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Reviews
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
What is this movie missing? Oh yeah, Danny Elfman
Hmmm, well, first of all, the music in this movie was horrible. I know nothing about Sweeney Todd other than he's the demon barber of fleet street, but I had no idea that they were going to burst into song. Now, I don't mind musicals, but the one theme in this musical is repeated over and over with such sing-songy question-and-answer that after a while you just have to curse the over dramatic nature of it all.
The best parts of the movie are the visuals. There is a scene at the beach and picnic which is really funny. There's a scene depicting the trial of a seven year old, which gets gasps from the audience.
The blood and gore was really disgusting. I don't really think it added much to the movie besides looking colorful. Sacha Baron-Cohen was great as the pseudo Italian barber.
There were a lot of young children in the audience when I saw this movie. I can only imagine what dozens of images of throat slitting will do to the mind of a 10 year old.
Ultimately, I would have much rather have seen a less faithful rendition of Sweeney Todd, with music by Danny Elfman and more of Sasha.
Sakebi (2006)
Could have been so much more...
The Japenese sense of pacing, editing and musical score must be different than American tastes, but surely this movie could have been so much more with a little more post production work.
Someone in Hollywood needs to re-make this movie and I think it would be a big hit. The story is interesting and creepy. There's something about the edges of the city, gritty policemen, earthquakes, sanitariums and mysterious saltwater killings that is enough to be captivating. However, this story has to make just a little bit of sense and maybe be about 40 minutes shorter.
I do have to say that the "sixth-sense" effect was in full force in this movie, and that was evident from the very beginning.
As it stands, only the die-hard Japanese film lovers should bother seeing this oh-so-boring movie.