Artificial Continuum
Showing posts with label Pirates of the Caribbean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pirates of the Caribbean. Show all posts
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Trailer Roundup
8:42 PM | 
Posted by
Nick
With the big holiday releases pouring in, studios are taking advantage of attention towards such films as Harry Potter, Narnia, and Tron by delivering some sneak previews of film's to come. Which trailer's tease well, and which are more likely to scare away?
Green Lantern
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One of the most beloved super heroes of all time, DC's Green Lantern is long over due for a screen adaptation. Starring hear throb Ryan Reynolds as the title character, the film seemed sure to deliver. That is until this overly sexed up, unconvincing, and downright silly trailer started airing in theaters starting last November. Fans should keep their fingers crossed that this film stays their brightest day, and not the blackest night it seems to be.
Score: D+
Cowboys and Aliens
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This gritty and violent trailer makes its point very early on: Cowboys and Aliens is not the fun comedy rump people were expecting. Not even playing to its camp value at all this haunting and effective teaser creates a sci-fi western that is cool, realistic, and creepy. Add in some badassery from Daniel Craig in the lead role and you have a killer trailer for a film that's quickly becoming one of the most anticipated releases of next summer.
Score: A
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
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An announcement trailer, as Michael Bay put it, this teaser for next summer's Transformers sequel, and probable finale, surprisingly works. Although hinting at a conspiracy that may well be the film's down fall, there is little denying that this tease is as intriguing as it is visually stunning. Here's hoping to a sequel that delivers on its potential.
Score: B+
Thor
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A gamble to begin with, Marvel's Thor adaptation still stands on uneven ground. Although sporting some impressive visual effects, a strong cast, and a increasingly interwoven multiverse (note the SHIELD agent from Iron Man), there are things about Thor that just seem off. Asgard looks more like a Flash Gordon sequel then a home to Norse gods, and many of the costume designs are incredibly goofy. However, the Earth scenes fairs much better, with Natalie Portman and the famous Destroyer armor stealing the show.
Score: B
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
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Although not the train wreck many were expecting, the first glimpse at the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film is still worrisome. Most of this comes from the film's apparent overreliance upon Jack Sparrow to carry the film. While the drunken pirate was easily a high point of the previous three installments, being tempered with a strong supporting cast, now absent from the series, kept the audiences from feeling over exposed. Jack's antics even grow tiring within the course of this trailer, with little else truly going on. Even more concerning is the injection of a love interest that does not seem to fit the feel of the series or the character. Fairly, there are moments of genuine fun and it is good to hear those old music cues agin.
Score: C+
Green Lantern
--------------------------------------------------------
One of the most beloved super heroes of all time, DC's Green Lantern is long over due for a screen adaptation. Starring hear throb Ryan Reynolds as the title character, the film seemed sure to deliver. That is until this overly sexed up, unconvincing, and downright silly trailer started airing in theaters starting last November. Fans should keep their fingers crossed that this film stays their brightest day, and not the blackest night it seems to be.
Score: D+
Cowboys and Aliens
--------------------------------------------------
This gritty and violent trailer makes its point very early on: Cowboys and Aliens is not the fun comedy rump people were expecting. Not even playing to its camp value at all this haunting and effective teaser creates a sci-fi western that is cool, realistic, and creepy. Add in some badassery from Daniel Craig in the lead role and you have a killer trailer for a film that's quickly becoming one of the most anticipated releases of next summer.
Score: A
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
-----------------------------------------------
An announcement trailer, as Michael Bay put it, this teaser for next summer's Transformers sequel, and probable finale, surprisingly works. Although hinting at a conspiracy that may well be the film's down fall, there is little denying that this tease is as intriguing as it is visually stunning. Here's hoping to a sequel that delivers on its potential.
Score: B+
Thor
-------------------------------------------
A gamble to begin with, Marvel's Thor adaptation still stands on uneven ground. Although sporting some impressive visual effects, a strong cast, and a increasingly interwoven multiverse (note the SHIELD agent from Iron Man), there are things about Thor that just seem off. Asgard looks more like a Flash Gordon sequel then a home to Norse gods, and many of the costume designs are incredibly goofy. However, the Earth scenes fairs much better, with Natalie Portman and the famous Destroyer armor stealing the show.
Score: B
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
--------------------------------------------
Although not the train wreck many were expecting, the first glimpse at the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film is still worrisome. Most of this comes from the film's apparent overreliance upon Jack Sparrow to carry the film. While the drunken pirate was easily a high point of the previous three installments, being tempered with a strong supporting cast, now absent from the series, kept the audiences from feeling over exposed. Jack's antics even grow tiring within the course of this trailer, with little else truly going on. Even more concerning is the injection of a love interest that does not seem to fit the feel of the series or the character. Fairly, there are moments of genuine fun and it is good to hear those old music cues agin.
Score: C+
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Thursday, July 22, 2010
SDCC: Jack Sparrow Surprises Comic Con Attendees
2:14 PM |
Posted by
Nick
Just as the Disney panel at this years San Diego Comic Con was ending, attendees were hit with a series of surprise appearances and announcements. Alongside Guillermo Del Toro's announcement of the newest Haunted Mansion adaptation, Johnny Depp himself made an appearance, dressed as his Jack Sparrow character from the Pirates of the Caribbean films, as an advertisement for the upcoming sequel On Stranger Tides.
The fourth film in the swashbuckling series has begun filming. While few details were actually revealed about the plot of the film, Depp did mention that the plot will follow Sparrow in his quest to find the Fountain of Youth. The film wil also apparently include: "zombies, cutthroats, mermaids and... Penelope Cruz."
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is due for release May 20, 2011.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (A Commentary)
4:21 PM |
Posted by
Nick
Announced last month, the newest Pirates of the Caribbean film is to be released summer of 2011, to a crowd of screaming fangirls. Reportedly following the adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow and his search for the Fountain of Youth, the movie is to be based upon the famous fantasy pirates novel of the 80's On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers. The book featured among many things the famous pirate Blackbeard and ,of course, the Fountain of Youth. The explanation for this is simply that the authors wanted to write a story about Blackbeard and the Fountain of Youth, and the book just happened to have a similar story.
The movie ,however, is not going to feature a majority of the characters from the original trilogy. Overall, the idea stinks of a corporate money grab. The Pirates films slowly declined in quality throughout their original run, and the decision to make a sequel not even related to the previous films seems like a dumb move. The idea to base the fourth film off a book seems even more like the creators are short for ideas. The original films atleast had stories that were original, if not based off famous pirate mythology. Pirates, especially in its latter installments, had difficulty pulling off even these stories. The third pirates film was so bogged down in subplots and characters that it nearly ruined the movie. Pirates is the one movie series that I can say works with a simpler story. The first film was great because its story was fairly straightfoward, but the actors and characters pulled it foward, not the other way around. So perhaps covering a template would result in a more comprehensible and entertaining story. '
The only redeeming quality about this new film is that Johnny Depp, arguably the best part of all the films, is on board for the new film, but even this might not happen. Recently, Disney chairman Dick Cook resigned his position after 38 years of working it. This came as a surprise and shock to Depp, who claims that it was Cook that helped both him and the Pirates films become what they are today. Whether Depp's hesitance to take part in the film will affect it in the long term is to be seen. However, it is doubtful that Disney would make the film if he were to step down.
Overall, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides seems like a trainwreck waiting to happen, yet who knows. It might be the fun and independant Pirates film that we wanted ever since At World's End was released two years ago. Time will only tell.
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