Ska-doosh mateys!
Sorry I didn’t post anything last week. It was a crazy week. To make up for it, I’m posting a twofer.
WARNING: May or may not contain spoilers! You have been warned!
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
Gonna be totally honest here: I did not like Pirates of the Caribbean (PotC) Dead Man’s Chest or At World’s End. Ok, let me correct that. I did like those two movie, until I saw them a second time. I realized then that it wasn’t all that I thought it was the first time around… Kinda like watching Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, but that’s a rant for another day.
I went in to see PotC: OST expecting a lot of Jack Sparrow (there’s a captain in there somewhere) shenanigans and silliness. Well, it does have that and a fun and somewhat engaging plot. Absolutely loved Jack Sparrow, although a little more silliness would have been nice. Penelope Cruz is beautiful, and she does a nice job of playing a pirate. Ian McShane as Blackbeard… I would have loved to see more of him. Loved him in “Kings” and “Deadwood” and he seems like such a refined actor… Anyway.
The movie is fun to watch. The pacing does get a bit off a couple of time but it continues to move forward. They did leave a gaping plot hole (Where’s Phillip?), or maybe an opening for a 5th film? There is the obligatory post-credits scene. Doesn’t really add anything to the movie, but it is cute. There are no major SFX scenes like in previous movies (the massive Kraken) so there really is no need to see this on the big screen. It is fun to watch (did I say that already?).
Overall rating: DVD rental. If you can’t wait, catch a matinee.
Kung Fu Panda 2
When I saw Kung Fu Panda (KFP) for the first time, it was on DVD and not in the theater. At the end of the movie I was so upset. Why did I wait so long to see such a funny movie? When I heard there was a sequel I vowed not to wait to see it. Not only did I see it opening night, I saw it again on Monday for good measure. When you go see this movie, make sure you are sitting next to a little person under the age of 13. I could not stop laughing at this movie and hearing the laughter of the little person next to me made that much more enjoyable.
The quality of animation is equal to or superior to that of KFP. The voices… what an All-Star cast and some surprises (JCVD anyone?). What I loved the most was the character of Shen. Not only was he the most amazing animated creature in the entire film, he is voiced by Gary Oldman. Gary Oldman! That dude is the coolest bad guy this side of the Galactic Empire. The only odd thing about the voices is that I kept see the State Farm logo every time a certain character would speak (bonus points if you can name the character and voice actor). It’s kinda like watching The Lion King and trying not to say “Simba, I am your father” after Mufasa’s lines.
They did a great job explaining how a goose became the father of a panda. They also left open for a sequel. The only thing I wish is that other of the Furious Five, aside from Tigress, had a bit more to say or do.
Overall rating: Matinee movie. Make sure you go with a bunch of kids.
Well, that’s it for today. I got a lot more to say, but I’ll leave that for another day.
Ska-doosh!
JV
