‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’ Download and Reviews

November 2, 2009 by Paul Wall  
Filed under Drama, Horror, Musical

“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” Movie Details

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street tagline: Never Forget. Never Forgive.
Sweeney Todd - DVD Cover

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street DVD Cover

Actors:
Johnny Depp Sweeney Todd
Helena Bonham Carter Mrs. Lovett
Alan Rickman Judge Turpin
Timothy Spall Beadle Bamford
Sacha Baron Cohen Signor Adolfo Pirelli
Jayne Wisener Johanna
Jamie Campbell Bower Anthony Hope
Laura Michelle Kelly Beggar Woman
Ed Sanders Tobias Ragg
Anthony Head Ballad Ghost
Peter Bowles Ballad Ghost
Ian Burford
Michael N. Harbour Jonas Fogg
Directors: Tim Burton
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10 out of 98,111 votes

“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” Movie Review

“Sweeney Todd” Plot Summary

The infamous story of Benjamin Barker, a.k.a Sweeney Todd, who sets up a barber shop down in London which is the basis for a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett. Based on the hit Broadway musical.

Got me onside, surprisingly good

I am generally not a fan of musicals. I don’t like the artifice of singing dialogue moments. I have no problem with singing in a movie but this grates on me. Take Dreamgirls for instance. For the most part i was fine with it, good songs, performed as performances with a narrative structure surrounding them. However once of twice it had songs in place of dialogue where characters were discussing things amongst themselves or some such thing and i just got annoyed. And yes i dislike all the classics like West Side Story for this very reason

For about the first 20-30 minutes of Sweeney Todd I was having the same problem. This makes no bones about it being a musical. It’s not Rex Harrison speak-sing, it’s not staged songs in the middle of clumps of dialogue, it’s pretty much all singing. Everything. Every sentiment, every emotion, every plan, every aside. Yet after about 20 minutes or so i got used to it and went with it and then just appreciated the wonderful dark humour and sheer entertainment quality of it

Johnny Depp is great in the lead but he is complimented across the entire cast with Alan Rickman on fabulously villainous mode; Timothy Spall wonderfully revolting an Beadle Bamford – Rickman’s henchman; and Helena Bonham Carter hilariously off-centre with all the best lines. It also has a star making turn from a brilliant child actor, Edward Sanders. Much better than the now ubiquitous Freddie Highmore (who got his big break with Depp in Finding Neverland before rejoining him (with Burton) in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory) he seems destined to have a great career potentially

The film’s greatest achievement however is how Burton has translated it to screen. This is a purely film musical. It never feels stagey. Unlike recent films like The Producers, Dreamgirls, Chicago which felt largely like they’d stuck a camera in a theatre and just filmed the show here Burton is brave enough to create a cinematic musical using all the tricks of his craft. That is never feels like it belongs anywhere but on a cinema screen is a huge testament to Burton’s skill in the translation and I hope the Academy is intelligent enough to recognise this come the Oscars next year

The dark humour is great, the look is stunning, Depp is gloriously unhinged while remaining believable. Even if, like me, you don’t generally like this type of musical i think you’ll get swept up in Sweeney Todd and enjoy it. Bravo Mr Burton.

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‘The Bank Job’ Download and Reviews

September 12, 2009 by Paul Wall  
Filed under Crime, Drama, Thriller

“The Bank Job” Movie Details

The Bank Job tagline: The true story of a heist gone wrong… in all the right ways.
The Bank Job - DVD Cover

The Bank Job DVD Cover

Actors:
Jason Statham Terry
Saffron Burrows Martine
Stephen Campbell Moore Kevin
Daniel Mays Dave
James Faulkner Guy Singer
Alki David Bambas
Michael Jibson Eddie
Richard Lintern Tim Everett
Don Gallagher Gerald Pyke
David Suchet Lew Vogel
Peter Bowles Miles Urquhart
Andrew Brooke Quinn
Trevor Byfield Jack Jessell
Peter De Jersey Michael X
Rufus Dean Young Cop
Directors: Roger Donaldson
IMDB Rating: 7.5/10 out of 46,844 votes

“The Bank Job” Movie Review

“The Bank Job” Plot Summary

Martine offers Terry a lead on a foolproof bank hit on London’s Baker Street. She targets a roomful of safe deposit boxes worth millions in cash and jewelry. But Terry and his crew don’t realize the boxes also contain a treasure trove of dirty secrets – secrets that will thrust them into a deadly web of corruption and illicit scandal. add synopsis

Better than Most

I recommend this movie

The movie has a well thought out plot. It moves at a good pace that leaves you interested with the actual events in the film

The acting was well done. Jason Statham continues to be one of todays most under-appreciated and underrated actors. Yes, he does do some questionable action movies, but when you put him in a role where one actually needs to ‘act’, he never disappoints

The dialog was ‘catchy’ but still believable. The characters in this movie are believable in their ’sinister’ ways or their ‘everyday joe’ kind of ways. You really do end up hating certain individuals and loving others. There are so many interesting characters that have an interest in the bank heist that you really do want to know how it all ends

There was no unnecessary violence just for the sake of violence and yet at points, it felt like an action thriller

In the end, this is a movie with a great plot, great characters, good dialog and an ending with no holes. AND this movie is missing the Hollywood ‘over the top’ quality that has a tendency to ruin most movies

Definitely worth seeing.

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