Category: Movies

Sweeney Todd actually works better as a movie than on the stage, at least when Johnny Depp is on the screen. The music overcomes the staginess and melodrama of the story. Closeups make Sweeney Todd more tortured and less bombastic. On the other hand, I think that Angela Lansbury (who I’ve only seen in video)…

I really liked the film Across the Universe. It’s both amusingly clever and an interesting look back at the 60s. Plus it’s a musical. I particularly liked the combination of “nothing’s going to change our world” with “helter skelter”–simple but effective. I tend to like movies which take a more formal approach, like musicals. By…

I found the movie Polar Express to be a very creepy experience due to the motion capture animation. It was like watching zombies riding a train to visit Santa (not to mention Santa’s entrance was straight from The Triumph of the Will). I think taking any child to see that movie would most likely scare…

I grew up just outside of Boston. Boston is one of few places in the U.S. where people are from a very definite area, and you can hear it in their accent. New York may be like that too–certainly there are distinctive patterns of speech in Brooklyn and Queens–and not doubt a few places in…