Review: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Okay then, first things first, mum, this aint your cup of tea.  Right then, on with the review.

The first 20 mins were uneasy, that may have just been me, but the general connotation brought forth from a music, do not mix easy with a murderer, especially one that we rarely feel a sense of empathy for.  It seems in this first 20 mins, we are being suggested we should understand Todds situation and why he does these things, and at the same time, settle into the musical style of the film.

Then, Sacha Baron Cohen appears, and strangely enough, this is the catalyst for the film becoming an extremely enjoyable watch, I don't know why, but life suddenly enters the film, and bit of banter between the lead characters, and a first murder.  I am NOT a fan of Cohens work in general (Ali-G and Borat spring to mind), but this, this was surprising and an interesting contrast to his usual embarrassment based humour.

Overall Sweeney Todd is a good film, not a Depp and Burton masterpiece, but deserved of it's position with their other works.  The audience members are required to give it a chance, and understand that this is something knew, but this is part of its charm I find, as it is so rare to find a new idea in film.  I know we have brought musicals to film, but the style this was done, and the story, it's a credit to the Sondeheim, and worth a see.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

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Heath Ledger

Okay, I have been trying my damnedest not to blog about this, not out of disrespect, but because I didn't want it to seem as though I was using it for blog popularity, so, I am going to stop talking, and just ask you to look at the below piece.

Charisma as Natural as Gravity | Newsweek Periscope | Newsweek.com

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Review: Juno (2007)

I managed to get free tickets to a preview screening at my local cinema last night (thankyou Orange), and I must say, had heard little other than praise for the film, I knew little of what it was about, and as I sat in my seat I looked around me.  It was an extremely surreal view, college couples, college girls, and one couple in their 70s, sitting in the middle of it all.  They must have wondered whether they had chosen the right film to go to.  And although the language, and plot was youthful, I do like to think they did not regret it after the film had ended.

It was a really nice film, with nice characters that you care about (which is rare, as most nice characters start to annoy me after a while), the humour was also well placed, and tastefully done even in the less tasteful situations.  There were times when I cringed in preperation for what I expected to be a cringeworthy moment that never came, whilst these weren't twists, they went across unexpected territory, and in a good way too, keeping the focus on the correct aspects of the story.

I was overall, surprised, and pleased by the film, and would recommend it to others, although it is more appealing to girls!  Being in a cinema surrounded by ladies, watching a film primarily about children, there were the odd doting wanabe parents around cooing, but thats good, the rest of the audience were obviously getting close to the situation and characters because of this.

Juno (2007)

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Review: No Country for Old Men (2007)

Okay, finally managed to finish watching this film the other day, and I must say, it was an interesting ending.  I am not completely sure as to my general feelings towards the film, it was a good film, but many reviews have called it the best the Coens have produced so far, and I just cant agree with that.  I much preferred Fargo and of course, The Big Lebowski.

They haven't lost any of their charm though, the characters are interesting, even though the dialogue as sparse, we still want to understand these people, and what has made them who they are today.  It is at times slow, seemingly building tension, sometimes this works, sometimes this doesn't, it's worth a watch if you enjoy the darker side of the coen films, but in my opinion, it isn't one of their best, but is far from their worst.  (What were you doing remaking the Ladykillers?!?)

No Country for Old Men (2007)

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Predictions from 1900

An interesting article of predictions made in the 1900s, I particularly like the extinction of mosquitos, and no wild-animals.

Have a read, I am kind of glad I live in this world rather than that one!

I am rice

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Doomsday trailer

From the director that brought us one of my favourite modern horrors (Dogsoldiers), we now have a new british horror called 'Doomsday'.

It looks pretty insane, and right now, im not sure if that's in the good or bad sense of the word.  It sounds interesting though.  One review compared the look and feel to mad max and escape from new york, I think I would tend to agree, if not with a little James Bond cars and Tribe face paints.

Fingers crossed for another good episode

Embedded Video

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No Country for Old Men

Okay, today would have been a day to review the new film by the Coen's, but sadly disaster struck in the form of a police emergency, shutting down the building (1 cinema, 1 bowling alley, a night club, and many bars/restaurans) and also the opposing rail station.  This happened exactly half way through the film.  So far it seems a little slow in places, but I am pretty sure it was just about to pick up.  Will hopefully review soon when I get to finish watching it, until then, here is a trailer for the film to keep you all busy.

Embedded Video

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I Am Legend (2007)

Well, I finally went to see this the other night, after all the excitement and anticipation.  Although I had heard certain negative reviews, as always I went in with an open mind, and I wasn't at all disappointed.  One thing I would like to point out though, I made a minor mistake in my original after film banter, as I compared it to the Omega man, sayin how similar they were (except for the weird jesus comparison at the end).  Now, after a little research, I realise they were both based on the same book (as was an older film called last man alive).

I felt it bettered the Omega man to some extent, I felt more of a connection with the characters for some reason, which is often hit or miss with Will Smith films as I can name his films I have enjoyed on one hand with spares.  There was also the ending, which I wont give away, but it has been commented as it was a bit daft, whereas I put it down to professionalism, and making sure the job gets done.

One warning, it is not a happy happy film, there are sad moments, it is roughly half action/vamps half psychological affects/isolation.  You can tell the research Smith made for this part as I feel otherwise he may have Fresh Princed some of the scenes where is talking to manequins.  Definately worth a watch.  Not quite 28 days later, but in many ways, its so different, that it doesn't matter.

I Am Legend (2007)

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New Cloverfield trailer

This is the new trailer for Cloverfield, looks interesting, show more of what the feel of the film is going to be I think aswell, should be... interesting!