The Pirates Review Post

I was really determined not to let this movie be another Spiderman 3, where in I expect too much in some regards, and too little in others. Ultimately I think it was my preconceptions and expectations that made me not enjoy ‘spidey as much as I could have. About half an hour into At Worlds End, I stopped overanalyzing plot points and looking for more than was right in front of me, and decided to accept the movie for what it is; a swashbuckling summer movie and the latest sequel to one of my favorite movies of all time. From that point on I enjoyed myself thoroughly and welcome the movie into the ‘pirates trilogy. Sure there are little inconsistencies and a fair bit of unnecessary ‘twists’ (if you can all them that), but the main plotline and the big reveals were worth the wait and the action was top notch.

As a result of being the 3^rd in a series of dynamic films; the movie suffers from too many Jack Sparrows. I don’t mean that in the obvious sense (I love the hallucinations) but more so, there are far more characters fighting for the audience attention than one movie warrants. The main draw is (as always) Jack Sparrow, but Verbinksi has the movie waterlogged with too many fully fleshed-out characters to the point where killing them off is really the only option.

With Davy Jones being the most badass (and visually stunning) villain in a long time, I didn’t realize how much I missed Barbossa. Geoffrey Rush is the official voice of all things piratety. He could be telling you about his new ornate tea set and it would sound like he was telling you to walk the plank. The way he growls his lines sends shivers to me timbers and is more, than welcomed back into the story. In Jones’s defense his character is taken to a new level and Bill Nighy is as fantastic as ever. I loved the unnecessary Jerry-Bruckheimer-moment on Becket’s ship. I was half expecting a helicopter to fly in and explode, piloted by Nic Cage, while slow motion doves blossomed behind the ship.

The visualization of Davy Jones’s locker and the madness it ensues, as well as the amazing shipwreck fortress overcast the movie’s lower points (the Kraken explanation and Tia Dalma’s involvement- which, for the record Sarah and I predicted like a million years ago). And while I (along with everyone else I’ve asked) was quite confused as to who was double-crossing who, and for what end, the fact of the matter is that we are dealing with pirates. They backstab and double-cross all the time, and as long as they continue to plunder, cross steal and face off with ILM powered tentacles, I have no problem not knowing who’s on whose side.

The Night at the Museum Post

Over the Christmas holiday I went with my family to catch a Night At The Museum, the recent Ben Stiller vehicle. I have to say right off the bat that I knew what I was getting into when I sat down in the theater. I wasn’t expecting a great movie, nor was I looking to laugh particularly hard, be touched to tears or kick the seat in front of me with suspense. I did want, however to see a family friendly film, that would go down easy, require little effort, and be a nice movie to see with my family. Night At The Museum is just that. As a movie, its pretty bad. But as a Christmas family outing, its perfect. I enjoyed the movie very much, mainly because of my company and the season. With that said, as a film it’s more than flawed, missing pieces and decidedly anticlimactic.

As with most Ben Stiller comedies these days we see a bewildered Stiller placed in an awkward situation and watch his reaction. It worked a few years back…now not so much. His character is shallow, not very likable and distanced from the audience, so much that the conflict with his job and his family bounces off of the audience simply because our heartstrings are not getting any attention. Stiller doesn’t do a bad job at the flat role, and has a few good moments however. Compared to his costar Dick Van Dyke, he’s freaking Kevin Spacey. If anything, this movie serves as a testament that actors today are better than those of yesteryear. Dyke’s over the top cheese-ball acting is dreadful and doesn’t fit into the film at all. At no point do you forget that you are watching Dick Van Dyke on screen, and not the character he attempts to play. Same goes for Mickey Rooney’s bit part…just hang up the hats codgers, please.

The biggest disappointment however comes from Ricky Gervais’s cameo role as the museum curator. The whole concept behind his character seems to be ‘lets take the guy from the office, and all his office-speak, and shrink it down into a bit part’. Its funny for the first two lines, then once you realize what they are doing you’ll hate him or it. Oh yeah, and Robin Williams is in it too. Almost forgot his role (its forgettable).

The plot (yes there is one) is dreadful and the characters; cobbled together. The effects are nice, particularly the mini-battle scenes and the T-Rex, but the overall appeal is lost when stuck in the ho-hum movie. So yeah…pretty much is a poor movie, but a great excuse to get the family together and go see something this holiday.