Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Who needs the rapture when you could see the newest Pirates of the Caribbean movie? I just died and went to heaven, says I!! Now that we have that fanboying moment out of the way, let's carry on with the review.

On Stranger Tides brings us back once again into the life of Jack Sparrow (there should be a captain in there somewhere), the pirate we all fell in love with eight years ago. As promised at the end of last we met, Sparrow is after the fountain of youth. Along the way, Sparrow is reacquainted with Barbossa, Gibbs, a lover scorned - Angelica, the menacing pirate legend - Blackbeard, and even zombies and mermaids.

On Stranger Tides is, by no means, a perfect movie but does wash away any bitter aftertaste you (emphasis on you, because I loved them) may have had towards the franchise after Dead Man's Chest and At World's End. I felt that that On Stranger Tides returned to form by unfolding as an adventure-quest story, much like Curse of the Black Pearl, rather than a plot of rescue, betrayal, and backstabbing like the sequels before it did. Marshall, the new director at the helm, even pays homage to Black Pearl by including a sword fighting sequence reminiscent of the first duel between Sparrow and Turner in the blacksmith shop. The film was also shot beautifully and the soundtrack is as stunning as ever. The Hans Zimmer's familiar score is even enhanced with relevant Spanish guitar by Rodrigo y Gabriela .

What doesn't work for the film is the introduction, of what i am assuming, a replacement couple for Elizabeth Swan and Will Turner. Quite frankly, I didn't care for sub-plot romance between the Syrena the mermaid and Philip the missionary. They didn't have as large a presence as Turner and Swan did, so it seemed more like an after-thought than anything else. That said, I thought the mermaids were really cool and the scene where they attacked the pirates was pretty intense. I will admit though, I did laugh at the shot of one of the mermaids revealing what appeared to be vampire-like fangs.

Another thing that bothered me was the lack of exploration of some of the lore introduced. Where did Blackbeard's voodoo powers come from? Why is his sword able to control his ship? I feel like this lack of storytelling is a result of the writers' need to introduce as many characters as possible and have them all have their own motives. Maybe it will all be explored in the next pirates film, as hinted at by the scene at the end of the credits. I just feel like if they shortened the beginning of the film and worked some script magic, they could have at least explored some of it during the meaty 137-minute runtime.

Either way, as you may have expected, I fully and wholeheartedly enjoyed the film - and will probably see it several more times. When it comes down to it, I'm a pirate fanboy at heart, and the franchise can do no wrong in my eyes. Objectively speaking of course, I suggest you set your sails and course your heading for the nearest theater. You just might be surprised.




Are you truly surprised at my final verdict?

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Kick Ass

It seems every year, a studio tries to release a movie in the pre-summer season (March-April) that builds a ton of hype online. Sometimes that hype is overbuilt and you get a trainwreck, like Watchmen from last year. Other times, you get a film that can deliver on that hype, like 300 from a few years ago. This year, we get Kick Ass, and I can tell you that I was pretty into it.

The story focuses on geeky, High School student Dave asking himself and his friends why nobody has ever become a superhero before. He takes matters into his own hands when he is a part of crime and notices that a witness does nothing to intervene. After a video of one of his first heroic acts as Kick Ass surfaces on the internet, he becomes an icon in the eye of the public. He is eventually drawn into a vendetta between Big Daddy and Hit Girl and the drug empire ran by Frank D'Amico, the father of Kick Ass's arch-nemesis, Red Mist.

The movie is pretty faithful to its source material. I have read in an interview that the film rights for Kick Ass were sold before the first issue of the comic had even been published. Matthew Vaughn (Stardust), the director and co-screenwriter for the film, mentioned that the comic and the script for the film were written at the same time, so their was a lot of collaboration between the author and the screenwriter.

The story combines some of the elements from the popular teen-comedy and Tarantino-esque gore genres. It was an excellent combination of genres that allowed me to have fun for the entire two-hour runtime of the film. Also, I really liked how the superhero element really emphasized the urge all teenagers have to be something more than they are. *SPOILER ALERT (for those who care)* It was especially funny watching Dave play the role of his love-interest's gay bff, just to get closer to her. He eventually reveals his intentions and they get together.

There has been a lot of negative attention for the film concerning its obscene language, especially from the Hit Girl character who was only 11 at the time of filming. I was surprisingly not offended at all. I am open enough to know that most of the bad language in the film was used as a shock-value tool, especially when Hit Girl uses the c-word. It's funny to me that America will clutch her pearls at the drop of a four-letter word, but will hardly wince at the drop of a limb or the spraying of blood.

Overall, Kick Ass is a pretty *PUN ALERT* kick ass movie. I probably won't be adding this to my DVD collection, but I did enjoy it. If you get the chance, go and check it out, but I wouldn't make it one of your top priorities. Read more!