Here's a movie review I wrote for my journalism class. I was complimented on how well this was written. Actually, he more or less asked my if I had plagiarized the paper. I'm going to assume that he was just pleasantly surprised at the quality of my review (my last review was on Sydney White-- great movie, but I was not motivated in the least with that article) and take into account the fact that he never gives out compliments (he also teaches upper level math). So yeah.
Oh, and if you were wondering, no, I did not plagiarize this. It's all from my own mind (although I've read some reviews since and there are similar descriptions over aspects of the movie, to which I say that great minds think alike). Enjoy!
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Horror film fanatics and musical theater aficionados can now unite under one new, award-winning movie—Tim Burton’s version of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, based on the Stephen Sondheim musical of the same name.
The story, set in 19th century London, centers around a barber named Benjamin Barker, falsely accused of a crime and banished from England by Judge Turpin and his henchman, Beadle Bamford. With the help of young sailor Anthony Hope, he finds his way back to London under a different name—Sweeney Todd.
Once there, he goes back to his old lodgings on Fleet Street, just above Mrs. Lovett’s Pie Shop. Mrs. Lovett tells Todd that his beloved wife Lucy had committed suicide after he left and that his daughter Johanna was now the ward of the very same judge who had sent him away.
Todd starts up his old barbershop in hopes of finding a way to avenge his wife’s death. But when competing barber Alfredo Pirelli tries to blackmail Todd, he kills the con artist and starts his throat-slitting rampage. Mrs. Lovett, not one to waste, uses the corpses in the filling of her meat pies.
The movie includes an all-star cast with Johnny Depp in the title role, Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin, Timothy Spall as Beadle Bamford and Sacha Baron Cohen as Alfredo Pirelli. Several new but talented faces also appear in the roles of Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower), Johanna (Jayne Wisener), Toby (Ed Sanders), and the beggar woman (Laura Michelle Kelly).
Musicals have been making their way back to the silver screen the past few years. Popular Broadway musicals like Chicago, Phantom of the Opera and Hairspray have graced the local movie theaters in the past few years. With its two Tony Award-winning appearances on Broadway—the first starring Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou and the second starring Patti LuPone and Michael Cervis—it was only a matter of time before Sweeney Todd was made into a motion picture
Diehard fans of the musical may leave the movie theater disappointed. Much of the music and dialogue has been cut, and several of the actors’ voices aren’t really “Broadway” material, but I found this easy to forgive because the actors portray the characters so well.
Anyone with a queasy stomach may want to stay away because this R-rated movie isn’t your family-friendly Julie Andrews musical. The movie creates a haunting picture, with extremely vivid, fake blood splashed against the desolate gray of London. The way Todd slices throats without a care, letting the blood spray everywhere, will make everyone squirm in their seats. And the way the bodies are disposed of is even worse, being dumped head first in a chute, landing in the cellar with a sickening crunch.
Sweeney Todd is definitely a must-see for all fans of Broadway, horror flicks, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp.
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