Without Bloom and Knightley, Pirates of the Caribbean still rules!
Showing posts with label Geoffrey Rush. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Geoffrey Rush. Show all posts
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Review - On Stranger Tides
Whoa. It’s the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie already? Wow.
The first Pirates of the Caribbean movie was phenomenal. The Curse of the Black Pearl propelled its three stars to superstardom. Okay, okay, Johnny Depp has always been a superstar but his performance as Captain Jack Sparrow actually earned him his first Oscar nomination and solidified his career. Orlando Bloom was already famous as Legolas from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but this movie proved he could be a swashbuckling hero without the pointy ears. Keira Knightley went on to earn an Oscar nomination for her work in Pride and Prejudice.
So yes, it was a phenomenal movie. The right amount of humor, the right amount of action, the right amount of romance.
You would think that there’s no more storylines and that they would leave the series alone right? No. At World’s End left it open-ended.
Fast forward to this year. On Stranger Tides opens. I was first turned off by it because I thought the other two Pirates of the Caribbean movies were not as good as the first one. And then I read Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom were not coming back. Not really a good sign.
Penelope Cruz was then cast as the female lead. Guess they really haven’t had a Spanish influence on Pirates of the Caribbean yet. I like Penelope Cruz. She was the single best thing about Nine. I love musicals but there was no saving that. Okay, maybe Marion Cotillard was good as well.
Anyway, I saw the trailer. But it did not really excite me still. But it is a Pirates of the Caribbean movie and it is Johnny Depp… so I went to watch it anyway.
On Stranger Tides starts with Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) attempting to rescue one of his crew. Then he hears a rumor about him recruiting people to go to the Fountain of Youth. Which peaked his interest because he was not the one recruiting. Turns out, it was Angelica (Penelope Cruz) who was recruiting in his name/disguise. Angelica wants to go to the Fountain of Youth to help her father, the infamous Black Beard, who is dying. Hot on their trails is Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), who has a score to settle with Black Beard… and the Spanish fleet, who are also seeking out the legendary fountain.
So there you have it. This movie is about the adventure to go find the Fountain of Youth. And what an adventure it is. Seriously. I thought the movie might have lost its magic and/or spark but I was wrong. It still got it. Johnny Depp did not phone in his performance and Penelope Cruz is a fine addition to the series.
However, the movie did get off to a slow start. Like the first few minutes for example. It’s classic Jack Sparrow. Has a ‘been there, done that’ vibe. But as soon as they get off sailing the high seas, then the movie starts to take on top form. I’m talking about zombies and mermaids and ghost ships.
Is this movie any better than the first three movies? It is definitely in a class of its own. In a good way. Nothing can touch the first movie though. Not even the second and third movie. But this one comes quite close to equaling the amount of thrills from the first movie. I guess the second movie suffered greatly because the ending was a set-up for the third movie and that turned off most people. Just like the second Matrix movie… felt like an unfinished movie...
But I am not saying they were bad movies… just not as good…
So I guess if there were a fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, then I’ll go watch it and it will probably be good as well. Or they could pull a Fast & Furious and have the next movie with Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom… but Johnny Depp/Jack Sparrow is essentially the movie so not sure if it would work…
The first Pirates of the Caribbean movie was phenomenal. The Curse of the Black Pearl propelled its three stars to superstardom. Okay, okay, Johnny Depp has always been a superstar but his performance as Captain Jack Sparrow actually earned him his first Oscar nomination and solidified his career. Orlando Bloom was already famous as Legolas from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but this movie proved he could be a swashbuckling hero without the pointy ears. Keira Knightley went on to earn an Oscar nomination for her work in Pride and Prejudice.
So yes, it was a phenomenal movie. The right amount of humor, the right amount of action, the right amount of romance.
You would think that there’s no more storylines and that they would leave the series alone right? No. At World’s End left it open-ended.
Fast forward to this year. On Stranger Tides opens. I was first turned off by it because I thought the other two Pirates of the Caribbean movies were not as good as the first one. And then I read Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom were not coming back. Not really a good sign.
Penelope Cruz was then cast as the female lead. Guess they really haven’t had a Spanish influence on Pirates of the Caribbean yet. I like Penelope Cruz. She was the single best thing about Nine. I love musicals but there was no saving that. Okay, maybe Marion Cotillard was good as well.
Anyway, I saw the trailer. But it did not really excite me still. But it is a Pirates of the Caribbean movie and it is Johnny Depp… so I went to watch it anyway.
On Stranger Tides starts with Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) attempting to rescue one of his crew. Then he hears a rumor about him recruiting people to go to the Fountain of Youth. Which peaked his interest because he was not the one recruiting. Turns out, it was Angelica (Penelope Cruz) who was recruiting in his name/disguise. Angelica wants to go to the Fountain of Youth to help her father, the infamous Black Beard, who is dying. Hot on their trails is Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), who has a score to settle with Black Beard… and the Spanish fleet, who are also seeking out the legendary fountain.
So there you have it. This movie is about the adventure to go find the Fountain of Youth. And what an adventure it is. Seriously. I thought the movie might have lost its magic and/or spark but I was wrong. It still got it. Johnny Depp did not phone in his performance and Penelope Cruz is a fine addition to the series.
However, the movie did get off to a slow start. Like the first few minutes for example. It’s classic Jack Sparrow. Has a ‘been there, done that’ vibe. But as soon as they get off sailing the high seas, then the movie starts to take on top form. I’m talking about zombies and mermaids and ghost ships.
Is this movie any better than the first three movies? It is definitely in a class of its own. In a good way. Nothing can touch the first movie though. Not even the second and third movie. But this one comes quite close to equaling the amount of thrills from the first movie. I guess the second movie suffered greatly because the ending was a set-up for the third movie and that turned off most people. Just like the second Matrix movie… felt like an unfinished movie...
But I am not saying they were bad movies… just not as good…
So I guess if there were a fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, then I’ll go watch it and it will probably be good as well. Or they could pull a Fast & Furious and have the next movie with Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom… but Johnny Depp/Jack Sparrow is essentially the movie so not sure if it would work…
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Awards - BAFTA / Grammy
Quite a busy Monday... the BAFTAs announced its winners yesterday... Grammy winners are being announced as I am typing... and of course, Monday post won't be complete without weekend box-office report... :)
Justin Bieber was inched off the #1 spot by Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston...
Meanwhile, The King's Speech won big at the BAFTA Awards, including awards for Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter...
Finally, the Grammy Awards... still on-going at the moment, but most of the awards have been given out already... Lady Antebellum looks set to win the most awards for Need You Now...
http://www.grammy.com/nominees
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Oscar Nomination Predix
My nomination prediction AKA guessage... hehehe...
Best Picture:
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Inception
Black Swan
True Grit
127 Hours
Blue Valentine
Toy Story 3
The Kids Are All Right
The Fighter
Best Actor:
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
James Franco, 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Best Actress:
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right
Best Supporting Actor:
Christian Bale, The Fighter
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech
Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
John Hawkes, Winter's Bone
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Best Supporting Actress:
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Best Director:
David Fincher, The Social Network
Christopher Nolan, Inception
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
David O Russell, The Fighter
Sunday, December 5, 2010
British Independent Film Awards
The British Independent Film Awards recognized The King's Speech, along with its actors Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Review - Legend of the Guardians
First of all, thank you to Advertlets for inviting me to the preview of Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. Really appreciate it... They even asked me if I was coming to the preview of The Other Guys... haven't had time to do the write up, hopefully I'd get it done soon... :)
Anyway, on to the review... (go to my pal's blog for his take on the movie...)
First of... this movie sounded like it was an Aussie/NZ project or at the very least The Association of Actors with Accents.... hehe, not that it's a bad thing coz it made the owls have regal air or a bit dignified... in any event, the movie boasts the who's who in the industry... talents like Ryan Kwanten of True Blood, Oscar winners Geoffrey Rush and Helen Mirren, Sam Neill and fantasy movie staples Hugo Weaving and David Wenham.
The movie is directed by Zack Snyder. Yup, the guy that directed 300. So that's why the movie has all of the war fight slow-mo move.
To tell you the truth, I have not heard of this movie before or bothered to google it before watching. I only watched the trailer at Advertlets website. So I did not know whose voice goes where and all that...
At first glance, the movie is great. Nice animation work. Nice graphics and rendering. Or is it coloring. Either way, it's all nice.Even the story was great. But then, when you really look at it, you notice things. Not that it's all bad mind you...
The movie is suffering from M Night Shyamalan Syndrome (MNSS). It's a disease where a story that's really big and needed all kinds of exposition and back stories but can only be told in one hour or less so it's boiled down to the simplest points and everything was rushed through so that all it's points were told.
Yup, MNSS. If you watch Lady in the Water or The Last Airbender, then you'd understand what I mean. It's like taking The Lord of the Rings trilogy and boiling it down to a two hour movie.
Guardians started out with a nice view and then a majestic owl flying and hunting. Then it arrived home to feed it to its young. The owlets were playing roles from a legend they'd heard from the parents. Somehow or rather the owlets got captured when they fell from the tree and was taken to a far off place where they were forced to be either slaves or soldiers. One of them escaped and flew away to find the Guardians to help rescue everybody and bring the evil owls down.
That's basically the story. It felt a bit rushed. The legend was told once during the role playing and then... BOOM! They're transported right into the legend. But we don't really know it's the legend until after the owlets were told to go get help from The Guardians.
The Guardians were found without much hassle. Scouts were sent. Owlets were trained. Big battle ensued. Dust settled. We see the winner. And of course, there's a hint of a second movie. See? Rushed.
But the quirky supporting characters kinda elevated the movie a bit, providing some of the funnier moments, despite the seriousness of their quests.
Like I said, this movie is like The Lord of the Rings boiled down... not that it's bad. It's quite good. But I can't imagine bringing children to watch this because the battle scenes were quite graphic and the scare/thrill factor was quite high. Either way, despite the shortcomings and the MNSS, this movie is better than anything *cough* The Last Airbender *cough* that we've seen this summer.
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