After being sent away by Judge Turpin, Sweeney Todd a.k.a Benjamin Barker returns to London with the help of a sailor, Anthony Hope. He opens a barber shop above Mrs. Lovett’s Meat Pie Shop, where she sells “the worst pies in London.” With the help of Mrs. Lovett, Todd means to rid London of the corrupt aristocracy, and hopes to be reunited with his daughter, Johanna, who is now Judge Turpin’s ward.  

 
I’ve known Tim Burton to be creepy in his directorial and writing, but never really down right gorish. But, how else can you unflicnhingly remake the story of Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, who slits the throats of his unsuspecting customers who only want a “close shave” only to have his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett dispose of the bodies by making human meat pies and selling them in her meat pie shop.

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Two sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn (Natalie Portman & Scarlett Johansson) vie for the affections of King Henry VIII (Eric Bana).

The cinematography and directing in The Other Boleyn Girl is stunning. Many shots could be captured and framed as a still life. But, the most surprising and refreshing aspect of the film was Natalie Portman’s portrayal of Anne Boleyn. After watching the past couple of seasons of The Tudors, I’ve looked forward to seeing other takes on the story of King Henry VIII and his affair with Anne Boleyn. Though The Other Boleyn Girl is based on a novel by Phillipa Gregory and not “actual events”, it awakens ones imagination as to what could have or possibly did really occur during Henry VIII’s reign and before Elizabethan times.

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Temudgin, a young Mongol boy, endures years of poverty and torment before forming one of the most powerful empires in human history; as Genghis Khan, the leader extends the Mongol Empire from East Asia to Central Europe — creating a legacy that lasts for over 150 years.

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