Sunday, January 27, 2008

Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street

R18, 1Hr45min
Musical, Thriller
Starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter, Alan Rickman



Review By Shelley McDonald


There were a lot of things to be brought together in Tim Burton's adaptation of Sweeney Todd, not least of all his distinctive directorial mark. Based on the Stephen Sondheim musical about a young 18th-century barber, taken from his wife and child, by a corrupt judge, and sent to Australia for a crime he didn't commit.


With Burton at the helm, it's no surprise then that this is a gothic fantasy, set in a suitably grimy 18th century London.



Johnny Depp stars as Sweeney Todd the barber who returns after fifteen years to get revenge. Depp is singing for the first time and manages to find his voice and embody it with all the bitterness and bile that the character requires. Todd's accomplice is Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) also singing for the first time and though her voice is not strong, it seems fitting for a lonely widow, with a fetid pie shop and a tentative grip on reality. As Todd's old landlady, she has kept his beloved barber's blades. Todd's new business is murder, and it isn't long before he decides that anyone who comes to his chair deserves to have their throat cut. Mrs. Lovett sees it as a way to boost her flagging business. After all, times are tough and meat is expensive.



Running alongside the plot for revenge is a story of forbidden love between Todd's teenage daughter, in the care of the judge who wronged Todd, and a young man who knows the barber from the journey back to London and appeals to what is left of his good nature. Alan Rickman is superbly despicable as the self-serving judge aided by a perversely creepy Timothy Spall. Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen makes an enjoyable comedic cameo as an Italian barber, using a young boy to sell his miracle elixir. The boy adds yet another dimension to the plot and is an uneasy innocent in the care of murderous duo.


Much has been said. If you're into macabre and horror stuff I'm sure you'll love this movie. There are scenes that are a quite gross good thing it's a musical because without the singing it was a "bloody hell" experience. I love the gloomy filter and ghoulish make-up especially Mrs. Lovett's Victorian dresses. Sweeney Todd is a good one but if your not a goth musical fan and don't appreciate gross stuff, then this movie isn't for you. Definitely not for the faint-hearted. 




Chaikofi (Part II):



It's my sister's birthday today. I'm still on leave because we are supposedly going out to celebrate her special day but she attended her friend's wedding so twin sissy and I went out amongst ourselves and watched a movie. I guess I haven't had enough of pasta so after watching Sweeney Todd we head over to Chaikofi and had some of their Bavette Al Pomodoro. I also chill with one of their bestsellers Zonteas called Son of a Dutch. My sister craved for dessert we also had some cake I indulged on their newbie Oreo Cheesecake it tastes so good, it's sweet and light filling compared to the Chocolate Dome my sister ordered which is too chocolatey and sticky. I'm still on diet, am I?



Friday, January 25, 2008

Chaikofi Is Love

I accompanied my sister yesterday to buy a dress for her friend's wedding on Sunday. I'm so tired after that my feet hurt so bad when I got home. I went ahead of her because I can barely walk anymore she isn't done looking for a pair of shoes to match her dress. 



We had dinner at Chaikofi, I had this yummy Bavette Al Pesto. I also enjoyed one their chillers called Cheetah's Bluff whilst my sister had Spicy Beef Chai Rice and a Blushing Bride Zontea. 


I'll be on leave tomorrow, yay! On Sunday, my twin sissy and I are planning to watch a movie. Hopefully, I'll enjoy the long weekend. I think I'm going to love my schedule next month I've never had a Sat, Sun off in such a long time. Thank God my sisters are off on weekends maybe we can go shopping together or at least have a stroll in the mall or something. I'll just stay home for today and give my poor feet some rest.





Thursday, January 17, 2008

Dental Check Up

I finally had a dental check-up earlier and this may sound gross but It's been a year or so since I had my teeth checked. Dentists say that dental check ups must be done every 6 months but I don't have time so it took me a year to visit a dentist. 

The taxi ride to get to the clinic gave me a headache earlier. The driver had me going around in circles he said he thought that Medical Plaza is the same as Medical City, OMG! I paid Php80 but didn't think about arguing anymore with the "lost in space" driver since I'm gonna be late for my dental appointment. 

At the dentist, my mouth was wide open for an hour it was such a pain in the jaw. I didn't have any problem on the light cure treatment part but the cleaning process was a bit uncomfortable. The electric toothbrush hurt at some point especially when getting to the hard to reach areas. I'm happy that my teeth look whiter and feels cleaner after, yay!



Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Pat On the Back

I was awarded a "pat on the back" certificate yesterday for getting a 4 out of 5 POSE or customer survey scores for the 1st week of January. I was engaged in a call when my friend from QA (quality assurance) asked me to strike a pose for his digital camera. I was taken aback I didn't know what the hell's going on. When the certificate was given to me I had no choice but to accept it although I was a little embarrassed. Before my shift ends I saw my picture on the email with the rest of the awardees. I guess I'm quite happy about it although I'll be happier if it was converted to cold cash hehe, just saying.


Saturday, January 12, 2008

OT No More

It's a gloomy Saturday morning or I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed? It's raining outside for some reason. Our weather alert says that there's broken clouds and the temperature feels like 77 degrees farenheight... whatever. I cancelled my rest day overtime last night my boss told me that she was told by workforce that they can't guarantee if I can have a 5-hour ot so I changed my mind. I decided to stay home and just make the most of my last day of rest instead of going to work for 2 and a half hours. I'd rather render a 1-2 hour pre-shift ot this week. 

I cooked dinner for my sisters, surf the net, watched TV then went right back to bed. I got an email from human resource that I will finally receive my referral incentive this month at last after 2 invalid referrals I'm going to make money out of it. 

I have shift tonight, hopefully it's not another boring shift. 

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Not So Happy New Year, Arrrrgh!

I spent new year's eve in the office as expected. I'm still not over it because I never had the chance to say goodbye to 2007 and welcome 2008. I was engaged in a call I wouldn't have known that it's 12 midnight already had I not heard from my officemates how amazing the fireworks are. 


I feel sorry for myself. This is the first time I spent New Year's day in the office and we're queueing the whole time for crying out loud. Calls flooded the center after 11PM. My real shift is 12:30AM but I was on an hour pre-shift overtime. The queue slowed down around 8AM. There's free food but I don't have the appetite I was just tired after my shift. The roads are empty on my way home since it's a holiday, it's a ghost town. My twin and I are supposedly celebrating New Year's Eve together and part of the plan is to have a little feast for ourselves but that didn't happen I feel so bad she was on leave but spent NY eve all by herself. Sucks to be me. 



Happy New Year anyway





Back at It: A Long Overdue Update

It's been three months since I last sat down to write, and I've missed this more than I can express. Life has a way of throwing unex...