I hate giving star ratings. I have to do it for my ‘official’ job, and every time it’s a struggle. How can you put movies in just 11 categories (half-stars are also allowed), and even more crucially, how can you say all 3.5 star movies, for example, are ‘worth’ the same? Oddly enough, I don’t have a problem with the more reductive “see it”, “skip it”, “wait for DVD” grading method employed by MaryAnn Johanson, the FlickFilosopher, because it gives judgment on one clearly defined point, namely the watchability/enjoyability of a movie. Star ratings, on the other hand, are an attempt to summarize all your feelings about quality, fun, suspense, the absence of presence of a deeper meaning, the enjoyability/watchability AND your personal reaction into just one number. And I just don’t think it can be done.
Case in point: Sweeney Todd. The Burton/Depp combination ensures that my ass will be in that seat. It also makes for relatively high expectations: I might not love all their collaborations, but I haven’t disliked one yet. And in a way, Sweeney Todd delivers what I expected: it looks fabulous, full of baroque decay with blood spurting out on desaturated images. Johnny Depp is a perfect fit as Sweeney, and although you can tell his voice has limits, he knows them. The same goes for Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, who compensates for her rather weak voice with pitch-perfect characterization and comic timing, and Alan Rickman can of course do no wrong. The music is great, elegant and unpredictable (if not very suited for sing-alongs), “A little priest” being a highlight for me.
As Cool As A Fruitstand 