Saw V [2008]

Shikyo's Ratings: 4.5 outta 5 PoPcOrNz!


Gore Rating: 3.5 outta 5 BloODy BaGz!


The pieces of the jigsaw are falling into place...

Warning: To fully understand the movie, you HAVE to have watched Saw 1 through Saw 4 consecutively, in sequence. If you love gore and don't give a damn about the storyline, go ahead and contribute your valuable moneys to the film makers because I really really want to see a Saw 6 next year!!! xD


Newbies to the Saw series would've definitely been lost if they watched Saw 5. They would've left the theater either loving the traps or loving the gore, or wondering why they paid to watch a really bloody confusing movie. But those who have watched, enjoyed and marveled at the continuity of the story behind all the Saw movies-- they'd probably have loved this addition to the series.

There weren't as many omg-that's-fcking-disgusting gore moments in this movie, but a fair amount of blood was spilt. Bombs were used to motivate Jigsaw's victims, unlike the nerve poisons he used in Saw II. I really admire his traps-- there's always a connection between his victims, there's always an emotional push for them to see the game to the end, and there's always a way out with a bit of sacrifice.


That's all I can really say without revealing spoilers, and so...

* S * P * O * I * L * E * R * S *

Here's where you stop reading
if you haven't seen the film,
and you intend to do so

* A * H * E * A * D *

There are two main stories happening throughout Saw 5. One story takes place right after Saw 4 in which we find FBI Agent Strahm trapped in a room with the dead bodies of Jigsaw, Amanda, Lynn and Jeff. Lost already? Here's your last chance to go back and watch Saw 1 through Saw 4, one after another, plsthxbai.

Inevitably, Agent Strahm is thrown into Jigsaw's game and awakes to find his head encased in a cube filling with water. One wonders why he doesn't start gulping the water to delay the inevitable, but anyway he survives by punching a hole into his throat to avoid asphyxiation.





Agent Strahm lives, heals up but the FBI peeps take him off the Jigsaw case. Like all the other obsessed cops involved in the Saw movies, Agent Strahm is driven to dig for more clues because he's pretty sure Jigsaw and Amanda had an accomplice. His search for answers points to Detective Hoffman.

Unfortunately, Hoffman already suspects Strahm's on to him and sets up a test for him asking Strahm to trust Hoffman and get into a glass coffin like box. Here, I'm kinda undecided on who planned this last trap because the tapes that were planted had Hoffman's voice not Jigsaw's (I think), but the glass box used was seen in Jigsaw's workshop in Saw 4. Anyways, predictably, Strahm failz from his refusal to trust Hoffman and dies.

The second story follows five people trapped in a sewer location. We later find out that this test was planned by Jigsaw, but executed by Strahm-- so it's expected that at the end of the test, something is revealed at an OMG-scale. Hmmm on second thoughts, I won't spoil it for you since there's no need to! But I will say that the last act of sacrifice was the goreiest... I can't really image how they could possibly heal up and live on with that kinda self-inflicted damage.





I would have rated Saw V as high as 5 popcorns, but there were a couple inconsistencies in the movie which I'll cover now. Yes, I'm being nitpicky as usual...

Anonymity and Fingerprints
There was a flashback showing Detective Hoffman and Jigsaw doing up the room featured in Saw 2... and while they were setting up the gun, one could clearly see that they weren't wearing any gloves! This was so dumb because in one of the scenes Jigsaw actually says that Hoffman's anonymity was a good thing. I mean, gee, fingerprints anyone?

Blood and Brains
Close to the end of the five-people-trapped-in-sewers story arc, there are two people left alive who quickly figure out that they need to run a part of their limb through a saw to accumulate enough blood in a jug that will trigger the final door to open. And they did all this clever thinking BEFORE closing the door to the previous room, knowing jolly well there's a freshly dead body lying in the tub there. So why didn't they just take the electrocuted girl and feed her to the saws before closing the damn door?! It's not like ALL her blood dried up after the electrocution right...


What I wanna see in the next Saw movie:

Hoffman's Test
At the beginning of Saw 4, Jigsaw leaves a message for the Detective Hoffman: "You think you will walk away untested." So far, none of the traps have been set specifically to test him yet, so my hunch is Saw 6 will test Hoffman. My guess is he'll fail, just like Amanda. Amanda's weakness was her emotions, but I have no idea what Hoffman's weakness is... he already killed his sister's murderer, so what else is going to anger him into making mistakes...

I Know Who You Are
There was a message left on the Detective Hoffman's desk. "I know who you are." It was never confirmed that Agent Strahm left it there. There's a possibility that he did or maybe FBI Agent Perez (Strahm's dead partner) did it, but I have a feeling it's probably Jigsaw's wife, Jill. Why? It's this one piece of paranoia/knowledge that sets things in motion, driving Hoffman into setting up a trap for Agent Strahm. It was later revealed that in Saw 4, Perez actually mentioned Hoffman's name just as she died. But how did she deduce that Hoffman was most likely the accomplice?

Jigsaw's Wife
During Saw 5, Jill approached FBI Erickson to complain that she was being followed, but no one was following her throughout the entire movie! Detective Hoffman was too busy trying to figure out where the Agent Strahm was. I think Jill's lying, again to set things in motion... she wanted to lure Erickson out. Also Jill inherited a box from Jigsaw-- contents of it are unknown >_< Also, she was seen toying with the box's key around her neck in Saw 4 but in her flashbacks, she didn't have it on her. Meaning, somewhere somehow she must've gotten it from Jigsaw AFTER he told her not to go back to him.



^ Zomg I watched Saw V in theater Hall 5!

Jumper [2008]

Shikyo's Ratings: 1 outta 5 PoPcOrNz!


Welcome to the Universe of the Terminally Stupid...
And behold, it reeks of Testosterones.

Now lemme be crystal clear - I do NOT detest the movie, I'm simply saying that this movie's plot is just made for stupid people with no brains. Before you jump to your toes defending it, I want you to really sit down and think about the events that happened in the movie. Because if I can tear this entire film apart scene by scene and criticize it till kingdom come, I'm sure you can find at least ONE scene to: "OMGWTF were the writers thinking?!?"

I'll start with the good points (because there are just so few of them): Jumper is cool and it is entertaining, maybe even a little bit exciting where the fights are concerned with all the flashing and jumping around. And not many movies have dealt solely with the idea of teleportation so maybe it gets a point for being somewhat "original." The actors are kinda cute too and... that's it! One popcorn rating from me, being extra generous with the salt.



Let's get on with the review: Ever since the beginning of superhero comics/movies, you've no doubt thought about what kinda supernatural power you'd want and what you'd do with it. People are greedy by nature; with powers, we aim straight for a combination of money, power, fame, some sort of invincibility, and more money. But when we take in quotes like Spidey's Uncle Ben's "With great power comes great responsibility," we put personal greed on the shelf and think about how we could use superpowers to help humanity for the better, then a lesson is learnt.


This disgusting movie doesn't even attempt to embrace the idea of learning a lesson. Instead, it steals the lesson and hammers it into a bloody pulp.

Stealing the lesson:
"You think it could go on like this forever? Living like this with no consequences? There are always consequences!" -- Roland to David.

Beating the lesson to death:
"Only God should have this power." -- again, Roland to David, explaining why his organization was out to hunt, kill and torture ALL Jumpers.


And of course, the atheist part of me is screaming why bring religion into the picture? WHY?!? The only explanation I could reason was because some asshat writer wanted to make the film more convincing so they threw in a connection to real world history behind the name of Roland's organization, "Paladin." And voila, suddenly christian notions of paladins, the crusades, the witch hunts... all can be explained because of these Jumpers!

Don't get me wrong. I like stories that connect the fictional world with our non-fiction past, but this is just stretching it to the point of Teh Unbelievable. Note to the movie-writers: if a normal sane person, like me, won't believe the historical bullcrap you're dishing out, then there's NO POINT in including it into the movie! >=(

I'm going to devote my nitpicking on why the movie is stupid and why the characters are stupid, but first, a word from our friendly spoiler alert:

* S * P * O * I * L * E * R * S *

Here's where you stop reading
if you haven't seen the film,
and you intend to do so

(But srsly, read on, cuz this film is a waste of money AND time)

* A * H * E * A * D *

The Snowglobe
Main protagonist, David, is bullied at school. David's snowglobe gets tossed out into the middle of a frozen lake by a classmate, and being the hero that he is, David goes to retrieve it. He slowly makes his way there, picks it up, holds the globe and STANDS there like he's about to make a speech at the Academy Awards. May I remind you, he's loitering around in the middle of a frozen lake. WTF!

The Toilet
Realizing his new cool jumping abilities, David hatches a plot to rob a bank because, y'know, money is all dat. Telling the security guard he wishes to use the washroom facilities, the guard brings him down to a place where you can CLEARLY see the vault behind rows of metal bars. The PUBLIC TOILET is situated down the hallway from the bank's main vault?! WTF!

The Apartment
With all the money in the world, David decides to get himself ONE fancy apartment. I must say that the only smart thing he did was create a room with no doors to stash his treasures. Jumper-hunter, Paladin Roland eventually discovers David's place and tries to kill him. And after narrowly escaping death, David decides that now's the best time to return to his hometown to look for his highschool sweetheart... Wait, what?! An assassin has found out who you are and where you live, and you wanna take a trip down memory lane. Yes, I see how that makes perfect sense...

The Brawl
While trying to find Millie (the highschool sweetheart) David bumps into that ole school snowglobe-throwing bully and they go at each other. David, for some asinine reason, decides it'd be a smart idea to Jump himself and the school bully into that first bank vault he robbed and leave him there... Because no one would ever check a bank vault??? Because he wanted to show off his supernatural powers??? I can't even BEGIN to rationalize his actions at this point...

The Coliseum
Long story short, David breaks into the coliseum (yes, that very famous one in Rome) to show Millie around. David meets Griffin (another Jumper) and suddenly a whole bunch of Paladins show up to kill them. Griffin jumps back to his lair to escape, now the funny thing is that he knows about Jump Scars and he knows the Paladins know about Jump Scars, so WHY didn't he THINK about making pitstops elsewhere to make sure no one follows his trail back to his ultra secret hidden lair?! Back in Rome, Millie and David have cops at their tails, and instead of cooperating with David, Millie insists for David's explanations first. OMG silly girl! Run first, ask questions later >_<

So far I've been ranting along as the storyline progresses from start to just about middle, I'm going to stop pointing out stupid stuff now, but believe me, there's MUCH MORE. Anyways, there are loose ends as well... unanswered things like:

The Jumps
Sometimes when David jumps, he arrives at his destination with everything in his spherical circumference destroyed. But then he got better at jumping and there were no damages. Up until the point his dad died and David jumped him into the hospital, did the damages start up again O_o It could be that the damage is caused by his emotions but seriously, if you're just bending space and time to jump, what causes all the destruction and why isn't the jumper's skin or clothes destroyed too??? Inconsistencies like these drive me nuts >_<

The Mom
It is revealed that David's mom is a Paladin in the end. But at one point, Roland did invade David's dad's house and finds a picture of David's mom -- and you could tell that Roland recognized her. So if all the Paladins know each other, then why wasn't there any interrogation done?? In the last scene, David's mother is seen to be living comfortably in a large house with her blissfully ignorant family. You'd think that the mother of a known jumper would be taken in for genetic testing and such...

* * * * *

Oyvay, I better wrap up this growing rant.

Lemme take you back to a scene where David turns on the TV and the news reporter telecasts a devastating flood saying that "nothing short of a miracle" will save these folks. And what does David do? Blatantly Ignore it, he does.

And at the end of the climatic battle with Roland, David deposits him in the middle of the Grand Canyon (why didn't he think of this sooner with the school bully?) ... anyways David's last line to Roland was something like "See, I'm different." Right, leaving someone in a desert is definitely "different" from Griffin's other methods like leaving a guy in the ocean, dropping a guy from thousands of feet up, etc. /End sarcasm.

In closing, I'm going to say that this movie has got to be the biggest parody of any male god-like figure: A guy with superpowers who enjoys only the pleasures and thrills of life -- cars, babes, money -- and totally turning a blind eye to everything else that matters, while at the same time making stupid decisions. I mean, come on, does this not sound familiar? Remember those imaginary fictional male god-like entity(s) ...those self-indulging, self-centered, selfish pigs that you worship daily...

Yeah, just stand there and think about it. It'll come to you one day.

See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil

CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY

CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY

I cannot believe that in this day and age, there are some people who refuse to leave their little cave holes of ignorance. They're still plugging their ears and squeezing their eyes shut, sheltering themselves from the real world because it just isn't to their liking.

But what can you expect from a group of deluded old fogies -- the same bunch who believe they are remotely capable of rapping. For pete's sake, it's time to get out and taste reality for what it is!


So what do I think defines a "relationship"?

It's a connection between people and the last time I checked, people consisted of any persons of any race, gender, age, etc. We've got a country pledge that speaks of "equality," but if you so happen to fall in love with someone of the same gender, you'll find yourself shoved into the "indecent" column. And in the eyes of the law and media, you won't even be considered an equal, you can even wind up in JAIL for being "indecent" in your own home. And the thing I don't know why so many people don't get is this -- people are people -- everyone's the same living breathing human being but yet there are discriminations all over the world.

To me, there's something wrong with an equality that isn't equal.


What do I think defines an "acceptable" family unit?

First of all, it should NOT be confined to archaic ideologies. People should be able to define how their individual family unit works. After all, a family is a bunch of people you love and live with and you have close relationships to each other. I feel that as long as no one's getting hurt and as long as everyone in the family unit is happy -- who's to say that your family unit isn't acceptable???

Does the government or the law really have any business at all poking their noses into someone's personal definition of a family unit? And on the issue of morals and ethics, where are the statistics to prove that loving someone of the same gender affects a person's morals and ethics? Do we see more criminals who are gay? And does the media really have any business defining what can and cannot be exposed to the public? Doesn't the media already have something called a rating system, for people to exercise SELF censorship?

I think it's seriously time we start answering these questions rationally and without age-old feelings of ignorance to things we don't understand.

* * * * *

I'm gonna side track and finally say something about that infamous rap made by above mentioned old fogies. I can't believe there was all that media hype over the video's success ... "OMG it's viral! OMG people are watching it!" ... that was just a painful attempt to blindside the public into believing MDA's NOT making utter fools of themselves. Newsflash guys, a content is only made viral if it comes really close to touching the extremes of:

- OMFG (this is so good)
- OMGWTF (this is so shocking)
- WTF (this makes me angry)
- WTFROFL (this is so bad)
- ROFLMAO (this is so funny)
- AWWW (this is so cute)

It doesn't take a genius to figure out which corner MDA's "rap" sits.

Love Lessons in Polytechnic Schools

CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY







Introducing, the new ACADEMIC course on love and relationships!
If this hadn't been reported on a news site, I'd have thought it was a spoof XD

We all know how panicky the singapore government gets when it looks at the current population projections -- there just aren't gonna be enough young working adults supporting aging society... oh noez! But somehow there seems to be a LACK of logic with this new plan.

I mean, BRAINWASHING people to focus on relationships and getting married and eventually making babies when they're financially unstable? Are you kidding me! How's that going to help in the long run? =

I'd understand if this was just a one time course for people to think about love and relationships due to the INCREASING divorce rate. But it states quite plainly that their intention's to PROMOTE MARRIAGES.

Or maybe we've got to read between the lines and wonder why else the government might be "encouraging" the youth to pair out. Could they be worried that more and more people are becoming gay or lesbian? And I'm sure they'll sneak in sex education into the course as well -- which is cool, we definitely need to make sure kids are aware of STDs.

But I've got to really wonder. How does one get graded in a course like this?

D grade if you manage to get asked out on a date;
C grade if you manage to pair up with someone;
B grade if you get married;
A grade if you get married and have kids...
And utter failure if you end up with someone of the same sex? O_o

No offense to the gays and lesbians, you guys are alright in my books! =)

Youtube: Bulgarian Idol

Ken Lee (Tulibu dibu douchoo)
I Can't Live (If Living Is Without You)

No one ken to ken to sivmen
No I can't forget this evening

Nor yon clees toju maliveh
Or your face as you were leaving

When I gez aju zavateh na nalechoo more
But I guess that's just the way the story goes

New yonooz tonigh molinigh
You always smile but in you eyes

Yon sorra shooo
Your sorrow shows

Yes ee shooo, ooo
Yes it shows

Ken leee
Can't live

Tulibu dibu douchoo
If living is without you

Ken leee!
Can't live

Tulibu dibu douchoo
If living is without you

Ken leee!
Can't live

Ken lee meju more
Can't live any more

* * * * *

Video Translation by http://www.youtube.com/user/denomk

Akeelah and the Bee [2006]

Shikyo's Ratings: 2 outta 5 PoPcOrNz!

This movie's totally Bee for Boring...
...unless you're in need for a FEEL GOOD movie.


One of the things that saved this movie is Laurence Fishburne (aka Morpheus) who acts as Akeelah's coach. He's a brilliant actor and I love the way he delivers his lines. Other than that, this movie did nothing for me -- it has a very straight forward and predictable plot.

Sure, it explores the whole Black community thing, but I think this movie should have just concentrated on the spelling contest and nothing else. I don't understand why it has to hover over racial issues and meander about the difficulties of a Black person's livelihood -- the fact is, I don't care! >_< In this day and age, racial issues should be a thing of the past!


Personal note: I think the world will be a better place without irrational people making stereotypical observations just because of another person's skin tone or hair color. People are of the same species, period, there should be no breaking down into races and gender and all the other things that make one person's social life "different" from another's.


Maybe the movie's trying to tell us how much harder it is for a Black person to get a better education, I dunno... however, there's a point in the movie when Akeelah's mom confessed that it was actually her FEAR OF FAILURE that got to her, rather than blaming it on society's racial discriminations. That was good to hear.


Another thing I didn't quite like: The cliche portrayal of the Chinese kid's dad -- who wanted his kid to be Number One... to the point of robbing him out of the fun-ness of the competition and/or the fun-ness of his childhood life. Seriously, stereotype alarms going off again ~_~"


Anyway, the main reason why this movie wasn't a total flop for me... there's one line that Morpheus gets Akeelah to read out loud:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be?"


But it ties very nicely back to Akeelah's mom's recollection of her past, and it's just a very good quote =)


* * * * *


Note 1: The above quote was by Marianne Williamson, NOT Nelson Mandela. I'm rather pissed that the movie tried to misinform the public... so much for trying to tie a good quote to an old influential black dude =|

Note 2: I like to call him Laurence Fishburne, "Morpheus," so sue me

Ratatoille [2007]

Shikyo's Ratings: 5 outta 5 PoPcOrNz!

For those who haven't seen Ratatoille yet, omfg which rock have you been living under? It's quite possibly the best movie ever! Forget my review, go and watch the movie now. Keep your mind open to the lessons that go deeper than friendship and love. Look past the cutesy animation for the true meaning of the story. My review does not give it enough justice >_<

* S * P * O * I * L * E * R * S *

Here's where you stop reading
if you haven't seen the film.

I forbid you to read further.
Srsly. Watch the movie.

* A * H * E * A * D *

This movie is as much for the kiddies as it is for teens and adults -- it's one of those all-in-one movies with good directing + witty plot + wholesome lessons + smart characters + fun for all ages. Great cast of voice actors who aren't carrying big-shot names but they know what they're doing, and really who cares if the voice actors aren't popular actors? They made all the characters feel very real and the accents were good, but let's not take away credit from the script writer (and director), Brad Bird, who really put a lot of effort into making sure his characters weren't your typical flawless good guys.

When you're watching the film, you don't feel like thumbing down all the bad decisions made by the protagonists, you'd think, if I were in his/her shoes, I'd prolly do the same. Everyone's got their own faults and everyone makes mistakes. And the best part is that none of the characters make any idiotic out-of-character decisions, nor do they suddenly undergo a change in character.

Perhaps my only beef with this movie is the main human character's name "Alfredo Linguini." It's a ridiculous name. There's just too much hint to the popular pasta dish, whereas the other characters' names are normal.. even the rat names are normal!

My favourite quote comes from Remy when he speaks against his mousey dad: "Change is nature. The part that we can influence. And it starts when we decide."

It's all about the many discriminations that we face in societies that we live in today. It's a blatant "change is the only constant" and "roll with the changes" message and how we can all change society's norm for the better. Of course, what's right and wrong is always evolving but all it takes is just one person to influence others, and if unbiasedly, the majority sees it as an improvement then more will follow along. In that way, so many age-old nonsense still clinging to some people's thoughts can be changed and we can move ahead and improve humanity by setting up new or redefining old societal norms.


If anyone caught this next quote... I have a feeling Brad Bird actually threw this line out to (future) movie critiquers of Ratatouille.

Quoting a line from Anton Ego: "In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new..."

I think my jaw dropped at this point.


Srsly, Brad Bird is like a frikkin STORYTELLING GOD having successfully delivered TWO outstanding movies -- The Incredibles and Ratatouille. I really liked Iron Giant as well but I don't remember loving it as much as these two (I have a short term memory problem xD). Anyways, I can't wait for his next story, and I dun care if it's an animation or real-life movie or tv series or even a book.


Just like Linguini had a little mousey telling him how to make great recipies, I think Brad Bird has a little birdy telling him how to spin great stories.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street [2008]

Shikyo's Ratings: 3.5 outta 5 PoPcOrNz!


The Gore Rating: 1.5 outta 5 BloODy BaGz!


This is a MUSICAL film.

I had to get that out of my system cuz I only found out 5 hours before entering the cinema. I've been living in ignorance due to my self-isolation from local network TV, along with all the fun movie trailer commercials. Interestingly though, I discovered later on good ole Wiki that: "Warner Bros.'s (decided) not to advertise the film as a musical (and) that led to complaints from some cinema-goers, who felt they had been deliberately misled." Misled? Srsly, does it really matter how a story is delivered?

Anyway, the movie's not just about singing and dancing, there's a large portion of throat-slitting action accompanied by fountains of blood spurting in all directions -- a very weird combination BUT it works for me.

Unfortunately, that means everyone needs to be...

...Which I think is quite strange because I'm sure a lot under-18 teens have ALREADY seen more gruesome anime series than I have. Fret not, the MPAA hasn't gotten its filthy paws on your library books so you can pick one up and use your powers of imagination, or you can embrace the caring and sharing nature of the free internet =3


Alright, I digress. Let's get on with the review.

Sweeney Todd is a (mostly) old British urban legend of a serial killer barber whose victims were baked into meat pies by his partner-in-crime, Mrs. Lovett. That about sums up the entire plot.

The movie is nicely paced, even though there are some scenes where even an idiot can predict what's gonna happen next, but they felt the need to make it DRAG ON before the inevitable bloodbath. I totally blame the long-winded singing for this!

What I enjoyed about this film is the tragic twist at the end. Basically, you're invited to revisit a mid-19th century urban legend serial murder mystery, expecting it to be gruesome and heartless and ending with some sort of judicial justice... but with this movie, you're forced to sympathize with the murderer. Bravo!

* S * P * O * I * L * E * R * S *

Here's where you stop reading
if you haven't seen the film,
and you intend to do so


* A * H * E * A * D *

Artistic Direction:
Excellent camera work, excellent graphics, excellent setup, aaand excellent display of blood =) It carried a convincing theatrical feel, being a musical and all. I also loved the play between light versus dark world -- there's the dream world of happy feelings versus the evil cold harsh reality, and the repetition of the yellow-haired girl to signify innocence versus the dark-haired scheming girl who devised the brilliant plan of baking people-meat pies.





Villany:
Most villains have a tendency to wait a smidgen too long to achieve their FINAL ACT -- you know, this one act that they've been looking forward to committing since the start of their villanous career? -- Sweeney follows this tiring, done too many times before trend. There is no more suspence in doing this again.


Lovey-Dovey Bits:
I don't like going into the strange workings of love because love defies all reason. But a couple questions stand out: Why did Johanna throw her house key down to a boy whom she's never talked to? And why does Judge Turpin ((aka Snape, Snape, Severus Snape)) keeper of a library filled with karmasutra literature from all over the world, seek only the love and company of one particular yellowed hair lady, and later, her daughter? I'm surprised he didn't turn out to be a lecher.
Hmmm come to think of it, I think it's this idea of Turpin taking his ward as his unwilling wife that should require a necessity for parental guidance / mature audience rating, not the bloody display of hacking and slashing >_<


Tragic Moments:
Close to the ending Sweeney Todd ALMOST kills his own daughter without knowing she was in-disguise as a boy. I'm surprised he didn't do it! He had killed everyone else, be they innocent men or accidental witnesses like the batty old lady (who turned out to be his wife thought long dead). The only few he didn't kill included Toby, who was spared by Mrs. Lovett, BUT no one was there to stop him from killing Johanna! Yes, Mrs. Lovett screamed at the exact moment he was about to do it, but don't you think it takes less time to slit a throat than threaten her with death if she ever told anyone? That's incredibly sloppy for a serial killer =


The Ending:
Two words-- Child Killer. That's what Toby becomes as he slits Sweeney Todd's throat, ending the reign of murders. I suppose this needs another parental guidance sticker since some people might find it upsetting that a boy has to become a killer to put an end to the madness. But I'm one of those "The Ends Justify The Means" people, so all I care about is the wonderful irony.


Miscellany Bits:
There's another character from the Harry Potter movies, aside from aforementioned Judge Turpin = Severus Snape. Hint: Look out for a wormy character... he's really not too difficult to spot. And if you think the fake Italian barber pulled off his fake Italian act brilliantly, you'll be interested to know he can also pull off the role of a fake Kazakhstan reporter.


To wrap it all up, if you don't mind musicals and you don't faint at the sight of gushing blood, and most importantly if you're a huge fan of Johnny Depp then this is a must-see movie for you! =)