Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Not quite as fun as the first, but still well worth the watch. More direct poking fun at Disney and just about everything else. Some new voices and some very familiar old ones.

Making it both a prequel and a sequel was a good idea. That gets all of the audience on the same page at the same time. Plus it sets up the rest of the movie. As with the first there are musical bits, slapstick bits, and a few great one-liners. But I cannot pick a personal favorite from among them.

Watch this movie with someone who knows a little bit about dance and it will be a little bit funnier.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

With 3 Oscar nominations and 1 win, you'd think I might like this movie better. With the likes of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Alan Rickman, all of whom I usually love, you'd think I find some pleasure in the acting. Toss in Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat himself, and you'd think the comic relief impact would be good enough to lighten even Tim Burton's darkest vision. Not so in any of the cases above.

I found the story without any redeeming value. I found the acting so over-the-top that I was not sure when to laugh and when to cry. It was easy enough to know when to look away. Okay, so this exposes me as a horror film wimp. I don't see the point, and freely admit it. I do love a thriller, and this was far more the thriller than horror story. But as a thriller, it was to predictable.

Even if you don't read the DVD jacket, it becomes obvious what the barber will do, and how he will dispose to the bodies. Even if you have not seen the Broadway production, you should figure out fairly soon who proves to be the barber's undoing.

Please don't get me wrong, I did not dislike ALL the movie. The music was great. Stephen Sondheim is wonderful. From West Side Story to this, he has proven the master of setting complex dialogue set to music.

Having said ALL this, let me add some caveats. If you usually like Tim Burton's work, you will most likely "get" this movie. You may even love it.

I suggest watch it with someone who gets, or even loves, you.