Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

Guys, we have finally reached the end of my “Pirates of the Caribbean” review series. If you’ve somehow missed my reviews of the previous three movie then I suggest you go read them. And if you didn’t miss the reviews, I suggest you go read them anyway. Still, I’ve had fun reviewing these movies for you guys, and I hope you’ve enjoyed me reviewing them for you. Now, without further ado… let’s get into the final review.

Ladies and gentlemen… “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”.

Captain Jack (Johnny Depp) is back. And after he runs into an old flame named Angelica (Penélope Cruz), he soon finds himself at the mercy of legendary pirate Edward “Blackbeard” Teach (Ian McShane). So now team Jackbeard goes on a quest to find the legendary fountain of youth. Oh, and Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), now working for the English government, is also out to find it because why the fuck not. So now we have a more simple and straightforward narrative, at least for a “Pirates” movie. However, I never found myself invested in the story of this movie. There wasn’t any point where I found myself interested in what happened. I just followed along saying “This isn’t bad… but it isn’t great either”. I’ll give it this at least: Since this is the shortest movie in the series (around 2 hours 10 minutes, dicounting end credits), the plot never feels poorly paced. It’s not bloated like “At World’s End”, but it’s also not as interesting as “Curse of the Black Pearl”. The plot is here is just… fine.

The characters here are for the most part kind of bland, but there are a few decently interesting ones. Johnny Depp of course returns as Jack Sparrow and even though he’s still almost a parody of the OG appearance of Sparrow, he’s still good in the role. Kevin McNally returns as Gibbs and he was once again good in the role. Geoffrey Rush once again played Barbossa and he once again killed it even though he wasn’t allowed to be quite as crazy as in the previous movies. Now onto the new ones because most of the old cast seem to have disappeared. Penélope Cruz plays Angelica, an old flame of Jack’s and she’s actually a decently interesting character. She’s tough, she’s clever, and she’s just fun. And Cruz is great in the role. She and Depp even share some pretty good chemistry here, the banter between them is actually somewhat fun. Ian McShane plays Blackbeard, a menacing pirate captain who isn’t afraid to kill you if you cross him in the slightest. And McShane just kills it, he gave a commanding performance that just stole the show. Sam Claflin plays Philip, a man who strongly believes in god, and while his character is incredibly bland, Claflin does a pretty good job here. Stephen Graham plays Scrum, a man on Blackbeard’s crew, and while his character isn’t the most interesting, Graham is great in the role. Really, overall it’s a well acted movie.

Like in the previous two movies, the score for this movie was composed by Hans Zimmer and it was really good. Some tracks were the typical big, fun, “Pirates” music. But there were also some tracks where Zimmer took help from Mexican music dup Rodrigo y Gabriela, and that made for some pretty great tracks. The use of their guitars within the score was just awesome, I loved it. So overall the score here is really good and it works well for the movie.

This is the first “Pirates” movie to not be directed by Gore Verbinski. Instead it was directed by Rob Marshall and I think he did a pretty good job. The shots look fine, and scenes have an okay flow to them. What is a shame is that when Verbinski was at the helm of the series he gave us some gor(e)geous movies that were visually interesting (to say that least). Marshall on the other hand doesn’t really bring that, this movie isn’t as interesting to look at. It doesn’t look bad, it just looks… dull. Speaking of dull, the action scenes here are dull. They are okay, but nowhere near as fun and cool as in the previous movies. I’ll say this though: the visual effects here are great. I have no bigger comment about them, I just thought I’d say that they look great… moving on!

This movie hasn’t been that well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 32% positive rating. On Metacritic it has a score of 45/100. Roger Ebert gave it 2/4 stars. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6,7/10.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” is an okay movie. It has an okay plot, pretty good characters, really good performances, great music, okay directing, and really good visual effects. My problems with the movie is that the plot isn’t very interesting, a lot of characters here are quite bland and uninteresting, and it’s just not very interesting to look at. Time for my final score. *Yarr*. My final score for “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” is a 6,45/10. While not great, I’d still say that it might be worth a rental.

My review of “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” is now completed.

There, my “Pirates” review series is over. Thanks for reading and thanks for interacting. Have a good one.

Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)

We’re at the third part in my series of “Pirates of the Caribbean” reviews! If you haven’t read my reviews of the first two movies, you can easily find them here on my blog. Anyway, enough of that. Let’s just get into the review.

Ladies and gents… “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s end”.

(Spoiler alert for the end of the previous movie) After Jack’s (Johnny Depp) death the hands of the Kraken, he has been cursed to be stuck in Davy Jones’ locker. So now we find Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), Elizabeth (Keira Knightley), and Will (Orlando Bloom) going to great lengths to get Jack back, because they apparently need him to take on and hopefully stop the evil Davy Jones (Bill Nighy). And now we have our bloated pirate adventure. I don’t necessarily have any problems with long movies as long as they’re well paced, but this movie meanders a lot to stretch out that runtime (two hours and forty-one minutes!). They’re also going a little overboard (HAHA!) with the overall plot, having so many plot-threads going on to the point where nothing feels truly fleshed out. There are moments in throughout the runtime that show great promise, making me actually go “Now, that’s some good storytelling”, but the overall thing (while pretty fun) feels bloated and messy.

The characters in this are for the most part pretty entertaining, though most of them are kind of uninteresting, mainly because they get no real development. Johnny Depp is still good as Jack Sparrow, though he’s also getting up to a few too many silly antics throughout. What was a charmingly unpredictable character has become kind of a buffoon (more than he already kind of was). He has some good moments throughout, though he feels more like a parody of Captain Jack rather than the original Captain Jack. Elizabeth Swann, she’s still a great character, a tough and clever woman who still shows that she isn’t perfect. And Keira Knightley is once again great in the role, even getting a very emotional scene in the moment that kind of got to me. Will Turner, generic handsome hero-guy who overall is kind of a dull character. The only thing making the character watchable is Orlando Bloom who gives a charismatic enough performance. Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa, once again a fucking blast to watch, he’s amazing. Jack Davenport is once again great as Norrington. Bill Nighy, once again kind of hammy as Davy Jones, but it still works perfectly for the character. Jonathan Pryce, once again great as Elizabeth’s father. Lee Arenberg and Mackenzie Crook came back as Pintel and Ragetti, and they’re both still pretty fun. Kevin McNally, once again good as Gibbs. Stellan Skarsgård is once again great as Bootstrap Bill. Tom Hollander once again was geat as the smug asshole known as Cutler Beckett. Naomie Harris was kind of goofy but still really good as Tia Dalma. Chow Yun-Fat was good as pirate captain Sao Feng. We also got a fun little cameo in here from Ketih Richards, playing captain Teague (and if you don’t know who he is then 3, 2, 1) AKA Captain Jack’s dad. Yeah, it’s a good cast.

The score for the movie was (like in the previous movie) composed by Hans Zimmer and it was really good. Big, epic, fun, and just great. The only part about it that bugs me is one track called “Parlay”. There’s nothing inherently wrong with it, it’s a good track. What bugs me about it is that is rips off Ennio Morricone’s “Man with a Harmonica”. As I was watching the movie as preparation for this review I sat there thinking “I- is that Man with a Harmonica?”. Seriously, listen to both tracks and compare them. Other than that, the score is great.

As with the previous two movies, “At World’s End” was directed by Gore Verbinski and I think he does a really good job. There are some really great shots in this movie, in particular there is one where the stars are reflected on the water, it’s pure eye candy. And the shots where this movie doesn’t feel like blowing my mind, they look good too. Verbinski really has a good eye for visuals. Speaking of which, I don’t think I ever mentioned in my previous reviews (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong) that the sets in these look fantastic. Also, the costumes and such… great! And the CGI looks great once again, especially of course on the crew of the Flying Dutchman. And the action scenes, while bloated and kind of dumb, are quite fun.

This movie has gotten some mixed reception. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 45% rating. On Metacritic it has a score of 50/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 7,1/10. The movie was also nominated for 2 Oscars in the categories of Best makeup and Best visual effects.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” is a mess but it’s also pretty fun. It has an okay plot, pretty good characters, really good performances, really good music, really good directing, and great visual effects. My problems with the movie come from the messy plot and a good amount of characters not being the most interesting. Time for my final score. *Yarr*. My final score for “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” is a 7,78/10. While quite messy and bloated, it’s still worth a rental.

My review of “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” is now completed.

One more movie in this damn review series left…

Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Hello there, ladies and gentlemen! Recently I put up a poll on my twitter (@TheMarckoguy, if you’re not already following me there) asking if you wanted me to review the first four “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies since the new one is coming out very soon. After 24 hours the poll was over and a majority voted “Yes” on it, so I’m gonna bring you reviews of all the “Pirates” movies leading up to the new one. So here we go with the first part in this new review series.

Ladies and gentlemen… “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”.

When his long time friend and love interest Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) gets kidnapped by a gang of seemingly undead pirates, blacksmith Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) has to team up with the very eccentric pirate captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) to find the bad guys and stop them. That’s it, a simple swashbuckler plot with a supernatural twist… and it doesn’t really need more than that. It’s a fun plot featuring pirates and some supernatural bullshit. And to be honest, while the supernatural stuff isn’t necessary to make a good movie, I feel like it really added something to the plot here, deepening it without going (pun intended) overboard. It’s an interesting world they set up and they make a fun adventure happen in it.

The characters in this movie are all interesting and really entertaining. Jack Sparrow is a selfish jerk who also happens to have his heart in the right place, and Johnny Depp is great in the role, playing him with a lot of fun energy. Elizabeth Swann can seem like a bit of a damsel in distress at first, being kidnapped by the undead pirates and all, but she’s actually a tough and stubborn young woman that I enjoy following, and Keira Knightley is really good in the role. Will Turner is the generic handsome hero guy who you see in a lot of these adventure movies, so while he is a very generic character, I still think Orlando Bloom does a really good job. Captain Barbossa is the leader of teh undead pirates and he’s a vile and menacing man, and Geoffrey Rush is fantastic in the role. Then we have commodore Norrington, a man determined to catch/stop any and all pirates out there, and Jack Davenport is great in the role. Tons of great actors/performances in this movie… too many to mention.

The score for the movie was composed by Klaus Badelt and it is really good. It’s fun, energetic, bombastic, inspiring, and perfectly fits the swashbuckler vibe that this movie is going for. Really, it’s just great.

The movie was directed by Gore Verbinski and I think he did a great job. The shots look great and there’s a lot of energy in his directing. Especially the action scenes, they’re a lot of fun to watch, especially if you have a soft spot for swashbucklers like I do. Also, the visual effects in this movie look great, in particular the look of the undead pirates. Sure, some of the CG hasn’t aged the best, but for the time combined with the overall design of them, it looks awesome. I just love the look of them.

This movie has been well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 79% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 63/100. Roger Ebert gave the movie 3/4 stars. And on imdb.com it has a score of 8,0/10 and is ranked #249 on the “Top 250” list. The movie was also nominated for 5 Oscars in the categories of Best actor (Depp), Best makeup, Best sound mixing, Best sound editing, and Best visual effects.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” is an incredibly fun swashbuckler adventure. It has a great plot, great characters, great performances, great music, great directing, and great visual effects. Time for my final score. *Yarr*. My final score for “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” is a 9,86/10. This means that it gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” is now completed.

One down, three to go… ahoy, me mateys!

Movie Review: Munich (2005)

Politics is something that I kind of follow but at the same time have a deep hate for because of it’s unnecessary complexity and tendency to start terrible conflicts. That is why I am worried that the world will plunge into the darkness faster than we can sing “We Will Rock You”.

Ladies and gentlmen… “Munich”.

In 1972, several olympic athletes were kidnapped and killed by a group of terrorists known as Black September. This led to the creation of a special task force which was led by a man named Avner Kaufman (Eric Bana). The mission of this task force was to locate the people responsible for the terrible massacre in Munich, Germany and then kill them. And we get to follow this task force on their mission which takes them all across Europe. And it was quite the ride, I tell ya. What we have here is a plot that is set over a good amount of months yet never feels like it’s dragging or rushing or anything, but instead it manages to pace itself in a perfect way that allows for both the suspenseful scenes where they need to take someone out and for the character-buidling moments. It’s a very dramatic movie with a good amount of suspense and excellent drama… kind of like “Saving Private Ryan” which just like this movie was directed by Steven Spielberg. This is also a movie that manages to be very politically even-handed, never pointing any fingers at who is the guilty country here, but rather focus those things at the individuals involved. There is no side taken here, everything’s up for the viewer to decide which side they wanna stand with while they watch the task force do their thing. And I absolutely loved every second of it.

The characters in this movie all feel very real and I think that might be because of the actors. The actors chosen for this movie weren’t really major Hollywood stars when this came out, rather they were good, natural actors… kind of like when they cast “Jurassic Park” back in the day. Eric Bana plays our main character Avner and he was absolutely great in the movie, worthy of an Oscar nomination in my opinion. Daniel Craig was also really good. Everyone in the movie was good, simple as that.

The score for the movie was provided by the one and only John Williams (why am I not surprised?). And once again, he fucking nailed it. Sure, it isn’t as memorable as some of his other scores he has composed throughout his very long career, but it was still really great. Basic explanation: It’s great, but I’m not really gonna remember it as much as the score for “Jurassic Park” or “Star Wars”.

Like I previously stated, this movie was directed by Steven Spielberg and with that said, I think you can figure out what I’m gonna say about the directing of this movie. But for the sake of redundancy, I’m still gonna say it. This movie is very well directed… but what else should one expect from Steven Spielberg? And as with a lot of his movies, he brought in Janusz Kaminski to do the cinematography for the movie and as per usual, it looks absolutely fantastic. And the action scenes in the movie are pretty well made. They don’t aim to be giant action spectacles that’ll entertain you for a few minutes, but instead they aim to be part of this surprisingly action-packed and suspenseful story. I do have to warn however for squeamish people that this is a violent and uncompromising movie that doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to what it shows. So if you don’t like realistic violence and lots of blood… maybe skip it.

This movie has been well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 78% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 74/100. Roger Ebert gave it 4/4 stars. And on imdb.com it has a score of 7,6/10. The movie also nominated for 5 Oscars in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing and Best Original Score. 

“Munich” is a Steven Spielberg movie that doesn’t seem to get the attention it deserves. And I find that weird because it has a great story with a lot of suspense & human drama, great acting/characters, great music, great directing and great cinematography. Time for my final score. *AAAAHHHH*. My final score for “Munich” is a 9,89/10. It definitely deserves the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of Steven Spielberg’s “Munich” is now completed.

Bana Banana

Movie Review: The King’s Speech (2010)

No one is perfect. Not you, not me, not even royalty. Everyone got some flaw about them. I for one am a loud guy who laughs at his own terrible puns. And a lot of times thes imperfections can be very embarrassing. Today we are taking a look at a movie about a man with such an imperfection… only on a bigger scale.

Ladies and gentlemen… “The King’s Speech”.

This movie is about King George VI (Colin Firth). Well to be more precise the movie is for the most part set before he became George. He is supposed to be able to give these great speeches to the people, problem is he has a stammer. He tries everything to get better, but nothing works. Then one day his wife (Helena Bonham Carter) gets a tip about a rathe unconventional speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). So George starts going to Lionel to get better and try to get rid of his stammer. And so begins a long and different friendship. I have to admit, the story is a bit predictable. However, it is presented in such a way where you don’t mind it. The story is both well-written and interesting with a good dose of emotion in it. You want to see this guy succeed in giving a good speech because of how great the story is presented.

The characters are well-written, realsitic and superbly acted. Colin Firth gives the performance of a lifetime. There are so many little nuances in his body language when he plays this troubled man. And of course Geoffrey Rush is great too, I mean… he’s Geoffret frickin’ Rush. But I did enjoy all the people in the movie as they were all really well-written and really well acted.

The score for the movie was done by the amazing Alexandre Desplat. What I like about the score in this movie is that it doesn’t need to be overly dramatic and bombastic but rather is pretty quiet with mainly strings and piano being used to create this beautiful score. Sure, there are a few other instruments throughout, but the score mainly consists of strings and piano. And I love it!

Director Tom Hooper did an excellent job directing this movie with a lot of professional work behind the camera. The movie looks really good even though some people might complain that it is rather dark in visuals (Sidenote: I’m not such a person, but I acknowledge that some people will). What I also really liked anout this movie was one scene… it was fantastic. While I am not gonna spoil here what it is I can mention that it is from one of George’s and Lionel’s sessions. Those of you who have seen the movie might know what the hell I am talking about!

This movie was incredibly well-received by audiences and critics alike. On Rotten Tomatoes it got a 94% positive rating with a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 88/100. Roger Ebert really seemed to like the movie as he gave it 4/4 stars. And of course finally on imdb.com it has a score of 8,1/10 and is ranked #220 on the “Top 250” list. The movie also won 4 Oscars in the categories of Best picture, Best Actor (Firth), Best Director and Best original screenplay. The movie as also nominated for an additional 4 Oscars in the categories of Best supporting Actor (Rush), Best Supporting Actress (Carter), Best cinematography and Best Film Editing. 

“The King’s Speech”, while predictable has a terrific and emotional story with great peformances, a great score, great camera work/cinematography. Time for my final score. My final score for “The King’s Speech” is a 9,81/10 and of course gets the one and only “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”

Review of “The King’s Speech” is now done.

Question of the day, do you know or have known anyone with a stammer?