They Named the Wrong Movie "There Will Be Blood"
As some of you may have noticed, I am totally mentioned in the latest news post. And if that weren't enough, I got a pony for playing Spot the Photoshop. (ETA: Oh, I guess the pony is just because marta likes me, as chasethestars hasn't v-gifted people yet! Aha, snowflake!)
But I am not as awesome as Allyson and Kristen, who have, in a matter of days, whipped up Cash for the Crew, a donation drive to benefit crew members affected by the WGA strike. Please go and check it out! All you have to do is donate to the Work Stoppage Relief Fund, which will help those out of work actually have a happy holiday, and, after you send your receipt to Allyson, you'll be entered into a raffle to win all sorts of fabulous prizes like signed scripts and posters and whatever else they can get their hands on.
I think it's probably inherently weird and awkward to go out (not "go out") with a co-worker (especially one of the opposite sex, even if she's eleven years older) because you're out of your natural interaction environment. But it gets even more awkward when, after talking about her eight-year relationship that "went on way too long," she asks:
"What's your longest relationship?"
"... ... ... ... ...None?"
"Come on! None??"
"It's...a complicated thing."
"No, it's okay, you don't have to talk about it. And you're 26?"
"Yeah."
We saw a free preview of Sweeney Todd tonight, which was exciting since I'd just seen the show three months ago.
And it was really good! I was pretty impressed with how good it turned out. As you might expect, it looks fabulous, and the movie really serves the story well, making it easy to follow even for someone unfamiliar with the musical. It makes use of its being a movie in a couple key songs and a few extra-grisly deaths.
The question on everyone's mind, of course, is, "Can Johnny Depp sing?" And the answer is yes, but, unfortunately, he thinks he's in Rent. He tends to sing everything like it's a soulful ballad, which de-emphasizes Sweeney's rage and insanity. (There is one moment, however, where that works to his advantage: the reprise of "Hole in the World" is much angrier and more cynical, as well it should be, and it's one of the few times where it feels like Sweeney is singing, not Johnny Depp. The contrast to the song in the beginning of the movie is striking.) He just doesn't have the booming intensity in his vocals (and, well, you get used to it), but he makes up for it in his eyes, which are deliciously dead inside.
The rest of the cast is good as well. Special note goes to Sacha Baron Cohen, though, who can act. In his introductory scene as Pirelli, he is of course totally zany and Italian like the character is supposed to be, eliciting lots of laughs, but in his next scene, we really get to see the other side of him. It was very interesting to see him play a scene like that, since I've only ever seen him as Borat and Ali G.
And speaking of laughs, the movie does retain some of the musical's black humor, but I don't remember how funny it was in the first place. The movie is much more with the bleak and dour; it's incredibly jarring when we get a shot of daylight. What was probably most funny was the extremely excessive amount of blood on display. Seriously, it may be bloodier than fucking Grindhouse. Since Sweeney's always slitting throats, there's always blood spurting everywhere. The movie is rated R, after all.
So it gets a definite thumbs up from me. Hell, even my co-worker, who hates musicals, liked it.
But I am not as awesome as Allyson and Kristen, who have, in a matter of days, whipped up Cash for the Crew, a donation drive to benefit crew members affected by the WGA strike. Please go and check it out! All you have to do is donate to the Work Stoppage Relief Fund, which will help those out of work actually have a happy holiday, and, after you send your receipt to Allyson, you'll be entered into a raffle to win all sorts of fabulous prizes like signed scripts and posters and whatever else they can get their hands on.
I think it's probably inherently weird and awkward to go out (not "go out") with a co-worker (especially one of the opposite sex, even if she's eleven years older) because you're out of your natural interaction environment. But it gets even more awkward when, after talking about her eight-year relationship that "went on way too long," she asks:
"What's your longest relationship?"
"... ... ... ... ...None?"
"Come on! None??"
"It's...a complicated thing."
"No, it's okay, you don't have to talk about it. And you're 26?"
"Yeah."
We saw a free preview of Sweeney Todd tonight, which was exciting since I'd just seen the show three months ago.
And it was really good! I was pretty impressed with how good it turned out. As you might expect, it looks fabulous, and the movie really serves the story well, making it easy to follow even for someone unfamiliar with the musical. It makes use of its being a movie in a couple key songs and a few extra-grisly deaths.
The question on everyone's mind, of course, is, "Can Johnny Depp sing?" And the answer is yes, but, unfortunately, he thinks he's in Rent. He tends to sing everything like it's a soulful ballad, which de-emphasizes Sweeney's rage and insanity. (There is one moment, however, where that works to his advantage: the reprise of "Hole in the World" is much angrier and more cynical, as well it should be, and it's one of the few times where it feels like Sweeney is singing, not Johnny Depp. The contrast to the song in the beginning of the movie is striking.) He just doesn't have the booming intensity in his vocals (and, well, you get used to it), but he makes up for it in his eyes, which are deliciously dead inside.
The rest of the cast is good as well. Special note goes to Sacha Baron Cohen, though, who can act. In his introductory scene as Pirelli, he is of course totally zany and Italian like the character is supposed to be, eliciting lots of laughs, but in his next scene, we really get to see the other side of him. It was very interesting to see him play a scene like that, since I've only ever seen him as Borat and Ali G.
And speaking of laughs, the movie does retain some of the musical's black humor, but I don't remember how funny it was in the first place. The movie is much more with the bleak and dour; it's incredibly jarring when we get a shot of daylight. What was probably most funny was the extremely excessive amount of blood on display. Seriously, it may be bloodier than fucking Grindhouse. Since Sweeney's always slitting throats, there's always blood spurting everywhere. The movie is rated R, after all.
So it gets a definite thumbs up from me. Hell, even my co-worker, who hates musicals, liked it.