Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd explores territory that director Tim Burton has been mining for a long time now, but despite that familiarity -- and despite the fact that the musical that served as the movie's basis dates to the late '70s -- the film feels both fresh and vibrant. And, ironically, full of life.

One nitpick to get out of the way first: Sweeney Todd is a musical in the purest sense of the word. There is not one scene in the film that does not have singing. The film's advertising surprisingly didn't try to obscure this fact; even so, when I saw the film in the theater, a nearby moviegoer hissed at their partner "Didn't you check the reviews!?" when cast first broke into song. I've also heard of another showing at which a loud exclamation of "Oh no!" was heard during the opening scene. I don't think I've ever gone to seen a film in the theaters without being aware of its genre beforehand, but I've come to accept that my media consumption habits don't mirror that of the general public.

Sweeney Todd is the story of Benjamin Barker, played by Burton regular Johnny Depp in a performance that brings to mind his turns in Edward Scissorhands and Pirates of the Caribbean in its gothic trappings and over-the-top couture. Barker is a London barber with a happy life: A pretty wife, a lovely child, and a thriving business. Unfortunately for him, his happiness attracts the envious eyes of Judge Turpin (played magnificently by a perfectly cast Alan Rickman) and the Judge brings him up on trumped up charges and has him deported to Australia.

The film opens with Barker arriving in a grimy, miserable London wracked with desperation and poverty. His idealistic sailing companion might think "there's no place like London", but Barker knows the corruption that has rotted the famed city to it's core. Arriving in London, he changes his name to Sweeney Todd and makes his way to his old barbershop hoping to find his old life intact. Unfortunately, all he finds is a meat pie shop making "the worst pies in London" and run by an old acquaintance, the waifish Mrs. Lovett. Lovett is played by another Burton regular, Helena Bonham Carter, here looking even more downtrodden (and more gothic-fantasy) than she did in Fight Club. When Barker learns from Mrs. Lovett that the Judge's depredations have led to his wife's demise and that the Judge has taken his daughter (whom he hasn't seen since she was an infant) as his ward, he embarks on a bloody path of vengeance.

You're probably familiar with what that entails. The story of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street has been told in various forms for hundreds of years. He puts a trap door in his barbershop, slits the throats of his customers, and sends them down to Mrs. Lovett to be made into meat pies. Suddenly the "worst pies in London" are the meatiest and most popular. But vengeance is never so clean and simple as slitting a few throats, and the inevitably of the films tragedies begin pressing almost as soon as the plot kicks into motion.

Burton's Sweeney Todd is a gothic wonderland. The film may as well have been shot in black and white, with liberal splashes of the sticky red stuff breaking up the noirish color palette. Much of the music isn't belted out as is typical in Broadway musicals, but is instead takes a more conspiratorial, almost whispering, tone. The principals don't have the greatest voices, but they gets the job done, and their exemplary skill as actors more than makes up for any flaws in the singing.

Did I mention the copious amount of blood on display? Well, there's a lot of it. I grew up a horror-film fiend, and even I was flinching at some of the more gruesome scenes.

In Sweeney Todd, Burton has taken many of his trademark directorial flourishes and turned them way up, making in the process a film that stands alongside the very best his filmography has to offer.

Sleepy Hollow
I love double features, and I always keep an eye out for a natural companion piece to any movie that piques my interest. For my money, the perfect complement to Burton's Sweeney Todd is a pairing with another of his Depp collaborations, the under-rated Sleepy Hollow. The two go well together, in large part because of their similar style and settings. Todd, however, is much, much darker and more serious than the gothic fantasy of Sleepy Hollow, which is another reason to watch them together -- to contrast them where they diverge. Of course, if the horseman doesn't strike your fancy, Depp and Burton have also collaborated on Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Corpse Bride. So you have some options.

Alvin and the Chipmunks
As much as I love you, dear Audience, I was not able to bring myself to watch this film for your sake. The trailer is already an abomination upon the earth that will probably lead to the Elder Gods rising up and consuming all of humanity in vengeance. I hope you're happy, Jason Lee.