Depp is Demon Barber SWEENEY TODD |
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It's that time of year when I need to decide what I want to see at the holiday box office – and why.
Once upon a time, in the 90s, I had the opportunity and the time to see virtual every major release – and most of the independent features as well. Like the 90s, those days are in my rear view mirror. Nowadays, I must cherry pick my box office choices.
What I Want to See:
SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (December 21): Director Tim Burton and his male muse Johnny Depp are at it again. This time around, they've collaborated on the least likely of projects: the motion picture version of Stephen Sondheim's modern Broadway musical classic. SWEENEY is a strange choice because Depp and Burton have both declared publicly that they are not fans of the Broadway musical form. SWEENEY TODD is Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim's bloody, dark, and gruesome operatic tale of vengeance in 19th Century London. There is no "sweet golden haze on the meadow of this modern theater classic. It could hardly be darker.
Tim Burton's real-life souse, Helena Bonham Carter, is also in the film as Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney's 
Disney will ENCHANT Match-Flickers |
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pie-baking accomplice. The role was originated on stage by Angela Lansbury, and spectacularly revived by Broadway super-diva Patti (EVITA) Lupone.
Why I Want to See It: Regardless of the subject matter, something magical always happens when Burton and Depp partner. I don't want to be home watching WEEDS, or even pulling them, when their latest collaboration spins its box office spell.
ENCHANTED (November 21): A classic Disney animated fairytale collides with real-life, present-day New York City in this holiday pastiche, top-heavy with beautiful actors: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, Susan Sarandon, and James Marsden, among them. The enchantment starts when a princess from the animated realm is forced into the real world by an Evil Queen.
Why I Want to See It: ENCHANTED's whimsical amalgam of animation and live action is the bi-polar opposite of the bloody, dark, and grisly SWEENEY TODD. I love contrasts, and stone me if you must, but I love Disney, too. After I go to Burton and Depp's dark SWEENEY TODD place, I'm going to crave a great big dose of whimsy, and this confection will fill the bill.
CASSANDRA'S DREAM 
As Lovett, Bonham Carter will make you into a meat pie. |
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(December 28): Woody Allen's latest SLEEPER, pun blatantly intended, lies somewhere between the blood and gore of Tim Burton's SWEENEY TODD and the sugar-coated fluff of Disney's ENCHANTED.
This Crime Drama, stars Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor as Cockney brothers with bad baggage who meet a duplicitous young woman, played by newcomer Hayley Atwell. She convinces the smitten siblings to commit a crime in order to change the harsh realities of their lives. In truth, her motivation is selfish, not selfless.
Why I Want to See It. Shown in early fall at the Venice Film Festival, CASSANDRA'S DREAM was well-received in Europe. And, truthfully, Match Flickers, even second-rate Woody Allen is most commonly better than first-rate anyone else.
WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY (December 21): This is the bogus movie biography of faux music legend Dewey Cox, starring John C Reilly, a revelation as Roxie Hart's doormat hubby Amos in 2002's CHICAGO. 32 ditties were composed for this mock bio, co-written and co-produced by Judd Apatow.
Why I Want to See It: It will be sheer, silly holiday fun. Why even try to resist this Winter confection?
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Does advertising, public taste, or overindulged stars determine a movie's box office fate? Christoper Stone explores what's going on behind the box office.
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| Christopher Stone |
Christopher Stone is the author of the international best seller Re-Creating Your Self. With Mary Sheldon, he co-authored three highly successful hardcover books of guided meditations.
He is a member of the Writers Guild of America, West.
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