On Stranger Tides

The pirates are back with another sequel: The Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides. Arckham and I had the pleasure of catching it the day it was released in the Philippines.

So let's look at this movie in three parts: Characters, Setting and Plot.

Characters: I do presume Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) would no longer need any introduction. Our dear captain is back as Savvy as ever. Together with him in this movie is Penelope Cruz who plays Angelica, one of the people he had "stirrings" [apparently, according to Jack it means feelings] for. Angelica is the new female focal of the movie. Sad to say though that she fades into the background almost immediately and you rarely feel her presence throughout the movie. Yes, she made me miss Keira Knightly. The Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush) and Sparrow moments are still there which is a comfort to know. Baddy of the movie would be Blackbeard played by Ian McShane who does a pretty decent job at that.

Setting: As usual with this series, the setting is amazing. The islands, the props and the costume are still top of the line. The English wigs and the Spanish Armada costumes were superb. The mermaid CG was definitely commendable. The tails and transformations were seamless. Good job on this one.

Plot: Over all, it was predictable, nearly not as funny as the previous movies in this series and the Angelica-Blackbeard relationship was really weak.

The verdict is watch it but at the comfort of your own home when you have the time. There is no need to rush or save up for this one.

Caught in a Tangle

It's been awhile. Well, not to worry, we are definitely back and we're back in the internet tangle. That's right I'm here to review Disney's 50th Animated Feature:

We caught this for our Valentines movie treat. [Yes, apparently we also do the couple things.] Yes, we watched it in both 3D and the regular cinema.

PLOT:
It's a more up to date take on the story Rapunzel. It starts out with how Rapunzel comes to be and why she's stuck in a tower. The plot progresses to a coming of age theme, where Rapunzel meets a thief,  Flynn, and they run through the forest into a Kingdom where unbeknown to Rapunzel is her true home. It's quite a fun chase, especially with Maximus, the incredibly smart horse, the different hoodlums who have dreams, and Rapunzel's greedy stepmother, Gothel.

PRODUCTION:
Well, Tangled is the most expensive animate film ever made with a budget of $260 Million and is the 2nd overall most expensive movie made up to date. I can say that it was a very well made investment. CGI comes out smooth even on 3D. Despite the limited settings of the movie, each one was well rendered and as with Disney animated films, details are superb. Slow motion, and Zoom Ins are very well timed which augmented the over all effect.

COMMENTS: 
I personally think that what really great is not just the story but the characters. Arckham and I agree on this, mainly due to Maximus. Now, that is a horse. The different characters are very well developed. The interaction between them is very intricate and well planned. The facial expression are exquisite and the characters are very much down to earth, hence easier to relate to.

With a story this old, known by young and old, it's hard to pull off being the second highest grossing animated film worldwide, but we give our Kudos to Disney for a well done film. *pat pat pat*

THE VERDICT: Watch it in 3D, buy the DVD and BluRay.