Now Playing: Sweeney Todd

A digression from the GG quest leads me to another Globe nominee (albeit, different category): Sweeney Todd. I was pretty psyched to watch this movie - it has one of my favourite Hollywood pairings: Johnny Depp and Tim Burton. Also calling my attention: Snape, Bellatrix and Wormtongue. I was even curious about the singing. The movie however, if you'll pardon the pun, fell flat. Based on the fictional (...? debatable) Jonathan Barker, whose thirst for vengeance leads him to kill unsuspecting victims with this straight edge, this seems like an unlikely story for a musical. oh, but it is. While I can understand the philosophy that a good actor who can't sing is easier to market than a good singer who can't act, it was really quite difficult to get past JD's lack of vocal range. In terms of singing, this was no Moulin Rouge.

Okay, so let's get past that, shall we? Burton's unique style is perfect for the industrial-era London (grey, decaying and utterly depressing) where the story unfolds; his sense of macabre is in perfect harmony with the entire idea of a "demon barber" and his meat pie victims. The story is wonderful - with lovely bits of irony and pathos amid all the gore. The gore itself was not nearly realistic enough to inspire any stomach-churning - looking more like red Tempra paint than anything else. Casting: Depp and Carter embody their characters well (the seaside dream is a great scene); Rickman is so very good at being bad. Thank goodness for Jayne Wisener and Ed Sanders, who can actually sing. Finally, Sacha Baron Cohen was great in his appearance as Barker's would-be extorter.

While some say it was better than Chicago, I can't agree. And I really, really want to. On paper, this is the kind of movie I could really like: it has some of my favourite actors, one of my favourite directors, a wonderfully gruesome plot and enough goth to keep me happy. But I just didn't like it. The singing was terrible, the special effects outlandish and the talent underused. It was merely average, so it gets a mere 2.5 stars out of 5. sad.