Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

I went into the theatre with doubts honestly. Johnny Depp? Singing? But he did not leave me disappointed. Sure he was no Ben Tissell, but his voice was adequate enough to keep you interested. I felt that he put enough character and life into his words that it didn't really matter all that much how his voice sounded. But overall Depp's performance was captivating and kept me well intrigued throughout the whole movie. He brought the character of Sweeney Todd to life for me.

As far as Helena Bonham Carter goes, well lets just say that her Golden Globe nomination is well-deserved. Her character of Mrs. Lovett was so lovable yet so grotesque at the same time. To generate both of those emotions in one character is brilliant. She had perfect comedic timing, when necessary and at the same time had such a genuine motherly love for little Toby.

Alan Rickman brought his exceptional antagonist character that we have seen in a number of his other movies (Harry Potter, Die Hard, Robin Hood:Prince of Thieves, Perfume). The character of Judge Thurpin was a cold-blooded pig who was only interested in one thing, women. And Rickman portrayed this creep of a character flawlessly.

And the other characters: Sacha Baron Cohen played pretty much the same character in Talledaga Nights (horrible movie by the way, dont see it), only he was Italian instead of French. I was looking forward to a little bit of variety from him. The character of Anthony kind of bothered me. The actor who played him (Jamie Campbell Bower) had a terrific sining voice but he was too feminine and I could only think of a girl every time he was on the screen. I wanted more of a heroic, yet sensitive character for the role. The beggar woman was brilliant and perfectly cast. And Timothy Spall played Beadle Bamford, the typical slimy side-kick to the enemy that Spall has been known to play.

Overall, I thought Tim Burton did an excellent job of casting the movie. It was captivating and awe-inspiring. And though there was a lot of blood, it wasn't your typical blood. It didn't look realistic but more, dare I say, artistic.

Two Thumbs Up!