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!!
Two siblings haunted by a childhood tragedy learn that the source of their
horror is a mysterious mirror with a dark history. Tim (Brenton Thwaites) and
Kaylie (Karen Gillan) were merely teenagers when both of their parents were
brutally butchered. Convicted of the killings and sentenced to protective
custody, Tim serves his time while Kaylie drifts into a deep despair. Years
later, a newly free Tim does his best to lay the past to rest. Meanwhile,
Kaylie is certain that her brother was innocent all along, and that the antique
mirror their parents used to own holds the answer to her darkest questions.
Upon locating the long-lost looking glass, Kaylie's deepest fears are confirmed
-- a menacing force inhabits that mirror, and it has plagued every owner who
has come into possession of it. Now, as curious Kaylie reacquires the mirror,
the nightmarish cycle of horror returns with a vengeance. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Release Date: Apr
11, 2014
Rated: R for some Disturbing Images, Brief Language,
Terror and Violence
Oculus is one of those pleasant surprises that randomly pop
up from time to time in the horror genre which is overrun with more crap than
an old portopotty.Oculus is a mind
bender, even if it can turn rather silly at certain points, which play with
time and perception. All the while
maintaining a strong tension throughout while it keeps us guessing whether
things are really happening or not.It
borrows heavily from Japanese horror but make for a rather enjoyable yarn.The cast is lead by the lovely Karen Gillan,
and her bangs, who oversells her part a tad too much in the beginning but
settles into her role as the film moves on.Brenton Thwaites is a solid counter weight to Gillan’s obsessive
character.Katee Sackhoff is always
excellent playing nutty and she does a good job here even though I was
disappointed by where the story takes her character in the third act.The last act is a fun trip through the fun
house of terrors which messes with your perception enough to keep you on your
toes even if it ends up in a predictable place.
