PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES - Johnny Depp returns as Captain Jack Sparrow in this 4th installment of the highly successful Disney franchise. In this chapter, Jack is on a quest for the Fountain Of Youth. Several familiar faces return (Barbosa, Gibbs) but there are lots of new characters here to breathe some life into a franchise that was getting a little stale. Joining Jack on the search is an old girlfriend, played by Penelope Cruz...as well as the evil pirate Blackbeard (played wonderfully by the great Ian McShane.) After the 2nd and 3rd movies came out years ago the franchise was getting a little weird and hard to follow. But in STRANGER TIDES the reins are pulled in a bit and the story is more straightforward and easier to follow. I've always liked the PIRATES films. Not only are the characters fun, but the films always feel a little old fashioned to me. Sure there are CG effects in all the films, but you also get a lot of old fashioned "live action stunt work." It's always a refreshing change from all the effects-ridden films that come out all the time. STRANGER TIDES is a film that is a lot of fun and a big surprise. Jenny and I had no expectations for this one going in, yet we came out of it completely surprised. We really enjoyed it.
THOR - From the makers of "Iron Man" and "The Incredible Hulk" comes THOR. Chris Hemsworth plays the God of Thunder, a Norse god who is kicked out of Asgard by his father Odin. What would normally be your typical "fish out of water" tale is instead a very unique super hero movie that is surprisingly fun. When Thor is banished to Earth he must regain his honor before he can return to Asgard (the Norse version of Mt. Olympus.) Standing in his way is his wicked brother Loki, who has his own eyes on the throne. Thor befriends Jane Foster, played by Natalie Portman, and the two share some surprisingly effective chemistry together. When it comes to the silver screen Thor has got to be one of the more trickier super heroes that Marvel Studios has tackled. Not only is the hero kind of all around goofy, but a lot of the character's traits are based in actual Norse mythology. But despite all of the complexities THOR is a fun movie. Right from the beginning the filmakers throw you right into the story (even without a lot of explanation.) Where most super hero movies these days are pushing toward dark storylines aimed at adults THOR is refreshing change. I really enjoyed this one.
THE SOCIAL NETWORK - Directed by David Fincher this is the story of Mark Zuckerberg, and the founding of Facebook. Zuckerberg (played by Jesse Eisenberg) starts out as a computer guru while attending Harvard. Then after creating an inter-university social network the path to national fame begins as the online format gains popularity nationwide. While the overall story here is interesting the film was hard to watch at times. Every character on screen is rather annoying and unlikeable. Sure, that's probably how these people are in real life...but that doesn't mean I want to follow them for 2 hours. Anyway, I'm a big David Fincher fan, and his mastery is at work here. But overall my problems with this film are with the story itself, and not so much the movie version of the events. I would say this was just okay.
SOURCE CODE - Jake Gyllenhaal plays Colter, a soldier who is transported into the memories of a dead man who died on an exploding train. Colter only has 8 minutes to look in the past and find the person who detonated the train before he strikes again. This film is all over the place, and kind of tricky to follow. But the story keeps you guessing and it's kind of fun. This film reminded me of a Philip K. Dick novel. A sci-fi story that's set in the real world and is just flat out trippy. This was pretty good from start to finish.
THE SHIELD: SEASON 4 - Jenny and I really enjoy watching this series. With each passing season the storylines and plot lines get better and more interesting. The result is a show that is gritty and filled with high drama. Great series. Highly recommended.
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