Tag Archives: Johnny Depp

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – Century 20 @ Bella Terra, Huntington Beach, CA

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Amazing! Also a sad but amusing commentary is that the moment the credits started rolling, I turned to Laura and said – “OK I’m ready for the 5th one now!” I guess it’s just a mark of how fun, engaging and exciting these piratical tales are. Plus I can’t wait to see what Jack does next…

The Disney logo is super cool! Once again loving that with major films releases they do funky/cool things to the normal intro – although I think TRON:Legacy still holds the record as the coolest logo modification, this was still very pretty.

I miss Pintel and Raghetti (as well as Murtogg and Mullroy), but with a cadre of new characters to enjoy, you don’t miss them that much.

Laura would like to know for certain what happens to Phillip and Serena at the end and I admit I am curious as well.

Ian McShane is INCREDIBLE as Edward “Blackbeard” Teach (on a side note, I love that everybody calls Blackbeard by his real name…something of a pirates trivia factoid for people to learn as they watch the movie?).

Penélope Cruz is amazingly fun as Jack’s erstwhile love interest.

They’ve got a skeleton captain in a bed!!! Just like in the ride!!! And it’s not forced in or anything!!! It fits the story!!! Yay!

Obviously be sure to stay to the end of the credits. If you didn’t…go see it again! If you forgot to a 2nd time, shame on you. And here’s a spoiler.

Spoiler Alert! (place and hold your mouse over the bar to see)

Penélope Cruz has been marooned on her little island. She has removed her black vest and is sitting lonely on the beach. The tide washes in and she gazes intently at something on the beach...something that looks a lot like her father's voodoo doll of Jack Sparrow...

I’m really happy that Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio are executive producers as well as the authors of the screenplay – their master strokes on the previous films would have made this a shallow venture without them, but it’s almost like they enjoy these stories too much to give them up!

What’s this? There’s a novel/suggestion behind the bulk of the story? (stares at Wikipedia) Most intriguing! I am very much interested in procuring this “On Stranger Tides” novel by Tim Powers from my local library now….

Both Laura and I were pleased as punch to see that Directed By was one of the few things to change at the beginning of the credits. By this I mean we were happy to spot the same screenplay authors, the same costume designer, the same director of cinematography and the 2nd unit director/stunt coordinator. Really helps the film feel like the others to keep all the same people in place.

Yay for Dame Judi Dench’s cameo!!!

The music was very enjoyable – plenty of rearranged older themes, but some delightful additions (especially cool that Gabriella y Rodrigo are the featured guitarists – they do an awesome cover of Oogie Boogie’s Song from The Nightmare Before Christmas, check it out here!).

I love that Barbossa’s right hand men are Groves and Gillette from the previous films – Gillette is embarrassed by Sparrow and run over by the Endeavour in Curse of the Black Pearl and Groves has two excellent lines – “That’s got to be the best pirate I’ve ever seen” (Curse of the Black Pearl) & “Do you think he plans it all out or makes it up as he goes along?” (At World’s End).

Spoiler thingy about the plot because it’s interesting to me (highlight to see):

Spoiler Alert! (place and hold your mouse over the bar to see)

I was fascinated that when the Spanish marched into the Fountain of Youth, they declared that the only way to eternal life was through faith and that this pagan temple needed to be destroyed. Is this what the kingdom of Spain was like? Is this what the Inquisition was all about? Something inside of me wants to applaud their zealotry except I'm sure it will go too far...

Well none of my predictions came true with this film, but they were mere trifles in the broad scope of things. I predicted that Elizabeth would plead her belly to delay any punishment due to her piratical activities(as Anne Bonny and Mary Read did), I predicted that Barbossa would at some point captain the Wicked Wench (as he does at Disneyland) and I predicted Jack Sparrow would dispatch someone after telling them to “Give my regards to Will Turner!”. But like I said, these are just funny one-liners stemming from the results of the first three films and would have been additional geek outs in an already amazing (and geek out prone) movie.

The more I watch all the movies, the more I want some prequels including but not limited to: how does Jack coerce Davy Jones to raise the Black Pearl from the depths? Why does Barbossa (a pirate lord in his own right) subjugate himself to Jack Sparrow (another pirate lord)…is it just for the treasure on Isla De La Muerta? Jack and Hector have been through a lot and it would be fun to see some of those stories instead of just hearing them. I would also like a little more information on what the rest of Mrs. Elizabeth Turner’s life is like…does she inherit her father’s estate? How does that whole thing at the end of “At World’s End” play out for the Caribbean? You can’t just commandeer an armada there and then give up…can you? Eh whatever…I just like to rant and rave sometimes. Probably just because we did a mini-movie marathon before seeing this one and they’re all bouncing around in my head…

All in all a fantastic sequel worthy of it’s predecessor’s and I hope this franchise lives on! I’m also really hoping for comic books, but I’ll take whatever Disney will give me. :-)

Public Enemies – AMC Del Amo 18

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I enjoyed this film very much. I love Johnny Depp and the “story” of John Dillinger presented is visceral and refreshing to watch. He may not have exactly been a noble Robin Hood, but he had a code of honor that is more and more rare in today’s society (unlike Troy).

I like Michael Mann. Well I mean I didn’t see Miami Vice, but that’s because I wasn’t interested and had no vested stake in a movie version of a TV show I’ve never seen. I saw Collateral first, liked it, then went back and saw Heat and liked it as well.

It’s exciting how realistic Michael Mann films look like…so visceral and gritty.

Yay! Filmed all in America!

Yay David Wenham! Sure he’s a character on the periphery of Dillinger’s life, but yay Faramir!

Pretty clothes!

I want to watch Manhattan Melodrama now!

Spoiler Alert! (place and hold your mouse over the bar to see)

I was surprised that the FBI agent nicknamed fat boy was allowed to remain on the job after he smacked around Johnny's girl...even the grizzled veteran crime buster knows you don't do that. I love when he pins fat boy against the wall...so vindicating!

 

According to one of my friends:
Mann knows what gunfire sounds like in different environments and it carries through really well.
Gross historical inacurracies: Pretty Boy Floyd outlived Dillinger and Babyface Nelson didn’t die in the woodsy shootout.
Mann apparently caught a lot of crap for filming entirely in HD, but it looks AMAZING!

Jekyll and Hyde and Why I’m Pathetic

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Jekyll and Hyde is a fascinating musical adaptation of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel featuring the schizophrenic, “chemical”-addicted Victorian doctor trying to destroy the “Duality of Man”.  I don’t remember ever reading Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but somehow the concept has always been present in popular culture.  Anyone know why?  I mean it can’t just be The Pagemaster (featuring Leonard Nimoy as Jekyll and Hyde), can it?  Anyways.  T. Eric Hart did a fascinating job as the aforementioned Doctor, but the real star of the show is the music.  Frank Wildhorn is an incredible composer.  His music has this indelible movie-soundtrack quality that makes it so much fun to listen to.

Yesterday at my singing lesson, I briefly talked with my vocal coach about the upcoming Sweeney Todd adaptation and I voiced my opinion how in the beginning of the trailer, Johnny Depp sounds a LOT like Jack Sparrow, and how I hoped that that was just his generic English accent.  But then today I’m watching the trailer again and it hits me why I think that.  Something my coach had mentioned was that they started out with generic trailer music (before transitioning to Stephen Sondheim’s delicious treatment of Stephen Sondheim’s music), and guess what?  It’s the music from the Black Pearl trailer.  Therefore I conclude that by tying the two together, they are not only saturating our conscious mind (as if all the Pirate lovers aren’t already going to see Sweeney JUST because of Johnny), but also our sub-conscious mind with the thought that if you loved Pirates, you’ll love Sweeney Todd.  Which reminds me of how after Wicked became popular, when Rent the movie came out, all the teeny-boppers who loved Wicked became Rent-heads because of Idina Menzel, despite the fact that they had NO CLUE what being a Rent-head is about (then again, neither do I since I’ll never be a true artist working in New York…I just hit puberty while singing along to the soundtrack).  I guess I don’t mind since it’s a sound marketing strategy…maybe I’ll just have to make sure that I either catch a midnight showing of Sweeney or at a time when I won’t be surrounded by swooning girls who don’t get it or think it’s too violent.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – The World Premiere and The Midnight Showing

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Pictures. So last Saturday I went to Disneyland at 6 in the morning. Why? Not to sit and wait all day to see celebrities – to take advantage of an empty Disneyland at 6:30 in the morning. I got several great shots of New Orleans completely empty and had an entire Splash Mountain log to myself (probably the only time I’ve ever walked onto that attraction and had the offer of staying on for a 2nd ride). After that I went to Swing Team Rehearsal with the intention of joining some friends later that day in Disneyland for the Red Carpet walk-by’s. But not before going into Jamba Juice and watching Orlando Bloom walk through Downtown Disney incognitos with a little girl (not his daughter…maybe his niece? No idea).
I came back around 5 pm and I’m on the hub right across from Tomorrowland. Unfortunately, by the time the celebrities get to us, most of them were hurrying past because Main Street was a real chore (as can be seen from this excellent review on MiceAge.com by Sue Kruse, or at Mouseplanet…or at Visions Fantastic).

In the category of rushed past waving
Geoffrey Rush w/ Monkey Jack and trainer
Kevin McNally – Joshamee Gibbs
Johnny Depp
Orlando Bloom
John Voight
Jonathon Pryce – Governor Weatherby Swan
Arnold Schwarzenegger – not on red carpet – walked out of Tomorrowland and across the carpet
Bill Nighy
Keith Richards
David Baillie – Cotton

In the category of walked by waving or sacrificed even more time to sign even more autographs
Lee Arenberg – Pintel (not the wooden eye guy, the other one)
Gore Verbinski
Martin Landau
Chow Yun Fat
Terry Rosio (he threw me 2 hacky sacks!)
Joey Fatone
Christy Carlson Romano
Wilmer Valderrama (aside from Johnny and Orlando, he was the biggest thing on the red carpet…I think it was because he kept signing autographs…half an hour after he passed, he was still working the crowd on the other side of the hub…people would be screaming and you could say, “Oh it’s just Wilmer”)

So after Johnny walked slowly past, I hurried over the DCA for swing dancing and that was my Saturday.

Last night I went to the midnight showing at Big Newport. I got there around 5 to stake my place in line (I was roughly the 5th group in line) but had to leave at 8 for rehearsal…saved my place with an umbrella…and by letting the people around me know. Got back around 11:15 and the line had not only grown length wise, but breadth wise. The best way to describe it like this: every person in line was already saving a place for 10 people, but each of those 10 people showed up with 10 friends. It was ridiculously crowded. And when they opened the doors to the theatre, the line just disappeared in the mad rush for the door. It was ridiculous. Then when we got into the theatre, there were people throwing tortillas…disgusting. Someone dressed up as Jack Sparrow made an announcement about checking under your seat for a medallion for a prize. I didn’t get anything, he didn’t project very well, but it was a very nice costume.

Finally the movie started. I was actually a little disappointed in this midnight crowd. They were rowdier during the trailers than they were during the movie (Transformers, Christian Bale and Steve Zahn as Vietnam POW’s, Live Free or Die Hard, Evan Almighty). But maybe that can happen with a less complex movie like Spiderman 3 and not with Pirates. The movie was absolutely phenomenal. Everything that was promised to us in Dead Man’s Chest was delivered one-hundred-fold. Learn Barbossa’s first name. Meet the 9 pirate lords. See the pirate code (and it’s guitar-pickin’ keeper). Discover Davy Jones’ true love.
The music was really good. The Davy Jones theme (the locket song) was weaved in and out of just about every theme because it plays so heavily into one of the core stories of the movie (the other core stories being Elizabeth, Will and Jack). That core story really ties a heavy element of mythology into the movie which I just love (I’m a HUGE fan of mythology, always have been, though I don’t know why…maybe I really am a fantasy fan). But what a lot of reviews are suggesting is that this makes the 3-hour epic into two movies: Elizabeth, Will, Jack, Barbossa and all the pirate-y fun in one movie and the mythological back story in the other. While this makes sense, I can’t really find a reason to disagree with the decision to make the film 3 hours long and have both stories in there. Although maybe it takes away from what people claimed to enjoy so much about the first film (the piratical banter between the major characters).
Regardless of all of that, the true glory for the movie goes to it’s truly epic final battle. This battle will be remembered long after the pirate phenomenon has faded from memory. I mean you get a small tease of the sheer scale from the trailer, but when you see the Flying Dutchman and the Black Pearl charging into the maelstrom at each other and hear Barbossa laughing maniacally as he turns the Black Pearl deeper into the deadly whirlpool…I was utterly speechless. It was just gorgeous.
All in all this was a really great film that I can’t wait to see again.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

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Where is the line between Bill Nighy’s live performance and the CGI effects? That was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen…reminded me of the whole debate that went into the foam suit for Ben Grimm (The Thing) in Fantastic Four…live versus animated. Those had to be his eyes and I think maybe his cheeks (with makeup)…but those tentacles…maybe half were animatronics (the ones that flop about or puff steam) and half CG…absolutely incredible.

As the credits roll (9 minutes total…seems kind of tame for a film with such gorgeous CG), I scream at the screen when they say “Soundtrack available on Walt Disney Records”…the soundtrack doesn’t come out until July 27th…bastards! I mean…that’s what everyone told me Leave it to me to never do independent research…it’s available now…damn it!

I love the new Walt Disney Pictures logo…but why now? Celebrating the 50th? That was the only logic people could suggest to me. The logo is all about the castle, and the first castle is celebrating it’s 50th…and of course with that I do a little business query and go: what does John Lasseter (as the new creative king of Disney) have to say about all this? Did he have anything to do with it at all as this was all set up by the previous regime?

God bless Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot…they have a masterful story here and they weave so many mythological concepts together while keeping it plausible and well explained. Although Tia Dalma’s (Naomi Harris) incredible accent was a little difficult to follow at times and they gave her a lot of the exposition…if ever there was a time for subtitles.

How do the changes to the ride affect what is going on with the story? Jerry Bruckheimer denied Disney the right to change the Wicked Wench to the Black Pearl…clue or non-sequitur? Barbossa is the captain of the Wicked Wench and he is searching for Jack Sparrow…is he searching for Jack in the context of the first film or in the context of the second and third? Why search in the context of the first film AND weave Davy Jones into the introduction of the ride?

Pirates of the Caribbean Returns

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So as part of my preparation for my trip to Amsterdam, I was up at 6am yesterday. Not knowing what else to do that early, I headed to Disneyland for the grand re-opening of Pirates of The Caribbean.


The Esplanade at 7:17 am.

There was a family scuttling from one letter to another doing that photo collage that EVERYBODY does.


Nicely done with the F.


The Esplanade at 7:54 am.


Nice line to get into the park.

Park opened at 8:00 dull, and people start running. Security guard says, no point, the line for pirates is already 2 hours.


The 2 hour line, stretching from the flag pole all the way down Main Street…

Through Frontierland…


and straight into the ride.

Apparently I missed the new mural in the lobby that features Jack Sparrow. Oops. The ride was lots of fun. A lot darker than I remember it…which of course makes digital photography on the fly rather difficult…if you’re an amateur like me and you’re willing to obey the rules that say no flash photography (curse the guy behind me!). But fortunately my digital camera films really well. What follows are the “best” captures from those videos.


The opening sequence got cleaned up.


The hat (kind of hard to see in this shot) looks fresher and redder.


New lightning effects behind the shipwrecked skeleton.


We’ve got some new patrons at the tavern


The drinking effect looks sharper than it has in years…new technology maybe?


The captain is now (or was he always?) a British admiral (or captain or whatever)…he’s got a red coat and a wig.


And a parrot…


Gee, that treasure chest doesn’t look familiar….


Another waterfall?


Nope…the coolest damn effect I’ve ever seen…

No longer are we warned of the cursed treasure.

“Ah ha ha ha. Tales there be a plenty in this cursed place…”

That’s all the audio I can distinguish…I hope Disney has released a new soundtrack. I forgot to check!


“Where be Captain Jack Sparrow?” cries the infamous Barbossa, captain of the…Wicked Wench? Wait, what?


Jack hides from the pirates torturing the mayor. Why? Because they’re looking for him, of course.


Jack sneaks a peek at the pooped pirate’s treasure map.


Jack enjoys his treasure trove as we escape back up the waterfall.

The only other thing to talk about is how fantastic the ride sounds. (To the best of my knowledge) they replaced all the speakers so that the digitally re-mastered music comes through so much clearer. I’m so happy I want to cry! This was definitely worth the wait.

Ever get a hankering for a Monte Cristo sandwich after the Blue Bayou has finished serving lunch? Now you can get it across the street at the Cafe Orleans for dinner. Only problem is, don’t expect to walk right in. Cafe Orleans is now a table service restaurant. Kind of a “down-scale Blue Bayou.” You can make reservations (priority seating) for later in the day, or you can try their walk-in line which they open every hour based on available seating.

On a side note I was remembering all the online chatter about what Disneyland was planning for it’s 50th anniversary. A lot of people speculated on an improvement of the “Big 5″ rides, which I think were Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room and Small World (the Big 5 obviously related to attractions directly influenced by/resulting from the ’64 World’s Fair). They have completed 3 out of 5 (Haunted Mansion’s story has evolved to focus more on the bride than on Master Gracey, Captain Jack Sparrow has arrived, and Jungle Cruise has that new finale)…interesting, no?

Dead Man’s Chest

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UPDATE: Apple Trailers now has the trailer available for download.

While exploring around the web, I found a teaser trailer for the sequel (due out July 9, 2006). Holy cow does it look like fun. But it also gives us some answers as to how Bootstrap Bill (Will Turner’s father) and Captain Barbossa show up again. It’s all about Davy Jones (who looks freaking awesome!) and the supernatural, so a dead guy can easily make a deal with Davey and end up on his damned crew (Barbossa). But Bootstrap Bill requires some review of what happened to him. He starts out on the Black Pearl under Jack Sparrow. Jack Sparrow is marooned. Dead Man’s Cove is discovered and the cursed Aztec treasure is plundered. With the curse revealed and Bootstrap still feeling bad about marooning Jack, he sends off his piece of the treasure to his son (who is later orphaned on the crossing to England when the Black Pearl attacks (opening scene of the first movie)). Due to Bootstrap’s sympathy for Jack, Barbossa straps a cannon to Bootstrap’s bootstraps and sends him off…to Davey Jones maybe? Now that doesn’t kill him (the pirates walk underwater to get to the final battle scene), but it’s really difficult to find land underwater in the middle of the Atlantic. So he either made a deal with Davey Jones at that point or he had bargained with him before and when the curse was broken at the end of the first movie, Davey came to collect “his soul.” Check out the trailer, listen to Bootstrap’s line (“You won’t be able to talk your way out of this one”) and tell me what you think. And hey, I just figured out where I’ve seen Stellan Skarsgård (Bootstrap Bill) before…he was the Saxon leader in King Arthur. You know, the one who sounded like he was from this century instead of the 1200′s?

Sequined Sequels

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UPDATED AGAIN…LAST TIME, I PROMISE

After watching “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl” for the umpteenth time, it again occurred to me how structurally similar Pirates is to “The Mummy” (starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz). In Mummy, you have a girl who, with her brother, goes to the middle of the desert with a muscular tough guy, unleashes this cursed mummy upon the world and have to defeat it. In Pirates, you have a blacksmith who wants to marry a high society chick, a half-crazed pirate seeking revenge, and a Caribbean-threatening cursed pirate who wants to take over the world.

Type Of Character

POTC

THE MUMMY

Adventurous Hero

Orlando Bloom

Brendan Fraser

Comely, Intelligent Heroine

Kiera Knightly

Rachel Weisz

Drunken/Lucky Sidekick

Johnny Depp

John Hannah
World Protecting Agency British Navy Elite Egyptian Guard

World Threatening Evil

Geoffrey Rush

Arnold Vosloo

A heroine, a hero, an amusing side kick, and a world-threatening evil; where could I possibly be going with this? In “The Mummy Returns”, they brought back the hero and heroine as a married couple and gave them a kid, then put them in a race against the mummy to get to the ultimate power. Maybe Pirates 2 would be similarly scripted? As in Elizabeth and Will marry and have a little one and they join Jack on the Black Pearl in a race to a mystical power that Barbossa could use to conquer the Caribbean and then . . . THE WORLD!! HAHAHAHA! Sorry, I got a little sidetracked. But how could Barbossa be alive? Wasn’t he shot and the curse was broken and he felt cold? Could the monkey be the one calling the shots now? Wouldn’t that make for an interesting climax. Jack Sparrow and Jack the monkey battling it out for this legendary treasure and Will and Elizabeth and little Johnny Turner fighting pirates and such? Keira Knightly said she would get to do more fighting if there was a sequel. Who knows? I certainly don’t. But Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, the two guys who got screen credit for the final script, have done lots of scripts and couldn’t possibly be influenced by a Stephen Sommers film. Could they? I mean, isn’t it true that once a movie is released to the public that the scenarios presented are the intellectual property of the public? Why, the only reason not to do it like this is that people will say that it was a complete rip-off of “The Mummy Returns”. Maybe I’m reading too far into this. I think that Ted and Terry understand this phenomenon and will write a brand-spankin’ new story for Pirates 2. I mean Pirates 2 and 3. Eisner is a Matrix convert…ugh…that’s almost as scary as all those photos and Larry and Andy and their dominatrix buddies.

Sequined Sequels

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THIS WAS UPDATED, I MADE IT BETTER!

After watching Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl for the umpteenth time (I downloaded an illegal, bootlegged copy of the movie, so sue me (please don’t!)), it finally occurred to me how structurally similar Pirates is to The Mummy (starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz). In The Mummy, you have a girl who, with her brother, goes to the middle of the desert with a muscular tough guy, unleashes this cursed mummy upon the world and have to defeat it. In Pirates, you have a blacksmith who wants to marry a high society chick, a half-crazed pirate seeking revenge, and a Caribbean-threatening cursed pirate who wants to take over the world. A heroine, a hero, an amusing side kick, and a world-threatening evil; where could I possibly be going with this? In Return of the Mummy, they brought back the hero and heroine as a married couple and gave them a kid, then put them in a race against the mummy to get to the ultimate power. Maybe Pirates 2 would be similarly themed? As in Elizabeth and Will marry and have a little one and they join Jack on the Black Pearl in a race to a mystical power that Barbossa could use to conquer the Caribbean and then . . . THE WORLD!! HAHAHAHA! Sorry, I got a little sidetracked. But how could Barbossa be alive? Wasn’t he shot and the curse was broken and he felt cold? Could the monkey be the one calling the shots now? Wouldn’t that make for an interesting climax. Jack Sparrow and Jack the monkey battling it out for this legendary treasure and Will and Elizabeth and little Johnny Turner fighting pirates (Keira Knightly said she would get to do more fighting if there was a sequel) and such? Who knows? I certainly don’t. But those two guys who got screen credit for the final script have done lots of scripts and couldn’t possibly be influenced by a Stephen Sommers film. Could they? I mean, after all, once a movie is made, doesn’t it’s thematic underpinnings stay with us until the film-makers are all dead? I have no idea what I’m saying anymore, so this is the end.