Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Year: 2011

Director: Rob Marshall

Cast: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane

In My Own Words

                When I first heard about the fourth instalment for “Pirates of the Caribbean”, I was completely sceptical. I had every reason to be. When the first “Pirates of the Caribbean” was released back in 2003, it was in my top 5 films for years. After the second and third film, I kind of lost interest. I think I was getting annoyed that the makers were milking the concept for all it was worth and using everything that was great about the first movie over and over again. I loved the freshness of the first one and the fact that there had never been a pirate film quite like that one before. There was romance, adventure, surprises and some good laughs in there. Of course, the second one and third one just doubled everything about the first. They were so over the top that it made it all seem so corny and silly.

                I can see why Disney would want to get the most out of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” phenomenon though. How good is the character of Captain Jack Sparrow? He is a character like none other and always a joy to watch. Disneyland even redid their “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride to include Sparrow after the huge success of the film, which was based on the ride to begin with. Depp deserved his Academy Award nomination for being the true spirit behind this character that will never be forgotten. There aren’t many characters these days which aren’t superheros that people can see not being forgotten in a hurry, so that makes Sparrow pretty special.

                And whether the fourth film is good or not, does it really matter in the eyes of Disney? Of course not! “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” had a $250 million production budget, and since it’s opening on Thursday, it has made $346 million worldwide. According to Box Office Mojo, this film had the highest earnings in its opening weekend in the United States ever. Why stop?

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review

“Pirates of the Caribbean” may not have worn out its welcome just yet. Eight years after the first instalment was released, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” is the fourth on screen adventure of the beloved Captain Jack Sparrow. “On Stranger Tides” is much like the previous films in many ways, but the good thing is that it has learnt from the biggest mistakes made in the second and third films and has made amends for them in this film.

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) returns and this time he is in pursuit of the Fountain of Youth. He once again escapes the gallows and is again running from the authorities and the newly reformed Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) who are also after the Fountain of Youth. He runs into his old flame, Angelica (Penelope Cruz) who tricks him into coming along with her and her father, Blackbeard (Ian McShane) on the same quest. It is a race to see who gets there first, and who knows how to get there. Also, who can survive the journey.

“On Stranger Tides” is much like the last two “Pirates of the Caribbean” where there is so much going on at once. There are the two main stories of Barbossa’s journey and Blackbeard’s journey, as well as the romance between Philip (Sam Clafin) and mermaid, Syrena (Astrid Berges-Frisbey). However much there may be going on, it is still not quite as busy as the second and third film proving that the film makers have learnt from their mistakes. Because there is so much going on, the scriptwriting seems a bit all over the place. Many of the characters, besides Sparrow, Blackbeard and Barbossa are not very verbally gifted. There are still some good laughs to be had throughout the film, but no real surprises or suspense.

There are some really thrilling and impressive moments in the film. The scenery and landscape used for various scenes in beautiful and the editing and cinematography is very well done. However, there are some boring and drawn out scenes in the film which wind the film down and make it less enjoyable. There is, of course, the farfetched nature of many of the activities undertaken in the film, such as Sparrow catapulting himself from the top of one palm tree to another which resembles something out of a video game. However, “Pirates of the Caribbean” is supposed to be a fantasy so it can be forgiven. Just don’t try this at home kids.

Once again, Johnny Depp is the star of the show. Even though we are now up to the fourth film in the series, Jack Sparrow is still as funny as ever and he in no way has faltered since his first appearance in “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl”. Geoffrey Rush does well once again as Barbossa and Ian McShane gives a solid performance as Blackbeard. Penelope Cruz doesn’t seem completely comfortable in this film and although she fits the part of the female pirate, she struggles with her relationships in the film. There is no real father daughter relationship between her and McShane and there is really no romantic tension or chemistry between her and Depp.

At the beginning of the film, you do start to feel as though you are missing Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley as Will and Elizabeth and wish they would return. Though Sam Clafin and Astrid Berges-Frisbey do pick up the romantic roles in this film well. Sam Clafin’s character of Philip is really a valuable addition to the series and has a great amount of character to him. Although Berges-Frisbey does not say much, she still makes quite an impression on the screen. Not just with her beauty, but also her innocence and fragility.

It is now a fact that there will not be another “Pirates of the Caribbean” quite like the first film, but this film is an improvement on the last two films in the series. It is still entertaining and enjoyable for the most part, but it’s busyness and drawn out scenes of nothingness let it down.

5.5/10

Nine

Nine
Year: 2008
Director: Rob Marshall
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Judi Dench

In My Own Words
I went into this movie with the lowest of expectations. I always see it as a bad thing if a film has a huge Oscar buzz about it and then doesn’t deliver come nomination time. It’s never a good sign. However, I enjoyed “Nine” a lot more than what I thought I would. I love feeling this way, there is such a buzz coming out of a film you thought would be a complete fail and knowing you were wrong. In saying that, I can understand why it has been panned by other critics and neglected from much of the Oscar nominations. In saying this, I believe that the academy even got the nominations “Nine” did get wrong.

One thing I will say is that Rob Marshall must be a huge Federico Fellini. Obviously “Nine” is based on the Broadway show of the same name, but the Broadway show is then based on the 1963 Italian film “8 ½” . “8 ½” is not a musical so it does not contain the breaks in the story for the musical numbers, and the story is different. The majority of the characters have the same names and certain scenes are recreated to the finest detail, such as Saraghina’s little beach number. There are even certain scenes, such as Claudia at the fountain, which reminds me of another Fellini masterpiece, “La Dolce Vita”. I honestly think that films like “8 ½” and “La Dolce Vita” work better in the style that they were initially filmed in rather than try to be redone mixing both the stage show and the film. I did like the film, but there were parts of the film that I didn’t like, and Rob Marshall trying to mix “Chicago” and “8 ½” was the main reason I didn’t like it.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
“Nine”, based on the Broadway play of the same name, can be described as an enjoyable mess. There are some amazing things about the film, yet there are some things that bring its buzz down. The unstoppable Daniel Day-Lewis plays Guido Contini, a film director who under pressure to write and direct a film in 10 days. It isn’t only the pressure of the film playing on his mental health, but also the relationships with the women in his life. His trials and tribulations with himself and his women are expressed through both the script and musical numbers. However, the two narrative forms collide in this film making the combination quite messy. The film could have been constructed in a way so that these two could have worked together to flow smoothly, but the way which director, Rob Marshall separates the script and the songs makes the film jerky and uneven. The jerkiness of the film makes the storyline seem weak. It is as though Marshall is trying to put what proved to be the winning formula of the musical numbers on the stage that was present in “Chicago” into “Nine”, as well as having the storyline carried off the stage. Unfortunately this is formula is not for this film.

In saying this, there are many good things about “Nine” that stop it from being a failure. Firstly, the scenery and visuals are stunning. The film is definitely a great tourist advertisement for Italy, even if we are no longer in the 1960’s when the film is set. The musical numbers are also outstanding and the songs are extremely catchy, especially “Take It All”, “Cinema Italiano” and “Be Italian”. The musical numbers, although disruptive to the storyline rather than enhancing it, are well choreographed and beautiful to watch.

The acting is also a stand out in this film. Daniel Day-Lewis is perfect as Guido and is perfectly cast. The star of the film is the consistently brilliant Marion Cotillard as Guido’s wife, Luisa. She gives a heartfelt performance in which the audience feels her emotion, especially in her number “My Husband Makes Movies”. She is extremely unlucky to have not received an Oscar nomination for her efforts in this film. There is great screen chemistry in between her and Day-Lewis, both in love and anger. Penelope Cruz is also a stand out as Guido’s mistress, Carla. She plays the role of the mistress well, being sexy as well as vulnerable and desperate for Guido’s affections. Dame Judi Dench is charming as per usual, and it is joyful to see her try her hand at a musical number throughout the film. Both Nicole Kidman and Kate Hudson have almost unnecessary roles, but both provide great songs for the film soundtrack.

“Nine” is a great musical, but not one of the great stories of the year. There are some extremely fun moments throughout the film and the players are far from bad, but the weakness of the storyline lets its good points down.
6.5/10

Broken Embraces

Los abrazos rotos (Broken Embraces)
Year: 2009
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Cast: Penelope Cruz, Lluis Homar, Tamar Novas

In My Own Words
The first foreign film review for Movie Critical! I am a big foreign film fan, but I find I never see enough of them. A lot of people do not like foreign movies because they do no like the idea of having to read subtitles while watching a film, but I normally find that you almost forget that you are reading subtitles rather than not hearing those words come out of the characters mouths half way through the film. I watch a few of them on DVD, but it is always a challenge watching them at the cinema as not many cinemas around here show foreign films. “Los abrazos rotos”, which is also known by its English title “Broken Embraces” was one film that I wanted to make an effort for. The effort was made easier when one of my friends, who is Spanish, was also wanting to see it and I also won a double pass!

Before I had seen “Broken Embraces”, I had seen only two of celebrated Spanish director, Pedro Almodovar’s films. These films were “All About My Mother” and “Volver”, the latter of which I am a big fan of. He definitely is a great director, although he can be a bit full on at times. I have not seen “Bad Education”, but I have been told that that is an extremely intense film. I found “All About My Mother” quite confronting at times, but “Volver” not as much. “Broken Embraces” wasn’t as full on as what I expected it to be, although you wouldn’t expect that from the opening scene of the movie which just so happens to be a sex scene.

I did enjoy the film as it dealt a fair bit with making and directing films, and it does have some amazing acting, but there are faults in it that make it not as much of a masterpiece as it could be.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
There is no denying the power and beauty of the pairing of director Pedro Almodovar and actress Penelope Cruz. It has proved to be a winning combination in the past and continues be so in “Broken Embraces”. Although there are some moments in the movie that can be criticised, the acting and cinematography save the film from being a failure. Mateo Blanco (Lluis Homar), who also goes by the pseudonym of Harry Caine, is a film maker who has been left blind after a car accident. After a visit from someone from his past, Mateo tells his producers don, Diego (Tamar Novas) about the filming of his last film before he lost his sight and about Lena (Penelope Cruz), the married star of the film whom Mateo fell hopelessly in love with. Through this period he starts to call himself Harry Caine and when he loses his sight, proclaims that Mateo is dead and won’t answer to anything but Harry.

“Broken Embraces” is indeed captivating. It is interesting and the cinematography is wonderful. The camera shots which Almodovar uses to capture the actors emotions and make an ordinary shot into an extraordinary shot. As is seen in his earlier films, Almodovar is a great fan of using colour in his films and this was also evident in this film, where even morbid scenes become visually beautiful scenes. However, the film does seem to drag a tad towards the second half of the film. It feels as if not much is happening, and it is taking too long to show not much. It is somewhat anti-climatic and although there is conflict, it conflict scenes in the film are dull and strung out.

The absolute shining star of the film is Penelope Cruz. She is gorgeous and stunning and gives a fine performance. Although the film is told by Mateo and is ultimately supposed to be about him and his life, Cruz is in the majority of the film and is on screen more than Lluis Homar. However, the audience does not mind this, as she is definitely an intriguing character and the camera loves her. Almodovor definitely makes the most of her beauty in his choice of camera shots and angles. Homar does give a good performance, but it feels as though the script did not give him much to work with. Blance Portillo, who plays Mateo’s producer, gives a wonderful performance filled with emotion, but her best work isn’t shown until the end of the film.

“Broken Embraces” is very clever and a beautiful film to watch, although it does have its bad points that non-fans of Almodovor will not be able to appreciate. However, it is one of the best foreign films released in the past year and if you are going to watch only one foreign film in this past year, it should be this one.

7/10