I am mystified as to how a film that looks as awful and self-referential (in the trailers) as Sweeney Todd can suddenly be generating a great buzz. Have the shills at AICN done an exceptionally good job of bending over for the PRs this time, or is Burton really back? I do hope for the latter.

Scissorhands "Not a very good film"? It's Tim Burton's signature piece... The character contrast between stylised conformity and non-conformity, disability as a metaphor for otherness; the scissors Edward's extreme sensitivity made flesh, the delightfully cartoonish binary opposition of the castle and the suburb (the sets are either Hammer gothic or 1950s world's fair future), the clash of innocence and amorality, the Machiavellian thread of betrayal. It's sugary, sure - but it's also cruel and sad and cynical. Edward is falsely accused of rape, remember - then he accidentally kills someone. There's no redemption for Edward at the end. He remains what he is; the perennial neurotic boy outsider; Pinocchio without the flesh and blood transformation. Though told like a fairy tale, the narrative's structured like a horror movie. I would have given it four stars. While accepting your right not to like it, I'm flummoxed that you put it in the same category as the truly foul Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

I agree, Martin. Sweeney Todd looks terrible, but Johnny Depp can apparently do no wrong at the moment. This will be his wrong. Anyone could've played Jack Sparrow, honestly.

Karl: I seem to remember a long argument I had with you over Scissorhands back in the dim and distant past. And the odd thing is, I pretty much agree with much of what you say. The thinking is there, the layers are there, the tragedy is there, but the core of the story, the gluing it all together, just didn’t happen for me. In many ways, it’s a stunning piece of work, far removed from the grind of the Hollywood formula machine. But paradoxically, while I respect and in some cases like its component parts, it never gels as a complete whole, a problem I have with more than one of Burton’s films. And yes, it’s a better film than the Chocolate Factory, yet I’d be more inclined to move that film’s score down than Scissorhands’ up. However, I’ve got the Blu-ray to review, so at the very least, I’ve now been inspired to give the film another go. And, bizarrely, in spite of everything I’ve written, I still love Tim Burton’s work, and I desperately hope that Sweeney Todd is all it’s being said it is.

What does everyone have against Planet of the Apes. I liked that movie. I disagree though about Ed Wood, Beetlejuice is one of his best.

I disagree with the person who said Jack Sparrow could have been played by anyone. Sure anyone could have played him, but Johnny just had that charm that made it work.