but dark and happy but sad and it's just... wonderful). I've never seen a Quinten Tarantino movie. Not cause I didn't want to but because my mom doesn't like him (she's lame) so I've never been given the chance to see them. But I want to. Just like I haven't been able to see Trainspotting yet though I DESPERATELY want to or the movie Jesus' Son (read the book, want the movie... to compare... like I learned to do in one of my classes... I want to see it for educational reasons, I swear *cough*) and if it wasn't for my MAGNIFICENT gay cousin and his boyfriend I wouldn't have been able to see V For Vendetta because she doesn't like the actress that stars in it (only reason we saw the new Star Wars was because they were Star Wars, we almost didn't because my mom is psycho against that actress) but the reason my cousin is so great is because I said "The old lady wont let me buy" and I listed a bunch of junk and he got me V for Vendetta and Down With Love for Christmas just because my mom wouldn't tell anyone I wanted them because she didn't want me to have them (she hates musicals and Down With Love has a song or two in it... whatever) and this isn't the first time he's done that for me. Mom is psycho with rules and as long as I'm under "her house" (it's government owned) then I can't buy certain things and they wont buy me certain things... so my cousin buys them for me. =^D
...I rambled again, sorry. I'm trying to stop that.
holy crap.
"sweet Panic! At The Disco!" made me laugh really REALLY hard. You're a funny dude.
I can't help but wonder how much the hot-guy-with-razors factor would have been upped if you had played Sweeney instead of Depp. Man, your voice singing "My Friends"? Kill me. Or hand me my vibrator. Something.
Oh my... that one anonymous comment... to much information.
It did make me laugh ridiculously hard.
It was a great laugh. >.< Thanks.
you are all on crack but intitled to your own opinion. I liked Johnny's and Helena's voice, the songs were dark sounding and I liked that. I've been an avid Tim Burton fan since I was 8 --now 25--and yes..some of his movies were not to my liking but this one was ok....I'm not into gore at all, hence I couldn't watch any of the killing in this movie but I did enjoy the story line.....I'm actually a fan of musicals and I couldn't believe how many people didn't know what Sweeney Todd was! (you all live under a rawk!) Anyway even though I liked Helena in this part I really loved the original Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovetts....this woman rawks! Anyway...I already knew what I was going to see even before I watched Tim's take on the musical and I thought he didn't do to bad. P.S. Loved the bathing suit scene!!
no ive never seen the frighteners but now i have to and ya i know what ur talking about with those dark comedies like little miss sunshine they r like slow moving and most people just don't see the humor but i do my fav of those kinds of movies is Garden State i looove that movie its so good but i think its the same chic as the v for vendetta one so find a way to watch it and im not a drunk or anything but its nice to get that buzz every once in a while but lol one of my friends is just like urs she had one wine cooler and was talking about barfing thats right a wine cooler like does anyone rele get drunk off of a wine cooler lol i dont think so and i was sitting there and i had had like 3 of em by a big sonic cup filled w/ coke and crown royal and i was getting kind of pissed cuz i wasn't feeling anything yet and you can only take so much without the rents finding so i ahd to stop but anywhoo.... shawn u should write a book and illustrate it too it would be awesome im serious i've read some of ur poetry in revolution on canvas and ive seen all ur artwork ur amazing
Yeah, I haven't seen Garden State for the same reason I wasn't able to see V for Vendetta... I may have to talk to my cousin about that one. Lol. Wow, ONE wine cooler? That has to suck. I hate not being able to get a buzz. Last night I tried brandy for the first time... not all it's cracked up to be. I thought it was gross. It was just a small bottle, like the fun size ones in a minibar. We got like this HUGE pitcher full of them for Christmas and I took one. I took a sip of it by itself, didn't like it. So I mixed it with a diet pepsi (...or maybe it was a diet coke...) and it was still gross. So I just poured it out. I felt bad cause I was raised with the saying "We don't waste our liquor" but... ew.
Ooo, I agree. Shawn should get a book published.
Except it'd probably take me a thousand years just to get a copy... it is so hard to get a book here that is worth getting unless you order it and then it takes like a month to get here. -.- Oh well, can't complain to bad. I get them eventually.
ha ha i kno what u mean i live in kansas and everyone here or at least for the most part are like super sheltered bible thumping listen to gospel with me people....and then there is me lol well and don't think im athiest or anything i just don't well i dunno like i don't go to church cuz i dont believe u have to go to one place to worship god and i dont think u should let it rule ur life o and dont get the wrong idea about kansas i guess not everyone is like that but i just live in that kind of place but my family is sooo not like that at all like our family activities are cocerts and like hippy fests and stuff but anyway my point is i have to specially order all the books and movies i want i can sometimes find the c.d.s but its like a scavenger hunt all around town half the time so i usually go to surrounding cities especially when im looking for acctual records like vinyl and 45's and all that ya i collect records i wanna open a record store someday i just love the feel of all that vintage shit i remember one time i was reading a magazine article abput the shins and the lead singer said "its nice to find something real in a world of mcdonalds and all that other bullshit commercialsm" or something like that anyway thats why i like records they're just so real even the sound cuz its not so like digitized if that makes sense
I didn't know the comment section of this blog had turned into a chatroom. Oh, silly me.
Oh well what is a comment board if not a chat room? It's a place for people to share there opinions, is it not? Why don't you go to the doctor and have him remove whatever crawled up your ass and died. Those people aren't hurting anyone.
Haha... I could make some Kansas- Wizard Of Oz jokes but...
That'd be mean.
I live in NC...
It's got a lot of places to shop...
But not a lot of places to shop for cds that are good.
I mean, there is Best Buy if you're lucky. And FYE if you're lucky. And Hot Topic if you're really lucky (and cheap).
But other than that...
You'd have to order on line.
And then there are weird people standing outside in dark alleys that hand out "Jesus loves you" papers...
I know he loves me, he's pretty cool, I'm still not going to go to church.
Then there are people that try to rape you while you're innocently searching for a cd in the mall...
Yeah, not cool.
I literally ran into a rack full of studded belts because I was running from a guy following me saying "Don't run baby, it's all good."... it hurt and scared the living daylights out of me... the manager gave me a look like "...have you lost your mind?" and I ran to the back of the store and hid behind the clearance aisle.
Terrifying. Junk like that happens a lot here... all my friends and I can get away and they only approach people alone. So, it's not all that bad.
Oh man, damn us and our chatty behaviors...
Not like we figured anyone else would be reading.
...some people always have to be rude to others.
lol no kidding what was his/her problem? well u can go ahead with the wizard of oz jokes i've heard 'em all .... i don't even like that movie. but ya i plan on moving away from here as soon as possible. well i dunno there is Lawrence, kansas its pretty cool its really liberal and it has a great music scen that's where i go to most of my concerts...i guess i could live there
I didn't like Wizard Of Oz either...
Those monkeys... *shivers*
I plan on leaving NC as soon as I can. Go to Nashville, TN. After I get enough money saved up and the confidence to live far from my dad, I'm goin' to Cali.
At least... that is the plan.
I've never been to Kansas... I may have to check it out.
There aren't any flying monkeys, right? Lol
well i haven't seen any flying monkeys lately... ha ha why nashville?
Lol
Good. Can't be to safe when it comes to flying monkeys.
Nashville is close to home but still a big enough city to let me live life the way I want to. I live in NC cause it's where the army shipped us but I'm from KY (...ew) so when my old man retires we're all going back to KY. Nashville is 2 hours away from the house my parents own so it'll be close enough to home so I can get help if I need it for anything but far enough for me to gain my indepence and gain experience.
...does that make sense?
That makes sense i guess. And you're right.. never can be too careful w/ flying monkeys
Lol
Good... cause it confuzzled myself...
Exactly!!! Flying monkeys are nothing to mess around with...
shawn-
As a person who has had the opportunity to see the original Stephen Sonheim-composed broadway musical Sweeney Todd, i must rashly disagree with your take on the movie version as interpreted by Tim Burton. You see, your problem wasnt with Tim Burton at all, but the original writer, Bond or maybe even Sondheim. As compared to the broadway musical, i thought that Burton's take was vastly better in both vocals, scene, and plot.
This is the canvas Tim Burton had to work with: a musical with minimal set dressings, charaters that sung in highly operatic voices with much vibrato (so that you couldnt really understand what they were saying), an instrument played by each character onstage (Tobias played violin, johanna, the cello etc etc, and confusing plot that did not include the back story of Benjamin Barker.
What Tim Burton did in his film version, was create a beautiful and highly stylized world in which the characters inhabit, change makeup and wardrobe so that the characters closely resemble those that you would find in an early 30's horror flick, and adapt the voice parts so for Depp and Carter so that they could sing the music with less vibrato and more character. The effect of these on the overall tone of the plot was simply amazing.
There was just one thing that did bother me with Burton's interpretation. You know how the movie ended so suddenly with Todd dying on the corpse of his beloved wife lucy? Well, in the broadway musical, we then jump ahead approx 20 years to Tobias who is bound in a straight jacket in a mental institution. He had been narrating the story of Sweeney Todd to the patients in the facility who would, we presume, tell others of this infamous murderer sparking the creation of this very play. Anyway, we see that Tobias is wracked with guilt in his own crime of killing Todd, and here we leave him, babbling away and shaking to and fro. It presents us with a question: does it make it ok to take revenge on a killer by committing the very same crime against him?
And heres the kicker: perfect analogy with our current war in Iraq. In our revenge on potential terrorists, does it make it ok to respond to violence by using violence?
Anyway... point is... i hear your argument. It's the very same way i felt when i saw the broadway version. But you should take this up with Bond... not Burton.
i absolutely 100% agree!
i had the privilege of seeing the stage production in toronto a few weeks before the movie came out with the original broadway revival cast and i was completely blown away! the actors were incredible and the way that the deaths, well, murders were portrayed was to a point where one understood but not to the point where one was physically disgusted as with burton's adaptation. i can appreciate that burton has a specific "style" but as shawn said tarantino has a violent flare but he uses irony and humour to give it taste. burton took an incredibly intelligent musical and butchered it. no pun intended.
so my advice to anyone who saw the movie and was intrigued by the story, pay the money and go and see the stage production. i can guarantee that you won't regret it. the music is amazing! plus support the artists!
I agree with you on most of this but, Have you seen even a snibit of the musical? THE ACTUALL MUSICAL on A STAGE? If you have you might have saw that most of your suggestions were in the stage play. And yes, the movie version could have been way better. Always go see the orginally of anything.
Ann: thank you, you took some of the words right out of my mouth. Considering that this was a musical I think it was very well done. Most of my friends, that wouldn’t normally partake in the “musical theater experience”, were thrilled with the film, loved the music and walked away with a newly sparked interest to seek out the original score. So cheers to Burton for raising the interest I say, even with the excess gore. (He does have a very strange obsession with coating Deep in blood?) I am curious if Shawn, Have you seen or heard the original musical? If you haven't you may be able to get your hands on a taped version with Angela Lansbury it's quite good.
I know this conversion is long dead; i am not trying to be George Romero and wake this carcass; but i wanted to see the movie before reading Shawn's review. And as far as i know, putting in my two cents wouldn't hurt anything.
but am i demented? Was i the only one hysterically laughing through out the movie? Yes, i did indeed see the criticism in human behavior, how lust and power can drive man to do horrible things, how revenge can poison turning one into a monster that one losses control of and eventually hurting/destroying oneself, the gullibility of the humanity in a collective group both naive and oblivious, and etc.
But i couldn't help but giggle, chuckle, and burst out laughing through basically this entire movie. I really enjoyed the film, i saw it as a satire more than a drama, and this is coming from someone who has become sick of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. Sadly, all the teeny boppers have made me cynical and tired of the over exposed, publicized, and dare i say, rated Burton and Depp. But i found the blood squirting out in an over dramatic way very amusing as well as most of the songs and gestures.
And as far as the ending, am i the only one how saw it as a happy ending? -Spoilers Start Here- They was the liberation of three people and the finally resting of three tortured souls. Sweeney got his revenge as well as destroying what was most precious to him, but sadly that is poetic justice for all the lives he took the fathers, sons, husbands, & etc, but the man did not have to live long knowing he destroyed the only thing that matter to him nor did he have to take his own life. The little boy Tobey(?) not only got to avenge the only person who "cared" about him or at least took care of him but he also had the feeling of liberation from his bondage and their corruption to be finally free of everyone and everything. Johanna and that stalker guy (one of my favourite parts of the movie: a grease haired, bleeding, and grimy man hutched over and hiding behind a gate singing "i'll steal you") are finally free as well. They will live out their life together with no worries of someone out to steal what they both fought for, though Johanna may be a tad on the traumatized side, she will never have to know what became of her mother nor know the monster and killer her father became.
-Spoilers End Here-
Best Picture of the year? Not by a long shot.
Entertaining and worth watching at least once? why not? especially when it could be worse, much worse.
I agree completely, i almost left the theater i was so unimpressed. I was utterly bored until Sacha Baron Cohen's character came on, and even then his humor failed to make the film any smoother, it was just a sort of out-of-place delight. And the music was just...again i say unimpressive.
I was so disappointed, because i'd heard such good reviews of the play. And because Johnny Depp usually brings a lot more to his roles, but none of the characters with identifiable.
I think Alan Rickman had the only decent role int the film, because at least you cared enough to hate his fucking guts.
My movie pick for 2007 - Juno.
Wow, that was quite an extentive take on your thoughts. Quite a broad range of vocabulary you have indeed. Makes me feel infantile and also that I need to go and grab a dictionary and improve my own.
Personally, I enjoyed the movie A lot... I saw the play long before I even heard that Tim Burton was planning on doing this project. As 'Roxy' said, I noticed A HUGE resemblance between yourself and Johnny Depp (Especially in the scenes when he was younger and didn't have all of the expected, typical, gloomy
makeup on as he has in all of Tim Burton's movies...) as well as A few of my friends. I think he really made A comeback with this movie though... especially with how horrible Corpse Bride was... basically attempting to do another Nightmare Before Christmas, which is impossible.
Anyway... I'm sorry to hear you didn't like it. All of the songs are stuck in my head and I haven't been able to stop singing them since I saw the movie. O_O
I only just saw it a week ago, and I must say I did enjoy it. Does that make me simple?
By the way, they forgot to credit you with the role of Sweeney Todd, they put johnny depp's name instead.. weird.
yeah so sorry for a late comment. i was stuck in the mesozoic era and it was only recently that i found out that you had a blog. so sorry for such a late comment.
wow. your words really left a mark on me. being a burton-depp fan, that really got me into thinking.
i really enjoyed the movie but now i'm wondering why.
maybe because of the fact that i liked burton's works so much(Big Fish, Ed Wood) that i don't realize that even good directors make bad films
maybe because of the unique theme of a blood-all-over musical.
or maybe it really was just good
well anyways thanks for the post. *thinking deeply over Shawn's thoughts while typing a really really long comment on Shawn's post*
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