Dumb but fun “Pirates”

  • Title: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
  • IMDB: link

dead-mans-chest-poster-2It’s July, and the most exciting movie to have come out this summer has been The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Don’t get me wrong, I was along for the ride when it came out last month; but this is summer, and we should be bombarded with more action than the Playboy Mansion.  Where’s that movie that you can’t get yourself to leave for the restroom after drinking a gallon of Cherry Coke from the consession stand, even though you’re pretty sure it will cause some sort of internal combustion by the time the credits role?

Now it’s here, and it’s called Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. It doesn’t quite threaten audiences’ bladders like you might hope it will, but in this summer of Poseidon and X-Men: The Last Stand, it feels pretty damn good to be able to escape to the cinemas from the dead heat of summer into a decent action flick for the first time this year.

Dumb but fun “Pirates” Read More »

Empty Chest

  • Title: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
  • IMDB: link

pirates-dead-mans-chest-posterPirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest is a perfect example why sequels shouldn’t be made.  There’s nothing original here as the film gives us action scene after action scene, without any real story to hold them together. 

Nor does it help that the film steals plot, characters, scenes and more from Clash of the Titans (the Kracken, the floating coffins), King Kong (the island and its multicultural tribe, the running time), The Return of the Jedi (the Quarren, the Sarlaac, the Ewok village, the ceremonial fires and the exact scene as Han Solo tries to blow the fire out), Raiders of the Lost Ark (the tribe chasing the explorers through the jungle to the safety of the plane, the giant boulder), The Matrix Reloaded (the search for an oracle, the gathering together of forces on an adventure in the next film) and others even including American Gladiators (atlasphere)!

Empty Chest Read More »

A Blacksmith, a Pirate, and a Lovely Lass

  • Title: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
  • IMDb: link

pirates-curse-of-the-black-pearl-poster

A movie about pirates AND it was based off a amusement park ride?  With two strikes like that against it there should be no way Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is this good.  But it is!

Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) washed up onto a ship as a boy, rescued by Governor Wetherby Swann (Jonathan Pryce) and the royal navy.  Now Will is an assistant blacksmith who is in love with the Governer’s daughter Elizabeth (Keira Knightly), who fancies him as well, but due to social customs is unable to admit his feelings.

Into our story comes the very odd Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) a pirate without a ship whose arrival begins a series of events that leads to his imprisonment, Elizabeth’s kidnapping, and the discovery of a dark curse aboard Cap’n Jack’s former ship the Black Pearl.

A Blacksmith, a Pirate, and a Lovely Lass Read More »

The Pirate’s Gold

The early 80’s gave loose to many pirate films, from the funny and classic Princess Bride to the campy and silly The Pirate Movie. Many of the films created for high sea adventures in the 80’s aren’t all that bad, even if they were a bit cheesy and over the top. It was the 80’s after all; the era of big hair, leg warmers, mini-skirts with lace, “The Brat Pack” and some really crappy one hit wonders. What else would you expect from a bundle of pirate films from way back when?

But why stop there, now we have the new and improved pirate films, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest and whatever they are calling part 3.

The Pirate’s Gold Read More »

Philip K Dick: The Movies

From the mind of a paranoid schizophrenic comes alien technology, metaphysics, simulacra (artificial life forms designed to mimic humans), soothsaying, philosophy, alternative universes and futures, and death.  Not the happiest of universes I’ll grant you, but one that bursts with a distinct vision resulting in original and uncompromising tales.

Several of Philip K Dick’s works have been translated into film.  We’ll have the review for the latest, A Scanner Darkly, tomorrow.  Today though we take a look back at how Hollywood has translated Dick’s different worlds onto screen over the years.  Enjoy…

Philip K Dick: The Movies Read More »