Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides

Everyone knows sequels get worse the more there are of them, so this, the fourth of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, was rather a risk. Luckily, it was pretty good -- not even close to being as horrible as it had the potential to be.

For one thing, the tone of Pirates 4 is similar to the tone of the first film. Fun and lightheartedness is what the Pirates films are all about, and as gripping and funny as Pirates 2 and 3 are, they went off the deep end: they were so dark compared to the first one. We liked the first one because it was fun, light, and amusing. A lot of bad stuff happens to the characters in P2 and P3, but they could have included all that without making it so very sad. For instance, they killed off a lot of characters in P2 and P3 who didn’t actually need to be killed off -- it felt like they did it out of convenience, because they couldn’t figure out any other way to get them out of the storyline. If the writers had figured out a happier way to dispose of them, things wouldn’t have been so dark.

The filmmakers should be commended for leaving Elizabeth and Will out of it (not that Keira Knightley or Orlando Bloom would have returned, anyway). Their story was over, and I think that including them would only have made old problems and love triangles resurface. However, because they aren't in it, it's not as emotionally involving as P2 and P3. Ted and Terry's goal as screenwriters is to make the viewer feel the emotions they create through the story. This film didn’t do that as well as P2 and P3, even though in many ways it's a better-written screenplay. P4 does have its love story, of course, but it’s a cute romance rather than an epic romance. P4 makes you hope that the characters end up happy (you’re nearly positive they will), but P1-3 made you ache for the characters (things came a lot closer to not working out).

The execution of this movie was better than P2 and P3, though there are still some problems, such as excess characters: a big deal is made out of a Spanish explorer, but then he disappears for most of the story and becomes sort of a deus ex machina at the end. Also, there are zombies, and nobody in the story or in the theater seems to know why they’re there or where they came from. As a nitpicky pirate, I noticed one or two other things that were inconsistent with the previous films, but well, that’s something only I would notice.

The objective viewer rating: middling. Not Oscar-worthy, but it’s a good, fun summer blockbuster. 5 out of 10.
Pirate rating: Great. Lighthearted and populated with funny characters, both old and new. 7 out of 10 (with Pirates 1 being 10 out of 10).

The Tourist

The Tourist combines sexy actors with beautiful locations, up-to-date surveillance systems, speeding, and shooting. It's a fun movie -- rather like Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but with less character complexity.

Angelina Jolie wears rich, classic clothes that complement her beauty, sometimes emphasizing her lips and other times, her collarbones. She takes a train to Venice, picks up Johnny Depp's timid math teacher, and the takes him to stay with her in a luxurious hotel. Meanwhile, they are spied on by various London agents working with Interpol in an attempt to find Jolie's millionaire boyfriend (whom they believe is Depp).

Jolie is pleasing, though a little bland, as the femme fatale hopelessly in love with a criminal. Depp is charming as the math teacher and even manages to create character and distinction in his action scenes. Rather than stepping off his windowsill and stealthily running across the rooftops like a hero in any number of action films, Depp steps off his windowsill and runs across the rooftops as a math teacher would: with reluctance, with confusion, with humor, and with shy courage. Overall, there isn't much character development, especially since what the audience thinks it knows about the characters is overturned by a surprising twist near the end!

This film is fun because it is well-paced, exciting, and suspenseful. As a viewer, one probably won't care much about character development because it's not really expected in a Hollywood action flick. The Tourist should be seen in the right light, in the right environment: it's a fun caper, that is all.

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" is a the first installment of the Swedish mystery/thriller series based on the books by tieg Larsson . It's about a troubled hacker, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), and an investigative journalist framed for slander, Mikael Blomkvist (played by Michael Nyqvist) who together attempt to solve a 40-year-old murder mystery. "Girl" is an intense movie due to its subject matter as well at its pacing. There's not a moment that isn't either exciting or anxious. The plot, while engaging, is not especially original. One problem with this film is that a major plot point -- the graphic depiction of a tragic event -- is placed in an awkward point in the film's timeline; unfortunately, the placement of this horrific, heartrending scene makes it somewhat gratuitous.

"Girl"'s real strength lies in its characters, Lisbeth and Mikael. Mikael is a good journalist, a good detective, and a good man; he grows to care for Lisbeth, though she won't or can't receive and reciprocate the affection. Lisbeth is fascinating as the wronged badass looking for justice and revenge. It's not that nothing scares her, it's just that nothing is too violent or brutal to stop her from dealing out her brand of justice. Viewers will probably agree, however, that the rapists and murderers deserve her kind of justice.

(Note: This film isn't for everyone interested in mysteries -- it has a good deal of graphic, brutal sex and violence that will be disturbing to many viewers. Though most of this is justified, the most brutal scene may not be.)

"A Single Man"

"A Single Man" follows a literature professor (Colin Firth) through one day in his life, specifically, the day he decides to kill himself. Heartbroken and depressed, he comes to this decision a few months after his partner dies in a car crash and the partner’s family asks him not to come to the funeral. On this his last day, planning to shoot himself that night, he fully appreciates the beauty in the people he talks to, the things he sees, and the memories he relives. It is a study on the G. K. Chesterton quote, that “[t]he way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.”

One might expect the filming to resemble that of a simple drama like "Doubt," but the director, Tom Ford, plays with colors, lighting, and flashbacks. Tom Ford often takes close-ups of people or objects that make an impression on George during his day; he also lightens and brightens images like a Technicolor 50's movie. While somewhat distracting, these techniques are also playful and pleasing.

Firth offers a sophisticated, reserved performance as George, quite the opposite of Julianne Moore’s scatterbrained, middle-aged, falling-apart lonelyheart. Firth and Moore make their desperate characters believable and likeable -- both to the audience and to each other. It's fun to see them loosen up and dance after having a few friendly drinks. George can enjoy the fun, too: because he plans on ending his life in a few hours, he can resurface from his depression for a day to focus on and love everything in life.

Though "A Single Man" connects depression, heartbreak, loss, and suicide, it is ultimately a life-affirming film that touches the viewer without pushing him over with sentimentality.

You May Not Want to "Win a Date With Tad Hamilton"

The 2004 romantic comedy, "Win A Date With Tad Hamilton," promises more than your average fluff film, but doesn't deliver. In "Win a Date," Kate Bosworth plays Rosalee, a wholesome Midwestern girl who wins a date with her favorite movie star, Tad Hamilton. The two start to fall in love, much to the dismay of Rosalee’s best guy friend, Pete (Topher Grace), who also loves her. Through this premise, the writers suggest the themes of chastity, redemption, love, and the importance of high moral character -- without ever exploring any of them.

Pete repeatedly tells Rosalee to "guard [her] carnal treasure" while on the date with Tad. The filmmakers point out throughout the story that Rosalee makes out with Tad, but doesn't sleep with him. On their first date, she consents to go back to his place, but asks to be taken home when she finds out they're alone. In an earlier time, these attitudes and behaviors were expected, however, at a time when few people "guard their carnal treasure," or consider it as a "treasure" worth guarding, a strong theme of sexual restraint needs to be explained or at least discussed. Additionally, Tad claims that he wants to be with Rosalee because he's been living shallowly. He says that she knows what's important in life -- but the characters never expand on the what the important things in life are, or how to get them. This makes the film almost worse than your typical shallow rom-com just because it hints at something deeper without ever truly going there.

Besides recognizing there is value in virtue and virginity, this film also presents a realistic perspective on love. After only knowing her one or two weeks, Tad tells Rosalee that he loves her, but instead of running off with him, she tells him that that's impossible. "You can't love me," she says. "You hardly even know me." This is refreshing considering the amount of films that glorify the idea of falling in love and sometimes permanently committing to someone in just a few days' time -- "The Wedding Planner" and "Made of Honor" among them.

In addition to these flyby references to bigger themes, another issue with "Win A Date" is the fact that the main character makes few of her own decisions until the climax -- thus making much of the film unearned. Tad decides to date Rosalee, Tad decides to move to her hometown, Tad decides to ask her to stay with him on his shoot. The only real decisions she makes are the following: to be with Tad on set, and then later, not to be. Until this point, however, she mostly floats along in the current. Though Rosalee’s girlish excitement over a movie star is endearing, her conversations with her friend (played by Ginnifer Goodwin) are less so. The real humor lies in the interaction between the boys -- store-manager Pete and movie-star Tad. Jealous Pete first challenges Tad to a farmhand contest (and loses, lovably), then confronts him while he's on the toilet, telling him that if he breaks Rosalee's heart, Pete will rip Tad apart with his "bare hands -- or vicious rhetoric." The boys are much cleverer with each other than the girls are -- they are what make this film amusing. For a fluffy romantic comedy, "Win A Date" is mediocre. Just don't get your hopes up when a substantial topic actually comes up.

When God Writes Your Love Story, by Eric & Leslie Ludy

When God Writes Your Love Story is a book in the same vein as Boy Meets Girl, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, and Christian Courtship in an Oversexed World. As these others do, authors Eric and Leslie Ludy present the case for abstinence, prayerful marriage preparation, and deliberate, caring, dating. One aspect of this book, however, sets it apart from the rest -- it is the inclusion of the idea that young people ought to prepare for married life by living with one's family as one would with one's spouse. The authors offer helpful, specific suggestions on how to practice being selfless now so that one will be well-versed in selflessness once married -- they encourage women to respect and care for their fathers and brothers as they would their husbands, and they propose that men care for and learn about their sisters and mothers as if they were their wives.

Unfortunately, When God Writes Your Love Story shares an oversight with most other books in this genre: it is that they overlook ambitious young people and those who are happy with their temporary singlehood. This book & company always include a chapter telling the single person to keep his chin up, someone will come along soon -- but they never address one's love life in relation to a career, which gives the impression that these books are written only for those with no drive or clear path in life.

Though the authors' arguments are strong if not original, this book's real weakness lies in its writing. The Ludys are overly self-deprecating in their attempts at humor and humility. This becomes grating, as well as the fact that the authors lean too much on stereotypes to amuse the readers: their efforts are mostly based on the Mars-Venus assumption that while women are sensitive and angelic, their husbands are clueless, unhygienic brutes. Additionally, it's hard to take the book seriously because the writing itself is immature. It's far too excitable -- something that one could expect in a personal email, a blog post, or in a note taped to the refrigerator -- but hopefully not a published book.

Fall Forward, MSJC Faculty Dance Concert 2010

December introduced the San Jacinto Valley to MSJC's biennual faculty dance concert; the pieces featured MSJC students, but were choreographed by the modern, tap, ballet, hip hop, and jazz teachers. Though there were one or two outstanding numbers that showcased both originality and genuine talent, most were mediocre and familiar.

The sole hip hop piece, Her Side His Side, played it too safe. The dancers danced to two songs, "Bust Your Windows" and "She Bust My Windows," and while the choreography was athletic, it wasn't big or violent enough. Because of the theme, the audience expects something energetic and shocking, but the dance is largely unexplored: several girls carry crowbars on stage and then practically ignore their existence. This dance was a disappointment after the hip hop pieces of previous years that were choreographed by Selvana, a student.

Knock Boots, a funny number performed to several different songs about boots, worked surprising well with its inexperienced dancers. Two sections consisted of a lot of strutting and confrontational, sexualized moves: it was cliché and felt inconsistent. Then, there were moments of befuddlement when, rather than walking during the chorus of Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walking,” the women posed, swinging their legs over chairs. The piece's middle section, however, was very entertaining; several dancers performed short solos across the stage in different kinds of boots. In between each solo, three other dancers leapt across the stage with signs, while the chorus sung “B-O-O-T-S!” The men in this dance were large -- they could have been football players pressed into service. Their size and stage presence gave this piece a specific, original atmosphere, especially at the end when they flexed their biceps and strode about the stage in heavy boots, sunglasses, and tutus.

The best piece of the show -- Julie Freeman’s To Have and To Hold -- was clever, playful, and surprising. It began with dancers in white and lace shyly peeking from behind three motionless men in coattails. Later the dance grew and modernized as more performers ran out from the wings. Halfway through, one dancer answered his ringing phone while on stage and began talking to a friend. "Oh, I'm not doing anything, really," he said. "Can you hold on a second?" he asked, laying the phone on the floor so he could reach across the floor with both arms. Then he picked up the phone again and continued dancing and talking. Next, the rest of the performers fanned out, also talking on cell phones while changing their costumes and undershirts onstage. The use of cell phones was both satirical and as unexpected as each performer’s sudden, innocent strip show. If none of the other teachers show solid work, attending MSJC’s shows at least exposes people to the inspiring, delightful mind of Ms. Freeman.