Black Mass (6/10): Dealing with the devil

“If nobody sees it, it didn't happen.”

Black Mass is Scott Cooper’s follow up to his dark thriller, Out of the Furnace. This gangster film centers on the true story of one of Boston’s most wanted criminals, Whitey Bulger, an Irish mobster who served as an informant for the FBI against the Italian Mafia for many years, during which time he used the special treatment to get away with committing several gruesome crimes of his own and rise to the top. The film is extremely slow paced and it focuses on the small details of Whitey’s crime life, but it is also a breath of fresh air for its realistic portrayal of the gritty criminal life without sensationalizing these gangsters. The violence is real and gruesome and not something worth celebrating here. It does however prove why audiences love the more fast paced fictitious portrayal of these criminal, because it can become a dull exercise at times to portray these characters as real people. The greatest strength of Black Mass is without a doubt Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Whitey because it was exciting to finally see him play a straight role once again. He’s menacing without going over the top. The prosthetics were a bit distracting, but it was worth it to get to see Depp playing this older man. Black Mass tries too hard to remain authentic to the real life events and by doing so it becomes a dull procedural at times, but Depp’s performance makes it worth recommending. 

The film centers on Whitey’s relationship with a Boston FBI agent named John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) who struck a deal with him during the course of several years. Whitey was asked to snitch on the Italian mafia which would lead to more arrests for Connolly while Whitey was allowed to get away with his criminal undertakings. It was a win-win situation for both of them. The story then closely follows how Whitey went about doing his business with his entrusted men, Kevin (Jesse Plemons) and Steve (Rory Cochrane), performing gruesome executions while the police looked the other way. Meanwhile, Whitey’s brother Billy (Benedict Cumberbatch) was rising to the top of the Massachusetts Senate, but he doesn’t play a major role in the story. Other characters who are simply introduced but not given much to do are Whitey’s partner: Lindsey (Dakota Johnson), Connolly’s right hand man in the agency: John Morris (David Harbour), and Connolly’s wife: Marianne (Julianne Nicholson). The film uses these characters to explore some of the family dynamics and when it does it works to its advantage, but the film feels like it is missing some cohesiveness between each separate individual. Take for instance a scene where Whitey is sharing a meal with Lindsey and their son while he is explaining to him how to get away with hitting a boy in school who is bullying him. The scene works perfectly to give us a sense of how Whitey thinks and acts, but it doesn’t do anything for the film narratively and it feels like a separate scene all together. There are several moments like this that seem to be presented only as facts, but these facts don’t add up to much and it drags out the premise making us lose interest in the story.   

There are some great scenes where Depp is allowed to shine, but other than that the film does miss a lot of its targets. The talented cast is mostly wasted with Benedict Cumberbatch, Juno Temple, and Kevin Bacon given very little to do. Depp and Edgerton stand out since the primary focus of the film is on their relationship, but the side plots don’t work. While the film tries to focus on other characters it never feels connected to the main relationship that is so central to the story. Johnny Depp might garner some attention for his performance, but the film will quickly be forgotten come award time. 

Cry-Baby (7/10): An energetic musical parody of 50's rebel films

“No, she's a scrape - part square, part drape. I think she's pretty.”

Johnny Depp was on his way to becoming typecast as a teen idol when in 1990 he was given the opportunity to play two odd roles. One was his first collaboration with Tim Burton in Edward Scissorhands which remains one of his most iconic characters to date, and the other an often forgotten and overlooked musical comedy directed by the eccentric John Waters. This was my introduction to his particular brand of filmmaking and I had a fun time with it. Clocking in at under 75 minutes the film knows when the humor is running out of steam and manages to end before the novelty begins to wear down. The movie is a parody of 50’s teen rebel films and it spoofs musicals like Grease. The only thing I knew about Waters before going into this film was the remake I had seen of his original musical, Hairspray. I now can see why he has a cult following since his style isn’t conventional and the experience is a unique one. It’s Johnny Depp who carries the film with his charm and good looks making fun of our conception of the cool rebel character, which in a way is the way audiences conceive the actor in real life. The characters in this film seem to be having so much fun that the ridiculous and over the top parody is simply contagious. It’s so energetic and playful that it’s hard not to watch it with a smile on your face. 

Johnny Depp plays the titular character, Cry-Baby, who is called that because of his capability of shedding a single tear from his left eye that drives the girls crazy. He’s a bad boy who loves fast paced cars and hangs around the cool group known as the Drapes. The sweet girl in his school who falls for him is Allison Vernon (Amy Locane). She’s a square because she belongs to the traditional side of town who are very much against the drape lifestyle and culture. Allison is tired of being the good girl and she eventually wins Cry-Baby’s heart who introduces her to his circle of friends: Wanda (Traci Lords), Pepper (Ricki Lake) who already has two children and is pregnant with the third, Hatchet-Face (Kim McGuire) and her boyfriend Milton (Darren E. Burrows). Even though Cry-Baby is part of the drape culture he is more polite than the rest of his gang and eventually they all accept Allison as one of their own. Her boyfriend, Baldwin (Stephen Mailer), however isn’t too happy that Allison is hanging out with these bad boys and decides to give them a lesson. Meanwhile, one of Cry-Baby’s many admirers is Lenora (Kim Webb), who isn’t happy Allison is hanging around the man she loves, and she too will do what it takes to keep them apart even if it means making up a story that she’s pregnant with his baby. 

The musical is very energetic and a lot of fun. There are several memorable scenes including a jailbreak attempt that is hilarious. Locane and Depp have irresistible charm together and they seem to have had a fun time working together with this offbeat comedy written by Waters himself. There are also some catchy songs with decent choreography including Doin’ Time For Bein’ Young, Please, Mr. Jailer, and Teardrops Are Falling. The 50’s soundtrack is just so much fun and enhances the musical’s energy even more. John Waters also included a hilarious orphanage scene where the children were displayed like animals in a zoo. The character of Hatchet Face probably evoked the most laughs with her crazy look and there’s a hilarious scene in which she pops out of a movie screen while the prisoners were watching a 3D horror movie and they all jumped out of their seats horrified by her look. There is also a cameo from Willem Dafoe as a prison guard that evoked some chuckles as well. The predictable premise of the film could’ve turned this into a familiar bore, but Waters knows how to come up with innovative and fresh ideas with his unique brand of humor.   

Platoon (9/10): Oliver Stone's personal experience in Vietnam

“I think now, looking back, we did not fight the enemy; we fought ourselves. And the enemy was in us.”

If all war films were as good and sincere as Platoon it would probably be one of my favorite genres, but there are very few exceptions where the material is treated right as most directors tend to either be incredibly biased debating either in favor or against the war. It’s strange I make this claim since Platoon is obviously an anti-war film, but it treats the material with an honesty you don’t find in other films of the genre. It is much easier to make a statement like this in a war that everyone considers was a terrible mistake to get into. What Platoon has going for it however, is that it was written and directed by a man who actually served in the Vietnam War and decided to share his experience of what really was going on. Oliver Stone handles the material with incredible honesty not shying away from the horrors and senseless deaths in war and he delivers a film that never feels sermonizing (with a few exceptions). Even the villains (not the Vietnam soldiers, but the dubious Sgt. Barnes and his band of brothers) are portrayed with some sort of empathy. Platoon isn’t actually a film that focuses on war between Vietnamese and American soldiers, but rather the civil war that was going on inside the mind of these soldiers that Stone fought alongside with. He wasn’t afraid at pointing out who the real enemy truly was and for that reason the Vietnamese soldiers are barely portrayed in this film. It seems that with Platoon, Stone was able to cope with the effects that the war had on him and the result is a passionate and sincere film. 

In the very opening scene we are introduced to Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) as he has just been deployed to Vietnam and is arriving at the war zone. He narrates the film through voiceover as he is writing letters to his grandma informing her about the war. Unlike most of the soldiers, he wasn’t forced to go to the war, but volunteered after giving up on college. During the first few weeks he is struggling to keep up with the pace of war and no one seems to care too much for him since he’s the new kid who hasn’t yet been exposed to all the carnage they’ve experienced. Chris is currently serving two noncommissioned officers who couldn’t be more different from each other. On the one hand there is scar faced Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger) who seems to have been in the war forever and on the other there is Sgt. Elias (Willem Dafoe) who is much more lighthearted and easy going. Both are experts at war who know they are fighting with unexperienced soldiers. When a village raid gets out of hand both Sergeants take opposite sides and the platoon is divided between those who support Elias and those who take Barnes’s side. Evidently the war has taken a toll on all these men and some begin to question their very participation in it when they realize the enemy is inside each of them. There are also supporting performances from Johnny Depp, Forest Whitaker, Kevin Dillon, and John C. McGinley who are all in the platoon together.

There is no denying the emotional buildup during the scene of the village raid and Johnny Depp’s face says it all during one of the killings that takes place there. It is one of the most intense scenes I’ve seen in a war film. The performances in this movie are what stood out for me. Charlie Sheen is great in the lead role, but it is the confrontation between Berenger and Dafoe that truly stands out. Both deserved their Oscar nominations despite not winning, but Platoon still took the top honors for Best Picture in 1987. My only complaint with the film perhaps was that it didn’t really need the voiceover narration from Charlie Sheen. Stone could’ve had enough faith in the audience and let them see what he wanted to say with the images alone and not spoon feed them with the narration. The excuse for its inclusion is that he is writing his grandmother, but there are things as the movie goes on that are evidently thrown in there so the audience could understand what he was thinking. It’s just a minor complaint because his character was still the easiest to identify with. The score and the cinematography are both effective and they enhance the horrors portrayed in this film. Platoon still manages to have an impact almost thirty years later and that is why it is a classic.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (8/10): A classic family drama with touching performances.

“I want Momma to take aerobics classes. I want Ellen to grow up. I want a new brain for Arnie. I want…”

Looking back at Leonardo DiCaprio’s filmography I’m constantly reminded what a great actor he is. In What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, he plays a seventeen year old mentally ill kid in such a natural way that if I didn’t know this was Leo I would’ve believed the actor playing Arnie was really mentally ill. This is probably one of his standout performances and is one of the highlights of this emotionally gripping family drama. However he is just a supporting character in this film as the title character is played by Johnny Depp, Arnie’s older brother who is always taking care of him and the rest of the family. Gilbert’s father has abandoned them and ever since he has been the male role model for the family in the small community where they live. He not only takes care of Arnie, he also has to provide for the family by working in a small local supermarket. He is ashamed of his obese mother (Darlene Cates), who simply stopped caring about her beautiful body after her husband abandoned her. Gilbert also has two sisters who help out with the family chores, Amy (Laura Harrington) and Ellen (Mary Kate Schellhardt). The responsibility Gilbert feels towards his family has taken its toll on him and explains why he seems to be half asleep all the time. He has no time for accomplishing any personal goals or dreams and spends his few free minutes with his local friends, Tucker (John C. Reilly) and Bobby (Crispin Glover). Things take an unexpected turn when Becky (Juliette Lewis) arrives in town and the two form a special bond together. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is an emotionally gripping family drama that works thanks to the strong performances from the cast and a fantastically well written script by Peter Hedges. The film avoids feeling cliche or melodramatic and I found it to be an honest story. Lasse Hallstrom has been accused of being overly melodramatic at times, but I think that the director avoided much of those moments here thanks in most part to a well written script.

Leonardo DiCaprio gives the best performance of the film, but Johnny Depp also delivers in a very subtle way. His character doesn’t seem to say much, but the way he simply moves and speaks says a lot about him. He knows he isn’t getting anywhere in life and feels stuck in this small town, but at the same time he has responsibilities and knows that his family relies on him to survive. He is trapped in a prison he can’t get out of. He cares deeply for his family, but at the same time he resents them and it seems they have become a burden for him. The way he approaches the character is fascinating because he doesn’t have to say or do anything for us to understand how he feels. We can easily identify and sympathize for his character. The chemistry he shares with Lewis is also strong. She is in some ways the opposite of him. She is free spirited and has travelled across several states. She doesn’t have many responsibilities, and the two end up complementing each other quite well. Their relationship might not be the central theme of the movie, but it does lighten up the mood a bit. Reilly is always funny on screen and despite playing a more serious character he still delivers his usual quirky silliness to the role. All these small relationships are the central theme of the movie and the brotherhood between Depp and DiCaprio stands out above them all. I enjoyed this family drama and I’m glad I finally got a chance to watch it.  

Into the Woods (5/10): It should've ended a lot sooner than it actually did.

“Stay a child while you can be a child.”

Based on the stage musical written and composed by James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods has been adapted to the big screen by Rob Marshall without losing its stagy feel to it. Marshall has had success with musicals in the past (Annie, Chicago), but he also had his misses (Nine), so this wasn’t something new for him. Into the Woods seemed to have an interesting premise considering it mashes up several familiar children stories (Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Little Red Riding Hood) and gives it a twist. I went into this film knowing nothing at all about the popular stage play so I won’t be comparing it to the original material. What I can say however is that the film is rather predictable during the first hour and it all of a sudden takes a darker twist during the last forty minutes. That twist should have been the most interesting part of the film, but  I actually ended up enjoying the first half of the film much more despite the predictable story. When the film felt like it was wrapping up at about 80 minutes (which would’ve been a perfect running time for me) it decided to go on and that is where I felt the story drag and found myself checking my watch every five minutes. The twist didn’t work at all and didn’t have the effect I expected it to. I understood what the story was trying to do by sort of focusing on what actually happens after the happily ever after but it never goes anywhere with that premise in this adaptation. They either shouldn’t have included that final act or they should’ve made it much darker, but since this is a Disney production aimed towards children they couldn’t actually do so. I would’ve enjoyed Into the Woods more if it ended when it seemed to do so, but those final forty minutes were unbearable. 

The performances and the music are the highlight of this film. Despite not having many catchy songs they are all well performed and sometimes they even overlapped with each other during some scenes. The composition was actually pretty complicated, but it was effective. The cast in this film is amazing. Having Meryl Streep in the titular role as a witch was the best decision that the executives made for Into the Woods. She delivers, but it is Emily Blunt who steals the movie. She is great in this film. Other strong performances from Anna Kendrick, James Corden, Tracey Ullman, and Chris Pine elevate the material. They all have great singing voices and there are some memorable moments as well (Anna Kendrick singing a very difficult song as she is running away from the Prince and Pine singing “Agony” and delivering a rare funny moment). I didn’t really enjoy the performance from the kids played by Daniel Huttlestone and Lilla Crawford. Crawford never convinces as Red Riding Hood and she does have an important role in this film. Johnny Depp doesn’t get much screen time, but he doesn’t stand out either as the Wolf. The performances and the set design are the best thing about Into the Woods, but the story really hurt it and I wasn’t a fan.

My Review: Transcendence (5/10)

"We're not gonna fight them. We're gonna transcend them."

Transcendence is one of those rare films where you can't quite grasp what exactly it is that's missing, but somehow it fails to find a connection with most audiences. Wally Pfister seemed to have all the right ingredients for his directing debut. He had a terrific cast including  Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, and Kate Mara, and a strong screenplay that Christopher Nolan even considered to use before going on to make Interstellar. We also know that Pfister can handle the visuals because he has been the cinematographer for Nolan in all his films since Memento. The film looks great and has a strong cast, but the characters and the story simply didn't draw me in. For a film that tries to be thought provoking, I found it extremely difficult to stay awake or even care for the premise.  It tries to build suspense and make us consider how dangerous our technological advancements have become, but it succeeds at neither. I don't want to get into spoiler territory either, but I found the final act incoherent as it was completely changing the message it was giving all along. I was really disappointed with this film and found it quite boring. 

He may seem like the main character, but Johnny Depp doesn't get much screen time in this film. He plays Dr. Will Caster, one of the lead researchers and entrepreneurs in the field of Artificial Intelligence. He works alongside his wife, Evelyn (Rebecca Hall), and they are currently trying to create a sentient machine with human emotions (which is referred to in the scientific community as Technological Singularity, but Will likes to call it Transcendence). Paul Bettany is Max Waters, one of Evelyn and Will's best friends and fellow researcher. Their work has received a lot of attention, but not everyone is happy about this. A radical anti-technology organization led by Bree (Kate Mara) will do what it takes to stop them before they continue having success with their experimentation. 

The performances were solid, but the story just felt flat and failed to engage me. I didn't really care for any of the characters either. Most of the actors were underused, and the only noteworthy thing about Transcendence was its visuals. The inconsistencies in some of the characters is what really hurt this film in my opinion, and I think they simply tried to tie things up too neatly at the end by redeeming some of things that had been done earlier on. The film also seems to have some pacing issues as it drags during several scenes and feels way too long. The film lacks thrills and feels unfocused making it hard to follow at times. I usually like smart sci-fi films, but this one felt all over the place and could have used some of that Artificial Intelligence to help with the production of the film so it would be more coherent. It never transcends from the screen to our brains in the way it so desperately tries to. 

My Review: The Lone Ranger (4/10)

"There come a time, when good man must wear mask."

Teaming up Gore Verbinski with Johnny Depp and several others from the crew that brought us The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise seemed like a great idea for The Lone Ranger, but unfortunately the magic was gone here in what is in my opinion the biggest disappointment in the Summer box office this year. The film was a huge failure for the following reasons: I don't tend to complain about long movies, but this film felt to drag forever with so many unnecessary elements and so many senseless action scenes. The lead roles were disappointing despite how much I love Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, but I think the main issue had to do with the screenplay. They made the Lone Ranger look like such a weak and silly character that it was really hard to sympathize with him. Johnny Depp plays his silly self once again and I think he goes a little to overboard with the wackiness of his character. It works sometimes (like it did with John Sparrow), but here it fails. The comedy in this film didn't really work either, I found most of the jokes a bit recycled. As much as I wanted to enjoy this movie, I couldn't manage to get hooked with the story or its characters. The only moments were I felt moved was during the climatic action scene at the end where they used the familiar soundtrack of the TV series. The nostalgic factor appealed to me there, but it wasn't enough. At the end my favorite character ended up being the horse, Silver. That sort of sums it all.

As for the plot, fans of the series will be familiar with the story. Johnny Depp is Tonto, a Comanche during the late 1800's, who is narrating the story of his encounter with the Lone Ranger (Armie Hammer) to a little boy (Mason Elston Cook) who finds him at a museum. Tonto explains how he ran into this man through a series of flashbacks. He basically finds John Reid (the Lone Ranger) dead after he and seven other Texas Rangers were ambushed by the fugitive, Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner) and his gang. Tonto believes that John is a Spirit Walker and that he's been chosen by the white spirit horse to bring justice back to the land. That explains why John is alive and Tonto convinces him to wear the mask and become the Lone Ranger. Together they decide to bring Cavendish to justice and restore order to the west. Tom WIlkinson, Ruth Wilson, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale, and Barry Pepper all play supporting roles. 

I'm a fan of westerns and enjoy the cinematography these films usually have. Many people have said that the genre is dying, but there have been some exceptional westerns lately. I hope The Lone Ranger isn't the film that ends up definitely burying the genre, because it does everything wrong here. First of all the macho hero is missing; with all the action this film desperately needed one! Despite the great cinematography the film felt as dry as the desert scenes. There were so many unnecessary subplots going on that the film seemed to diverge and go into all directions. It just felt really chaotic and it is a pity because I really wanted to like The Lone Ranger for what the character has meant to past generations. Unfortunately this was an unnecessarily long pointless film. You might be better off if you just wait and watch the final 15 minutes of the film that actually feel more like the TV series.

My Review: Dark Shadows (6/10)

¨It is said that blood is thicker than water. It is what joins us, binds us... curses us. My name is Barnabas Collins, and this is my tale.¨

Dark Shadows is the latest collaboration between director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp; it happens to be their eighth time working together. The bond between them just might be thicker than blood. Their friendship began when they worked together in Edward Scissorhands more than 20 years ago and it has developed from there on as they`ve collaborated with each other repeatedly, making some great films together and others not so much. Dark Shadows will be one of those films that fall in the not so great category and may perhaps be a sign that their collaboration together is getting old and repetitive. We all know how great of an actor Johnny Depp is and he`s always enjoyed to play these kind of eccentric characters. That is why Tim Burton seemed to be a perfect fit for him as a director because he`s such a great art director who is able to paint an eccentric vision of the world. Actually that is the only element that worked in Alice in Wonderland, and is what saves Dark Shadow from being rotten: the fantastic art direction. Burton takes us back to the 70`s with some wonderful visuals and recreates a small fishing town to perfection. Johnny Depp also gets to play a very eccentric character once again as he`s a vampire who`s just awoke from the 18^th century, so it plays out as the classic fish out of the water tale. But just like in almost every Burton film, you can`t fit his movie into one specific genre as it mixes dark comedy with horror, fantasy and some romance. Dark Shadows at times fits in all of these categories and at others it’s just hard to figure out what Burton was trying to do.

During the 18^th century the Collins family leaves England and arrives in America with the prospect of building a fishing empire. They do so and end up having the town named after them: Collinsport. They build an enormous mansion and have several servants working for them, but they fall under an evil curse when their son Barnabas (Johnny Depp) breaks the heart of a witch named Angelique (Eva Green). He tells her that he doesn’t love her and ends up falling in love with the beautiful Josette (Bella Heathcote). Angelique curses the family by killing Barnabas`s parents, Josette, and turning Barnabas into a vampire and burying him alive inside a coffin. The story then jumps to the year 1972 where we are introduced to the surviving members of the Collins family residing in the very same mansion which is now in evident decay: Elizabeth (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her teen daughter Carolyn (Chloe Grace Moretz), Elizabeth`s widowed brother Roger (Jonny Lee Miller) and his tormented son David (Gulliver McGrath), and their staff which consists of David`s psychiatrist Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), Willie Loomis (Jackie Earle Haley), and Mrs. Johnson (Ray Shirley). Barnabas is released from his coffin by accident when some construction workers find the coffin and open it. He returns to the mansion which is now in ruins and after convincing Elizabeth of his true identity promises that he will restore the family to its former glory. What he doesn’t know is that the town is run by Angelique now he is still very much alive and hasn’t aged one bit.

The first half of the movie worked for me as a very dark comedy. I actually enjoyed the film, until the final act which just went a little too far in its bizarre act and eccentricities (even for Tim Burton standards). The final act was a disappointment, but I did enjoy most parts of the story. Johnny Depp played his usual strange self and Michelle Pfeiffer was great in her role. She claimed to be a fan of the original soap opera that took place during the late 60`s and 70`s which this film is actually based on. Despite the television show not being a comedy, this film actually plays out as one in the same way most 70`sand 80`s TV series are being turned into in recent years. I am a big fan of Chloe Grace Moretz and have followed her since her work in 500 Days of Summer, Kick Ass, and Let Me In. I wish she had been given more screen time because she is always a delight to watch on screen and had an interesting character. Dark Shadows is a very weird movie and definitely not for everyone; it won`t be ranked among Burton`s best work either (not even close) so I don`t know if fans will actually enjoy this film, but I did have enough of a good time during most of the film to give this film a passing grade.  

  

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My Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (8/10)

¨What can I say Gibbs? It`s a pirate`s life for me. Savvy! ¨

The fourth film of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has finally arrived and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I was reminded why I had grown to love Jack Sparrow so much after the previous two sequels had lowered my expectations a bit. I`ve enjoyed all four movies, although none has topped the original one. The good thing about On Stranger Tides (the title taken from Tim Powers’ novel which this film is loosely based on) is that it’s the closest and most similar to Gore Verbinski`s first film The Curse of the Black Pearl. The following sequels seemed to get more complicated and loose some of the focus of what made the first film so great: the characters. On Stranger Tides goes back to the basics and has a much simpler story reminding us that there is no need to complicate the plot when the truly entertaining thing about these movies are the characters. One may argue that two of the most important characters are missing in this film: Elizabeth Swan and Will Turner, but in my opinion Jack Sparrow and Barbosa are truly the central characters. This film lets us focus entirely on Sparrow and that is fine enough with me, while Barbosa takes an interesting and comical approach in this movie. Screenwriters Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio are back for the fourth time and I´m glad they decided to keep things much simpler and entertaining. This time around the man that was missing was the captain of the original three Pirate movies, Gore Verbinski, who was replaced by Rob Marshall (director of Nine and Chicago). I must admit this is my favorite Rob Marshall film now and the second best in the franchise.

Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is back again for another adventure. When his friend Gibbs (Kevin McNally) is about to be hung in London, Jack shows up to rescue him, and in his possession he has the map to the fountain of youth. While in London he hears a rumor that Jack Sparrow is looking for a crew for his new ship. But that can`t possibly be true because he is Jack Sparrow and he doesn`t even own a ship. It appears a woman from Jack`s past is behind this, Angelica (Penelope Cruz), a con-artist who will do anything to get Sparrow to take her and her father, Blackbeard (Ian McShane), to the fountain. Sparrow apparently still has feelings for her, but he doesn’t really want to take them, so he is forced on board the Queen Anne`s Revenge anyway. The ship is protected by zombies who obey Blackbeard`s every command, but that isn`t Sparrow`s only worry: the waters are infested by dangerous mermaids who lure the sailors into the deep sea to be eaten. Blackbeard is an evil man, as one of his Christian missionary prisoners, Phillip (Sam Claflin) points out to him. Angelica is worried about a prophecy that her father will soon be killed by a one legged man, and that`s why she`s in such a rush to get to the fountain before anything happens to him. Sparrow has no intention in saving Blackbeard. Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush) is also after the fountain of youth, although he isn`t a pirate any more. Now he is working for King George and his men. So the race to the fountain of youth begins with several dangers on its way.

This film is character driven, the story really doesn`t have to be all that complicated and that is fine with me. It`s purely entertaining and fun. Jack Sparrow is his usual self again and I just couldn’t get enough of him; he is always great and funny. Out of the four films this is probably the least funniest. I didn’t laugh a whole lot like I remember laughing in the other movies, but I still had a great time with the action and adventure. Geoffrey Rush is probably the funniest character in this movie showing a different side of Barbosa. Newcomers Sam Claflin as Phillip and Astrid Berges-Frisbey as Syrena seem to be the next Will and Elizabeth for the franchise, although they didn’t get too much screen time. My least favorite character was probably Angelica, I didn`t like her character at all. Ian McShane played a decent villain. The best thing about On Stranger Tides is that the film centers on Jack Sparrow and we get to see plenty of him. The action sequences are really well choreographed and the visuals are great. The scenery is also beautiful. Before this film I wasn’t so excited about seeing another Pirates movie, but this one left me wanting more. This is not one of those intellectual films, but it is what a summer popcorn movie should be like. It`s not perfect at all, but it is entertaining and reminded me a lot of the original.

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My Review: Rango (5/10)

¨So you want something to believe in? Believe in that there sign. For as long as it hangs there we've got hope. ¨

2010 was a great year for animated films (I guess that`s the correct term for them now since no one calls them cartoons anymore) with Toy Story 3, How to Train Your Dragon, and Tangled all ranking among my Top 25 Films of last year. Rango is the first film I´ve seen from 2011 since I had a lot of catching up to do with last year`s movies before the Award Season ended; and one thing is for sure: Rango won`t rank among my favorite films for this year. Rango is director Gore Verbinski`s (known for The Ring and the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy) first animated film and he`s receiving a lot of positive reviews so far in his incursion to the animated field. I wasn`t as excited as most critics were however since I was a little disappointed with the story. There is no denying that the visuals were stunning and the CGI animation was breathtaking, but the story really didn`t work for me. I didn`t think the characters had any depth to them and the story really dragged at several points of the film for no apparent reason rather than to evoke the mood of most Westerns. Rango is a parody of Spaghetti Westerns (fans of the genre will find plenty of spoofs from several movies including The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly) and the title of the film is actually inspired on another Western, Django. The visuals truly capture the beautiful scenery we see in most westerns, but the story just seemed to be all over the place and I failed to connect with it. There were also very few funny moments as I didn`t find many of the spoofs that amusing, and I don`t see how kids would find them funny at all.

As for the plot goes we are introduced to Rango (voiced by the great Johnny Depp), a green chameleon wearing a red Hawaiian tee-shirt. He seems to spend most of his time in his cage imagining himself saving a damsel from distress (actually a head-less Barbie doll) from an evil villain (a Nemo-like toy fish). While he is in the midst of this imaginary feat, the vehicle where his cage is at the present time swirls making it fly out of the car and break, so Rango finds himself free in the middle of the desert. He encounters an armadillo (Alfred Molina), who guides him to the town of Dirt, a town in desperate need for a hero since there is a shortage of water. Rango encounters Beans (Isla Fisher) who warns him about the situation in the town of Dirt and the little hospitality the townsfolk have with foreigners, but Rango has no problem making friends by lying and telling stories about his ¨heroic acts.¨ His odds are improved when he accidently kills a hawk, which happened to terrorize everyone in the village. Rango becomes the local hero and the Mayor (Ned Beatty) appoints him as the new Sheriff of Dirt. It`s the opportunity he has been dreaming of: becoming a hero, but there is a lot more to this town than meets the eye. The Mayor seems to be hiding some crucial information about the water supply, and with the hawk out of the picture the locals now fear that Rattlesnake Jake (Bill Nighy) will return to terrorize them.  

I tried to simplify the plot as much as I could as there are actually a lot of things going on that aren`t developed really well. The plot does draw heavily from Chinatown (screenwriter John Logan actually claimed he was inspired in that film when he wrote the story) and it spoofs many Westerns (Bill Nighy said he was inspired in the bad character from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and we see Rango wearing a poncho like the man with no name did in that same film). John Logan has done some interesting work in the past (Sweeny Todd, Aviator, and Gladiator), but I really didn`t enjoy this story that much. Rango simply didn`t live up to the great animated films from last year, and the visuals were just not enough to save this film since that has become a known asset in every animated movie. I do think that the CGI was a bit above average from other animated movies, but it wasn`t enough to save the poor story. I really had high expectations for this film since I enjoy Westerns and thought it was about time for a good animated Western to come out. I just didn`t think this movie had any heart, like say Toy Story 3 or Tangled had. I just didn`t get emotionally attached with Rango and didn`t find it very funny at all. I wouldn’t recommend this.

 

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