Archive
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES – Geoff Zanelli
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Dead Men Tell No Tales is the fifth entry in Disney’s tentpole Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, based on the classic dark rides found at Disney theme parks the world over. Directed by Norwegian filmmakers Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, it picks up the story of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) several years after the events of the fourth film, On Stranger Tides. Down on his luck and having to resort to robbing banks to make ends meet, Jack becomes embroiled in a new adventure when the ghost of Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem), fearsome pirate hunter of the Spanish Navy, is released from a cursed prison in the so-called Devil’s Triangle; Salazar, who blames Jack for his long imprisonment, begins to track Jack’s ship looking for revenge. In an effort to stop Salazar, Jack teams up with Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), an intelligent young woman accused of being a witch; his old nemesis Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), now a wealthy shipping fleet owner; and Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites), the now-adult son of Jack’s old friends Will and Elizabeth. Together, they search for the mythical Trident of Poseidon, which they believe has the power to break Salazar’s curse… and may hold other magical powers too. Read more…
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES – Hans Zimmer
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, subtitled On Stranger Tides, came a little belatedly, four years after the conclusion of the well-received third entry in the record breaking series, At World’s End. Although Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush return at the strutting Captain Jack Sparrow ad his nemesis Barbossa, gone are co-stars Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, as is director Gore Verbinski. In their place is new director Rob Marshall – whose last film, the musical Nine, couldn’t have been more different – while the new supporting players include Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane. The story follows the search for the mythical Fountain of Youth; Cruz plays Angelica, one of Captain Jack’s old flames, while McShane plays the legendary Blackbeard, Angelica’s father and Jack’s rival in the hunt for eternal life. Read more…
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END – Hans Zimmer
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The third and (at the time of writing) final Pirates of the Caribbean movie promises to be the biggest and best of them all. With Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) having vanished during his battle with the Kraken at the end of Dead Man’s Chest, the remainder of the gallant crew – Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), the lovely Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley), former Commodore Norrington (Jack Davenport) – agree to accompany Jack’s former nemesis, Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) to “the end of the world” to rescue him from oblivion. In order to achieve this, the hearty band of brigands must travel to Singapore to enlist the help of Sao Feng (Chow-Yun Fat), a ruthless pirate who rules the South Seas, while avoiding the attentions of Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), who wants to end the pirate way of life once and for all, and especially Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), the captain of the accursed Flying Dutchman, who still seeks revenge against Jack and his crew… Read more…
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST – Hans Zimmer
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
When I wrote my review of Klaus Badelt’s score for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl back in 2003, my opening paragraph read: “In giving Pirates of the Caribbean a four-star review, I’m making myself undergo a crisis of conscience. How can I, as a “respected” reviewer of film music, give such a high rating to a score which is quite blatantly inappropriate for the movie, predictable to the extreme, and derivative of virtually every major Media Ventures action score written in the last ten years?”. Three years later, and Hans Zimmer’s score for the sequel, Dead Man’s Chest, has me thinking the exact same thing. Yet again, though, the bottom line is this: it may be inappropriate, and simplistic, and bear no relation to either the Disney ride or the musical genre conventions of pirate movies, but each and every time I listen to it, I have a bloody good time, and thoroughly enjoy the experience. Read more…
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL – Klaus Badelt
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
In giving Pirates of the Caribbean a four-star review, I’m making myself undergo a crisis of conscience. How can I, as a “respected” reviewer of film music, give such a high rating to a score which is quite blatantly inappropriate for the movie, predictable to the extreme, and derivative of virtually every major Media Ventures action score written in the last ten years? The answer, simply, is that it is a whole lot of fun. Pirates of the Caribbean is possibly the ultimate soundtrack guilty pleasure. Directed by Gore Verbinski, Pirates of the Caribbean is a large-budget action film based on the classic ride at the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California, in which visitors are treated to a stately underground boat ride through the old Caribbean, where animatronic pirates shiver their timbers on a daily basis. Read more…
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