At the Box Office: Hancock

It's been months since trailers appeared in theaters, tantalizing viewers with Will Smith as an antihero with a taste for recklessness. We've laughed as he throws a beached whale into the ocean, only to take out a boat. We've laughed as he's stopped an impending train wreck...only to cause a train wreck. We've ignored the whiskey on his breath and waited on the edge of our seats for July to come around and deliver us a brand new superhuman blockbuster.

Well the wait is up; Hancock has arrived. And guess what? He's not as super as we hoped.

The problem with Hancock is that it just doesn't live up to the hype. The trailers have led us to expect sarcastic humor, thrilling action, and a take-no-crap lead from a proven actor. Well, there's sarcasm, and a couple action sequences, but Hancock is more apathetic than anything else. What's worse, the "call me that name one more time and you'll regret it" mentality that Hancock uses for most of its gags (and is perhaps the only original aspect of the character) is a mentality that Hancock's mentor Ray (Jason Bateman) seems to feel inclined to get rid of.

Hancock, then, can be added to the list of films that pretty much give you everything in the trailer that might have interested you in the movie, and then drags you through the same gimmicks over and over again until it's no longer funny when someone calls him an a**hole. It's become the only appropriate word.

The one thing that can be said in Hancock's favor is the major reveal; that is to say, who or what is causing the tornadoes and massive destruction we were given a glimpse at in the previews. Peter Berg deserves a nod for keeping that a secret, even if it is the only surprising part of the whole movie.

I suppose if the idea of someone shoving someone else's head into a third person's anal crevice is the sort of thing that makes you roll out of your seat laughing, you'll enjoy Hancock. But if the devil-may-care, screw-this-i-want-a-pint attitude was already making you question Smith's latest endeavor, feel free to steer clear of this one.

Will Smith proved he has acting chops in last year's I Am Legend. You won't find the same quality here. Unless maybe you've been knocking back a few bottles yourself right before you go.

At the Box Office: Summer Edition

I've been slacking terribly, which i apologize for. To make up for it, here are three flicks currently in theaters that you might consider seeing.


Anyone who recognizes the signature Luxo lamp probably has a few expectations for Pixar's latest offering. They're looking for superb animation, quirky yet lovable characters, and a stellar musical score. That's all here in copious amounts.

If you have somehow avoided the trailers and huge promotional buzz surrounding WALL*E, here's the premise: mankind, failing to prevent fallout with nature, has succeeded in making Earth uninhabitable. They've gone off to the far reaches of space on luxury cruise starships, leaving robots to clean up; specifically, Waste Allocation Load-Lifter, Earth class units. Over time, all of these robots have broken down. All but one, that is.

Our solo hero spends his days compacting trash into cubes and organizing these cubes into rather impressive piles, occasionally saving things he finds interesting enough. At the end of the day he returns home with his findings, watches a clip of "Hello, Dolly," and powers down. He knows no other existence--until EVE shows up.

EVE (whose name is, as you guessed, an acronym, but i won't spoil it) has come in search of something top secret. What she finds is WALL*E, so enamored by the idea of another robot (and a female, at that!) that he begins to develop an emotional attachment despite her apathetic behavior towards him.

The real story begins when (as depicted in the trailer) WALL*E hitches a ride with EVE back to the human space colony, dazzled by a world far beyond his imagination.

The kicker with WALL*E is that there is so little dialogue. Unlike Pixar's previous movies, which have relied heavily on large ensemble casts and witty one-liners, WALL*E finds Pixar experimenting with its fanbase, using vivid animations and robotic beeps and blips to convey a story of discovery, romance, and adventure.

The only real downfall of WALL*E is that it is, under a veil of amazing art, a VERY thinly veiled social commentary. Anyone who walks out of WALL*E unconscious of the fact that it is a condemnation of humanity's wasteful and destructive habits must have been unconscious during the movie, too. I felt inclined to scan the credits just to see if Greenpeace had secretly funded the film.

That aside, WALL*E is a very cute and accessible film regardless of whether you are a family of five or a 20-something guy with nothing to do. A great score (complemented by the track "Down to Earth" by Genesis' Peter Gabriel during the credits) helps bring the vibrant animation to life, ensuring that WALL*E and EVE float straight into your heart.





The suit. The iconic music. The 007-esque entrance into CONTROL. And then the top page floats off the pile of reports and is crushed in the jaws of a massive metal door.

Maxwell Smart is back, and he's not exactly how you remember him. Let's be straightforward here: the latest incarnation of the battle between CONTROL and KAOS has definitely been done-up for a modern audience. Smart is no longer the bumbling idiot who accidentally thwarts evil; he has become the suave idiot who purposefully thwarts evil, if occasionally via accidental means. Fans of the series should note this difference.

The new Smart, however, is nothing to break out a Cone Of Silence and cry about. Steve Carell ((The Office, Little Miss Sunshine, Dan in Real Life) does a great job of making Max a well-meaning desk-slave-gone-agent, occasionally embarrassing and occasionally awesome yet always hilarious.

Agent 86 is accompanied on this adventure by Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway, The Princess Diaries), the sexy, experienced field agent who is only able to operate on the mission because she recently underwent facial reconstruction and thus her identity was not compromised in the KAOS break-in.

The unlikely duo (why are the duos never likely?!) set off through Russia to fight the bad guys, running across such classics as Siegfried (Terence Stamp), the main villain. In the meantime they receive assistance from the Chief (Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine) and Agent 23 (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson). Agent 13, the one who always pops up in the most inexplicable places, makes only a small and unimportant appearance, and is portrayed by Bill Murray.

As mentioned earlier, the only thing that will make Get Smart irksome is that it is not an entirely faithful representation of the franchise. However, i'd venture a guess that even hardcore fans of the show will appreciate Carell and Hathaway's interpretations, in this hilarious, no-holds-barred action comedy that seems like it ought to spawn a spin-off television comeback.

And although fans looking for a weekly fix of what they're getting in theaters are bound to be disappointed, there is a little consolation prize set to come out today: "Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control," a 71-minute movie featuring the antics of CONTROL geeks Bruce (Masi Oka, Heroes) and Lloyd (Nate Torrence, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) while Max is out saving the day. Granted, its direct-to-DVD release and timing indicate that Out of Control is most likely a low-quality money cow-milker, but judgment will remain reserved until this hypothesis is proven.

In the meantime, you could do a lot worse in theaters these days than seeing Get Smart. It may not be perfect, but don't worry: it only missed it by that much.






Anyone who saw 2003's Hulk has probably come to grips with the fact that it sucked. Banner was melodramatic and upset at his father. Hulk scenes involved so much blatant CG that you forgot to care about what was going on (i mean really, mutant poodles?).

It seems Marvel, too, has come to grips with the fact that the first Hulk movie sucked. That's why this year's release is not a follow-up to the previous one, but rather a re-imagining of what a Hulk movie ought to be: big, bad, and angry.

The content of the first movie (the lab accident, the romance with Betty Ross (Liv Tyler, The Lord of the Rings, Armageddon), the monster emerging when our young hero's heart rate spikes) is pretty much covered in the opening credits, a high-octane series of flashbacks that result in Banner (Edward Norton, Fight Club, The Illusionist) hiding in South America, a fugitive from the US government (whose General "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt) considers Banner's body his property).

Banner is trying to find a cure for his condition, and is contacting a "Mr. Blue" under the guise of--wait for it--"Mr. Green" for answers. Meanwhile, he is extremely cautious to avoid any sign of his whereabouts from making it across Thunderbolt's desk, lest he be forced to run again.

All good things must come to an end though, and a drop of blood from Banner's radioactive veins finds its way, via a bottle of soda, into an old man's mouth back in the US, tipping the government off to Banner's location. Thunderbolt brings in a contract killer named Emil (Tim Roth) to take Banner out before he can escape yet again.

Well it's not much of a spoiler to say the movie doesn't end with Emil's successful takedown of our mild-mannered scientist. Banner escapes, and decides it's time to go home. Thus begins a wild faceoff between monster and creator, involving plenty of incredible explosions and radioactive experimentation, climaxing in a battle between the angry green giant and the Abomination that Emil becomes.

In addition to the incredible level of action presented in this new iteration, The Incredible Hulk features so many throwback references to the television show (both Bixby and Ferrigno, the original Banner/Hulk respectively, make cameos) and the comics (Hulk smash, anyone?) that the only reason to get angry about the movie is if you find yourself unable to see it.





And, well, i think that should about cover it for now. I'd also recommend seeing "Iron Man" if it's still playing near you, and to avoid "Speed Racer" if they haven't put it to sleep yet.

At the Box Office: The Other Boleyn Girl

The Other Boleyn Girl
Running Time: 115 minutes




Once upon a time there was a king that loved his land and would do anything to prevent throwing it into turmoil. He knew that the only way to preserve order was to have a strong male heir to whom the kingdom could be passed down. Unfortunately, his wife the queen miscarried, and proved incapable of providing a son to the king. The queen's name was Katherine of Aragon. The king's name was Henry VIII.

So begins the pseudo-historical tale of "The Other Boleyn Girl," a tale that begins with the king's pressing dilemma and ends by acknowledging that Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn, would ultimately come to rule the nation as one of its most cherished monarchs, presiding over England for more than four decades.

It was the custom of royalty to take one or more mistresses in the day; young, beautiful women who, in exchange for sexual favors, would provide for themselves and their families a gateway into higher class. After all, when one pleases the king one expects the favor to be returned.

And so, when Katherine (Ana Torrent) proves unable to provide a male heir, word begins to leak out among the gentry that King Henry (Eric Bana) shall seek a mistress to provide what his wife cannot. Due to his position in court, the Duke of Norfolk (David Morrissey) is privy to this news before it has become widespread, and suggests to his brother, Sir Thomas Boleyn (Mark Rylance) that he offer his daughter Anne (Natalie Portman) to His Majesty. Though both Anne and her mother are cool to the idea, the Duke persists and finally Sir Thomas agrees to have the king come to his manor in the hopes that Anne may woo him during his short stay.

Meanwhile, Anne's sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson) has recently been married to a young man with plans to live in the countryside for the rest of their lives, and is thus out of the running for Henry's hand.

At least, she ought to be, but unfortunate circumstances lead to the king taking an affection for Mary, bringing the entire Boleyn estate to the royal court. She becomes pregnant before long (her husband is promoted and sent away from the court so as to remove any voice of dissent in the king's proceedings) and is shut away in isolation, as was the custom for pregnant women in England at the time.

Forced to abstain from sexual relations with Mary, Henry begins to take a fancy for Anne, newly returned from her French exile and grown much more sly in her absence. Thus grows the plot, like two twisted vines around a stake, each Boleyn sister taking the king's fancy at one time or another. One becomes queen; one gives birth to a son; one is considered treasonous; one is accused of incest.

Ultimately, two heads will roll from the headsman's block, and the heir to the throne proves to be a woman after all.

The story of Henry VIII's nightmarish attempts to preserve peace in his nation, including the separation of England from the Roman Catholic Church and the establishment of the Anglican order, is majestically interwoven with an intriguing romance that is, unless one is a Tudor scholar, impossible to distinguish from reality. The historical checkpoints in the film suggest accuracy even as the baffling final credits establish "The Other Boleyn Girl" as a work of fiction.

A dazzling score and beautiful setting contribute to the feel of authenticity throughout the film, and as usual Portman and Johansson put on a very enjoyable and convincing performance. Perhaps the finest acting is done by Mr. Bana, who manages the complexity of Henry's dilemma masterfully, at times impassioned and irrational and at other times cool and calculated.

"The Other Boleyn Girl" is probably not for everyone. The heavy historical context may make it difficult for younger viewers to swallow, though the film does manage to escape the boredom that is usually guaranteed by historical romance films. For those who consider themselves a bit more sophisticated--or those who are just looking for a great tragic drama--this one's for you.




Links:
~The Other Boleyn Girl on IMDb
~The Other Boleyn Girl trailer on Apple Trailers
~The Other Boleyn Girl official site

At the Box Office: Cloverfield

Cloverfield
Running Time: 85 minutes



*Writer's note: Cloverfield is an uncharacteristically secretive film. The viral marketing that preceded it as well as the secrecy that was deliberately used on everyone--including the actors--were designed so that you would go into this movie knowing nothing at all about it. I experienced the movie with minimal information and as such was able to feel as if new discoveries made by the characters were discoveries made by myself, which may have enhanced my experience. If you wish to get the absolute full effect of this film i encourage you not to read this review. If you wish to have a better idea of whether this is something you will enjoy and don't mind having some of the mystery taken away, feel free to continue. WARNING: THIS FILM MAY CAUSE MOTION SICKNESS.*


"I was in Japan a year ago with my son who is eight, and all he wanted to do was go to toy stores - so I know he's my son. And we went to the store and there were still all of these Godzillas, and I thought we need our own monster. We need a monster movie - not like King Kong. I love King Kong - King Kong is adorable - and Godzilla is a charming monster, but I wanted something that was just insane and intense." That is what J.J. Abrams said six months ago to explain the movie that has had audiences puzzled ever since trailers began to roll last summer. Most people have seen the frantic faces of the unfortunate party-going inhabitants of Cloverfield's Manhattan, the frenetic handling of a camcorder as the person (previously unidentified) sought to document the unfolding terror while avoiding soiling himself. And that's all they've seen.

Well, we've certainly got a monster now, and it's neither adorable nor charming. It has a penchant for ripping heads off of statues and chucking them into crowded streets. And that's before it gets nasty.

The film begins innocently enough: Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) is leaving for Japan (he's recently been promoted to vice presidentship) and his soon-to-be sister-in-law has arranged a surprise party for him. As part of his going away present, Lily (Jessica Lucas) asks her boyfriend Jason (Mike Vogel) to take a camcorder around to get testimonials from the guests à la une wedding. Lazy as ever, Jason hands the camera over to Hud (T.J. Miller), who is personally more interested in getting in the sack with Marlena (Lizzy Caplan).

Rob soon arrives and the party gets off to a good start. Since he's been charged with getting a testimonial from everyone Hud pesters Marlena (who claims to not know Rob enough to constitute leaving a farewell for him) to make one, a thinly disguised attempt to spend as much time as possible with a girl who is clearly uninterested. Soon after, Rob's best friend and (according to dialogue) roommate Beth (Odette Yustman) arrives with her new boyfriend Travis (Ben Feldman).

Apparently all these years of friendship with Beth have led Rob to fall in love with her, and his failure to confess this to her is exacerbated by her having a significant other right when he was ready to tell her. The two have an argument (resulting in Beth and Travis departing from the party) and Hud (filming it all) goes outside with Jason to try to console and/or coach Rob on how to deal with the situation. As they talk a huge tremor shakes the building, and they (with all the other partygoers) run to the roof to see if they can catch a glimpse of what caused the commotion. Suddenly a huge fireball erupts, terrifying the group and sending them running for the streets. They arrive just in time to see the (now iconic) severed head of Lady Liberty.

It's Jason that comes in with the clever idea here: "Let's get out of Manhattan."

So begins a havoc-wrought race against creature and chronos as Rob, Jason, Lily, and Marlena try to find Beth and get out of what quickly becomes Hell; all while Hud faithfully documents the unfolding events on the camcorder.

This is the part of the film that truly makes it unique and enjoyable. Cloverfield could have been a generic monster movie, with all the basic special effects and suspense-laden encounters with danger. Instead we see all these special effects and suspense from the perspective of a single person--rather, a single person's hand. Just as being attacked by a monster would cause a real person to drop his camera and/or forget he's supposed to be filming, Hud occasionally flails the camera too wildly to truly get in-focus. And while we might get quite angry at a friend or family member for making such a mistake, this helps convey a true sense of reality to the movie.

The film keeps a great pace throughout its (by modern standards) short duration (only about an hour and a half), but in that time there are a lot of heart-pounding moments. You WILL find yourself occasionally frightened and/or shocked at what is happening to those on-screen. Thankfully, Hud's remarks serve as comedic relief, meaning that time not spent saying to your neighbor "holy crap what was that" will be spent laughing out loud. This makes for a unique viewing experience in a theater, one that is much easier felt than described.

There is one hitch to the film, however, and that's content. The MPAA gave Cloverfield a "PG-13" rating, and admittedly the content is mostly tame. However, the language is noticeable: my younger brother used a pen to put a mark on his hand every time an s-word was used and when we got in the car i saw that his hand was covered in dashes. Also, there is a single scene in which the violence struck both of us as perhaps too intense for the rating the film received. This may be a concern for those with younger children, though it's true that they've probably seen worse already.

Overall, Abrams has pulled off pretty much exactly what he was going for. The use of no-name actors combined with the utter secrecy with which this film was enshrouded resulted in an outrageously effective viral campaign for what should be a quite enjoyable experience for moviegoers everywhere. Just make sure to watch through to the end of the credits.




Links:
~Cloverfield on IMDb
~Cloverfield trailer on Apple Trailers
~Cloverfield official site

At the Box Office: Atonement

Atonement
Running Time: 130 minutes




Writer's note: this review contains content that may be deemed inappropriate for impressionable readers, specifically unpleasant imagery of sexual nature.

Emotions are dangerous. In our anger, confusion, fear or passion we can do incredible things. We can also make terrible, irreversible mistakes, ones that affect not only our future but that of others; and ones that we may spend our whole lives seeking atonement for.

Based on the novel by Ian McEwan, Atonement (2007) is the utterly tragic story of two young lovers torn apart by the actions of another, and moreover the story of the other seeking redemption for her heinous act.

Briony Tallis (Saorise Ronan) and her sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) live with their mother in a mansion on a beautiful estate full of rolling hillsides and mysterious woods. Briony, thirteen years old, aspires to be a writer; the opening scene finds her completing her first play, gleefully (but maturely) letting the maids and servants know that this evening there will be a performance (supposing the visiting twins are compliant). When asked by her cousin Lola (Juno Temple) what it's about, she replies "It's about how love is all very good, but you have to be reasonable."

One of the servants to whom Briony heralds her play is Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), whose response to the news indicates a greater level of intimacy with the Tallis family than the other household help (he accuses her of no longer giving him "bound volumes" of her work as she used to). She pleads with him to come see her performance with such fervor that one must wonder whether this thirteen year-old who thinks love must be "reasonable" carries an affection for the hired labor.

Such suspicions are confirmed when Briony spots Robbie and Cecilia out by the fountain and is forced to look away, all the while bearing a face of shock, pain, and unquestionable jealousy. What Briony sees from her bedroom window proves to be far more than simply "two figures by a fountain;" from various angles we watch as the two awkwardly walk out to the fountain, Cecilia carrying an intricate vase replete with a myriad of flowers and Robbie trying in earnest to serve her. She has come to the fountain, we assume, to draw water for the vase. Robbie reaches to help her, she pulls away in a brash show of feminine independence, resulting in the severing of a handle from the vase and a rather flush Ms. Tallis. "You idiot! You realize that's probably the most valuable thing we own?" To which Robbie replies "Not anymore."

Cecilia proceeds to strip down to her undergarments and dive into the fountain to retrieve a lost piece of the vase, emerging with her clothes clinging tightly to her figure to the dropped jaw and gaping eyes of Robbie (this is the point at which Briony could no longer watch). Wordlessly Cecilia redresses, picks up the vase, and brushes awkwardly away from Robbie as she tears the severed handle from his hand. Ashamed and embarrassed, Robbie retires to his typewriter and a pocketful of cigarettes and attempts a letter of apology. As he writes we see a transformation overtake him as he begins to realize how deeply in love he is with her.

Robbie goes through many drafts of his letter, ranging from strictly 'sorry' to overflowing with emotion. At one point, reclining in his chair and spouting smoke from his nose, Robbie begins to chortle. The letter he writes here is probably (and understandably) the most controversial part of the film. "In my dreams i kiss your c**t, your sweet wet c**t."

Though deplorable, we must accept this as a simple outing of internal feeling which (were it not in a movie) no one but Robbie would ever have seen. Even before the ink has dried on this pornographic note he has removed the offending letter and begun anew, this time with a far more appropriate (and poetic) phrasing that conveys simply the newly realized affection he has for Cecilia.

Finishing his writing, Robbie quickly dresses for the party he has been invited to that evening, grabbing his letter on the way out the door. As he sets out he spies Briony playing in the nearby woods. He calls to her and asks her to run straightaway with his letter to Cecilia for he'd be too embarrassed to deliver it in person. She takes the letter and runs toward home, leaving Robbie at the bridge in contemplation. Suddenly it hits him: she has the wrong letter. The very wrong letter.

It is too late, however. Briony curiously reads the letter and is terrified at its contents. She delivers it to Cecilia but begins to consider Robbie a "sex freak." She also confides in Lola with this information, and they agree that Robbie is probably dangerous and should be reported.

These feelings are further exacerbated when Briony stumbles upon Robbie and Cecilia having sex in the library (a scene which is gratefully far more intense than explicit). The viewer knows that the sex is consensual, and that both parties are deeply in love with the other; Briony, however, considers it rape.

Thus, confused as to Robbie's true intentions, when Briony goes into the woods to find her missing cousins she spots a man in a suit raping Lola and assumes it is Robbie. At least, this is what she reports to the investigators who arrive shortly thereafter, and Robbie is sent to prison.

This is the first half of the film, and it is this false accusation upon which the film hinges. When the Second World War erupts soon after Robbie's imprisonment, he is given the choice to stay and die in jail or to join the military and fight for his country. His decision to do the latter draws him into the bloody and terrible warfare that World War Two is infamous for. The scene in which Robbie and comrades emerge from tall grass onto a beach teeming with dying and suffering soldiers is at once terrible and beautiful.

It is this stunning cinematography that truly makes Atonement a sensational film. Everything from the landscapes to the actors is gloriously sharp and crisp, a rare experience that the trailers only begin to do justice. Beautiful, lush imagery is accompanied by a stirring score by composer Dario Marianelli that is at times both chilling and heartwarming.

Spanning half a century, Atonement is perhaps one of the greatest films to grace the silver screen in years. True, it is a cold and tragic story (with one of the iciest endings i've ever seen in a movie) but as a work of art it is nigh unparalleled. If you are looking for a feel-good matinée, go see Mad Money. But if you want a substantial experience; if you want to see two lovers torn apart by a series of unfortunate events; if you want a look at the horror of war and the closeness of death it brings; if you want these things, then Atonement is right for you.





Links:
~Atonement on IMDb
~Atonement trailer on Apple Trailers
~Atonement official site

At the Box Office: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Running Time: 116 minutes





A man with a sweet tooth for revenge and a woman seeking a new ingredient for her meat pies. Stephen Sondheim's musical about a vindictive barber with a plan to slit his enemy's throat--even if it means going through every other throat in London first--and his lover, who is all too happy to conceal the evidence in savory crust has been remade again, this time by acclaimed director Tim Burton, the man behind Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas. And if those dark, quirky films are any indication, Burton's personality is probably the best to take this twisted musical and actually make it work on the silver screen.

Benjamin Barker was a mild-mannered barber, married to a beautiful young woman with a beautiful baby girl. Yet, tragically, Benjamin Barker was also naive, and believed the world to be his box of chocolates. Never did he imagine that there might be others who wanted a piece of what he had, and when Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) accused him of a crime he'd had no part in, he had nothing to say to the life sentence he received. Torn from his lover's arms, Barker was exiled to prison, never to return.

Fifteen years later, a sailor finds a man floating on the tides and reels him in. He sports a rather scattered appearance--his hair sticks out wildly, a white streak breaking through the otherwise oily black forest upon his head. He introduces himself to the boy as a fellow traveller--name's Sweeney Todd. Life has not been kind to Mr. Todd, and his brooding personality and harsh tones accentuate this fact.

Sweeney finds his way to Fleet Street, home of Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pies. He steps in, shocking the frazzled patron. Quickly, before he can escape, she forces him to try one of her pies--"these are probably the worst pies in London," she admits--and something strong to wash it down with. He inquires about the room above her shop: apparently, it's haunted by the ghosts of those wronged in it fifteen years ago. Benjamin Barker was his name, a man wrongfully accused, his wife poisoning herself after having been raped by the local magistrate only to leave her daughter in his clutches.

Todd's reaction to the news confirms Lovett's suspicions--"Benjamin Barker?"--to which the dark figure replies that that man died long ago. All that is left within this shell of a man is the clawing need to have revenge on the man who has taken everything from him.

One day Lovett and Todd are in town and they see Signor Pirelli (Sacha Baron Cohen), the self-proclaimed "King of barbers and barber of kings." After enduring Pirelli's attempt to sell of some miracle hair-growth elixir Todd steps forward and challenges Pirelli's claim to being insurmountable in his trade. He deftly defeats the Italian and wins a sizable sum from him. The following day Signor Perelli arrives in Todd's barber shop with a threat: he recognizes Barker, and would hate to have to reveal his identity to, say, a certain judge. Half of Sweeney's profits from now on would probably stop him from making such revelations though.

Cornered by fear and anger, Todd grabs a nearby kettle and swings it into Pirelli's head, bludgeoning him continuously until his blood has all but stained the wooden floor. And so begins the bloodbath. Indeed, a movie with a serial killing barber slitting throats would be rather ridiculous without a proper amount of crimson flow, and as Todd promises his silver blades--his "lucky friends"--they will soon drip rubies. Lots and lots of rubies.

A series of events prevents Todd from successfully slitting Judge Turpin's throat upon his first appearance in Sweeney's chair, resulting in a furious "epiphany" of sorts. "There's a hole in the world like a great big pit / And it's filled with people who are filled with s--- / And the vermin of the world inhabit it / But not for long . . . / They all deserve to die!"

Thus begins a downward spiral into what becomes senseless murder, deception, and cannibalism. How murdering people will help get the judge back into Todd's shop doesn't seem to be an issue--all he cares about is revenge: "Not one man / No, not ten men / Nor a hundred / Can assuage me." With no idea how he will go about getting this revenge, Todd vows to "practice" on lesser blokes.

It should be mentioned that most of the vulgarity of this movie is not in the murders themselves. The blood was apparently orange (so that Burton could darken and de-saturate afterward) and although the spurting seems quite realistic (the penultimate throat-slashing douses Todd and the walls behind him in warm, spewing liquid), they are done just stylistically enough that you probably won't find yourself on the brink of vomiting at any time (except, perhaps, when the "meat" is shown in all its glory). No, the true horror of Sweeney Todd is the way in which Todd and Lovett become possessed by the crimes. What begins as a perhaps justifiable attack on the unfair, inhuman class system that allows a man such as Turpin to wield power unjustly against the poor below becomes a warped series of logic jumps--"For what's the sound of the world out there / Those crunching noises pervading the air / It's man devouring man, my dear / And who are we to deny it in here?" is how the pair justifying baking victims into pies. The final scene is so brutal in a psychological sense that it is impossible to leave the theater with an ounce of the laughter evoked throughout the movie by the incredibly witty dialogue.

However, just because Todd ends on a sour note doesn't mean it's off-key. Plot-wise, the musical is ingenious and inspired. The social commentary it offers behind the bloody veneer is one that all can relate to, even if the cramped locale of Fleet Street tends to exacerbate the tension a bit. Musically, it's amazing how well these non-vocalists perform. Admittedly, you might find a few of the younger cast members to be slightly annoying (young, British kids usually are) however the songs are clever and catchy.

The movie definitely deserves its 'R' rating, but for those with the stomach for it Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is an exceptionally tight, brilliant musical. Throw in talent like Johnny Depp and directing gold-mine Tim Burton, and you've got one bloody good show.




Links:
~Sweeney Todd on IMDb
~Sweeney Todd trailer on Apple Trailers
~Sweeney Todd official site