I was surfing my local cable company’s on-demand service searching for a film to watch when I stumbled upon today’s film. Whether you love him or hate him, you cannot deny that Sacha Baron Cohen (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street) has been an important figure in the comedy world which is why I chose to watch his latest film The Brothers Grimsby. Nobby (Cohen) is an imbecile English soccer hooligan who lives with his girlfriend and his nine kids. He has been in search for the last 28 years for his brother Sebastian (Mark Strong) who were separated after their parents died. One day he finds out that his brother is a MI-6 agent so he goes to see him. Sebastian uncovers a sinister plot, but is falsely accused of something after running into Nobby, but he’ll realize that he needs him more than he thinks he does. The film also stars Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect) as Dawn Grobham, Ilsa Fisher (Now You See Me) as Jodie Figgis, Lex Shrapnel (Captain America: The First Avenger) as Steven Marber, Rory Keenan (Reign Of Fire) as James Thurbeck, Scott Adkins (Doctor Strange) as Pavel Lukashenko, Penélope Cruz (Zoolander 2) as Rhonda George, Barkhad Abdi (Eye In The Sky) as Tabansi Nyagura, Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) as Banu The Cleaner, and the film was directed by Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk).
Listen I am going to tell you that you know exactly what to expect from a film that was written and stars Sacha Baron Cohen. You have to completely let go of any inhibitions and just enjoy a stupid comedy. I knew what to expect from it and I completely enjoyed the film because I wasn’t trying to see how smart it was. I mean come on now, there is a scene where Sebastian and Nobby are completely up an elephants you know what and they get boned by a whole village of elephants. So you tell me what kind of film are you expecting from that? Now that you’ve let go, the film is has some real hilarious moments in it from the opening scene of Sasha boning Rebel Wilson in a mattress store to Nobby pretending to be a spy when his brother accidentally takes heroine. Mark Strong does a terrific job balancing the fact that he is supposed to be a bad ass and deal with an imbecile like Nobby which forces him to let go. The cinematography in the film is actually very appealing and the story is actually pretty decent even though a lot of it is pretty far fetched. It’s a comedic take on the spy genre that has populated Hollywood and as I said you know what you are getting. That is why I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.
For today’s film, I wanted to watch something from Johnny Depp (Blow) that I hadn’t seen before and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street seemed like the perfect movie to choose. In the film, Depp plays the title character Sweeney Todd, a man who was once known as Benjamin Barker, one of the best barbers of London. You see Barker was forced out of London and into exile because an evil Judge by the name of Turpin (Alan Rickman) had eyes for his wife Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly). He now returns to London, 15 years later under a new identity to find that his wife is dead and his daughter is being held captive by Turpin. With the help of Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), he will set up shop once again in hopes of carrying out some good ole fashioned revenge. The film also stars Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) as Pirelli, Timothy Spall (Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire) as Beadle, Jamie Campbell Bower (The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones) as Anthony, Jayne Wisener (Jane Eyre) as Johanna, Ed Sanders (Hugo) as Toby, and the film was directed by the one and only Tim Burton (Alice In Wonderland).
Everyone needs to watch a musical every once in a while and I didn’t mind this one because it had that horror edge to it. What can be side about Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Tim Burton that hasn’t already been said yet? Well, for one they are constantly working together so this must mean that it’s a dream team that works. While everyone including the late Alan Rickman does a great job int he film, Carter and Depp are simply masterful portraying two strange bedfellows. One wants revenge while the other has a sick sadistic way to get her meat pie business back up and running. Nevertheless, their performances are spot on and they really command the screen and they get the best out of others. The film definitely has that Tim Burton look to it where the world is bleak and grey and certain colors stand out more than most. One thing in the film that kind of bothered me was the fact that when he cut someone their blood looked like spaghetti sauce and not anywhere close to the color of blood. Sacha Baron Cohen is only in the film for a brief amount of time so if you can’t stand him then you don’t have to worry. You’ll only have to endure him for a brief amount of time. If you do like him, then I am sorry for that last sentence. I want to look into more of what England called Penny Dreadful’s which were stories that were printed in newspapers in Victorian England for a penny. That is where Sweeney Todd first appeared and it seems that they have more incredible stories. If you are a fan of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Tim Burton then check out this movie because it is worth your time. That is why I am giving the film an A for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 