Pirates of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides (2011) Film Review

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) ends up in a race undertaken by Blackbeard (Ian McShane) with his daughter, Angelica (Penelope Cruz) against, on one hand, Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and on the other, the Spanish. Their goal? The fountain of youth.

I loved the first Pirates film. I seem to recall quite enjoying the second film and even the third was okay. And I did also really like this one, but it’s feeling a bit paint-by-numbers. There is the premise, then Jack does a daring escape, then something happens, and then Jack does something else big and dramatic, and then it ends, but not the way that you’d expect. There are twists and turns.

I did enjoy the film, but I feel like I need something new and exciting to keep me wanting more.

Hercules (2014) Film Review

You know Hercules, Ancient Greek legend, son of Zeus, he did these twelve near impossible labours and was just pretty awesome? So, what if it went a little differently – like that Hercules (Dwayne Johnson) was not actually the son of Zeus, but let everyone believe it to raise the price of his services? (Although he’s also still a good guy, don’t get that side of things wrong. Noble as.) What’s more, he didn’t complete the twelve labours alone – he had the top fighter and seer Amphiaraus (Ian McShane), his mate from school Autolycus (Rufus Sewell) , a slightly nuts feisty thing, Tydeus (Aksel Hennie), Atalanta (Ingrid Bolso Berdal) the Amazon warrior and his nephew Iolaus (Reece Ritchie) who is the storyteller who creates the legend. Then what happens if he gets hired to help Lord Cotys (John Hurt) to teach his men to protect themselves, and Cotys has a daughter and grandson, but nothing is what he expects?

Of course I loved this. It’s a fairly decent twist on Hercules, it has Dwayne Johnson in it, and I love him, and the rest of the cast is pretty tops too. There’s humour, violence and some fabulous slow mo action. Oh, and I’d recommend paying attention during the cool animated closing credits – you get to see how the twelve labours were completed by the team working together.

 

 

Pillars of the Earth – TV Review

Tom Builder (Rufus Sewell) is not having a good time. Winter is coming, and he and his family are struggling to find somewhere to live and work that will feed them all. After an arduous and disastrous journey, they end up in a small town in England a long time ago (the twelfth century, apparently) but the church burns down. So, Prior Phillip (Matthew MacFadyen) decides to build a cathedral with Tom Builder. However, the guy who is the next boss up, church-wise Waleran Bigod (Ian McShane) doesn’t want it to happen and will do whatever is in his power to stop it. Oh, and then there is whole heap of battling between the new king and the old king’s daughter who could not inherit the crown because she’s not male. And a boat sank, killing her brother, and there is a lot to do with that too.

I’ve been told by many that the books that this series is based on are fabulous. Certainly, it is a very good show, with a bit of a Game of Thrones feel to it, but everything gets beautifully tied up at the end.