To get it out of the way, right up front, I liked this movie. As a sequel, it was better than the second installment in the series (something which doesn’t often happen) and as a film in and of itself, it works on a number of levels. The film follows the continuing adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and wraps up, neatly, a number of the open ended plotlines left over from the first two films, Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man’s Chest. Without too much (and some might say not enough) recapping of previous events, we are immediately pushed into the film’s main plot, which is a good old fashioned us (the pirates) against them (the British) epic in a battle for the freedom of the seven seas. Continue reading “Review: Pirates of the Caribbean – At World’s End”
Author: CaptainJaq
I am a father as well as a world traveling, dog loving, scuba diving, book collecting, writer - currently residing somewhere in Eastern Europe. His words have been spoken by Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and Robin Hood, been read by David Copperfield, and criticized by his 7th grade English teacher. He'd like to thank the members of the Academy, although he doesn't know why. In his spare time, he's a university professor and a kick-ass uncle.
Review: Waitress
Sometimes, as a critic, there are films you don’t want to review. Not because they are bad, but because they are good. Waitress is one of those films. I so thoroughly enjoyed myself at this film, I don’t want to have to put on my critic cap and point out the flaws, as few as there are.
Before we get to those, though, let’s talk about the good things. They all center around Jenna, the newly pregnant title character played by Keri Russell. This beauty has come a long way since Felicity and she holds the center of this film with the confidence and surety of an actress with twice her experience. This is really her coming out party in the feature world (and no, Mission Impossible III does not count) and she is certainly the Belle of this particular ball. To be fair, though, she is helped along by triple threat Adrienne Shelly, who not only wrote and directed the film, but co-stars as well. Continue reading “Review: Waitress”
Review: 28 Weeks Later
Wow this film starts off good! 28 Weeks Later started, well, 28 weeks before. Before the starting credits roll, we are treated to a creepy, atmospheric scene, where a few survivors are holed up, trying to survive while outside the Rage Virus is taking over England. We are introduced to Robert Carlyle, Don, who is the de facto ringleader of this group and Catherine McCormack, his wife Alice. Within minutes the zombie-like victims of Rage have attacked, broken into the safe house and eaten most everyone there. Except Don, who has run out of the house, leaving his wife alone to fend off the flesh-eating creatures. Continue reading “Review: 28 Weeks Later”
Review: Lucky You
Seriously? This is the latest entry in the film catalog of the man who directed L.A. Confidential, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, and The River Wild? Curtis Hanson should know better. In his hands, Lucky You should have been a tension-filled, taught 98 minutes about love, life and how everything hinges on the turn of a card. Instead, it’s a lazy 124 minutes with very few surprises and a card game that goes on forever. In other words, a perfect date film. Continue reading “Review: Lucky You”
Review: Spider-Man 3
I think, somewhere deep in the bowels of Hollywood, there’s a guidebook for the third installment of superhero movies. It says you have to take everything good from the first two films and since it worked, you add more of it. You make it bigger, better and more overdone. Unfortunately, Sam Raimi received a copy of this guide and held to it while making the latest installment of the incredibly successful Spider-Man franchise. Continue reading “Review: Spider-Man 3”
Review: The Invisible
Is it wrong to start a review by saying “it didn’t suck?” I just wanted to get that out of the way right now. The Invisible was not a bad film. It could have been better, sure, but then, what couldn’t? I’m jumping the gun a bit, though, so let me back track. Continue reading “Review: The Invisible”
Review: Slow Burn
There’s a way to make a movie where you don’t give away everything, but instead give away just enough so the audience is on the edge of their seat, waiting for the moment they know must come. Hitchcock said it best: “There is no terror in a bang, only in the anticipation of it.” And that’s the mistake made by filmmaker Wayne Beach in his delayed from 2005 Slow Burn. Even films like Usual Suspects, from which this draws heavily, knew enough to provide tension and drama, if not in situations, then certainly in character. Slow Burn has none of that. Continue reading “Review: Slow Burn”
Review: Disturbia
There’s something comforting about an old fashioned thriller. You know, the kind where there are few surprises but just enough tension to keep you going until the end? Disturbia is just that kind of movie. At no point does it ever get ahead of its viewers, but then, I don’t think that was ever the concern in this one. This is a flick aimed squarely at the high school set who are looking for something with the kind of vibe which will let them grab their dates with reckless abandon. Disturbia delivers. Continue reading “Review: Disturbia”
Review: Perfect Stranger
I love roller coasters. My favorite part is that uphill climb. That long, slow pull, listening to the click of the chain, feeling the car jerk along. The anticipation. What makes that part of the ride the best is knowing that at the top of the hill, you’re gonna start down and you’re gonna start down fast. The climb is the opportunity to let all the fear invade your system, to let it take hold, to really start to get nervous, so when you finally crest at the top, you can breathe again and just enjoy the ride. You should be able to see a twist or turn or loop coming but still get surprised when it actually hits. And when you think the ride is over, just when you think you’re done, they slam on the brakes and give you one more, unexpected jolt before easing you back into the station. Continue reading “Review: Perfect Stranger”
Review: Grindhouse
Back in the day (and by “day,” I mean the early to mid 70s) films (and by “films” I mean movies) were made on a shoestring and a prayer. Sure, there was art being made at the time, but the real developments were happening in the independent world with people like George Romero, Tom Savini, and John Landis. These were the guys who were getting images onto the screen at the local movie houses and drive-ins by sheer will power alone.
And these are the guys being paid homage in the new cinema spectacular Grindhouse from powerhouse directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. Grindhouse takes its name from the old movie slums where two low budget, well worn fright fests and a handful of trailers for more of the same could be had for one low price and Tarantino and Rodriguez are doing their best to duplicate the experience, starting with the double feature. Continue reading “Review: Grindhouse”
Review: The Hoax
Nobody told me that Spring was officially the season of true-life stories about people perpetrating fraud on the American people. Seriously. We had Breach a few weeks ago and now we have The Hoax. Then again, maybe it’s not an official season. Maybe it’s just Hollywood reacting to injustices they see elsewhere and have no other method of expressing their displeasure? Either way, we benefit, especially with Lasse Hallström‘s new film. Continue reading “Review: The Hoax”
Review: Father Sky: A Novel
Father Sky: A Novel by Devery Freeman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I first picked up Father Sky after seeing Taps, the 1981 film starring Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn and Tom Cruise based on it. The book amazed me even more than the film did.
Where the movie was an action film about loyalty, the book delves deeper into the pychology which created a loyalty for which people were willing to kill or die. In fact, they weren’t even people, really. They were kids. The leader of the revolution (sparked when they tried to close the military school where the action takes place) is a mere 15 years old. Continue reading “Review: Father Sky: A Novel”
Review: Oceanspace
Oceanspace by Allen Steele
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Ouch! I’m a HUGE fan of underwater stories. Doesn’t matter what the general plot is, be it monster or character, I’ll go to it like a…well…like a fish to water. So when I first caught sight of Allen Steele’s “Oceanspace” needless to say I was very excited.
What a bad move that was. Continue reading “Review: Oceanspace”
Review: Foucault’s Pendulum
Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Eco is having the last laugh.
In Foucault’s Pendulum Umberto Eco is writing a huge joke with the whole world as the punchline. He takes everything you know about history (and quite a few things you don’t) and wraps them all up in such a way that they make sense. Or better yet, in a brilliant act of post modernism, he has his characters do it. Continue reading “Review: Foucault’s Pendulum”
Parking
You always think it happens to someone else don’t you. You just can’t know how you’re going to feel: Angry, pissed off, frustrated, hurt, violated. I mean, I’d seen it happen to friends of mine. I’d be there to comfort them, tell them we’d get the bastards. I never knew how painful it really was until it happened to me, until yesterday. Continue reading “Parking”
