Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Like the majority of the movies I watch, I didn't watch the newest installment of Pirates all in one sitting. It's a long one, and I watch movies at night usually, and turn them off to sleep. Anyways, the point is, is that this is the first movie in awhile that I seriously considered not finishing. Lucky for you (?) I didn't have much else to watch, so I did finish it, and here's my review!

Starring Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruze, on this episode of Pirates of the Caribbean everyone is looking for the fountain of youth. And that's about it. The first hour is full of silly fights and typical adventure music, but nothing much happens. To be honest here, I can't remember if I've seen all the Pirates movies (though I do remember seeing one at the theatre - maybe Dead Man's Chest?), I couldn't even tell you how many there are, but the first hour felt like all the past ones. Johnny Depp being tricky and silly, people chasing after him, etc. etc. My general thought was "This is lame". Luckily, Penelope has an enchanting accent, and like I said before, I had nothing else to watch.

The second half was moderately better, the mermaid thing was pretty cool and the missionary was cute, and ok, blackbeard was kind of cool too, but this movie just felt really half-assed plot-wise. Everything was overacted and over done. It sounds like Johnny's going to keep making these movies as long as the money is there, but the franchise has gone stale if this movie is any indication for the movies to follow.

X-Men: First Class

So we finally find out Magneto and Professor X's back story. I liked this movie, I would go as far to say that I really liked it. The history fan in me loved how real life events fit around the plot. For example, Magneto was Polish, and in a concentration camp during WWII. This aspect is carried through the movie, and why he has no sympathy for "men who are following orders". Later on, with the Cuban Missile Crisis, mutants are responsible for it starting it, and for resolving it. (Wouldn't it be cool if that was the truth?) Anyways, my review here is a little jumbled, I should have more of a plot, I'll find a synopsis from somewhere, hold on...

IMDB says: In 1962, the United States government enlists the help of Mutants with superhuman abilities to stop a malicious dictator who is determined to start world war III.

That doesn't really say all I want you to know about it though. Let's try Rotten Tomatoes: X-Men: First Class unveils the epic beginning of the X-Men saga - and a secret history of the Cold War and our world at the brink of nuclear Armageddon. As the first class discovers, harnesses, and comes to terms with their formidable powers, alliances are formed that will shape the eternal war between the heroes and villains of the X-Men universe.

Between the two, I guess that'll do. I would like to add that this dictator/ nuclear Armageddon thing is a guy named Shaw, played by Kevin Bacon. Shaw is a mutant, I won't reveal his power, it's pretty cool though. Shaw just also happens to be the guy that killed Magneto's mom in the camp. I have some issue with the fact that both the government and Magneto have the same enemy, it seems like a lazy effort to keep the plot neat and tidy. And as much as I like Kevin Bacon, he just didn't seem right for the role. On that note, I will talk about the acting...

James McAvoy, I am generally a fan of, I loved him in Atonement and Wanted, but wasn't really fussy on him in this one. His character (Professor X) isn't that likeable, and the touching the temple thing to use his power comes off weird. Michael Fassbender plays Magneto/Erik, he was Lt. Hicox in Inglourious Basterds, but to be honest, I didn't give his character much thought, he was kind of a tool, and didn't last long. But oh sweet Jesus was he good in First Class, he is my new celebrity crush, that accent, those eyes, the strong chin, the intense gaze, the subtle smile, swoon. Delicious. His acting was good too. Jennifer Lawrence was Mystique, she seems like a solid actress in what I've seen her in. January Jones was pretty frigid and didn't add much. And I'm always happy to see Oliver Platt.

In regards to comparing this one to the other X-Men Movies, I've seen them, but it was a long time ago, so I don't really remember anything. I will mention though that I thought the naming of the mutants was kind of trivial, Raven just kind of decides on "Magneto", "Professor X", and "Mystique" without any deep meaning, and the cameos by Hugh "Wolverine" Jackman and Rebecca "Mystique" Romijn were kind of gimmicky.

All in all, this was a great superhero movie, I liked how the historical events were weaved in, I liked the mutants finding each other and harnessing their powers, I liked Magneto's beautiful, beautiful face.

The Romantics

College friends come together when two of their own are getting married, but the groom may still have a thing for a past love ...I'm kind of impressed that I summarized this movie so easily, I guess that speaks to how complicated this movie was. Starring Josh Duhamel, Katie Holmes, Anna Paquin, Adam Brody, and Murphy Brown.

I bought this movie pretty much just because Anna Paquin was in it. My guy really likes her in True Blood, so I figured her presence in this movie would be enough to make him want to watch it. It wasn't. I watched it alone, which I am actually happy about. We don't watch many movies together, and it would have been disappointing to waste the rare one on this silly movie.

After watching, I read a couple reviews, because whenever I think a movie is kind of bad I like to get some back-up. I always think "maybe I missed something, or just didn't get it". I found out that this movie was based on a book, and considering what the reviewer said about the book and how the movie was lacking, I could definitely see how this story could be a good book, but I'm sure a lot was lost in translation. This movie doesn't say much, it doesn't go anywhere, and nothing is solved. I don't know enough about the characters to care much about them, and they act in ways that I would prefer them not to. Plus is has that indie movie feel where some shots are a little fuzzy, and the camera pans instead of moving to the next shot, etc. The music, when there was some, was good though.