Release Dates Apr 01 2008 @ 09:55 pm
DVD Releases for April 1, 2008
Whoops. Sorry, this is a teensy bit late. Not that you were clamoring for my crystal wit and eloquence on this week’s stunning selection of bright & shiny movie platters, but it’s the principle of the matter. So, without further ado, here are your options.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – 
As Burtonesque as a film is like to get, Sweeney Todd mixes music and murder with delicious glee. The blood is of the Karo-syrup-mixed-with-glue variety, and it geysers out of people’s necks with the enthusiasm of Old Faithful. The music, lovingly adapted from the original Stephen Sondheim favorite, is sung with aplomb by Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Sacha Baron Cohen (who was, hands down, my favorite part of the film). If you can stomach the over-the-top gore, this the must see pick of the week.
Recommended if you liked Sleepy Hollow but wished they had, you know, sung more of their lines
Alvin and the Chipmunks
How little can I be persuaded to care about this? It’s too late and I’m too tired. Its the cartoon you knew and loved, except the chipmunks are CG and the dude is played by Earl (i.e., Jason Lee), blah de blah de blah. The most surprising thing about this is the amount of money it kept raking in at the box office.
Recommended if you have small children and no aesthetic integrity (sorry Alvin, I’m a bit grumpy at the moment)
on Apr 02 2008 @ 5:58 am 1. Josh said …
I have no shame….Alvin and his buddies are on my Netflix queue. The kid is getting into movies lately. Yesterday was Pooh’s Heffalump Movie, and don’t get me started on how often we have to watch the WALL-E trailer in a day. I’m thinking that will be her first movie theater experience, mainly because Pixar movies rock.
on Apr 02 2008 @ 6:58 am 2. Evan Derrick said …
You can be forgiven an indiscretion like Alvin if you take your kid to Pixar movies.
on Apr 02 2008 @ 9:53 am 3. Luke Harrington said …
Alvin and the Chipmunks was a property that was funny and clever for exactly 3-1/2 minutes–i.e., “The Chipmunk Song.” Which was released in 1958. I realize there’s a new crop of kids ever ten years or so, but some IPs just need to be put out of their misery.
on Apr 02 2008 @ 11:39 am 4. Joseph said …
“Recommended if you liked Sleepy Hollow but wished they had, you know, sung more of their lines”
LOL!
April is definitely the month for bloody films, with There Will Be Blood coming out next week.
on Apr 10 2008 @ 1:48 pm 5. Page said …
I love, love, love the Broadway version of Sweeney, and I loved the film, too. The show has a Greek chorus type element that moves the plot along and describes a lot of the goings on- and I missed that in the film. I had to close my eyes during some of the gory parts- but the dark humor cracked me up! Helena Bonham Carter was fabulous in “A Little Priest”! That’s my favorite scene….
on Apr 10 2008 @ 2:22 pm 6. Luke Harrington said …
I was missing the chorus when I watched the film as well (”The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” is arguably the best song in the show), but I think Burton made the right decision there–that sort of thing just doesn’t work all that well in a film.
(Props to The Ruins, however, for including a chorus of talking flowers.
)