Musical Mondays: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) (belated)

I apologize for being a day late on this one. Let's just say I was saving it for Halloween...

     Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was released on December 21st, 2007. Based on the Stephen Sondheim stage musical of the same name, it is directed by Tim Burton and stars Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. In it Benjamin Barker (Depp), a former barber, arrives in London after a fifteen year absence having been exiled for a crime he didn't commit by one Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman). Learning that his wife committed suicide and that his daughter Johanna (Jayne Wisner) has become Turpin's ward, Barker changes his name to Sweeney Todd, vowing to exact vengeance on the man who destroyed his family. He reopens his barbershop atop the pie shop of Mrs. Lovett (Carter), biding his time until the opportunity for revenge presents itself.

     Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is considered by many to be one of the greatest Broadway musicals of all time. It successfully blends horror with subversive, black comedy and tells a story about revenge and how it can consume and destroys a person. It's also filled with commentary on industrial capitalism and its dehumanizing effects on people. Benjamin Barker is a monster who  is destroyed by his own hate and desire for vengeance but he is also an innocent man caught up in the "great black pit" that is London in the early industrial revolution. Sondheim's lyrics really bring out the subversive qualities of the story, "For what's the sound of the world out there?" "Those crunching noises pervading the air" "It's man devouring man, my dear. And then who are we to deny it in here?" This is one of the Sondheim's most accomplished works with his use of overlapping, conversational lyrics reaching new heights. His score, reminiscent of works by Bernard Herrmann, is wonderfully frenetic and dissonant complementing the dark twisted nature of the story.

     Everything I said about the stage musical can be said for this film. It preserves Sondheim's book, more-or-less, completely intact. So how well executed is it? How does Jonathan Tunick, the original play's orchestrator, re-purpose the score for the film, how well do the cast perform the material, how does Burton stage the musical numbers and what does he do to make the play "cinematic"?

     Tunick expanded the size of the orchestra for his re-orchestration of the score in order to make it more cinematic and it works well, adding a certain heft to the score that was missing in the stage version. On the other hand, Burton's decision to remove the chorus line in many of the songs deprives them of their lyrical richness and leaves them feeling thin and empty. "God, That's Good" in particular is robbed of its sense of societal madness. In addition to this neither Johnny Depp nor Helena Bonham Carter can sing very well. Many critics defended Burton's decision to cast actor's that were not professional singers, arguing that the material was never really well suited to Broadway singers anyway, but I don't buy it. The musical complexity of Sondheim's songs requires a performer who can act and sing and therefore act with their voice. Depp and Carter just don't cut it for me.

     As far as their performances go, Depp is fine, bringing the right mix of detachment and demented fury to the lead role. Helena Bonham Carter is a little more problematic. As portrayed by Angela Lansbury, Mrs. Lovett is a seemingly absentminded, flustered old lady who hides a real shrewdness and manipulative cunning underneath. She brought a real sense of humor and energy to the role. Carter on the other hand just feels limp in comparison. Her Mrs. Lovett feels more indolent than anything. It's only in a few scenes ("By the Sea" in particular) that she really comes to life. The supporting cast, by contrast, are uniformly great. Alan Rickman is perfectly cast as the despicable Judge Turpin. He's positively dripping with lechery and self-righteous hypocrisy. He can't sing any better then Depp and Carter but then he doesn't have to carry any of the numbers on his own. Timothy Spall as Beadle is a no-brainer. The man has made a career out of playing slimy sycophants. Sacha Baron Cohen is also great as the pompous, scheming Pirelli as is Ed Sanders as the young, innocent and loyal Toby, a refreshing change from the man-child of the original play. Finally, Jamie Bower and Jayne Wisner as the seemingly doomed lovers Anthony and Johanna respectively are more sympathetic than in the play, where their subplot was played mostly for laughs. I think this helps to ground the film to some extant as they're the only really sympathetic characters in the story. Comparing Wisner's restrained rendition of "Green Finch and Linnet Bird" to Sarah Rice's over-the-top version in the original Broadway cast recording illustrates the difference nicely. This is one change from the original that I kind of like.

     As indicated by his decision cut many of the choruses, Tim Burton doesn't display a great understanding of the art of the musical here and his staging of the musical numbers often lacks the manic energy they demand. "A Little Priest" suffers the most. It's just far too slow and plodding, robbing the scene of its black comedic tone. In general the film feels dour and humorless, unlike the play which was, quite often, a riot. The only exception is "By the Sea" Mrs. Lovett's whimsical detour where she imagines what a married life with Mr. Todd might look like. Burton's deadpan sense of humor, which both Depp and Carter are quite adept at by now, serves this number really well as does his trademark visual flare. His art direction is consistently great. A dense labyrinth of dirty factories and creepy alleyways, London, in this movie, really looks like the forsaken hell-hole that the lyrics paint it as.


     Sweeney Todd is not a bad adaptation. The supporting cast is quite good and Burton's unique visual style captures the original works sense of tragedy and pathos. The musical numbers have been truncated but Sondheim is good enough a writer for his work to withstand at least some tampering. Ultimately it's a good musical that could have, and probably should have, been great. 

Score: 8/10

Western Wednesdays: Bone Tomahawk (2015)

       Bone Tomahawk was released on December 10th, 2015. It is written and directed by S. Craig Zahler and stars Patrick Wilson, Kurt Russell, Matthew Fox, and Richard Jenkins. In it two highway robbers anger a tribe of cannibals when they stumble onto their burial site. One of them, named Purvis (Davud Arquette), escapes to the town of Bright Hope where he is arrested by the sheriff (Russell) and his deputy (Jenkins). The cannibals follow Purvis to town and kidnap him and Samantha, the local doctor's assistant who is tending to Purvis. Sheriff Hunt sets out with his deputy, Samantha's husband Arthur (Wilson) and a dandy named John Brooder (Fox) to rescue the two prisoners.
     S. Craig Zahler is no stranger to the western genre, having penned his first novel, A Congregation of Jackals in 2010 which he followed with Wraiths of the Broken Land in 2013. He really knows how to write hard-boiled western dialogue. Many lines have a subversive twist. In one scene Brooder kills some Mexican bandits in cold blood leading Chicory to proclaims, "Mr. Brooder just educated two Mexicans on the meaning of manifest destiny." The script gets, perhaps, a little too sardonic in a few places but overall it's really great.

     Zahler also knows how to direct a western. This was his directorial debut and it's a really strong one. He's not afraid to use longer takes and Bone Tomahawk is a deliberately paced film as a result. There's a strange elegance to this picture that is all but unknown in mainstream modern cinema. In one early scene the camera lingers as Brooder hesitates at the exit of the bar fiddling with his hat before leaving. There's no real reason to pad the scene out this way, it's just there for tone and pacing. Zahler holds back on the more grisly elements of the film until the last act where the cannibals are finally revealed in all there bone crunching glory. Up to that it's a fairly restrained piece of survivalist horror, with the band's situation growing increasingly desperate as the film goes on. Benji Bakshi's cinematography is also wonderfully restrained. Utilizing a mix of handheld and stationary camerawork and a harsh, gray color palette he imbues the film with a grim, gritty, down-to-earth tone.

     The cast is quite strong as well. Patrick Wilson has now made a career of playing upright traditional heroes who are none-the-less relatable and down to earth. He excels at playing the fiercely determined Arthur O'Dwyer, who turns out to be the film's unlikely hero despite his busted leg. Kurt Russell is also his usual, dependable self. It's hard to imagine anyone else in the role of the pragmatic yet morally sensitive sheriff. Richard Jenkins one the other hand is cast against type. Unlike the hard-nosed authoritarian figures Jenkins usually portrays, Deputy Chicory is a humble, sensitive old man with a deep sense of loyalty to his departed wife and a penchant for constantly engaging in idle chatter. Finally, Matthew Fox puts in a solid performance as the hateful, cynical gunslinger John Brooder. His chemistry with Jenkins, in particular, is really great.

     Bone Tomahawk is a really unique western horror film. S. Craig Zahler's brilliant screenplay is bolstered by strong lead performances and his restrained direction is a welcome breath of fresh air in a world dominated by horror films like Evil Dead and The Purge. As a directorial debut you could do a lot worse.

Score: 9/10

Geoff John's New 52 Justice League Retrospective Part 3 (Saturday Evening Cartoons)

     The third volume of Justice League opens with a short two part story about Cheetah. As the Wonder Woman title was pretty much doing its own thing at this point Geoff Johns was free to do what he wanted with the character. The results are, well, interesting. In this continuity it was not the Cheetah that corrupted Barbara Anne Minerva, quite the opposite in fact. It is revealed that Minerva, under various aliases, has committed all kinds of terrible crimes unbeknownst to Wonder Woman, who considers her a friend. Before Minerva stole its powers for herself the Cheetah was a benevolent god which protected the San Tribe. In stealing its powers, Minerva corrupted the Cheetah and the tribe now wants to kill her. This is easily the worst aspect of this story as it basically just turns Minerva into a crazy psychopath with little real depth.

     This story continues to build on Wonder Woman's self doubt and her shouldering of other people's burdens. She blames herself for what happened to Barbara Anne and to Steve during the last arc. When she finds out that Minerva was tricking her from the beginning she questions her faith in humanity. Superman, being Superman, tries to help lift her spirits. He and Wonder Woman really start to bond in this volume and to make more sense as a couple.

     In general there's a lot more character exploration and interaction in this arc then there was in the first two. Green Lantern, of course, has left the League and Flash is dealing with unexplained problems of his own, so the main cast is a little smaller and more manageable this time around. Batman gets to know Aquaman better and both men grow to respect each other more. Cyborg has to confront his fear that he may have lost his humanity and become nothing more than a machine with the illusion of self-awareness. This was hinted at in the previous volume but it's explored much more satisfactorily here. At one point he is forced to sacrifice his only surviving lung in order to undergo a procedure that will allow him to operate underwater so he can save the rest of the League. This is a pretty compelling arc compared to what has come before. Of course the focus of this book is Arthur Curry and his acceptance of his birthright as the king of Atlantis.

      The main story, collecting Justice League #15-17 and Aquaman #15-16 is the first big crossover of the run. In it a missile launch gone wrong ends up harming Atlantis, leading Aquaman's brother King Orm to mount an attack on the surface world. Aquaman reveals to Batman that Orm is using his (Arthur's) plan to attack the surface and that he left the throne because of internal pressure from Atlanteans who didn't trust him because of his time on the surface. He never really wanted the throne in the first place but was just looking for acceptance, something the League has since given him.

     He convinces The League to let him try to talk Orm down but, of course, his brother doesn't listen, ultimately leading to a contrived fight between between Aquaman and the rest of the League. It is eventually revealed that Vulko, Arthur's former advisor who has since been exiled, has engineered the conflict, presumably to get revenge for his exile. He has also stolen the king's scepter, which he uses to summon an evil underwater race called the Trench to attack the Atlanteans. Arthur's wife Mera, who was also exiled, expresses her sympathy with Vulko's motives. In the end Aquaman accepts responsibility for leaving Atlantis to his hot-headed brother and confronts him face to face. He defeats Orm in personal combat and Orm surrenders the throne to him and pledges his loyalty. It is then revealed that Vulko's true motive was pushing Arthur to accept his birthright.

     Upon learning this Aquaman is disgusted with his old friend's fanaticism and orders him to be thrown in prison. He ends the attack on the surface and uses the scepter to send the Trench home. He then turns Orm over to the League in a rather heartbreaking scene. Arthur decides to return to Atlantis, leaving Mera and his new friends behind. This emotional pay off works really well and it makes me want to check out John's Aquaman run. My one big gripe with the story is that everyone seems so wrapped up in Orm's attack that the ignore the legitimate grievance he has with the surface. After all Atlantis was seemingly attacked without any provocation whatsoever.

     As with the first few volumes, this story does not escape that sense of "dark realism" that defined the New 52. As I mentioned, Wonder Woman is losing her trust in people and it's also revealed that Batman is spying on Superman, indicating a lack of trust there as well. Steve Trevor continues his run of bad luck as he loses his job as the League's liaison to A.R.G.U.S. during the epilogue. Aquaman becomes a pretty brooding figure by the end of the story declaring "But I am alone". But these moments feel more earned here (for the most part) and certain characters (particularly Superman) seem determined to be a source of light and inspiration.

     Once again the art is something of a mixed bag. The Cheetah story is pencilled by Tony S. Daniel with inks by Richard Friend, Sandu Florea and Matt Banning. Daniels provides some really striking imagery, especially during the action scenes, but his facial work is a little off. The main story is pencilled by Ivan Reis (who did the Justice League issues) and Paul Pelletier (who did the Aquaman issues). Reis' art is really awesome. His character work is unmatched and he fills the panels with so many amazing details, which is always welcome in a story of this scale. There are some breathtaking two page spreads and both the action scenes and the smaller, more intimate ones are done superbly. Pelletier's art is generally a little rougher and more angular but it's still excellent overall. Pelletier really captures the epic emotions of this story. Once again the fact that there are different artists makes for a clash between different styles but at least in this case there's more of an excuse as this story was a crossover between two different titles. The epilogue was written by Jeff Lemire and pencilled by Brad Walker. I assume Lemire was brought on because of Green Arrow's involvement (Lemire was set to take over that title the following month) but having a different writer on the last few pages of the book is a little weird.

     Justice League Volume 3: Throne of Atlantis is a big improvement over the first two story arcs. It takes more time to establish characters and give them meaningful arcs. It's not without it's flaws, the Cheetah story is a bit of a downer and the art is a little inconsistent, but it's a step in the right direction. The book finally feels like it's starting to find its identity. I should also mention that this same story was collected as Aquaman Volume 3: Throne of Atlantis but without the Cheetah storyline and with the addition of Aquaman #0 and #14 (material that helps flesh out the relationship between Arthur and Orm). Why DC published it this way is anyone's guess.

Score: 7/10

Join me two weeks from now for Trinity War, the first giant crossover event of the New 52...

Geoff John's New 52 Justice League Retrospective Part 2 (Saturday Evening Cartoons)

     With the origin of the Justice League reestablished, Geoff John's had the opportunity to tell a fresher and hopefully better story in the second arc of his run. In the first arc he introduced the character of David Graves, a writer whose family is saved from Darkseid by the Justice League. His book Gods Among Us contributes to their fame and makes him into one of the world's most influential authors overnight.  He could have been a compelling villain. He is an expert on ancient mythology and has a potentially interesting motive for going after the League. Alas, this was not to be.

     In this second arc, entitled The Villain's Journey, it is revealed that Graves family contracted a disease from Darkseid's attack and died shortly after. He blames the Justice League for their deaths and travels to Mount Sumeru in order to be reunited with his family in the Valley of Souls. There he contracts a spiritual parasite called a Preta under the guise of his family and he effectively goes crazy. Unfortunately, we simply never get to know who Graves was before his family died and the final revelation, that's he's been infected by a parasite the whole time, reduces what could have been an interesting villain origin to the "guy gets possessed and goes crazy" trope. On top of this, Grave's agenda is rather convoluted. He wants to show the world that the League is not infallible but he also wants their help in releasing the "souls" from the temple and back into the world.

     Similarly, this story squanders an opportunity to really test the League psychologically. The Pretas feed off of misery and trigger traumatic flashbacks in the members of the League. So this should be a story where the League confronts their inner demons and comes out stronger but since the inner conflicts of these characters have barely been explored up to this point it has no real weight. In addition, the characters don't defeat the Pretas by overcoming their fears or learning to work together, they simply realize that their being deceived and then they "shatter" the spirits hold over Graves. In general the book doesn't devote nearly enough time to exploring the casts psychology. Instead we spend most of the book with Steve Trevor and David Graves or simply watching the League fight various, unrelated baddies.

     There's a subplot (or maybe it's the main plot?) exploring Wonder Woman's relationship with Steve Trevor. They became a couple after they met each other but Diana ended the relationship, fearing that Steve would be endangered because of it. I realize that this version of Wonder Woman, in addition to being a more warlike than usual, is inexperienced in human dating customs but this kind of attitude robs Steve of his own agency and honestly, I'm really tired of this trope. This does lead to Wonder Woman losing her temper and fighting the rest of the League when Graves kidnaps Steve Trevor and Green Lantern tries to talk her out of killing him. It also results in Wonder Woman and Superman falling for each other and kissing in a panel that made waves in the comic book community. This relationship it not set up in any way that matters and the whole thing feels forced and sensationalistic.

     The story also deals with the public perception of the League and the media's coverage of them. Early on, it appears that they may be creating a sense of dependence for many people, instead of empowerment. The government, meanwhile, is suspicious of the League and tries, to no avail, to exert more control over them. Much of the book deals with Steve Trevor trying to keep the press and the feds off of the League's back. Grave's tries to discredit the League by broadcasting Wonder Woman's fight with the her comrades over the news and this ends up causing Green Lantern to leave the group, taking the blame for the fight. This is the one story element that has at least some dramatic weight though it's all a little dark and brooding for my taste.

     The second chapter (issue #8) is a team-up with Green Arrow who wants to join the League to attain for past sins which, I assume, are explained in his own book. This chapter is entirely superfluous and only exists to set up the Justice League of America title which launched the following February and was cancelled a year later.

     The art is rather inconsistent as different pencillers did different issues. The first (#7) was drawn by Gene Ha, whose sketchy, expressionistic style clashes with Jim Lee's cleaner, more vibrant work in the later issues. Ha's work is, nonetheless, really dynamic, particularly the action scenes. The Green Lantern issue is pencilled by Carlos D'Anda whose facial work I find a little lacking. Jim Lee, who pencilled the majority of the story does his usual excellent job, though there are some continuity errors here and there. I may not be a fan of the Superman/Wonder Woman kiss but dang, Lee makes it look gorgeous. He's accompanied in the last chapter (issue #12) by David Finch and Ivan Reis and the fact that there are three different artists definitely shows.

     In the end Justice League Volume 2: The Villain's Journey fails to improve on the flaws of the first volume. The villain is rather one note and has a confusing, convoluted motivation, the League themselves lack character development and this story doubles down on the darker aspects of the New 52 relaunch. Aside from some admittedly beautiful art I find little about this book to recommend.

Score: 5/10

Next week Aquaman takes the spotlight in Throne of Atlantis...

Geoff John's New 52 Justice League Retrospective Part 1 (Saturday Evening Cartoons)

With Justice League coming out next month I've decided to read and review Geoff Johns run during the New 52 era starting with the first trade. I'm hoping to get one of these out every week. Here goes nothing...

     When the New 52 launched in 2011 the responses from fans and critics were incredibly mixed. Unnecessary retcons, characters who seemed out of sync with their core values and a generally dark, downbeat tone rubbed many DC fans the wrong way. Perhaps no one title better illustrates what was wrong with the relaunch than Justice League. Written by Geoff Johns with art by Jim Lee this book should have been a winner but something went terribly wrong.

     The first big problem comes up almost immediately as we learn that this story takes place 5 years before the "current" timeline that the other books operate in. This effectively meant that the entire, complex history of these characters happened in a period of 5 years. This raised all sorts of questions about which events from before Flashpoint were still in canon. Did Bane still break Batman's back? How is Damien Wayne 13 years old if Bruce has only been Batman for 5 years? Was Superman killed by Doomsday? How many of the DC rogues gallery are currently operating in this universe? Some of these questions would never really be answered satisfactorily.

     Another problem is the visual redesign of the characters' classic costumes. Gone are Superman's red trunks and Batman's black ones. Superman now has a military-esque gorget and Wonder Woman sports a totally rad choker based on her logo. Flash, Green Lantern and Aquaman are relatively unchanged except for the addition of well, lines. Lines everywhere. I'm not sure what the motive behind this stylistic choice is but I wouldn't be surprised if, ten years down the line, putting unnecessary lines on costumes will be looked at the same way that pointless pouches in the 90's are now.

     This may be nitpicking but really there's not much to say about this book. Batman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Cyborg meet for the first time whilst fighting off an invasion from Apokolips. They beat Darkseid, the end. There's really not a whole lot of character development for anyone except Cyborg, as this story serves as his origin. Batman goes through kind of an arc, I guess, in that he thinks it'd be better for the world to fear him and the others at the beginning of the story and by the end has changed his mind for some reason.

     Really I'm just not sure who this book was written for. If it's for new readers than why aren't any of the characters (again excepting Cyborg) given more than the barest hint of depth. If it's for the fans then why is the majority of the cast acting out of character. Superman is impulsive and way too untrusting, Wonder Woman comes off as positively bloodthirsty, Green Lantern is mostly just a jerk and Aquaman barely registers as a character beyond affirming "I'm cooler than people think" which is something comic fans already know. The only characters done any real justice (see what I did there) are Batman and Flash. Even Darkseid comes off more as a random alien monster-of-the-week than the formidable, machiavellian villain he is.

     With that said the art is (mostly) good, though there are inconsistencies. Jim Lee really delivers some impressive, cinematic panels. The action is all pretty good, though it's also rushed and the early fight between Superman and Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash is terribly contrived. There's this incredibly retarded moment where Batman peels the Bat symbol off his suit for no apparent reason and it magically reappears in one panel. There's also some ugly facial work.

     Justice League Volume 1: Origin is alright if you're just looking for a mindless super powered beatdown but as an introduction to these characters it fails miserably.

Score: 5/10

Next week things get worse with Volume 2: The Villians Journey...

Western Wednesdays: Just Pals (1920)

     Just Pals was released in 1920. It is directed by John Ford and written by Paul Schofield and John McDermott. In it Bim (Buck Jones), the town layabout of Norwalk, Nebraska, befriends a young orphan named Bill (Georgie Stone). Bim struggles to support Bill and while yearning for the love of Mary Bruce (Helen Fergusan), the town schoolteacher.

     The plot of Just Pals is basically a series of misadventures. Bim tries to make Bill attend school in order to please Mary but he becomes discouraged when he witnesses some bullies making fun of Bill because of his association with Bim. Later a scheming doctor convinces Bim to leave Bill with him, mistakenly believing that Bill is the missing son of a rich man who has offered a substantial reward for his return. At one point Bim is blamed for stealing the school memorial fund when in actuality Mary Bruce lent it to her no good boyfriend Harvey Cahill to pay his debts. He takes the blame to protect her and is run out of town. He then tries to prevent a bank robbery which Cahill is involved with but is implicated for the robbery along with the outlaws. The townfolk prepare to lynch Bim when Cahill is caught trying to force Mary Bruce to leave town with him and Bill goes for the sheriff who stops the lynching and arrests Cahill. Bim is then reunited with Bill and it turns out that the missing boy was kidnapped by his father's former chauffeur and Bim happens to run into him, claiming the reward for himself.

     A lot of this is rather contrived but there is a thread of social prejudice running throughout the film that anticipates Ford's later work. Bim and bill are looked down upon by the citizens of Norwalk who are easily lead to believe that Bim committed the crimes which the "respectable" Harvey Cahill is actually guilty for. There are some pretty dark scenes including the aforementioned lynching attempt and also a scene where it is implied that Mary Bruce tried to drown herself over her guilt concerning the school fund. Despite this the film has a cheery tone overall and is clearly not intended to leave the viewer with any sense of moral or social injustice. Buck Jones is good in the lead role and brings a lot of charisma to the film. He and Georgie Stone have pretty good chemistry together. The film-making is pretty perfunctory and the action, outside of the bank robbery, is a little hard to follow. There are some clever edits and the bank robbery, as I alluded, is pretty exciting.

     Overall Just Pals is a simplistic but still fairly entertaining western dramedy. If your not looking for anything too profound and you don't mind watching silent films, I'd recommend it.

Score: 7/10