Thrust into an all-new adventure, a down-on-his-luck Captain Jack Sparrow
finds the winds of ill-fortune blowing even more strongly when deadly ghost
pirates led by his old nemesis, the terrifying Captain Salazar (Bardem), escape
from the Devil’s Triangle, determined to kill every pirate at sea…including
him. Captain Jack’s only hope of survival lies in seeking out the legendary
Trident of Poseidon, a powerful artifact that bestows upon its possessor total
control over the seas.
Director: Espen Sandberg, Joachim Rønning
Cast: Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Orlando Bloom, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario
Release Date: May 26, 2017
Rated: PG-13 for Some Suggestive Content and
Adventure Violence Runtime: 2 hr. 9 min.
Genres: Action/Adventure
Review:
Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No
Tales, the 5th entry in the series, is a fun bit of filmmaking but
directors Espen Sandberg, Joachim Rønning can’t shake the feeling of
familiarity.A villain with a grud, a
treasure and Jack Sparrow make for a decent enough time at the movies but this
fifth installment never seems to find its sea legs.With Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightly sitting
this entry out, for the most part, Johnny Depp is left with some unmagnetic
replacements.Neither Brenton Thwaites
or Kaya Scodelario, who looks like a young Rebecca Hall, are interesting enough
to make you care about them.Javier
Bardem is good fun as the villain in the piece even if the film doesn’t seem to
know how to utilize him best.The plot
is straightforward enough to keep wandering minds entertained but once it’s all
said and done, I doubt anyone will give it a second thought.
Dearest Blog: Yesterday (and the day before), it was off to Marquee Cinemas for the latest installment in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Dead Men Tell No Tales.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing of consequence that hasn't been revealed already by trailers and advertising.
Further misadventures ensue when Captain Jack Sparrow is enlisted for another magical mission.
Dear reader(s), so we're clear from the outset: The POTC franchise is my Bond, my Star Wars, my Avengers...all rolled into one. It's where Jack's compass would point if I held it in my hands. Any review is no more than one person's opinion, but my opinion of a POTC movie will never stray too far from a heart-eyes emoji and a bunch of exclamation points.
You may have heard that Dead Men Tell No Tales harkens back to the original POTC, the Curse of the Black Pearl, and in many ways this is true. Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) and Carina Smith (Kaya Scodelario) are a poor man's Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann on a parental quest; Thwaites even looks like a young Orlando Bloom at times. As a devoted fan of Johnny Depp, lately I've wished he'd steer clear of the "quirky guy in a funny hat" roles, but I'm powerless to resist Captain Jack. He lights up the screen like no one else can, and, if he can never duplicate that element of surprise that came with the first outing, it's clear he is an icon, still much loved by movie-goers...much like the POTC films themselves. Javier Bardem's Captain Salazar is the stuff of nightmares, and his ghost crew represents some of the most interesting CGI I've seen in many a moon, tops in a picture that's filled with plenty of huge, masterful effects. (Two words: ghost sharks.) Dead Men Tell No Tales continues the franchise's history of hilariously clever action sequences (another brush with the executioner is a highlight), and the movie keeps its secrets well enough for some nice reveals. Geoff Zanelli gets credit for POTC5's rousing score, though it features plenty of callbacks to Klaus Badelt's stunning Curse of the Black Pearl soundtrack, and one very special Will Turner cue from Hans Zimmer's work on At World's End. Fans of the franchise will be delighted to see such familiar old faces as Mr. Gibbs (Kevin McNally), Marty (Martin Klebba), Murtogg (Giles New), Mullroy (Agnes Barnett), and of course Captain Barbossa (the brilliant Geoffrey Rush). At this writing, I've seen POTC5 twice in 2D and once in 3D, and the only appreciable benefit to the 3D is that it lightens up some too-dark scenes; otherwise it’s not worth the upcharge and glasses headache. The movie is exciting enough that it doesn't seem overlong, but it does slow down juuuuust enough in the middle that a little trim might have been to its benefit. Finally, though this installment has been billed as "the final adventure," it clearly means "final adventure" in the same way the Rolling Stones mean "farewell tour." Dead Men Tell No Tales doesn't just leave a door open for more POTC movies; a great post-credits scene practically promises them.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales runs 129 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sequences of adventure violence and some suggestive content."
POTC5 is is a rollicking adventure filled with fun characters, terrific effects, and plenty of laugh-out-loud humor, perfect for the first holiday weekend of summer blockbuster season.
Of a possible nine Weasleys, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales gets all nine.
Fangirl points: All of it really, but how about those Middle Earth connections, David Wenham (Faramir) and Adam Brown (Ori), and of course...Sir Paul McCartney!!
Bound for a remote planet on the far side of
the galaxy, members (Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup) of the colony ship
Covenant discover what they think to be an uncharted paradise. While there,
they meet David (Michael Fassbender), the synthetic survivor of the doomed
Prometheus expedition. The mysterious world soon turns dark and dangerous when
a hostile alien life-form forces the crew into a deadly fight for survival.
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Katherine
Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir
Release Date: May 19, 2017
Rated R for sci-fi violence, bloody images,
language and some sexuality/nudity Runtime: 2 hr. 2 min.
Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama
Review:
Alien: Covenant is best described as Ridley
Scott plays all the hits.On Prometheus,
Scott tried for some headier sci-fi, even if the human decision weren’t, but
fans complained about its lack of outright Alien connections.Publicly, Scott’s been on record as saying
he’s heard these complaints and delivered Alien: Covenant.Fans of the series will find plenty of call
back to the original film all the while Scott continues threads from
Prometheus.The film itself looks
beautiful, even if the scares never really come since the beats are so
familiar.Katherine Waterston is primed
to be the heroine in this entry but she’s never magnetic enough to completely
captivate your attention.Michael
Fassbender more than makes up for the slack while playing duel roles.Fassbender is clearly having a ball
throughout and its audience benefit as he’s the most interesting thing on
screen during the entire film.The
supporting cast is made up of familiar faces but their clearly just cattle
being lead to the slaughter with only Danny McBride leaving an actual
impression.Alien: Covenant is a solid
entry into the prequel series that sure to leave plenty of fans happy while
others will complain about certain story decision.
Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for the latest installment in the Alien franchise, Alien: Covenant.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.
Alien life forms are sometimes very dangerous. Who'da guessed??
Dear reader(s), in the interest of full and fair disclosure, I'll confide that I don't like the Alien movies...ANY of them. I keep giving them chances because people who like the things that I do seem to love and even revere at least some of them but...welp...let's just say this latest installment finally may have cured me of my need to figure out what I'm missing.
If I heeded that old adage, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all," this review would be a blank page; however, since I paid the cost of admission expressly for the privilege of writing about the movie, I shall briefly disregard that sage advice to tell you Alien: Covenant sucks so hard. I might say it was worse than Prometheus, except I didn't fall asleep in this one. Maybe I just wasn't tired yesterday, but I'm gonna be generous and concede that point. Katherine Waterston is terrible, all teary eyes and quavering voice; in fact, for a team of scientists and explorers, the minute something goes a little sideways these people lose their s**t faster than the slutty girl in those teen horror flicks. Many of the choices they make are about as stupid, too. Cardinal rules: When in doubt, don't split up and don't have sex. Pretty simple, right? This crew is so dumb it's hard to invest in any of them...more fun to try guessing in what order they'll (deservedly) be picked off. The writing is so predictable I was finishing lines in my head like a movie I'd seen a hundred times. Covenant features some lovely locations and decent effects, but the "horror" is limited to gore and cheap jump scares that you'll see coming a mile out. There's a minor, but weird and unnecessary, reference to a character thinking he's considered untrustworthy for being "a person of faith." That probably got under my skin more than it should have, but it stuck out as one of the most offensively pointless spots on an almost-entirely pointless movie landscape.
Alien: Covenant clocks in at 122 minutes and is rated R for "sci-fi violence, bloody images, language, and some sexuality/nudity."
With a top-notch cast, mammoth effects, and spectacular sets, it's clear the makers of Alien: Covenant weren't shy about throwing money at the screen; however, in the immortal words of Butthead: "You can't polish a turd, Beavis." Or, as the lady behind me stage-whispered about the halfway point: "This movie stinks." Of a possible nine Weasleys, Alien: Covenant gets one.
Fangirl points: Billy Crudup! Country Roads! Dariusz Wolski!
Robbed of his birthright, Arthur comes up
the hard way in the back alleys of the city. But once he pulls the sword from
the stone, he is forced to acknowledge his true legacy - whether he likes it or
not.
Director: Guy Ritchie
Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law, Astrid
Bergès-Frisbey, Djimon Hounsou, Eric Bana
Release Date: May 12, 2017
Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and
action, some suggestive content and brief strong language Runtime: 2 hr. 6 min.
Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama
Review:
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword isn’t a terrible movie by any stretch of
the imagination.That’s not to say there
aren’t plenty of missteps made throughout.It’ll take you a few minutes to figure out that Guy Ritchie isn’t out to
replicate John Boorman’s classic Excalibur.Ritchie delivers a fantasy movie that’s lifted some of the names from
the Arthurian legends and uses them solely for name recognition.They’re very little that feels familiar to
anyone who has more than a passing knowledge of the story.Thankfully there are inspired moments to be
had throughout even if they are never consistent enough to make for a strong
film.Ritchie can’t seem to decide if he
wants to make a full on fantasy film or a more gritty on the ground take.It makes for a jarring viewing experience
since some of the great moments from the cast are immediately followed by some
frantic overly CGI’ed action sequences.These sequences detract from the overall enjoyment because the film
doesn’t let its strong cast shine.As
such, most of the actors are lost in the overall scheme of things creating a
film that feels long and rushed at the same time.It’s a real shame Guy Ritchie couldn’t choose
a lane because there’s bit and pieces in the film that shine and could have
made up a better film.
Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for the latest proof that Hollywood is out of new ideas: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you haven't seen in the trailers.
A young King Arthur is forced to reclaim his birthright from his traitorous uncle.
As I'm sure you've heard (and heard and heard), King Arthur: Legend of the Sword has many problems. In the interest of finishing strong, we'll get those out of the way first. The movie's biggest issue is that it isn't comfortable in its own skin. It desperately wants you to take it seriously, but offers you no real reason to do so. Modern language, clothing, and haircuts constantly belie its medieval setting...never mind some astonishingly white teeth! Charlie Hunnam--bless his beautiful, beautiful self--is just not that great a dramatic actor. Don't misunderstand me, dear reader(s), I love this guy and have seen and will continue to see everything he does, but he'd be better served by taking more interesting roles in smaller movies than by attempting to carry huge expectations on his strong, broad shoulders. Wait...what? Sorry, I was distracted by the thought of Charlie's shoulders. The supporting cast is reasonably solid, but only Jude Law seems to grasp the silliness of this retelling of the classic tale, delivering a baddie who's a mere moustache-twirl shy of cartoonish. That's the bad news, and I'm surprised and delighted to report none of it is fatal.
On the plus side, Legend of the Sword features some pretty nice creature and battle effects. A couple quick-cut narrative bits are hilarious--the movie's best parts, really--though they seem out of place with the intended tone. The film runs a hair long for what it is, but it never seems too long...which regular readers will know is quite a compliment coming from me! Daniel Pemberton's score is utterly magical. Do get out and buy or download or stream it or whatever you kids do with your music these days. Finally, SPOILER ALERT: Charlie Hunnam is shirtless. More than once. Feel like that's worth the price of admission any ol' day.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword clocks in at 126 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sequences of violence and action, some suggestive content, and brief strong language."
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is less authentic legend than it is garden-variety action fantasy, but it's a surprisingly good time with some lovely eye candy. Of a possible nine Weasleys, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword gets six.
While on the run following a botched heist,
the Guardians of the Galaxy encounter a mysterious being known as Ego (Kurt
Russell), who claims to be the long-lost father of team leader Peter Quill
(Chris Pratt). As Quill learns more about his past, the Guardians battle foes
old and new. James Gunn returns to write and direct this installment of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe, which also stars Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, and
Karen Gillan, and features the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel. ~ Jack
Rodgers, Rovi
Director: James Gunn
Cast: Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Vin
Diesel, Zoe Saldana, David Bautista
Release Date: May 05, 2017
Rated PG-13 for language, Brief Suggestive
Content, Sequences of Sci-Fi Action and Violence Runtime: 2 hr. 15 min.
Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy,
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Review:
Guardians of the Galaxy
Vol. 2 was always going to be a tough task since the first film was so
unexpected and incredibly fun.The
sequel faces a Herculean task of expanding and continuing everything that
worked in the original.James Gunn’s
follow up is a fun if overly bloated and scattered film.The film’s plot, which has all the subtly of
a sledgehammer, is an overly serious rumination on fatherhood, alienation and
family drama.As a result, some of the
pop and chemistry of the original is missing.There is still plenty to enjoy like the expanded roles for Michael
Rooker’s Youdu and Karen Gilligan’s Nebula but its decision to split up the
core cast zaps the film of the first film’s fantastic chemistry.Kurt Russell’s casting seems like a perfect
match but the character is strangely undercooked.Using a living plant as the primary villain
means that Russell is left on the sidelines for the better part of the final
act which is to the film’s detriment,Elizabeth
Debicki golden skinned Ayesha might have made a better villain.Thankfully the emotional storyline pays off
through an unexpected source which works well because it feels organic and
earned.It’s a shame everything doesn‘t
feel as fluid and organic.The sequel
could of used some trimming which would have made the clunkiness less
noticeable and the film more enjoyable overall.
Dearest Blog: Today it was off to Marquee Cinemas for Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.
Star Lord and company are back for more intergalactic action.
Dear reader(s), there's not much bad news about GOTG2, so we'll get what little there is out of the way first, beginning with the obvious: At the first film's release, GOTG was a mostly-unknown quantity that became a very pleasant surprise for genre and non-genre fans alike. Many hundreds of millions of dollars later, that missing element of surprise is bound to make the sequel feel less special than its predecessor; somehow "everything you expect" becomes both a blessing and a curse. Also, echoing a familiar complaint, the movie is too long for what it is. Not the popular opinion, but Marvel to me are the Masters of Bloat, and a 20-minute trim would have done GOTG2 a big favor. That out of the way, there's a lot to love here.
GOTG2 retains the humor of the original, though it's less consistently sharp. You won't laugh any less on the first go-round, but it's not going to hold up as well over time. The likable cast is expectedly reliable with the action and comedy bits, and, as with the first GOTG, Bradley Cooper's voice work on Rocket is really something special. It's important not to miss that amidst all the choreographed chaos and huge effects, which are end-to-end and admittedly stunning. Awesome Mix Vol. 2 is just as great as Awesome Mix Vol. 1; you'll be downloading it before you're even in the car. Finally, though Baby Groot is the film's highlight, much like the Minions before him, a more judicious use of his cuteness wouldn't be a bad idea. Definitely preferable to leave people wanting more, rather than risking "cute" becoming "annoying."
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 runs 136 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language, and brief suggestive content."
While some of the shine may have worn off Guardians of the Galaxy, you'd still be hard pressed to find more fun at the movies. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 gets seven and a half.
Fangirl points: Tommy Freaking Flanagan! George Harrison is on Awesome Mix Vol. II!!
