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movie review - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Tokyo, 2008.01.07

No. Bad Tim Burton. Bad!

This is a movie featuring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. You can bet that it's directed by Tim Burton. It's about a butcher who returns to London after being sent to Australia as punishment by a corrupt judge. When he gets back he starts slitting the throats of the awful people of London, and taking the bodies to his new wife who then makes meat pies. There's a fair bit of sizzle here but not a lot of steak. The plot was unengaging and somehow the two stars (usually very watchable) failed to either seem interested in one another or the story itself. I've known many people who think that Tim Burton can do no wrong. I wish.

This movie was a big disappointment. Not recommended.

rand()m quote

... I'll let you in on a secret. Big people are exactly the same as little people. They're selfish, squabbling children whose motivations are jealousy and greed. No one becomes big when the hit adulthood. They just become better at hiding how small they are.

—Jonathan Rosenberg