"Come, good sir, care for a shave? I shall give you the closest shave you'll ever have... >:)"

Movie Review
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber from Fleet Street
Directed by Tim Burton

Johnny Depp; Tim Burton; B-movie-like title; musical; a set of deadly sharp razor blades, (and, perhaps, Sacha Baron Cohen of 'Borat' fame) you could probably tell from these things that this is going to be a very interesting movie. And interesting it definitely is. Excellent, even.

First, let us begin with the story. Sweeney Todd was once Benjamin Barker (Depp), a simple barber living an ordinary life with his wife Lucy and his baby daughter Johanna. A judge by the name of Turpin (Alan Rickman, who's probably well known for his role as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series) desires Barker's wife and using his influence he sentences Barker on a false charge. Many years after his exile to Australia he returned to London, only to find out from Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) that terrible things have happened to his family while he was away. Burned by hatred, Barker (now Todd), armed with his beloved razor blades, vows revenge on Turpin and humanity in general.

As a musical, let's just say that the sound of music won't be the thing that will leave the most lasting impression in your mind when you finish watching this movie. Not saying that the music is not good. The musical scores are nothing short of excellent, and the actors' and actresses' performance will keep you entertained. Depp turned out to be quite the adequate singer, and Helena Bonham Carter delivered an excellent performance. Acting-wise, it's Depp. Keep in mind, though, that this is not Jack-Sparrow-Depp, and that this is a Tim Burton's movie. Look forward to more of the melancholic, Edward-Scissorhand-Depp, but darker and more sinister. Cohen sounded a lot like his Borat persona, though oddly enough, it worked out quite well. His performance in this movie, though short (but not terribly so), is quite commendable. As for Alan Rickman, well, he's always a pleasure to see. I must say that I'm quite impressed with Timothy Spall's performance as well (another cast coming from the Harry Potter series: he played Peter Pettigrew, or better known as Wormtail) in this movie as Beadle Bamford, Judge Turpin's right-hand man.

As far as the story goes, well, for the sake of being hyperbolic, let's just say that I can see the plot coming from TWO miles away. It's pretty predictable. The main focus of the movie (aside from it being a musical and the dark and sinister story), however, is in its over-the-top violence. You will see blood in this movie. And you will see them a lot. The violence is so over the top that you'll have a hard time deciding whether or not you want to cringe or laugh out loud, or probably do both at the same time. Everytime Todd picks up a razor blade, my hands instinctively gripped the cinema seat's hand rests.

The movie has all the feel of a Tim Burton movie. The dark, dreary, and brooding colors; dark, brooding, and sinister characters; a generous helping of dark humours here and there, what more could you ask? Well, from a strictly utilitarian point of view, this movie is definitely not a date movie. So don't bring your girlfriends along. As for the girls, it might not be such a bad idea to bring your boyfriends to this movie, but maybe they will raise an eyebrow if you initiate such bold endeavour. Oh yeah, make sure you didn't have too much meal before you watch this movie.

Personally, after seeing this movie I shall never bare my neck to a barber. Never did, and never will. Oh, and meat pie is definitely out of my diet.