Pirates of the Caribbean, On Stranger Tides

Category: Movie
Rating:

It's not the best movie I've watched but it's not really the worst.

On Stranger Tides starts off a few years after "At World's End" (no, not the Will-Elizabeth ending but that part where we see Jack in a small boat searching for the "Fountain of Youth") and upon Jack's return to London, he hears that he was being impersonated by someone who was looking for a crew to sail off to find the mythical "Fountain of Youth". They later find out that it has become a race to get there first with the English enlisting Jack's old friend/foe Barbosa to also head an expedition of the same theme and the Spanish looking for it as well.

Story wise, it was good. The plot wasn't confusing. There was a goal. There were plots within plots as is usual with "The Pirates" franchise. There were sexual tension and there were just plain tensions.

The settings and locations were magnificent. I love the green forest and the cave where the Fountain of Youth was located.

The CG was flawless. You can ask for nothing but the best from ILM when it comes to visual effects.

Musical background and the sound effects were also great. The timing was just right and it added character to the whole movie.

The fight scenes and the stunts were done well. It was flawlessly done and was really good to see on film.

But there was something missing in the mix that left me with the feeling that it wasn't really a Pirates of the Caribbean Movie. It wasn't as funny as the first three films. The smart and witty remarks weren't there. The verbal banter between Sparrow and Barbosa were missing. And there was no chemistry between Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz. Don't get me wrong, the whole ensemble of actors were great individually but put together in one movie (well this particular movie that is), it was just okay for me. They didn't get the chemistry that Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightly had in the first three films that without the other two, well I found myself looking for something that wasn't there.

So, all in all 3 tumbling babies. It was just okay for me. Like I said, I don't hate it but I don't love it as well.

Fast Five

Name of Topic Being Reviewed: Fast Five
Category: Movie
Rating:

There is only one way to describe this movie...AMAZING!

Fast Five or Fast and Furious 5 takes off right after Fast and Furious where Brian and Mia rescue Dom from prison. Now the three of them are on the wanted list and they escape in Rio. Not wanting to live their lives on the run, they do a last job at the same time clear Rio from a tyrant businessman running the whole city.

Just like their predecessor, Fast Five is nonstop action from start to finish. It was action packed and has a good story that both guys and girls would enjoy. The whole cast have amazing chemistry. Their acting were just right and everyone was believable. Paul Walker and Vin Diesel got the perfect partnership from the very first movie. And now on their third movie in this franchise, they haven't stopped giving a good performance. An addition to the new cast was The Rock, that has been improving on his acting skills each and everytime I watch a show with him there.

The franchise wouldn't have been this famous without their great car scenes. They have a great collection of fast cars and they let it run like how Jeremy Clarkson would test it during one of his segments in Top Gear. Amazing cars with amazing speed equals amazing chase scenes. My favorite part was them running all over Rio with the vault strapped behind their cars. It was heart-stopping, breath taking, and was just plain crazy! But magnificently done! My hats off the the stunt coordinators for doing a great job!

The scenes were great and the camera angles were perfect. There wasn't any crazy shots that would leave you dizzy. They also got great angles featuring the cars while they race away on the streets.

From the ending of the movie, I'm guessing there will be another story that will be made. My only question is would the Paul Walker's and Jordana Brewster's characters be in it? Since by the end of the movie, they're very much happy with their life. Vin Diesel's character is also a wonder since if there will be another movie it would concern his character's love interest from the first movie. But I'm sure that if there will be another Fast and Furious movie, The Rock would be in it. Would he be given a cool car to drive? That I would leave to everyone's imagination.

So yeah, 5 out of 5 for me. I was at the edge of my seat and enjoyed every part of the movie and the camera angles didn't leave me dizzy. :) So I know you can still make a great movie without it being 3D. :D

Thor

Name of Topic Being Reviewed: Thor
Category: Movie
Rating:

"Whoever wields this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor..."

Thor, the god of thunder, was banished by All-Father Odin because of his arrogance. At first, he could not accept his fate, but after failing to lift Mjolnir from the ground, he slowly accepts his banishment and tries to live a mortal life. But as slowly accepts his mortal life on earth, he hears news from Asgard about his father, Odin and his brother, Loki. Thor eventually got his powers back by doing something selfless. Returns to Asgard but has to destroy the bridge to save the race of the Frost Monsters. Back with his family, he still misses his life on Earth and the woman he left there.

Thor has a basic storyline. But was done in such a way that you would get hooked the very second the movie shows the back story. Everything was done pretty well and I couldn't find any fault in the movie except one (but, we'll go through that as we go along).

As I've said, the story was pretty basic. It's your typical hero story of good guy was punished for doing something bad, needs to redeem himself and he does in such a fashion that all you can do is root for the guy because he is so good. Everything was done flawlessly. From how they cut the scenes from Earth to Asgard and back. You can see the continuity of the story and you wouldn't get lost as the movie progressed.

Asgard was fantastic! If it was done in purely CG, hats off to the Visual Effects team that was responsible for it. It was magnificent. The camera coming in and out of that world was wonderfully done that you would think it was an actual place and not CG.

The Frost Monsters were great and realistic. It was great to know that only one person actually acted for all the frost monsters and he was just duplicated multiple times!

The actors have done well! They all have wonderful chemistry with each other and you could see it very clearly on screen. Chris Hemsworth as Thor was a great choice. He did the character justice and I honestly couldn't stop thinking about how well he played the part. Tom Hiddleston as Loki was amazing as well. He interpreted the character in such a way that you can't see him as the fully evil villain in the story. You can sympathize with his character but at the same time you couldn't help but whack him in the head for his twisted logic. Natalie Portman as Jane Foster was great as well. She gave the female main lead substance that has been lacking from all the other Marvel comic female lead that I have watched so far.

Although, truthfully, I'm not a Thor comic book fan. As a kid I've only watch glimpses of him on TV when they were showing the 1970's animation of it but I never really liked him there. And I also didn't like Neil Gaiman's interpretation of Thor in the Sandman comics where he's a dumb big oaf. This re-invention of Thor made anticipate him in The Avengers Movie next year and I have new found interest in Norse Mythology (Although, my initial curiosity of Norse Mythology came because of Neil Gaiman's American Gods).

So why only 4 out of 5 tumbling Babies? I have found out that I am not really a big fan of 3D. Movies made into 3D have camera angles that should be impressive and fantastic to see. Unfortunately for me, it just makes the movie very dizzying to watch. A lot of the movies that has 3D element usually have crazy camera angles that personally for me, doesn't leave saying "Wow! That was awesome!" but "Can I open my eyes now? Is the roller coaster ride over?" And unfortunately, there were fantastic fight scenes that I just couldn't see because the angles were really horrible.

But all in all, I really loved the movie. Doesn't help that I so love Chris Hemsworth because he was fantastic in the movie (liked him in Star Trek, love him here).

So, for anyone who hasn't seen the movie, I really hope that you do. And just an added reminder, don't leave the cinema when the credits roll.