Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

All the gang's back to save Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from Davy Jones' (Bill Nighy's) Locker and fight Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) for control of the sea.

Brilliant third installment to the Pirates trilogy. The action and special effects are over the top and wonderful. The story is perhaps not as good as the first two but still excellent. There are some very bizarre moments with Jack in Davy Jones' locker that reappear throughout the movie and don't quite fit in. However, Elizabeth kicks butt as always, which is refreshing and wonderful. The two bumbling British officers from the very first movie and went missing in the second are back and brilliant. Plus, Keith Richards makes his appearance as Jack's dad. The love story...well...I won't comment so I won't ruin it. Overall, I greatly enjoyed the film with all its action, humor, love story, and its throwbacks to the first two. Top notch.

Also, if you stay until the very last credit rolls, there is a special scene at the end that is "perhaps" where the story might go if they make another movie. Who really knows what that means? But it's worth the "Ten Years" of waiting through the credits to watch.

My favorite parts of the movie:

Special Effects
What Elizabeth becomes
The two bumbling British officers
throwbacks to the first two films
Getting to see un-tentaclly Davy Jones
The scene at the very end

5 out of 5 stars.

Trailer: Becoming Jane

Trivia Tidbit: The music in this trailer is a mashup of music from Sense and Sensibility and Little Women. The gentleman lead, James McAvoy, plays Mr. Tumnus in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

Trailer: National Treasure: Book of Secrets

Review: Shrek the Third

Shrek (Mike Myers) finds himself next in line to the throne after King Herold (John Cleese) croaks. He sets off to find the next heir, Arthur (Justin Timberlake) while Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) throws a coup de tat and imprisons a pregnant Fiona (Cameron Diaz).

Fun, fun, fun. Ok, maybe the story wasn't quite as good as the first two, but this third installment was still hilarious. So many funny moments, don't worry I won't ruin it. Also, the visuals were great, steps ahead of the previous animation. I mean you could see the fibers of Shrek's shirt blowing in the wind. It was crazy!
Great movie for lots of laughs.

My favorite parts of the movie:

the attacking princesses
Shrek's nightmare
the great supporting characters, donkey, puss, gingie, the three pigs, Pinocchio, wolf, Merlin...
a second ugly stepsister was voiced by Regis Philbin

4 out of 5 stars.

Coming Soon: Transformers

I admit it. I played Transformers with my brother growing up. However, I didn't remember their names. Optimus Prime seems familiar, but that could just be with the movie coming. Autobot is apparently in the picture. I was a little skeptical of this movie, but I will try to give it the benefit of the doubt. It's a Michael Bay film, King of Blowing Stuff Up, which I tend to enjoy. I really liked his recent film The Island. Plus, I love the picture I posted. Giving props to the 80's, obviously to the Transformers, and, of course, My Little Pony. I totally had a pink My Little Pony, the only one I owned. Yet, Kyle had loads of transformers... darn, spoiled little brothers.

Review: Spiderman 3

Spiderman (Tobey Maguire) battles 3 villains, New Goblin (James Franco), Sandman (Thomas Hayden Church), and Venom (Topher Grace), and romances two women, Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) and Gwen Stacey (Bryce Dallas Howard), in this third installment to the series.

Well, I think my summary says it all. There were A LOT of storylines in this movie and a lot of flashing back to the other two movies, that seemed unnecessary. However, it was still a very fun, enjoyable movie to watch. The special effects and action were great. I loved the characters and their development. There were some cringe-worthy sappy moments. (I am not sure about that whole dance sequence). Yet, lots of laughs, especially at the expense of the editor of the Daily Bugle, J Jonah Jameson (J K Simmons). (Another of my random connections: I actually know someone who's related to the actor J K Simmons). Well worth seeing if you're a fan of the first two.

There have been lots of rumors about a forth installment and while they wrapped things up, they certainly left room for another movie. However, if director Sam Raimi doesn't come back, I highly doubt that will happen with the current cast.

My favorite parts of the movie:

Character development
J Jonah Jameson
Villian's stories, especially Harry's
Everybody was back, I mean everyone, including Stan Lee (creator of Spiderman, cameos in #1 and #2) and Bruce Cambell (He was the wrestling announcer in #1 and the annoying ticket taker in #2)

4 out of 5 stars

Sneak Peek: Ratatouille (9 mins)