Batman (1989)

Director: Tim Burton
Composer: Danny Elfman
Songs Written and Performed by Prince

Main Cast:
Batman/Bruce Wayne- Michael Keaton
The Joker/Jack Napier- Jack Nicholson
Vicki Vale- Kim Basinger
Commissioner Gordon- Pat Hingle
Alfred- Michael Gough
Knox- Robert Wuhl

Opening Comments:

I'd been meaning to see this movie again within the month of October. Batman seems to fit right in with the Halloween motif, especially since Tim Burton is helming this particular film. That's part of the reason.
The other reason, I kinda fell into. Opportunity presented itself and I took it.

Batman the franchise:

My feelings about Batman are mixed at best. He's a great character. Bruce Wayne is easily one of the most complex characters in comics. He has a dark past that he lives with every day because it is his reason for becoming Batman. It is his motivation. He's a powerful figure in Gotham, but while he has everything, he has also nothing. Other than his lifelong butler and confidante Alfred, he has no one in his life that's particularly close with. In other words, it's easy for him to get a date, but it's hard to have a long-lasting relationship.

I said my feelings are mixed because I am not a fan of how he's been rendered in most of the films. The TV series "Gotham" is definitely on the right track with their young Bruce Wayne, but I keep waiting for that great epiphany, that transformation that makes him become Batman.

"Batman Returns," I need to give another shot because like this particular movie I'm about to discuss, I wasn't a fan.

Really, my first Batman film was "Batman Forever" and it's still my favorite. Even after rewatching it a few months ago, that hasn't changed. I enjoy it very much and "Kissed by a Rose" is a great song. I don't care what anyone says.

Then Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale and the "Bat Voice" happened and I just haven't been satisfied since. I mentioned in my "Batman Forever" review that I'm one of the few people that HATES "The Dark Knight."
Funny coincidence or brilliant marketing by HBO, who knows, but after Batman, they showed a trailer for the upcoming showing of Batman vs. Superman. I'm willing to give Ben Affleck a chance, but the film as a whole... I don't have a lot of hope for it.

Ok, now for this one.

"Batman" in a nutshell:

Batman is first introduced as this mysterious character lurking in the shadows and taking out bad guys. Taking out means beating them up and terrifying them until the cops show up.

Jack Napier is a gangster, but the night he becomes The Joker, he is double-crossed by his own men and his crime boss Grissom, assaulted by Batman and falls into a vat of acid. Somehow he survives. The same can't be said about the nerves in his face, which have left him with a permanent smile on his face.

Vicki Vale is a photographer who comes to town interested in the rumors of Batman. Immediately, she teams up with reporter Knox, the only person crazy to pursue the lead that Batman presents.
There's a party at Wayne Manor where a lot of government officials are hanging out and having a good time. The two journalists wander off into a room full of artifacts from other countries and meet Bruce Wayne himself. Naturally, Vicki Vale is enchanted by him and the feeling is mutual. But with him being Batman, that comes with complications.

The movie is mostly The Joker wrecking havoc around Gotham and the blossoming relationship between Vicki Vale and Bruce Wayne.
At over 2 hours, the movie runs a little too long for me. Particularly in the last hour where not a whole lot is happening.

Comments on Cast and Crew:

the "Batman" world hasn't been quite the same since Tim Burton left to pursue other projects. Really love the look of Gotham City- something that hadn't really been captured again this well until maybe "Gotham"- but even then, it's not quite the same. Not that comic-booky gothic look.

Michael Keaton plays a good Batman and Bruce Wayne. Strong in the costume and no need for that stupid Bat-voice. As Bruce Wayne, he has an enigmatic personality. He's so mysterious and you don't really know what to expect. You want to pull back the layers, but at the same time, why ruin a good mystery?

As Vicki Vale, Kim Basinger was good... love her tenacity about getting close to Bruce Wayne and finding out about Batman and such. But I just got so sick of her screaming. That had to have been the only reason she was given the role.
At least it's not the Kate Capshaw/Temple of Doom situation...

and Jack Nicholson as The Joker... c'mon... it doesn't get any better than that. except maybe the animated series- I haven't seen much of it, but for me, that's still kinda the standard of what this comic and series should be.

And it's also because of Jack Nicholson that Prince got involved in the soundtrack

The Batman soundtrack:

For starters, Danny Elfman is awesome. Especially when he's doing movies like this where it's all dark and dramatic and stuff. It gives an added dimension to it.
Comparatively, Prince's contributions feel like a footnote.
He's the reason I gave the movie a second chance years ago after my first watch wasn't a big success. Some of those same feelings are true- the pacing gets painfully slow in the latter portions of it.

As far as his albums go, after revisiting it a couple times the last two weeks... he's done so much better. I think the story goes is that Jack was a fan and wanted Prince to get involved. After meeting him, Prince wrote "Partyman" and then wound up doing the entire musical soundtrack.

I have a lot of unless information in my head about him, but this is one of those areas I'm not as knowledgeable about.

Going through the trivia, Tim Burton wasn't a fan of Prince's music for the movie. And critics said his songs were out of place.

Me, I had trouble finding them :P the songs aren't all that great when taking his entire discography into account.
And I agree that the way they were used... they didn't make a lot of sense. I must have missed "The Future" because it was in the very beginning after the opening credits- I had to go out and walk the dog.

During the Wayne Manor party, I think I heard "Vicki Waiting" softly in the background in one scene and "Electric Chair" (maybe my favorite on the whole album) shortly after.

Then there's a huge gap until the infamous "Partyman" scene- where The Joker and his men trash the art museum. That is such a fun scene, even though it's a villain scene, that I hated when they cut the music off.
The way The Joker's men show up with a giant boombox for the music... Prince did something similar in "Under the Cherry Moon" where he and his partner Tricky brought it to liven up a really stuffy night club full of rich people.

I thought I heard "Scandalous" in the score during one scene where Vicki tells Bruce Wayne "we could try and love each other." But it's featured more prominently in the ending credits for maybe 2 minutes.

Then "Trust" you can hear when The Joker has his parade where he says he'll be throwing money into the streets. The dialogue backs it up somewhat (or is it the other way around?) because The Joker asks "who do you trust? me or The Batman?"

The other songs that weren't in the movie at all... "Batdance" is cool, but it wouldn't have fit anywhere.
I hate that "Electric Chair" were just thrown into the background because it is such a kick-ass song.

The "gimmick" of the album was that songs were credited to different characters.
"The Future" is Batman.
"Electric Chair" and "Partyman" are The Joker.
On those two alone, you see that he's really playing up the Gemini perspective of his personality. In this particular case, I like his "Joker" tracks a lot more.
"Arms of Orion"- a duet between him and Sheena Easton is credited to Bruce Wayne and Vicki Vale- but the lyrics don't quite work in the context of the movie. It's also one of those universally hated Prince songs. I don't mind it, but it's also very cheesy.
"Vicki Waiting"- I recently found wasn't even an original for the movie- it was written for/about Anna Fantastic- one of his girlfriends. One I don't think I'd even heard of before I heard about her on a podcast.  The more I hear it, the more I like it.
"Trust" is very fast paced and fun... but lyrically, I don't quite get it.
"Lemon Crush"... I am still figuring out my feeling on it. I thought I hated it, but the last time I heard it, considering the title being "having a bitter crush on someone"- another thing I picked up from a Prince podcast I'd been listening all this week [Peach & Black]
"Scandalous" is one of his most loved ballads... personally, it's not one of my favorites. It runs a little long in the latter portions, almost like the movie, and the vocal, to me, it's like he overdoes it to the point his voice sounds scratchy. But I think it might be growing on me. A slow seductive ballady love song.
Then "Batdance" is a mixture of dialogue from the movie set to music.

Throughout watching the movie this time around, I picked up nearly every sound bite from it.

So yeah... I'm kinda sorry that I gave myself an excuse to talk about Prince here and it's been mostly negative.
Considering all he did in the 80's and the decades since... this album was cool when I first got it, but in the context of everything else... it doesn't shine all that brightly.

Next year I plan on going through all the albums I own by him and really go in-depth with them. To decide how I'd rank them and my favorite songs. But I'll do that on the blog I began because of him- all the way on dreamypoproyalty.wordpress.com [which has covered more figure skating lately than Prince- but after he died, he has been popping up a lot more over there]

One more thing:

I usually start these posts with awards and accolades. I double-checked really quickly.
"Batman" won an Oscar for Best Art Direction.
And Jack Nicholson was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe... although it almost felt like he had more screentime than Batman/Bruce Wayne

And with the screaming... someone actually asked on Imdb how many times during the film. Kim Basinger screamed 22 times throughout the movie.
I'll be seeing her soon in the 50 shades sequel... first time I'd seen her really since this movie, so it should be interesting on a number of levels. Starting with her being "Mrs. Robinson"- the person that made Christian Grey the kinky sex freak he became.
There are rumors (not sure how true they are) that she had a relationship with Prince. He did compose an album she sung on. But where I was leading with this... if they were together, I hope her screams in the bed were more pleasing to his ears than what she did in this movie. [according the imdb messageboards- it's not her only occasion of screaming too much in her movies]

22. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Code-name: Zero

Director: Henry Selick
Writer: Tim Burton (based on a poem he wrote)
Composer: Danny Elfman
Type: Halloween/holiday themed animated film

Cast:
Jack Skellington- Chris Sarandon
Jack Skellington (singing voice)- Danny Elfman
Sally- Catherine O'Hara
Dr. Finkelstein- William Hickey
The Mayor- Glenn Shadix
Oogie Boogie- Ken Page
Lock- Paul Reubens
Shock- Catherine O'Hara
Barrel- Danny Elfman
Santa Claus- Ed Ivory
Narrator- Patrick Stewart

Notable Nominations:
OSCAR- Best Visual Effects
Golden Globe- Best Original Score- Danny Elfman

Write-up:

Introduction

I remember wanting to see this movie when it came out on VHS, but I don't know if we ever got around to renting it. At the tender age of 8, I probably wouldn't have gotten into it or enjoyed it as much as I do now.

I have "Kingdom Hearts" alone to thank for convincing me to give this movie another shot. Now I can't get through the Halloween season without seeing it once and I have this thing where I have to see every second of it or the overall experience doesn't feel complete.

The first time I saw a run-through of the game, I was surprised that HalloweenTown was one of the worlds. I didn't remember it being a Disney movie... apparently Touchstone Pictures is OWNED by Disney and they used to distribute their darker films.

...I have mixed feelings about that :-P Disney handles some pretty dark stuff on their own

But anyway, both installments of the series handled different elements from this movie. This is opposed to one game handling a plot similar to the movie and the other making up its own storyline. That alone, I find pretty impressive.

In Kingdom Hearts, Jack wanted to use the Heartless for his yearly Halloween celebration and it has some serious repercussions. Naturally, Sally thinks it's a horrible idea and tries to talk him out of it. Oogie Boogie's roulette wheel was featured in the first boss fight.

The second game revisit the plot where Jack has Sally make him a Santa Claus costume and it's hinted that he wants to give the Christmas thing another try.
Both renderings were really well done, using a lot of the same settings in the film (KHII also has a ChristmasTown locale, which is a nice addition).

It's also nice that they brought back Chris Sarandon to perform for Jack... everyone else, they were sourced out to prolific, albeit, generic voiceover veterans like Kathe Soucie and Jeff Bennett (who I love in their own work, it's just a minor peeve of mine when other actors originate roles and sound-alikes take over for monetary reasons)...

Anyway, moving on...

The Story


Halloweentown is one of several parallel universes where holidays come from. The inhabitants include all the creatures one would associate with Halloween, monsters, vampires, werewolves and such. The most notable resident: Jack Skellington the Pumpkin King. During every year's Halloween celebration, he's at the center of its planning and staging.

This year, however, after Halloween comes and goes, Jack feels empty inside, doing the same thing year after year and wants to find something new.
What he winds up finding is the portal to ChristmasTown, leading him on a mission to explain the spirit of Christmas to the HalloweenTown residents.

This does not go over well and he soon decides the best way is to take over Christmas, getting everyone else involved.
The only person against it is Sally, a ragdoll created by the mad scientist Dr. Finkelstein. She spends much of the movie trying to get away from him as he believes she's not quite ready for the outside world. She also falls in love with Jack, despite her opposition to his idea.

What could possibly go wrong? With Christmas now under the leadership of someone best skilled at scaring people? And with Santa Claus in the clutches of Oogie Boogie, the town's Boogie Man?

How about everything? :-P
But every minute of it isn't to be missed.

Characters and Actors

Easily, the biggest stars of this movie are Chris Sarandon, Danny Elfman and Catherine O'Hara.

Knowing him only as Prince Humperdink of "The Princess Bride," I wouldn't have figured Chris Sarandon had this much depth. Of course his performance is aided by dozens of expressions for Jack's figurine, but he brings so much life to it... you feel like Jack is really alive.
Not that all of the characters aren't lively, but there are so many dimensions to Jack's personality. Despite going about his good intentions the wrong way, you find yourself wanting to get behind him. He has that irresistible charm and charisma.

Catherine O'Hara previously worked with Tim Burton in "Beetlejuice" and most of us know her as Mrs. McAllister in the "Home Alone" movies. Sally is a unique character, unlike anything she'd played before and also unique among the HalloweenTown residents. She has a good heart, a conscience and probably more common sense than everyone else in the world put together.

As Santa Claus put it, "the next time you take over someone else's holiday, I'd listen to her. She's the only one who makes sense around this insane asylum"

Given the back and forth we have throughout the movie, Jack realizing his feelings for Sally and uniting with her... such a sweet pay-off.

Adults are more likely to see the humor in The Mayor. He's a man with two faces that transition based on his mood (one happy, one terrified/sad) and his shtick (probably moreso in the Kingdom Hearts series than in the movie) is saying "I'm only an elected official, I can't handle this by myself"...
:sigh: sad but true

Lock, Shock and Barrel are all minions of Oogie Boogie's, but they have their unique personalities and quirks. They're mischievous kids dressed as a devil, a witch and a skeleton. Jack hires them to kidnap Santa Claus so he can take over the holiday. They also wind up handing Santa over to Oogie Boogie, who absolutely enjoys making a spectacle of himself to horrify him.
Although Jack's plan is all kinds of wrong, Oogie Boogie's the true villain of the movie. How he's defeated is textbook horror-genre'd B-movie... about as silly as seeing the zipper in the back of a monster costume.

And of course, there's Jack's faithful ghost dog companion, Zero. So loveable, one of several dogs Tim Burton had written into his stop-motion animated films... all of which were dead yet alive in their own way.
However cheesy it is, he's there to "light the way" for Jack's sleigh when Sally tries to stop the flight with fog juice.

Yeah, they totally gave him a glowing jack-o-lantern nose for that reason :-P

The Music

Danny Elfman said writing the 10 songs in this movie was "one of the easiest jobs I've ever had" because he had a lot in common with our anti-hero, Jack Skellington 8-)

I got to know "This is Halloween," the opening musical number of this film, as the musical score of HalloweenTown in Kingdom Heart... meaning I didn't know there were actually words attached.
Whenever I watch the movie, for whatever reason, my sister will come in and sing along with the song... the only part of the movie she will watch with me...

But yeah, it's a pretty kick ass song and I can play at least the first couple bars on keyboard.

Actually, all of the songs in this movie are really good with the exception of "Kidnap the Sandy Claws," sung by Lock, Stock and Barrel. Not that it's bad songwriting, it's just hard to listen to and enjoy it, especially with the childish sounding vocals.

Right after "This is Halloween," we have "Jack's Lament" where he moans about not feeling the Halloween spirit and not understanding why.
One of many songs where Danny Elfman does melancholy so well.

So naturally we had to follow it with something happier and more upbeat.
"What's this?" where Jack is running around ChristmasTown trying to make sense of everything, how this world is so different from his.
It's so much fun, seeing his flexible body weave in and out of the town, the expressions on his face, the range of his vocals. He's so captivated and overwhelmed by every little detail.

Another fun song, if you're into the demented side of fun, is Oogie Boogie's song. For a younger audience, it might be deemed a little creepy with all the crazy colors and patterns appearing throughout the number.
It also prominently features the roulette wheel that was part of the first HalloweenTown boss fight in Kingdom Hearts, as does the epic battle scene in the finale between him and Jack.

A great moment that was parodied by Nostalgia Critic was in a song called "Poor Jack" where Jack's plan literally blows up in his face and he wonders why.
Then he realizes the error of his ways, puts an optimistic spin on things and resolves to come up with something better for next Halloween.

Nostalgia Critic put his some of own lyrics to this song after a vlog of him reviewing old commercials at a time where he was questioning why he was doing what he was doing.
He then proceeds to end it the same way:

"I hope there's still time to set things right... Sandy Claws"... he goes off screen and comes back on, "Sandy Claws?" and quickly corrects himself.
I just find that hilarious.

Aside from "What's this?," my favorite song is the one sung by Sally and later by her and Jack. The chord progression is all over the place, but that's part of its charm.
Another melancholy track done really well, but it's so beautiful, especially when she and Jack get together in the end.This part especially is where I feel it's crucial to not miss a second. One time I missed hearing the final notes of the song at the end of the movie and I wasn't entirely satisfied at the end because of it. Mainly because one of the many things in music I go crazy for is having a song ending on the perfect note. That just makes me so happy 8-)

54. Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Code-name: Joanna

Type: Musical, Drama, Horror
Director: Tim Burton
Music (and lyrics): Stephen Sondheim

Notable Awards & Nominations:
OSCAR- Best Art Direction
nomination- OSCAR- Best Actor- Johnny Depp
nomination- OSCAR- Best Costume- Colleen Atwood
Golden Globe- Best Actor (Comedy/Musical)- Johnny Depp
Golden Globe- Best Picture (Comedy/Musical)
nomination- Best Actress (Comedy/Musical)- Helena Bonham Carter
nomination- Best Director- Tim Burton
nomination- Grammy- Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture

Cast:
Sweeny Todd- Johnny Depp
Mrs. Lovett- Helena Bonham Carter
Anthony- Jamie Campbell Bower
Joanna- Jayne Wisener
Toby- Edward Sanders
Judge Turpin- Alan Rickman
Beadle -Timothy Spall
Mr. Pirelli- Sacha Baron Cohen
Crazy Begger Woman- Laura Michelle Kelly

Write-Up:

Opening Remarks

Around this time last year, I was watching the movie (as I generally do around Halloween) and thought that I could NOT do this list without including it.

I don't know exactly when or how I was introduced to the killer combination of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. But this is probably my favorite collaboration.
The first time I saw it, it was during my college's weekly movie night. Every Thursday, they'd play movies just weeks away from coming out on DVD.

Everything about it blew me away.
First and foremost, I didn't know Johnny Depp could sing. Certainly not like THAT. I'm a bit of a sucker for actors who can also sing.
Second of all, I really hate horror movies. Blood, gore and all that. The story of "Sweeny Todd" and the overall look of Tim Burton's directing made that accessible to me. It was handled in such a way that I respected it. Whatever gross factor there was, it made sense in the context of the story.

I haven't seen any other version of this musical (and I'm not counting that episode of "The Office" where Andy was playing the role of Anthony :-P) and I'm not sure if I want to. Why shop around when I am so pleased with one specific interpretation? Especially when it comes to the title role.

Johnny Depp was great as Sweeny Todd because, while the man was teetering on the brink of madness, he made the character sympathetic and more of an anti-hero than a villain.
In my view (as well as Tim Burton's), Benjamin Barker was a good person that bad things have happened to and by going to the dark side, adopting the persona of "Sweeny Todd", he wants to exact revenge on humanity.
Two people in particular, though, are his key motivation.

The Story

Some spoilers a head...
The backstory is told in the opening number "There's no place like London", but this is the abridged version:

There was a barber [Benjamin Barker] and his wife [Lucy]. And she was beautiful.
There was another man [Judge Turpin] who saw that she was beautiful. A pious vulture of the law who... removed the barber from his plate.

In a way (I made this connection the first time I saw it and am just remembering now), this is another take on "The Count of Monte Cristo". A man in power had a man falsely imprisoned so he could steal away his lover.

15 years later, Sweeny Todd returns to London to pick up the pieces from the life that had been ripped away from him.
He goes to Mrs. Lovett's pie shop and after recognizing him, tells him what happened.

After failing to woo Lucy, the Judge invited her to a masquerade party where he raped her.
She poisoned herself with arsenic and the Judge took her (and Barker's) daughter Joanna, raising her as his ward.

Sweeny sets up shop above Mrs. Lovett's on Fleet Street. When they're in town, she "introduces" him to Pirelli, "king of barbers, barber of kings"... he's on grandstand with his assistant, Toby, promoting his miracle hair growth elixir.
Sweeny debunks him as a fraud, the elixir is nothing more of a concoction of piss & ink. Spotting the Beadle (who's under employment of the Judge) in the crowd, he stages a contest for which barber can do the quickest, smoothest shave.

Sweeny wins by a landslide. (But to be fair, if Pirelli didn't go into a long operatic solo in the middle of his song, he probably could have won).
Obviously impressed, the Beadle says he'll be by Fleet Street before the week is out.

There's also a subplot involving young sailor Anthony and Joanna, whom he falls madly in love with upon seeing her (and hearing her singing) through her bedroom window.
The judge, upon noticing him (Anthony singing about "Joanna" didn't exactly help matters), gives him explicit warning to stay away.... the "or else" goes without saying.

A number of circumstances come together and blow up in Sweeny Todd's face. In response, he and Mrs. Lovett get a devilish idea.
When a person (preferably, someone with no one to miss him) comes to him for a shave, Sweeny slits their throats and they end up as meat in Mrs. Lovett's pies.

The first victim is Mr. Pirelli, who recognized Sweeny Todd from "the old days" when he apprenticed at his shop and threatened to blackmail him.
This also results in Mrs. Lovett adopting Toby, further leading her to believe the three of them can live together as a family one day.

Also not to be taken for granted is a crazy old woman we see throughout the show.

Without giving too much away, let's just say the body count is substantial... though not to the extreme brought by Quentin Tarantino... and nearly all of the storylines find resolution.

The Highlights

Most of the highlights, I could easily list as song titles.

I was smitten with Jamie Campbell Bower (as well as his tenor voice... I'm a sucker for a good tenor) right away. Within the first bar, I knew "Joanna" would be my favorite track. At least the performance of it :-P
For the overall, I love "My Friends." Sweeny Todd rejoices at being reunited with his razors, which Mrs. Lovett had kept for him since his arrest. Johnny Depp said it was the first song he sang publicly... again, wow... if he made more of a habit of it, he would give RDJ a run for his money.

Say what you will about Helena Bonham Carter and how Tim Burton always seems to cast her (his actual wife) in his movies... personally, I find it fascinating that their characters always seem to be in the same situation (her character being in love with him and he never returns those feelings)... she really worked hard to make this role her own. Maybe not the strongest voice on set, but then again, it is a difficult part to play. She deserves a lot of credit.

Jayne Wisener (Joanna) and Ed Sanders (Toby) are newcomers. Jayne was in a production of "West Side Story" run by Musical Theater 4 Youth (which is a stepping stone for aspiring young performers) when she was spotted by a casting director.
Joanna has only one song, "Green Finch and Linnet Bird." My experience in high school concert choir tells me that that role demands the voice of a high soprano. (The correct term might be mezzo-soprano, but I'm not positive).

It's pretty cool that several of the cast members, I knew as characters from the "Harry Potter" series.
Professor Snape (Alan Rickman) is truly the villain here... one I find extremely repulsive. Never mind the fact he's a corrupt politician who thinks he's entitled to everything... the fact he wants to marry Joanna so that no other men will lay eyes on her, when she's only 15... EWWWWWW!!!
True to form, Wormtail (Timothy Spall) plays the toady of the villain, though with much less screen time.

With the exception of Charlie's mum in "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory," Mrs. Lovett is one of the most normal characters Helena Bonham Carter has played. Quite a relief, considering how sadistic (sometimes even terrifying in a very unhinged way) Bellatrix Lestrange is.

This movie, most likely, is also the reason why she and Sacha Baron Cohen were cast alongside each other in "Les Miz".
I'd never seen, nor do I intend to see, "Borat," "Bruno" or any of Cohen's strange movies... I think the dude's too much of a weirdo. But you gotta give him props, he can sing pretty well.

One thing I particularly enjoy about it is when the sense of humor comes into play.

• Sweeny Todd complaining about the Beadle not coming by. "Before the week is out, that's what he said"... Mrs. Lovett responds "who said the week is out? it's only Tuesday"
• After Sweeny's exclamation in the song "Epiphany" where he's on his knees "I'm alive at last and I'm full of JOY!!!"... Mrs. Lovett disrupts the mood, saying "that's all very well, but what about him [referring to Mr. Pirelli's corpse]?"
• The entire number "By the Sea" is just laughable on Johnny Depp's facial expressions alone... plus the fact the scenes shown here are so bright and colorful, it just contradicts the look of the rest of the movie.

The art direction and Colleen Atwood's costuming are definitely worthy of note. You really do feel like you're in Victorian England, just by the way everything looks. The nerd in me has no choice but to rejoice 8-)

Overall, the only drawback this movie has is that it gets a little slow in the third act. After thinking about it for a bit, the same can be said about a lot of other movies.
But it all pays off rather well.

Actually, it felt like a well-played horror movie thriller... the first time I saw it, it felt like the greatest plot twist since "The Sixth Sense".
It is tragic and, for me, always a bit of a tearjerker. Both because it's a sad ending and also because I hated for the movie to end.

One last thing...

It's not often I take issue with the ending of a movie.... okay that's a total lie... it's happening more frequently since 2011.
The body count I could live with... but I didn't like the fact they never gave resolution to Anthony and Joanna's storyline. As planned previously, he leaves her at Sweeny's barber shop while he runs to get a getaway carriage for them. She witnesses one of his murders and almost ends up a victim until he's called away by other matters.
We're lead to assume that she and Anthony will run away together and live happily ever after... I just wish they'd thought to SHOW that in the movie :(

Jamie Campbell Bower, interestingly, goes on to assay roles in the "Harry Potter" (young Grindelwald) and "Twilight" (Caius of The Volturi) franchises... and, assuming they'll make any sequels, "The Mortal Instruments" (Jace Wayland).
It was pretty cool watching this the other day, seeing him and thinking about how great it'll be to see him play Jace... after reading the first three "Mortal Instruments" books.

Edit: They didn't do any sequels of the movie and recast it entirely for a new TV series. They took a lot of liberties, but I still enjoy it a lot. I just wish Jace still had a British accent because that's how it read to me in the books. I read him having an accent and Alec and Isabelle being American English. Damn them for wanting to be consistent just because they grew up together