Movies
Barbers aren’t generally considered to be murderous madmen, although if you’ve seen some of the haircuts I’ve had over the years, it might alter the prevailing opinion of that profession. But Sweeney Todd is in a league by himself. He is the creation of Stephen Sondheim, who borrowed a character from English lore and turned his appetite for slashing flesh into a hit musical. Now director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp – who paired so admirably in another snip-snip classic, “Edward Scissorhands” — are at it again with “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” It’s the kind of savagely bloody visual feast set to music that most moviegoers crave around the holidays. “Sweeney Todd” will keep you in (ahem) stitches. That Depp is a real cutup. OK, that’s enough now. (Paramount Pictures, opens Friday)
Music
What strikes me the most — as well as a boatload of other music fans — about Mary J. Blige is that you can count on her. When she makes a record, she does so because she has something to say, and it’s something worth hearing. On her eighth studio album, “Growing Pains,” the hip-hop/soul songstress treats listeners to 16 new tunes from her gut. Two of the cuts making the rounds are the singles “Just Fine” and “Work That,” but she also roars on “Work in Progress” and “Talk to Me,” among others. And she enlisted some heavyweight assistance on the production from The Neptunes, Ne-Yo and others, and there are appearances by Usher and Ludacris. I assume she lives in a huge house. She would have to in order to hold all the Grammys and other music-industry awards she has amassed over the years. After “Growing Pains,” she may have to build an addition. (Geffen Records)
DVD
I have a dear friend who is a “Blade Runner” freak. I worry about her. She’s financially secure for the most part, but every time a new “Blade Runner” item is released, she gets the craving and must have it. I thought about “Blade Runner” rehab, but that niche hasn’t been created yet, to my knowledge. It might be, though, after “Blade Runner: Four-Disc Collector’s Edition” comes out this week. The major attraction here is director Ridley Scott’s new final cut of the 1982 sci-fi classic starring Harrison Ford. But the package also includes three complete “archival” versions of the picture as well as a comprehensive “making of” cache of documentary segments and lots of commentaries. This is for the kind of “Blade Runner” fanatic who not only obsesses over whether Deckard is a replicant, but also wonders whether he or she is one too — like my friend, for instance. Pray for her. (Warner Brothers Home Entertainment)
Television
Because he’s red, Elmo has a natural connection to two holidays: Valentine’s Day and Christmas. The traditional colors for Christmas are green and red, so if you just tie a green ribbon around the furry little beast – voila! – you have an instant yuletide puppet. Because he is so closely associated with Christmas, he is uniquely qualified to star in a Christmas special — “Elmo’s Christmas Countdown.” In it, Elmo has to recover some lost gift boxes or else Christmas is in peril. The show features Stiller the Elf (the voice of Ben Stiller) and appearances by Alicia Keys, Sheryl Crow, Jamie Foxx, Brad Paisley, Kevin James and two veterans of “The Sopranos,” Steve Schirripa and Tony Sirico. Elmo and the network must have paid a lot of green to round up this cast. (ABC, Sunday, 7 p.m.)
Books
Scottish mystery novelist Ian Rankin has had sort of an odd publishing career. Some books are wildly successful and readily available, others have quietly faded or can be found only in dusty U.K. bookshops. “Watchman” was first published in Britain in 1988, but it is only now being made available in the United States. First the dollar takes a pounding, and now this. We get no respect. I guess we Americans will just have to count our blessings that Rankin’s spy thriller is here at all. “Watchman” focuses on the exploits of surveillance professional Miles Flint, who has some idiosyncrasies (like studying beetles), is involved in a bad marriage and is intent on doing his part to halt terrorist attacks in Northern Ireland. Rankin has had success with books featuring another sleuth, John Rebus. Now Miles Flint is out of mothballs, ready to compete for the attention of his creator’s fans. (Little, Brown & Co.)