Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Much like professional baseball players, the amount of “hits” collected by most movie franchises is relatively low. If a film series includes just one or two quality films out of a four or five chapter set, it can still be revered as successful. Once or twice a decade a Harry Potter or Indiana Jones steps up to plate and posts a softball like .750 or .800 average. The Pirates of the Caribbean series is consideredby many to already be in or on their way to that exclusive league. That is until the team switched managers and moved the franchise to Pittsburgh, where sadly enough, the mighty Captain Jack has finally struck out.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth chapter of Disney’s pirates saga based on the famous theme park ride, picks up were Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp, The Tourist) left off in the third film, searching for the fabled Fountain of Youth. Jack learns that very particular and rare items are required to hone the power of the fountain’s rejuvenating waters and furthermore, he’s not nearly alone in their search. The Spanish have been sent by the king to destroy the fountain due to its blasphemous powers. Jack’s old rival and now privateer Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush, The Kings Speech), leads an imperialistic English vessel to find the fountain for his own personal agenda. And the most feared pirate in the world, Blackbeard (Ian McShane, Deadwood), must drink the enchanted waters before the prophecy of his demise by a one-legged man is carried to fruition.

Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow continues to act as Atlas and bear the weight of the franchise. Jack may be one of the greatest original characters in movie history, but On Stranger Tides exposed how severe the loss of integral characters from the first three films, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightley), has affected the on-screen chemistry. Depp’s charisma remains undeniable and audiences will not tire of watching Captain Jack get himself into and out of trouble for a long time to come, however it turns out that one of the major factors to the past success of these films involving cursed pirate ships, fish people, sea monsters and zombies was actually the underrated dynamic and juxtaposition Depp, Bloom and Knightleyhad perfected.

In an attempt to fill these gaps, Penelope Cruz (Nine) enters the female lead as Angelica, a jilted lover from Jack’s past for whom he actually harbors deep feelings. And Sam Claflin in his first movie role tries to carry the burden of morality as Philip Swift, a captive missionary aboard Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge. Regrettably though, these characters feel more like stand-ins than replacements. Cruz hits a flat note for the majority of the film as the scorned lover not to be trifled with, and is never able to duplicate the love/hate magnetism that so brilliantly worked between Depp and Knightley. As for Claflin’s Philip, he does manage to slip nicely into the honorable void left by Bloom. Amongst all the relentless lying and backstabbing in the story there is a great need for at least one voice of reason, which Claflin exudes with strength and believability. However, the comparison of Philip’s place in the story to Bloom’s Will Turner remains unavoidable, strictly limiting the character’s potential.

Geoffrey Rush thankfully returns to his role of Captain Barbossa for this film, although On Stranger Tides' “big bad” is Ian McShane as the formidable Blackbeard. McShane is intimidating from his first utterance, but his character was shortchanged in the script. Unlike previous antagonists in the series, there is very little backstory on Blackbeard and his apparent voodoo-like powers. Other supernatural elements also go unexplained this time around as the story expects the audience to simply accept them with brief commentaries on their inner workings and limits. The main reason for this change in m.o. may be due to the new body in the director chair for the first time in the franchise. Rob Marshall (Nine, Chicago) takes over for Gore Verbinskiand sets a somewhat slower pace to the film. This does not meld well with the quipping nature of Captain Jack or the adventure to find the fountain, which itself is not as nearly as grand in stature or excitement as the previous trilogy’s plot lines.

The title On Stranger Tides was borrowed from the 1987 fantasy novel written by Tim Powers. Unfortunately, it's also an ironic choice as the tone of this film swings and misses by a mile in trying to match the previous three in terms of amusement and ambition. Depp’s talents alone were just not enough to carry the weak story and sluggish pace presented in this installment. Perhaps next time around the producers can borrow Captain Jack’s compass and concentrate really hard on finding a better script.

Story: 6.0
Acting: 7.0
Writing: 5.5
Captivation: 6.5
Replay Value: 6.5

Total = 6.3 out of 10

Everything Must Go

The consummate comedic actor in a great dramatic performance is a trick that never seems to get old. No matter how many times this rabbit gets pulled out of the hat, audiences are no less shocked when the reigning king of funny utilizes their belly laugh-inducing arsenal of impeccable timing and delivery to instead channel deep emotion and heartfelt sincerity. Notables in this category would include Steve Martin, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Jim Carrey and now the latest addition, Will Ferrell.

In the film Everything Must Go, Nick Halsey (Will Ferrell) is having the worst day ever. Fired from his job of 16 years, Nick comes home to find all of his possessions scattered on his front lawn. The locks have been changed and it’s apparent that Nick’s wife has evicted him from the house, their bank accounts and their marriage. As he tries to piece together his life and fight his addiction to alcohol, he meets Kenny (Christopher Jordan Wallace, Notorious) a latchkey kid from down the street who has nothing better to do than help Nick begrudgingly sell all of his possessions. In the guise of a yard sale, Nick is able to legally “live” on his front lawn for 5 days.

This is not Ferrell’s first departure from his standard “old school” form, but it does mark his initial shot at a drama’s main character. Ferrell is able to exude the proper amount of poise in Nick that is almost completely vacant from his comedic roles. And when the story calls for it, Ferrell is still able to conjure up a few subdued laughs without sacrificing the story's tone. However, the most impressive aspect of Ferrell’s performance is his ability to use the same potent facial expressions that are usually followed by hilarity to convey an equally strong sense of uneasiness and despair while still maintaining the precise amount of levity needed for the scene.

The message this film tries to deliver is not deeply original, but the method in which Ferrell’s character deals with his problems through his worldly possessions is something very unique yet extremely relatable. In his directorial debut, Dan Rush allows the story to progress at a slow pace. This actually enhances what the film does best, exemplifying the "in between" moments in life that are usually omitted when the script is written. It’s as if the audience is a nosy neighbor watching everything unfold through the front window of another house on the block.

Another debut in this film is the performance of Christopher Jordan Wallace as Kenny Loftus. Wallace is the son of the late rapper The Notorious B.I.G. and singer Faith Evans. The only previous acting experience Wallace had was playing his father as a child in the biographical Notorious in 2009. In Everything Must Go, Wallace proves that his acting talents reach much farther, showing he is capable of filling out an original character with an inherent and vivid sense of innocence and vulnerability.

Rebecca Hall (The Town), Laura Dern (Jurassic Park) and Michael Peña (Observe and Report) head the rest of the small cast and all bring substantial depth to their characters and the story. Hall in particular who plays Samantha, the new neighbor across the street from Nick, is able to inject a sense of the outside world into a story that focuses on the narrow viewpoint of its main character. She unwittingly becomes a pseudo psychiatrist to Nick, helping him open up even at her own detriment.

Amidst the barrage of science fiction, fantasy and high-octane action sequences during the summer movie season Everything Must Go acts the palate cleansing ginger between eating sushi rolls or the table water crackers at a wine tasting. But instead of resetting the taste buds, it pulls the mind’s eye miles down from the clouds and focuses it on the few inches of life right out in front.

Story: 7.5
Acting: 8.5
Writing: 8.0
Captivation: 7.0
Replay Value: 7.0

Total = 7.6 out of 10

Thor

The average John and Jane Q. separates the science fiction and fantasy movie genres with a very fine line. The polar opposite being the Great Wall of China sized partition a hard-core superfan of either faction is willing to defend in a heated nerdgument. Either way, the glaring difference between the two has always been the existence of rules. Exceptional science fiction relies on the creativity and imagination of the rules created in its own world and then even more importantly, how they are followed. However with fantasy, magic is always the predominant tool. The problem with that is no matter how many rules are set, magic always holds the skeleton key to unlock them at any given point in the story. So the trick, bad pun intended, with a tale involving magic is to create the notion that some form of inherent bounds or uncrossable line actually exists. Unfortunately, that line is effortlessly smashed into oblivion by the hammer of Thor.

Thor is the fourth film for Marvel Studios in their lead up to the much anticipated ensemble The Avengers, scheduled for release in 2012. Much like the Norse legend, the Marvel version of Thor is the god of thunder who lives in a magical realm known as Asgard. Thor (Chris Hemsworth, Star Trek, 2009) is the heir to King Odin (Anthony Hopkins, The Rite, Beowulf) and the thrown, but Odin has reservations about whether his first born son is ready for the responsibility. Thor’s younger brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston, Archipelago) also covets the crown, always trying to prove himself as equal to Thor in the eyes of their father.

Undoubtedly, Thor is the most challenging character Marvel has tried to adapt into a live-action motion picture. The background and capabilities of his character are very unique, yet must be seamlessly brought into the same “real-world” environments that previous characters like Iron Man and The Hulk have already established. In this respect, director Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet, 1996) succeeded. He worked Thor into the Marvel films continuity established by the previous three films very well, keeping the overall tone and spirit of the comics in line. Though there are some jarring moments when characters on Earth in full Asgard guise trigger some flashbacks to 1987’s Masters of the Universe.

Due to the seemingly limitless power of his magic, there is very little sense of consequence surrounding Thor. During battle it appears at times that Thor’s powers may have some kind of ceiling, only to then call upon a previously unseen and even more almighty capability. This is perhaps the most difficult portion of a story involving a god and/or magic. There is a complete lack of tension eluding to the character being in any mortal danger. Conversely, this is where the Harry Potter films shine so triumphantly, using the same fantastical aspects of magic while keeping the tension and a sense of real consequence on the characters wielding it.

Thor’s script also suffers from trying to squeeze in too much content, which always results in a quick and choppy pace that uses lazy solutions to difficult plot points. This is most evident when Thor is banished from his home of Asgard by his father Odin and made to live as a mortal on Earth. Some comical moments that work nicely rise out of this scenario, but overall Thor assimilates much too quickly to the human world and crowbars in a love connection with scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman, Your Highness, Black Swan), the first person to discover him on Earth.

A choppy script also tends to limit the caliber of an actor’s performance. But when dealing with the role of a god, attitude outweighs dialogue. Chris Hemsworth‘s Thor evolves from power-hungry brat to understanding humanitarian much too abruptly, but he stays within the character and emits a true sense of what it must feel like to be a titan, even when he is mortal.

Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins and Tom Hiddleston were never really allowed to blossom due to the rapid pace of the story. Hiddleston in particular, for whom this is his first widely released film, showed much promise as the antagonist Loki. His demeanor is pitch perfect for the jealous god of mischief and emotes a disturbing uneasiness without utterting a word. Although much like Kevin Spacey in Superman Returns, the script limited Hiddleston’s effectiveness, regulating Loki to more of a blatant liar than an incredibly clever manipulator and trickster.

All of these issues withstanding, there still remains a free toy at the bottom of the cereal box. The fantastic visual effects, which are intentionally over polished, authentically rip the magical realm of Asgard directly from the pages of the comic book. Also, a great deal of action is injected into the first act including one or two goosebump moments demonstrating Thor’s incredible power. However, this wanes throughout the film and even the climax falls well short of the opening few scenes.

The most fortunate power Thor has in its corner is the willingness of its audience to overlook its weak points and instead of judging it as a stand-alone story, view it as a means to introduce the characters for their very important roles in The Avengers.

Story: 6.5
Acting: 7.5
Writing: 6.0
Captivation: 7.0
Replay Value: 7.5

Total = 6.9 out of 10

Fast Five

“One hundred percent pure adrenaline,” is the line made famous by Patrick Swayze’s character in the awesomely-bad cult classic from 1991, Point Break. Films of that nature are regularly condemned and belittled by critics as mere eye candy, holding little to no redeemable value. But critics do not have the final word on what is and is not considered cinematic gold. The movie-going public has always retained that singular power. And as long as crowds continue to flock to movies with titles like (insert Jason Statham film here), an argument can be made that camouflaging ridiculous plots and weak scripts by utilizing little more than astonishing action sequences, is an art form all its own. It’s time for these films to be given their just due, especially when they expand into incredibly profitable franchises. It appears that time has now come for one of the titans in the adrenaline genre, The Fast and the Furious.

The fifth chapter of the franchise titled Fast Five, joins protagonists Toretto and O’Conner, played once again by Vin Diesel and Paul Walker respectively, as they apparently try to steal the plot from Ocean’s Eleven. The two outlaws assemble an all-star cast of characters from the previous four films, each with their own unique talents, in order to accomplish the heist of a lifetime in Buenos Aires. But instead of suave talk, meticulous planning and a master’s game of mental chess with their target, “Toretto’s Ten” floods the screen with a truck ton of bravado, hand to hand combat, a small army’s amount of guns, a tiny bit of tech and of course oodles and oodles of fast cars.

By the beginning of the second act, Fast Five is easily the most entertaining chapter of the series since the original debuted back in 2001. The action sequences are unsurprisingly over the top and of course completely unrealistic both in theory and in fact, but what does strike a nerve this time around is the increased levels of empathy and concern the audience has for the characters. Granted it required five feature films, but what started out as shallow, two-dimensional figures, have now acquired enough tribulation and back-story to now become anti-heroes.

Like it’s predecessors, Fast Five does not hang it’s proverbial hat on profound dialogue or intense performances from its cast. Figuratively, the plot holes are big enough to fit every car that’s ever been driven throughout the franchise. However for most of the film, the pace, excitement and vested interest in the characters suppress these gaping flaws, a la Bad Boys or Armageddon. Though this is not to say Fast Five is a barren wasteland filled exclusively with chases and explosions, if close attention is paid a few stoic gems can be cultivated, mostly by actors with supporting parts like Matt Schulze reprising his role of Vince from the first film in the series. The vast increase of skill and maturity of Schulze’s acting ability translates very well to the growth of his once short-fused character.

As for the main players, Diesel and Walker perform their modus operandi as limited by both the script and their abilities as actors. Thankfully like a fine wine from the late 1990’s, the natural process of time has enhanced this duo’s on-screen chemistry, portraying an undeniable big/little brother dynamic which infuses some much needed charm into the story.

In addition to all the usual suspects, Fast Five also includes Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Hobbs, a special agent with the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service. Hobbs’ mission is to hunt down and bring Toretto and O’Conner back to the United States to be prosecuted. Johnson impressed many critics with the depth he was able to portray in his early characters from films like The Rundown and Be Cool, but unfortunately this part is nothing short of a major step back for Johnson as a serious actor. The character of Hobbs is straight out of a cartoon or video game, contains zero depth, and constantly spouts short clichés and non sequiturs. The only silver lining to Johnson’s inclusion in this film is that the highly anticipated fight scene between his character and Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto categorically lives up to the hype.

After experiencing Fast Five, audiences will not exit the theater pondering an important life lesson, a heightened sense of insight, or even just the satisfaction of watching a great story unfold. Instead they will have the peculiar sensation of parting from a NOS injected theme park ride while flashed a film laced with weak plot devices, lazy writing and wooden performances to which the question will then be asked, “How long until the next one?”

Story: 6.0
Acting: 6.5
Writing: 5.5
Captivation: 8.5
Replay Value: 8.5

Total = 7.0 out of 10