Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Rob Marshall brings a little "Penzance" to "Pirates"

In what could typically be called "Captain Jack and the Last Crusade", we say goodbye to Will and Elizabeth Turner and hello to a more expensive look, drearier set pieces, and a more puzzling plot line. But, one benefit of the Pirates films is that no matter how twisted the story may be, and no matter how questionable things may get, everything seems to fall into place. The franchise has always had a firm rooting in faith and spirituality, and things seemingly happening for a reason, which the hint of a moral compass always guiding the way, so... in that aspect, the film gives itself room to take outlandish turns, so lang as everything fits. On Stranger Tides is certainly no exception to this rule, but At World's End had that market cornered. 

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The King's Speech

G-g-got any k-k-k-kings?

It's the type of film we've all seen before - the "high brow British drama", the man who overcomes adversity, the "buddy" movie, etc. The thing that separates The King's Speech from, say... The Queen, or The Deal, or any Stephen Frears pic, is that this film has no pretense. That isn't to say that a certain amount of pretense is a bad thing (I quite enjoy The Queen and The Deal, and most Stephen Frears pictures), but it's to say that this film most certainly knows where its boundaries are, and there isn't a need to ever cross the lines to make a "movie" out of it. It's a storyteller's film - it's a true story. 

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