[...] Despite the failure of Dreamgirls to sustain its momentum in the last
few stretches of last year's Oscar race, another musical, a much
darker one, can achieve what others of its genre have failed to do
since the 2002 victory of Chicago. December sees Tim Burton's
adaptation of Sweeney Todd, the musical on the barber out for
revenge. It stars Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in plum roles
that can land them nominations. Alan Rickman and Sacha Baron Cohen
can sneak in for potentially strong supporting turns. With such
stalwarts as Dante Ferretti for art direction and Colleen Atwood for
costume design, the film can dominate the technical categories even
if it is snubbed for the top prizes (a scenario that would be
reminiscent of the fate of Dreamgirls). [...]