Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Companion to the film by Tim Burton
By Mark Salisbury
Hardcover
Titan Books
Available December 11, 2007

I put this book — simply titled Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street — on my Amazon wishlist sight-unseen a few months ago, thinking it to be some kind of novelization of the Tim Burton big-screen adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical. Imagine my delight when a beautiful 11×9 full-color hardcover companion to the film arrived a week ago (courtesy of my thoughtful mother-in-law)!

The Sweeney Todd story is based on the supposed real-life 19th-century barber/serial killer who slit the throats of his adversaries, then his accomplice Mrs. Lovett would dispose of the evidence by grinding up the bodies and baking them in her meat pies.

While I already knew the story of Sweeney Todd, having seen the musical production on PBS when I was a child, I didn’t want what I knew would be Burton’s unique spin on the tale to be spoiled for me. Since the film didn’t arrive in theaters until December 21, I was faced with a dilemma: Wait to read the book until after I’d seen the movie, or tear right into the pages right then and there. I left it on my dining room table for a day or two until I just couldn’t stand it anymore — I had to look inside!

The book opens with a very brief forward by director Tim Burton and the first few pages contain images of Burton on set and previously released productions stills. The writing begins with a prologue about the legend of the Sweeney Todd, which first made it to print in a Victorian Penny Dreadful, then quickly grew to rival the tale of another 19th-century London serial killer — Jack the Ripper.

Lower Regions
Written and Drawn by Alex Robinson
Top Shelf Productions
Cover price: $6.95; Available now

The inner geek in me is always entertained by a good old-fashioned sword and sorcery tale, and this little book here really scratched that itch. And when I say little, I mean that literally, as the physical dimension of this book really sets it apart from any other comic you’ll normally see. The book is basically the size of a postcard, 56 pages long, and mostly wordless. You won’t read a book quite like it this year. It makes for a nice change from creator Alex Robinson‘s regular work, which is usually based in reality and is much longer.

The plot of the book is very simple. There’s a female warrior and her elf friend, and they do your standard Dungeons and Dragons dungeon crawl, fighting a bunch of weird and grotesque creatures. And then they reach their goal. That’s pretty much it. The story is less important than the way in which the story is told. The lack of any dialogue really enhances the way you read the story, as it goes by very quickly, but that just means the action really moves along at a quick pace and leaves the reader constantly excited.

Here at Geeks of Doom we’re giving away copies of Eastern Promises and The Kingdom on DVD, both movies due out this week.

Two (2) winners will received the following:

1 Eastern Promises DVD
1The Kingdom DVD

One (1) winner will receive the following:

1The Kingdom DVD

TO ENTER: Fill out the form here below and include the correct answer to the following question:

The Kingdom star Jamie Foxx won the Best Actor Oscar for which film?

American Pie: Presents Beta House
Unrated Edition
Directed by Andrew Waller
Starring John White, Steve Talley, Christopher McDonald, and Eugene Levy
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Available Dec. 23, 2007

When American Pie Presents: Beta House showed up in the mail the other day, I thought for sure someone on staff would want the assignment.

Hell, more than one person volunteered for Bring It On: In It To Win It, so someone would definitely sign up for an American Pie film, right?

WRONG.

Guess who gets stuck with the review if no one else wants it?

That’s right, ME.

I liked the first three American Pie movies, but once sequels go direct-to-DVD, I’m can’t believe any good can come out of it. So, I groaned a little bit and put the DVD in — which, by the way, has commentary, yes, commentary, the one bonus feature I’m always bitching is missing on DVD releases. But fear not, on this sixth American Pie movie, there’s commentary! Be careful what you wish for!

Beta House brings back the cast from the previous American Pie Presents direct-to-DVD release, The Naked Mile. And who’s in this cast? No one you know, plus Eugene Levy (who I love, love, love) appearing for the sixth time as Mr. Levinstein.

In this latest American Pie Presents film, members of the Stifler family — Erik and Dwight — along with their friends at the Beta Delta Xi House enter into a fierce rivalry with a geeky, but more competent Greek house. After several attacks and retaliations between the two Houses, it’s decided that the only way to settle the feud is to reinstate a long-banned competition known as The Greek Olympiad. The losing House must give up their charter and leave campus.

Eastern Promises
Directed by David Cronenberg
Starring Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, Armin Muller-Stahl
Rated R
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Available Dec. 23, 2007

Following in the vein of his previous crime thriller A History of Violence, director David Cronenberg courageously delves into the underground world of the London-based Russian mafia with Eastern Promises.

A 14-year-old pregnant girl dies in childbirth at a hospital in London, leaving behind nothing but a diary written in Russian. The midwife, Anna, who delivers the baby (Naomi Watts) sets out to have the diary translated in hopes of finding the baby’s family.

Anna’s search leads her right to the doorstep of the charming Russian restaurant owner Semyon (Armin Muller-Stahl), who — unbeknownst to her — is also the head of the city’s Russian mob syndicate. Because of the contents of the diary, which reveals the circumstances of the teen’s pregnancy as well as Semyon’s criminal activities, Anna and the newborn now in her care are in serious danger.

During Anna’s investigation, she meets Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen), a driver for the mob with an extensive criminal record who’s attempting to move his way up in the organization. But Nikolai is no ordinary hired goon. In one instance he expertly disposes of a dead body so it won’t be identified by authorities, yet soon after, this dangerous man is somehow affable enough gain some of Anna’s trust.

In sharp contrast to the ambiguous Nikolai is Semyon’s incompetent psychotic son, Kirill (Vincent Cassel). While the two men appear to be close, Nikolai is just waiting in the wings for the impulsive Kirill to misstep so he can usurp his position as heir to Seymon’s empire.