Saturday, May 28, 2011

Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

This summer is the summer of the repetitive sequel.

“Fast Five” led the way with other sequels such as “The Hangover Part II,” “Cars 2,” “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” “Kung Fu Panda 2” and new chapters in previously established series’ like “X-Men: First Class” and “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.”

The film leading the way in that regard is “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.”

Much like with the “Star Wars” saga, the fourth movie is the start of a new saga that holds over some of the same characters but the overall general idea of the movie remains the same.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Review: The Hangover Part II

Any handyman will tell you, if it’s not broke then you don’t fix it.

And thus, we get “The Hangover Part II.”

Courtesy of Legendary
Pictures
While some have lambasted the film for being a copycat of the first in just a different location (right down to the “Wolfpack” being attacked by an Asian man), I argue that’s exactly what audiences wanted and Director Todd Phillips gave them.

This is a sequel that was done right.  The film brought back the three man stars (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis) with Phillips returning to direct.

After all, aren’t most sequels just re-hashes of the original with slight changes?