A lot of worries are going around about "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," the Tim Burton movie adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical. It opens tomorrow, and fans of Johnny Depp (and those expecting a good train wreck) are wondering if the man can sing. Having seen the movie, I can attest that he can sing just fine, if not on the level of the great stage Sweeneys (Len Cariou, George Hearn, Michael Cerveris). Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett? Ehhh, not so much. In fact, you could thumbnail the film (which is overall quite good) as: One sings, the other shouldn't.
And yet -- perspective is all, as my editor and friend Mark Feeney recently reminded me by passing along the video below. Here is Elizabeth Taylor singing "Send in the Clowns" to Len Cariou in 1978's "A Little Night Music," one of the few other Hollywood attempts to put Sondheim on screen. Liz's rendition is both mesmerizingly awful -- a cat could sing this song better soaking wet -- and a testimony to the serene assurance of star power. Nothing in the new "Sweeney" is this bad -- or this good.
Sort of. In an entertaining interview over at The Guardian, flavor of the month Jason Bateman opens up somewhat about his many years in the Hollywood wilderness, and comes across as genuinely shaken by how randomly an actor like himself can go from unemployable to a hot property in the blink of an eye, for no good reason. Specifically, Bateman talks about the randomness of choosing the Arrested Development series, his big comeback vehicle. "I would have done a show half as good as Arrested Development," he says. "Things were few and far between. I didn't give a shit at the time. I just got really lucky." He says that around the same time Arrested Development was offered, he also got an offer to appear on another show that would have tanked, and his big rebirth would never have happened. "The more obvious choice was the other series," he says. "It had a big star, it paid better, it probably had guaranteed air time. It could have buried me."
Continuing with his 'it's all a coin toss' analogy, he posits the following hilarious scenario: "Let's say, God forbid, Gary Coleman got kidnapped tomorrow. That would lead the national news. Then he would get released, maybe in a month, but now he is revitalised, currently relevant, and a great piece of casting for a new project. If he does that project and he's halfway decent in it, he's got another career. It's an awful way to make a living if your success is predicated on some arbitrary moment of exposure." Am I the only who thinks that there's at least a 50-50 chance that Coleman will read this article and then hire someone to kidnap him?
The Orphanage - Trailer The Orphanage, presented by Oscar-Nominee Guillermo del Toro, centers on a Laura (Belén Rueda from The Sea Inside) who purchases her beloved childhood orphanage with dreams of restoring and reopening the long abandoned facility as a place for disabled children. Once there, Laura discovers that the new environment awakens her son’s imagination, but the ongoing fantasy games he plays with an invisible friend quickly turn into something more disturbing. Upon seeing her family increasingly threatened by the strange occurrences in the house, Laura looks to a group of parapsychologists for help in unraveling the mystery that has taken over the place. Directed by: J.A. Bayona Starring: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Geraldine Chaplin, Montserrat Carulla, Mabel Rivera
Quiet City - Trailer Jamie is lost. She’s come to New York to visit her friend Samantha, but Samantha is nowhere to be found, and now Jamie is alone in the city. Charlie just quit his job, and isn’t sure where he’s going next. Their paths cross late at night on an empty subway platform, and from this chance encounter an unlikely connection is formed. Together they share twenty-four hours drifting from late night diners, to city parks, to abandoned apartments, to a party and art gallery deep in the heart of industrial Brooklyn. Delicately realized with generous humanity by its cast and crew, Quiet City offers hope for intimate connection in a world that grows larger by the day. Directed by: Aaron Katz Starring: Erin Fisher, Cris Lankenau, Sarah Hellman, Joe Swanberg
The Amateurs - Trailer Down-and-out divorcee Andy Sargentee (Jeff Bridges), with the help of his five motley friends, brainstorms a genius idea to make their dreams come true. They are going to rally their small town to produce an amateur adult film! They think they’ve found the road to fame and fortune, but their fantasy quickly turns into a hilarious misadventure as they encounter more than a few bumps in the road. Their good natured attempts lead to the creation of the most un-adult, adult film ever. See how THE AMATEURS bring an entire small town together, in the biggest comedic disaster turned boffo box office success. Directed by: Michael Traeger Starring: Jeff Bridges, Ted Danson, Lauren Graham, Joe Pantoliano, Jeanne Tripplehorn
Look - Trailer The Post-9/11 world has forever changed our notion of privacy. There are now approximately 30 million surveillance cameras generating more than 4 billion hours of footage every week in the United States. And the numbers are only growing. The average American is captured over 200 times a day - in department stores, gas stations, changing rooms, and even public bathrooms. No one is spared from the relentless, unblinking eye of cameras hidden in every nook and cranny of day-to-day life. Shot entirely from the point of view of the security cameras. Adam Rifkin’s LOOK follows several interweaving, storylines over the course of a random week in a random city. A high school English teacher tries his best to be a decent husband; a department store floor manager uses the warehouse for more than just storage; a Mini-Mart clerk has big dreams; a lawyer struggles with a sexual dilemma; and two sociopaths thrive on ruining the lives of random strangers. LOOK tells five private stories which unfold before the prying eye of the covert camera to chilling effect. We all choose to hide aspects our lives from those around us, whether it is as benign as picking our noses in an empty elevator or something much darker. LOOK poses the pivotal question: Are we always alone when we think we are? LOOK around you and wonder.who is watching? Directed by: Adam Rifkin Starring: Steve Zahn, Allen Covert, Jonah Hill, Ashley Scott, Justin Long
Strange Wilderness - Trailer 1 Animal enthusiast Peter Gaulke (STEVE ZAHN) and his sidekick Fred Wolf (ALLEN COVERT) host an ailing wildlife TV show “Strange Wilderness,” which is in a steep ratings decline. Desperate to save the show, Peter hatches a Hail Mary scheme to find the one animal that could truly turn the show around and change the nature show landscape forever- Bigfoot. Directed by: Fred Wolf Starring: Steve Zahn, Allen Covert, Jonah Hill, Ashley Scott, Justin Long
Alvin and the Chipmunks - Trailer F A global treasure that has delighted three generations of fans, comes to the big screen for the first time. The live-action/CGI motion picture event brings together the celebrated history of its beloved characters - Dave Seville and singing chipmunks Alvin, Simon and Theodore - adding a new comic sensibility and edge. The squeaky-voiced trio and Dave Seville made recording, broadcasting and merchandising history - selling 43 million albums, winning several Grammys, and headlining an animated prime time series, numerous TV specials, and a top-rated Saturday morning series seen in over 100 countries and translated into 40 languages. Directed by: Tim Hill Starring: Jason Lee, David Cross, Cameron Richardson
The Signal - Trailer It’s New Year’s Eve in the city of Terminus and chaos is this year’s resolution. All forms of communication have been jammed by an enigmatic signal that preys on the fears and desires of everyone in the city. Told in three parts from three unique perspectives by three visionary directors, The Signal is a horrific journey towards discovering that the most brutal monster might actually be within all of us. Directed by: David Bruckner, Jacob Gentry, Dan Bush Starring: AJ Bowen, Scott Poythress, Anessa Ramsey, Sahr Ngaujah, Cheri Christan
.jpg)
Sort of. In an 
