Category Archives: Adventure Movies
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is the fourth installation in the much-loved series of swashbuckling epics. Quite honestly, I wasn’t convinced by this movie, but it certainly kept with the fun-loving crazy attitude that is so quintessential of these movies and their characters.
I like to get the bad news over with quickly, so let’s start with the most dismal aspect of Pirates 4: the plot.
This movie has so many plot holes and odd scenes in it that I’m not even sure where to begin. There are characters that you see once and never come back, characters that you’re pretty sure are dead but apparently they’re not, and characters that you know are supposed to be somewhat important but just don’t add to the storyline. There are also a lot of little scenes that are just nonsense. There’s this one scene that features Judi Dench – don’t get me wrong, I love Judi Dench, but this scene has such a weird cameo from her that kind of makes you think she’ll do something important, but she just doesn’t. I’m still wondering why they left it in. It’s awkward and just feels wrong, and it’s the same with the whole plot. It’s like they didn’t think the story through before they started shooting.
Sometimes it’s OK for a movie to slip up on a few little things here and there, but messing up what should really be a very straight-forward story is just unacceptable. It’s not Inception. You should be able to get it right. So sadly, the thin plot in Pirates 4 is a big minus for me.
The other problem I had with Pirates 4 is the fact that there’s no Orlando Bloom.
OH MY GOD. PLEASE. I LOVE HIIIIIIIIIM. He may not be the GREATEST actor, per say, but he’s FINE, and what does that matter when you seem really NICE and you’re GORGEOUS. I LOVE ORLANDO BLOOM. IT WAS A MISTAKE TO WRITE HIS CHARACTER OUT. Grump. (I’m joking, obviously).
On the plus side with the casting we have the always-excellent and also-gorgeous Johnny Depp back again to star as the charismatic Captain Jack Sparrow (don’t forget the ‘Captain’). If I’m serious I think that Captain Jack is the only reason the Pirates series is still going. Without him it would all be a bit… lame. And by the way, how good is Mr Depp looking? I’ve said before that he’s stunning, but seriously. He’s 50, isn’t he? Pretty impressive. Couple him with his sexy new co-star Penélope Cruz and you’ve got one good-looking cast (even minus Orlando).
My favourite thing about Pirates 4, and all of the Pirates movies, I think, is the epic, epic score by Hans Zimmer. The theme is unmistakably set to become a classic theme tune, if it isn’t one already. That score over the top of swashbuckling Pirates fun just makes the movie. And it is a whole lot of fun. In the age-old question of pirates vs. ninjas I am without a doubt on Team Pirate.
So Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is good. And satisfying enough. But not everything I’d hoped for, and not as good as some of its prequels. I have to settle for 3.5/5 stars for this one.
xx
Za.
Paul
Note: This movie is rated MA 15+.
I went to see Paul yesterday with my parents, and I found myself pleasantly amused. I’m glad I let them drag me along because it was a really great laugh.
Paul is the latest project from friends and funny buggers Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It begins with two innocently nerdy blokes from the UK heading off on a road trip across America, but their course is altered when a rude alien named Paul asks them for a lift as he runs from the FBI.
Now, it must be said, Pegg and Frost do have a definite style of comedy. It’s very British and very vulgar, but it does work for them. They are hilarious every time, and although Paul maybe isn’t quite as well executed as, say, Shaun of the Dead, it is a lot of fun and so, so, pants-wettingly funny. The comedy is just ruthless.
On top of that they have managed to also pull off a sweet storyline, with a couple of nice twists towards the end. They’ve managed to fit in romance, a road trip, superpowers, aliens, and explosions, all in a movie starring a couple of typical underdogs. The whole adventure package. It’s really thrilling watching something with everything satisfying you could ask for packed in. And anyway, you know me; I really have to enjoy something when there are explosions in it.
My favourite thing about Paul wasn’t the asplodes though. It was the nerds. So often I feel like us nerds aren’t celebrated. That people don’t like us because we’re interested in things that they aren’t interested in, and therefore they’re odd. Just today I had a friend of mine roll her eyes at me and call me a nerd because she overheard me and another friend raving about the new season of Doctor Who. She meant it in a derogatory way. Which wasn’t nice at all.
But Pegg and Frost are absolute geeks, playing absolute geeks, but they’re awesome geeks. They’re funny. It’s nice to see nerds being represented in a positive way in the media.
My main problem with Paul, I’m sad to say, is that it felt a bit American. I love these boys when they’re in their natural environment: cloudy England. Take them outside of that and put them in the States, with Americans, who have a very different sense of humour? It just didn’t seem to mesh well. There was something there that sat a little funny in my belly. And on top of that, the jokes are just a tad adult. And I’m fine with that, but as a kid you have to wrestle your way through them sometimes.
So I think my verdict for Paul is going to be 3.5/5. Certainly great for escapism and fun. Definitely worth a growed-up’s money, but maybe not for you little bubs out there.
xx
Za.
Despicable Me
Herro!
Last night, I saw Despicable Me. It was just awesome, with the cuteness overload and the plot and OMG THE CUTENESS!!!!!!!
*WARNING! THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*
Plot: Mr Gru wants to steal the moon. Using a shrinking gun/laser. Who some other bad guy has, called Vector. So he tries numerous ways to steal it, each ending in failure, until he notices three little orphan girls selling cookies. They get in.
CUE THE LIGHTBULB!
Anyway, he adopts them, and at first he hates them, but they grow closer, and become a happy family. SO CUTE.
But complications arise when Gru becomes a little …. too distracted by the girls, as well as the fact that the shrink effects are temporary. Which is discovered after the Moon is shrunk.
I can’t be stuffed to say anything else, so you should REALLY GO WATCH IT!!!!
Fave character: I’d have to say Agnes, or the minions.
Agnes:
Minions:
Fave scene: When Gru reads them a story book with puppets.
Also when Agnes wants/gets her unicorn toy.
Fave baddie: Gru counts. He’s a baddie.
Fave machine: The squid gun!!!!!!!
Fave explosion: At the end, when the Moon returns to its original size
Fave quote: “It’s so fluffy I’m gonna DIE!” – Agnes
And stay through the credits! 3D is really good there, but actually, no where else. Just the credits part.
And for the quote/scene :
I would add some more, but that would ruin the movie.
GO WATCH!
BE ASTOUNDED BY THE CUTENESS!!!!!!!!!
4.9/5
It would get a 5/5, just because IT’S SO CUTE, but when he gives them back, it’s just so… not very emotional. I think that they could play on Gru and the girl’s emotions a little more.
Rawr,
Jo
Despicable Me
Hello again.
Last Saturday, I went to see Despicable Me.
It’s a GOOD MOVIE, in CAPITALS, and you should all see it.
PLOTLINE:
In Egypt, it has just been discovered that the Great Pyramid has been stolen and replaced by a lifesize, inflatable replica. meanwhile, there’s this guy called Gru who’s really evil. (Well, not really, but hey, that’s what he thinks.) He discovers this, and starts trying to thing up a plot to out-evil this mysterious evil guy. He finishes up with:
STEAL THE MOON!
Unfortunately, this is going to be hard, unless the thing’s a whole lot smaller. So he starts trying to steal a shrink ray from a guy called Victor. Or Vector, as he calls himself.
There’s a fight over the shrink ray, involving cookie robots, a fart gun, a ticket to a dance recital,and some healthy head-freezing. Quite hilarious. Also playing a significant part in the story are Margo, Edith and Agnes, 3 girls from an orphanage, who are adopted by Gru when he sees that they can get into Vector’s lair by way of cookies. Now you see the need for cookie robots. Gru ends up treating the girls as real daughters at the end, and it’s quite happy-sad-nice.
4.9/5.
H.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
YES HERE IT IS, THE ONE WE’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR: HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART I!!!
Which I shall from this moment forward refer to as ‘HP7I’. Too long to type otherwise.
Now, as a huge nerd, I am a very big fan of Harry Potter. I love it and must love it always. So obviously there was a lot of high-level excitement from me prior to viewing HP7I. And it did not let me down.
In my humble opinion the order of current Har
ry Potter movies in terms of good is as follows – HP6, HP4, HP3, HP2, HP1, HP5, HP6 being my most favourite and HP5 being my least. I think HP7, for me, comes in-between number 6 and number 4. My second favourite.
What I love most about the Harry Potter movies is that the three main cast members seem like genuinely nice, funny people, especially Daniel Radcliffe (who plays Harry and doesn’t look terrible with his shirt off). They all seem like really good friends and that definitely helps them in terms of their acting. Everything is very warm and real.
And I do like their acting. Looking back on the first movie and comparing it with this one is so great – they’ve improved a great deal over the years. And they’ve also had a wonderful oppurtunity to grow up in acting with some wonderful actors around them, like Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes and Maggie Smith, which has obviously helped them a great deal too. And is the cast of HP7I magnificent or WHAT? There’s Bill Nighy, Helena Bonham Carter, Rhys Ifans, Brendan Gleeson – literally everybody. They could not have lucked out more with the cast.
I have heard people say “EVERY HARRY POTTER MOVIE IS DARKER” countless times and I’m sure you have too, but of course it’s a completely true statement. Every Potter film IS darker than the last, and this one is no exception. There’s murder, torture, death, destruction, fear – it’s like they’ve taken everything that is scary about the world and rolled it into a possibly-but-not-really-child-friendly shock-fest. I jumped at least 3 times. My brother was scared. My stepmum was really scared. I was definitely more scared than I had been during HP6. I would have been seriously frightened had it not been for the fact that I’ve read the books and know what happens in the end.
But as you probably know by now I’m a sucker for romance and friendship and love in movies, so there’s no way you were ever going to get through this review without some of my teenage girliness jumping out:
OH MY GOSH HARRY AND GINNY ARE SOOOOOOO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OK, all done.
And finally, as a quick blast from the past, my favourite scene was (SPOILER ALERT) when Harry tried to cheer Hermione up by dancing silly with her. It’s so sweet and he’s such a good friend to her. It’s not in the book, but still adorable and a nice bit of character development.
Oh, and all you people who dislike that they didn’t put every little tiny thing that was in the book in the movie? Don’t you UNDERSTAND you can’t, or it’s very difficult, to convert a book into a movie EXACTLY? Not possible. Movies work DIFFERENTLY to books. I hope you figure that out sometime, or pretty much every book-movie you see will be disappointing to you.
That’s all I’ve got to say. 4/5. Loved this movie.
xx
Za.
Tomorrow, When The War Began
OK, woah, am I behind on reviews or what.
Since I last reviewed I’ve seen… let me see… 5 and a half movies, including Tomorrow, When The War Began, which I will hereon-in refer to as TWTWB. Much quicker to type. Most of these movies I watched on the flights to and from Hong Kong, which was so great, but not important right now. Onwards!
TWTWB is set in rural Australia (chyeah), and begins with 7 17/18-year-olds planning a camping trip in the bush over the weekend. They have a great time, but when they come home at the end of the trip they find their town deserted. As they investigate more. they discover that Australia has been invaded, their families are being locked up and hurt, and the whole country is at war. They all have to grow up quickly as they realise that their only chance of survival, of their families’ survival, is to survive by themselves and fight back. With the burden of death placed on the teens’ shoulders, TWTWB questions the feeling of security citizens of developed nations like Australia have and the innocence and insecurities of teenagers.
I guess I was programmed to be biased towards this movie. I watched it with a group of rowdy, awesome friends some of whom I hadn’t seen for 2 years, so I was just psyched to be out with them, and psyched about the movie. So, naturally, with all the happiness pent up inside of me, I kind of loved it.
OK, not kind of, I seriously loved it. One of my mates asked me afterwards what I thought about it, and I said “FREAKING AWESOME!!!”
I loved it because it was exciting, and I loved it because it was sexy, and I loved it because it had teenagers, and I loved it because it had action. I hadn’t seen a shoot-’em-up in a while, so it was fabulously refreshing. I spend too much time with my head buried in rom-coms.
For some bits I was literally on the edge of my seat, which never happens. I wanted to take in every detail and imprint it in my mind forever. Australia doesn’t have the best film industry, but as we’re getting better it’s exciting to see a real guns-blazing film that delivers. You want to remember it.
TWTWB is based, obviously, on the novels by John Marsden, which I haven’t read, but which everyone says are amazing. Apparently the reason the books are so good is because teenagers can really relate to the feelings and emotional issues of the characters, as well as loving the violence and action, and I reckon the movie held strong to that. Ellie, the main character, was so great – she became a hardcore warrior but remained a teenager. She struggled with romance and what a kiss means, something we can all relate to as teens. I certainly felt a very strong affinity with her, except she was way more bad-ass than I am.
Not that I’m not bad-ass. I’m pretty sure I have a repressed shooting-things side. Because by far the best thing about this movie was the PEW PEW PEW!!! I have said many times before, SPLOSIONS MAKE GOOD MOVIES! CASE CLOSED!
All things considered, TWTWB deserves a 4.5/5. The sad thing is the acting was not totally perfect. BUT WHO CARES? EXPLOSIONS!!!!!
See you guys later with more reviews.
Enjoy this moovie!
xx
Za.
Inception
Because Jo just wrote a review saying how excellent it was and everybody was telling me how fabulous it was, I went to see Inception last night with my dad.
Inception is really difficult to describe, but the main plot outline is basically that it is possible to share dreams with each other and you can make the subconcious tell you things. There is a small group of people working to put an idea into somebody’s brain instead of just extract an idea. This is called inception, and it’s supposed to be impossible, but in order for the boss, Cobb, to get home to his children they must succeed. If they don’t Cobb will be locked in prison for the rest of his life. Why? Haha! You’ll have to watch it.
My first impressions of the opening scenes were “Wow, I’m confused, what’s happening here?” and “Oh. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is very good looking.”
I know not too long ago I rambled on about Johnny Depp in Chocolat, but I don’t want you to think I only pay attention to the gorgeous guys in movies. Oh no, there’s more than just that that interests me about film, there’s also… umm…
No, I’m being serious now, I actually couldn’t really care less if an actor was hot or not, as long as he acts well. Being hot… well, that could be just a bonus. And Joseph Gordon-Levitt is definitely a good actor. And hot.
I mean, ahh! Look at him! Wheeee!
I know him from 10 Things I Hate About You and 500 Days of Summer (which I haven’t seen but desperately want to), but he’s certainly grown up a bit in terms of skill as an actor.
Speaking of acting and hotness not affecting acting skills, I was wary about going to see Inception because of Leonardo DiCaprio as Cobb. He may be attractive to some, but I think he’s a bit sleazy-looking and I don’t really like him as an actor… he’s all right, I guess. But he really performed in this movie and after a while I forgot it was Leo and thought of him as Cobb.
Ellen Page was also a joy to watch – I love her.
So, down to the movie mechanics! What did I think of the plotline? The sci-fi? The dreams? The violence?
I. Thought. It. Was. AWESOME!
I loved having to carefully follow the story through as it twisted around different levels of dream states and it was great to have to think about how everything linked up and fit together. You could say Inception was ‘intellectual’. I just think it was cool. The concept of the movie was such a great one – planting ideas? Manipulating dreams? Confusing them with reality? Wicked.
The violence wasn’t too bad, and a lot of it was necessary to tell the story. They could have cut back on a lot of it, but when I was watching it it was so immersive I didn’t really care.
I had three favourite parts: Firstly when Cobb is teaching Ariadne (Page) to manipulate the dream worlds and she put two mirrors together and stood between them. That’s one of my favourite things to do, have an endless corridor of mirrors. I thought it was a great metaphor for the movie – so many realities and you can’t be sure which one is real, or which image is the real you. Secondly was the kiss between Arthur and Ariadne – I can’t go into much detail there but it was so little and cute and awwwww. And Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page? That’s going on my list of favourite pairings.
My third favourite part was of course the ending. Unfortunately I can’t really give anything away there but it was a wonderful way to finish. My favourite movie ending ever, I think.
I’m off now, I have quite a bit of homework (oops – does this count as extra credit for English, Miss?) and I have to have afternoon tea. So, final thoughts:
What a fabulous movie. As my dad put it, why would you go and see any other science fiction movie when you could see this one? A turning point in film and remarkably awesome. A must-see.
I whole-heartedly agree with Jo on this one – 5/5.
xx
Za
Toy Story 2 & 3
In the holidays, I saw Toy Story 3 and 2, and I thought both of them were great. They’re both really funny, and captivating, and Toy Story 3 was heaps better than I expected.
Toy Story 2 is when Woody is stolen by the Chicken guy, and almost sent to Japan. Along the way we meet Jessie, and Bullseye, and another Buzz, and his dad, Zurg, and the bad guy, Stinky Pete. Woody doesn’t want to go to Japan, but Pete tries to stop him. Naturally, the day is saved by normal Buzz and the rest of the toys.
And in Toy Story 2, we meet the adorable little aliens, who take to Mr Potato Head after being rescued by him. They are the cutest.
Toy Story 3 is when Andy is off to college, and all the toys are left behind, and almost thrown out. They make their way to Sunnyside Daycare thingy, and it seems perfect, but Woody is loyal to Andy, so he leaves. Anyway, Sunnyside isn’t all it seems, as head bear Latso is more than just a friendly old toy. At the end, ignoring the journey, the toys are headed towards a big inferno, where rubbish is burned. It’s really touching here, because all the toys hold hands, but then the adorable little aliens rescue them, using “the claw”.
I’ll try not to spoil it anymore, so I’ll try and wrap it up. Like I said, I think all the Toy Story movies are really epic. They’re not just for little kids, they can be for anyone with a sense of humour (or not). Really funny, interesting and overall awesome.
I’m sorry it’s a bit short, but I’m giving it a 5/5 (gasp).
Jo.O
Iron Man 2
As you know, Iron Man was the first movie I ever reviewed on here (it basically started the site), and I luuuuurved it, so I was super excited about seeing Iron Man 2.
So here’s the plot:
Iron Man, or Tony Stark, (Robert Downey Jr) is fighting the government for the rights to keep his Iron Man suit. The government wants it as weaponry, but Tony doesn’t want to give it. Then at a racing event Tony is driving and an evil Russian (Mickey Rourke) totally chops his car in half with his electric-whip things. Then lots of other things happen including the evil Russian being recruited by Justin Hammer, owner of Hammer Industries, competitor of Stark Industries, Iron Man’s old company.
Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell – eek!) wants evil Russian to design him an Iron Man suit, but instead he makes some Iron Man robots and sets them on Iron Man, trying to kill him and his best friend. I won’t tell you how it ends but it’s gripping. Very.
My favourite part about this was sitting there going, “where have I seen Justin Hammer before?” It took me ages before I realised that he was the same guy who played Zaphod Beeblebrox in the movie version of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – see?
So, these pics are not very good for showing how Sam Rockwell has a particular look, but he does, and a particular sound. It took me a while to place him, but he’s really got a distinct style. It was so good when I turned to my stepdad and said, “ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX!!!” and he went “Oh yeah…” I felt so appreciated. 
What I really feel about Iron Man 2 is that it’s good, but not as good as number 1.I had a few main things that I didn’t really like…
I know Tony is supposed to be a bit crazy and eccentric, which is hilarious, and it’s what he does, but in this movie they really over-stretch his talking-over-the-top-of-other-people thing. He does it a bit in the first movie, which was great, because it was a little bit, but in this one it really bugged me. I mean, it’s cute, but it also makes lots of conversations more difficult to understand, and it’s just not polite movie-making.
Also, the first one had a really deep political situation going on behind it, you know, Tony Stark was the leader of a huge weapons company and then he realised he was destroying people’s lives and decided to close the company, yada yada yada. It gave the whole thing an ethical slant which was really interesting, but Iron Man 2 lacks that.
And the introduction of Scarlett Johansson as Natalie/Natasha Rushman/Romanoff (no, I’m not kidding) was great. She is hot. No denying it. And her character was super-cool, had ninja skills, spoke 5 bajillion languages, worked for SHIELD (you’ll find out what that is if you see it), and did modelling in Tokyo, but there was one problem with her. She didn’t go anywhere. Tony appoints her as his personal assistant (WHAT HAPPENED TO PEPPER POTTS? Haha. You will see.) and you expect there to be some action between them, but there is none. Not only that, the character just seems to be in it because she is cool. Sure, she helps save Tony’s life near the end, but she’s not a HUGE help, just a little one, and then we seem to leave her there, staring at her computer screen, and we don’t see her for the rest of the movie. She goes nowhere. I’m hoping she makes some progress as a character in Iron Man 3.
And they changed the actor for Iron Man’s BFF. I know, they can’t control that, maybe the old guy moved on to bigger things, but it was still a bit unsettling. And I liked the old actor better. He was easier-going and I could imagine him as Tony’s cheery friend. The new guy is a bit more serious, and I don’t think he fitted as well with Downey’s personality.
Phew. I’m out of words to say. I could go on and on about this movie, because all in all it WAS a very good movie, and very enjoyable, even with its flaws. I can’t give it a 4, but I can’t even give it a 3 and a half either, so I’ll settle for 3.75 stars out of 5. Odd? Yeah. Enjoy the moovie.
xx
Za.
