SWEENEY TODD: DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (A) - i put off seeing this until the very last day it showed here! i'm a big Depp and Burton fan but all the rumors of horror and graphic blood-letting had me spooked. finally after all the nominations and watching the trailer a few times i screwed up my courage and went to a matinee. i've never seen the previous stage musicals and so i can't compare but this was wonderful! very operatic and moving. i liked the singing and the songs. yes, it had bushelfuls of blood but it was sort of like Monty Python blood if you know what i mean...it didn't seem really real. there have been comparisons of Sweeney Todd to Depp's Scissorhands character but he reminded me of an older pissed-off Gilbert Grape. nobody does brooding better! Helena Bonham Carter was also fabulous.
THERE WILL BE BLOOD (B-) - i also put this off but my husband wanted to go and actually i'm the easiest person ever to talk into going to a movie. i will see almost anything with just about anybody! DDL i thought was amazing but i didn't really enjoy the movie that much. i appreciate that it's a beautifully told story and i liked the cinematography (maybe not the music so much) but i had a constant sense of dread and was ready to go when it was over. put me down for more of a Magnolia fan.
THE GOLD RUSH (A+) - this movie never ever disappoints. i saw it with a live orchestra and theatre organ. they don't make them like that anymore i'm afraid!
OSCAR-NOMINATED ANIMATED SHORT FILMS (A-) - five shorts, most of which i really liked. my favorites were I Met The Walrus and Peter And The Wolf (which won the oscar). by the way, it looks like most of the oscar shorts (animated and live action) can be downloaded from iTunes.
OSCAR-NOMINATED LIVE ACTION SHORT FILMS (B-) - five shorts, some of which i liked. my favorites were The Substitute and Tangi Argentini. The Mozart Of Pickpockets won the oscar but i didn't think it was that original.
PERSEPOLIS (A) - i can't believe this was in competition with Ratatouille for an oscar! it should have been in the foreign film category. kind of long but i liked it a lot. i'd like to know what happens next. it was an interesting point of view that isn't heard from much.