05-06-2019, 06:27 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-06-2019, 06:28 AM by TM2YC. Edited 1 time in total.)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales aka Salazar's Revenge (2017)
I've seen the other four films and this was on Netflix, so I'll give it a go I guess? It's more of the same convoluted plotting, too many characters and endless exposition about ancient curses and pirate codes. The running thread about the new female hero being branded a "witch" because she can navigate by the stars... in a film about sailors... was nonsensical even for this franchise. The score is still fantastic (Geoff Zanelli reworking Hans Zimmer's themes) and the flashback to a young de-aged Jack was a highlight. The ending which resolves a plot element from earlier films genuinely had the feels.
Howard the Duck (1986)
I haven't seen this George Lucas film since my parents rented the VHS when I was a kid... infact I haven't seen it because they switched it off when it got too gross and scary. I remember the last scene I saw and it turns out I'd seen 3 quarters of the film, so no wonder I got upset
. The new blu-ray transfer on the 101-Films label looks and sound amazing but the movie wasn't worth the wait. 'Howard the Duck' isn't bad it's just one of those misfires that is somehow simultaneously under-cooked and over-cooked. It can't decide if it's a silly action-comedy, or a more serious emotional drama and can't decide if Howard is a genuine hero, or a comedic coward. The tone is also all over the place, ostensibly a family adventure but one that has David Cronenberg style body-horror elements, numerous references to duck-on-human intercourse and shots of prosthetic duck tits in the opening prologue. There is no character development and barely a plot. Thomas Dolby's horrifically dated sub-Prince songs are cringe inducing and John Barry's score is almost too good. Scoring a scene with heroically gorgeous music works against the picture when the scene is not heroic and is just faintly embarrassing. "Embarrassing" is a word that sums it all up but given all the talent involved, that's what makes it a fascinating watch.
I've seen the other four films and this was on Netflix, so I'll give it a go I guess? It's more of the same convoluted plotting, too many characters and endless exposition about ancient curses and pirate codes. The running thread about the new female hero being branded a "witch" because she can navigate by the stars... in a film about sailors... was nonsensical even for this franchise. The score is still fantastic (Geoff Zanelli reworking Hans Zimmer's themes) and the flashback to a young de-aged Jack was a highlight. The ending which resolves a plot element from earlier films genuinely had the feels.
Howard the Duck (1986)
I haven't seen this George Lucas film since my parents rented the VHS when I was a kid... infact I haven't seen it because they switched it off when it got too gross and scary. I remember the last scene I saw and it turns out I'd seen 3 quarters of the film, so no wonder I got upset
. The new blu-ray transfer on the 101-Films label looks and sound amazing but the movie wasn't worth the wait. 'Howard the Duck' isn't bad it's just one of those misfires that is somehow simultaneously under-cooked and over-cooked. It can't decide if it's a silly action-comedy, or a more serious emotional drama and can't decide if Howard is a genuine hero, or a comedic coward. The tone is also all over the place, ostensibly a family adventure but one that has David Cronenberg style body-horror elements, numerous references to duck-on-human intercourse and shots of prosthetic duck tits in the opening prologue. There is no character development and barely a plot. Thomas Dolby's horrifically dated sub-Prince songs are cringe inducing and John Barry's score is almost too good. Scoring a scene with heroically gorgeous music works against the picture when the scene is not heroic and is just faintly embarrassing. "Embarrassing" is a word that sums it all up but given all the talent involved, that's what makes it a fascinating watch.![[+]](https://forums.fanedit.org/images/focus/collapse_collapsed.png)