Reviews, news, and previews.

Hello again, everyone! We decided to take a holiday break, but "Video Revue: To Infinity and Beyond!" will be up this week, as we discuss Disney movies. Expect this one to be pretty long to make up for the lack of recent shows. We could talk about Disney all day...but we'll keep it to about an hour.

You can find us on iTunes!!!!!!!!
*Does happy dance*
Just search for "Video Revue" and look for our logo.

And now a movie review: Sweeney Todd!
I saw this movie at midnight on the night it opened. I was excited, because this was my first midnight premiere. As always, I loved the dynamic duo of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, who amazingly is still incredibly attractive as the throat-slicing title character. Depp plays Sweeney Todd, a violently bitter and vengeful man who was banished by the judge who wanted Todd's wife. The corrupt judge is played by the deliciously evil Alan Rickman (also known as Snape from the HP movies), who has now turned his sights on Todd's teenage daughter, Johanna. Helena Bonham Carter is Mrs. Lovett, Todd's business partner and the only other person who knows his secret.

Their plan is a simple as it is disgusting: Sweeney Todd offers the closest shave you'll ever get, though he has very few repeat customers. Mrs. Lovett fares better, becuase her meat pies taste like nothing you've ever had before. (Translation: Sweeney Todd slits his customers' throats, and Mrs. Lovett grinds up the bodies for her meat pies.) As the body count rises, Todd also has to find a way to rescue the lovely Johanna from the evil clutches of the judge and hide his secret from the rest of London. It's all set to a haunting score. Yes, Johnny Depp sings. Yes, his voice is excellent. I want the soundtrack.

I don't want to give away the ending, but I will say that it has the most depressing ending of any musical I've ever seen (with the possible exception of "Once More, With Feeling"). The entire movie is dark and depraved, shot in muted tones with only one bright color: blood red. It's an odd contrast with the music. There's something about musicals, even when they're singing about cannibalism and murder, that is inherently surreal and almost whimsical.

Overall, I liked it. It's well done, but it's definitely rated R for a reason. It's about as gory as "V for Vendetta" or "The Matrix." This movie wins the award for fakest-looking movie blood--Sweeney Todd's victims spew Kool-Aid. But there is a lot of it. And the ending is just depressing. Still, I give Sweeney Todd 4 out of 5 stars.