Have a scary Christmas with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp

What ever happened to the nice young detective from 21 Jump Street? Do you remember him? Officer Tom Hanson... well, okay, maybe he was not exactly nice, to quote from one of the episodes: "Fine. I see I'm going to have to put this into terms you can understand. That's my stepbrother, Douglas. He's kinda lame, but it's not his fault. You kick his tail - he tells my stepdad - my stepdad kicks my tail. Then I'm going to have to come back here and kick your tail. So, why don't we leave him out of this and I'll just kick your tail right now?"

21 Jump Street was the show that, like it was for a lot of people, made me a fan of Johnny Depp. It is nowhere near his best performance, however, he saved that for things like Edward Scissor Hands and What's Eating Gilbert Grape... or at least he did before Pirates of the Caribbean skyrocketed him back into being every woman's heartthrob.

I think Captain Sparrow can be summed up best in the first few minutes we see him proudly sailing his 'ship' to dock and stepping lightly off onto the dock -- from the crows nest as the ship sinks out of sight.

Shortly afterward he is arrested and we get my favorite line from the entire movie, and something else that gives wonderful insight to just what kind of man Jack Sparrow is and displays Johnny Depp's skills as an actor:

Norrington: You are without doubt the worst pirate I've ever heard of.
Jack Sparrow: But you have heard of me.

As much as I love Pirates of the Caribbean, however, I think my favorite Johnny Depp movie will always be Nick of Time (1995). I am fairly sure that it was the first movie to ever be played out in perfect time to real time, and the character interactions were so intense that you could not help but feel for Johnny Depp's character Gene Watson - particularly when his entire interactions with the bad guys was easily summed up with a small exchange between him and Mr. Smith:

Gene Watson: You're out of your mind.
Mr. Smith: What's your point?

Sounds a little like a reverse from the way the duologue would have gone with Captain Sparrow, huh?

And now Johnny Depp is back, this time in a Tim Burton film called Sweeney Todd. In Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Depp plays the infamous Benjamin Barker (a.k.a. Sweeney Todd) and seems to have flipped a little more from the role he had in Nick of Time. From the trailer for Sweeney Todd:

Mrs. Lovett: You're barking mad.
Sweeney Todd: The years, no doubt changed me.

Scheduled for release this Christmas, Sweeney Todd is sure to be a gift to any that, like my nephews, love chiller type movies like this one. To find out more about the movie visit the official Sweeney Todd movie site and make sure to look around while you are there for hidden mouse-over triggers such as a trapdoor and a ghost that appears. Parts of the site are still under construction, but there is still plenty in place to give you a good idea for what to expect from this movie.

Also make sure you pay a visit to MySpace, rather you have a MySpace account or not, because when you visit Sweeney Todd on MySpace you not only get to see a short video, but you can enter for a chance to meet Johnny Depp at the global premier.