Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Now c’mon… Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are magic together. Throw in a little Helena Bonham Carter (Fight Club), Alan Rickman (Harry Potter, Dogma), Sascha Baron Cohen (Da Ali G Show, Borat, Bruno) and Jamie Campbell Bower (The Twilight Saga: New Moon) and you have gold.

That said…

I felt slightly let down by Sweeney Todd when the movie ended. Sure the gore was more than expected which was a great bonus and the acting was top notch. The songs were great and Johnny Depp sings better than I was expecting. Helena Bonham Carter doesn’t have the greatest voice, but she tackled the role with vigor and it came across well. Jamie Campbell Bower was the real stand out for me – excellent actor with an incredible voice. The songs were great and it didn’t seem as flamboyant as most musicals are. It was a musical without the over the top theatrics and it worked well. The dark colors used for the costumes, sets and makeup were a perfect fit for a deliciously dark story. It should have been a roaring success.

In the end though, I felt Sweeney Todd was missing something. I can’t say exactly what it was. Perhaps it was nothing more than not being able to meet the ridiculously high expectations I set for it. I’ve watched it several times and I must say my somewhat empty feeling after the first trip through London with Mrs. Lovett and her demented love interest was hasty and unfair. With a more open mind and lowered expectations, I enjoyed Sweeney Todd much, much more.

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slasherella on August 22nd, 2009 | File Under Musicals??? Oh Yes. Musicals., Vendetta! Vendetta! Vendetta! | No Comments -

Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)

Okay, let’s get this over with. Paris Hilton is in Repo! The Genetic Opera. Get your groaning and moaning out of the way so we can move on……

Done? Okay good. Don’t skip Repo! because you don’t like Paris Hilton. To do that would be to deprive yourself of a fun, disturbing, gory and all around awesome movie directed by Darren Lynn Bousman who also directed Saw II, Saw III and Saw IV. Impressive resume and impressive film.

The cast is spectacular – each and every performance is solid although there are some weaker that others. Nope, not talking about Paris here; given she doesn’t deliver the best performance in the movie, but I’m referring to Bill Moseley (House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects). He isn’t bad as badass Luigi Largo and he was very well cast for the part,but if I had to pick a weakest like it would be him.

Next, yes, it would be Paris Hilton as Amber Sweet. That said, she’s still fantastic and she can actually really sing. But hey, I liked her in House of Wax too. So let’s continue.

The spotlight performances are kind of hard to pick out as everyone is incredible. Alexa Vega (Spy Kids), Paul Sorvino (Bulworth), Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Sarah Brightman (The Phantom of the Opera) and Nivek Ogre (from the awesome band, Skinny Puppy) are all so good it’s ridiculous, but if I had to pick one… well, I can’t. Top three performances in this movie are Anthony Head, Sarah Brightman and Nivek Ogre.

Some people might be turned away by the fact that Repo! The Genetic Opera is a musical, but give it a chance. You’ll be rewarded. There’s plenty of blood shed and the music is actually really good.

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slasherella on August 18th, 2009 | File Under Musicals??? Oh Yes. Musicals. | No Comments -