Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 American adventure fantasy film based on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney theme parks. It was directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. The story follows blacksmith Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) as they rescue the kidnapped Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) from the cursed crew of the Black Pearl, captained by Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush).

Jay Wolpert developed a script based on the theme park ride in 2001, and Stuart Beattie rewrote it in early 2002. Around that time, producer Jerry Bruckheimer became involved in the project; he had Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio work on the script, adding the supernatural curse to the storyline. Filming took place from October 2002 to March 2003 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and on sets constructed around Los Angeles, California.

The world premiere was held at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, on June 28, 2003. The Curse of the Black Pearl was an unexpected success, with positive reviews and grossing over $653 million worldwide. The film became the first in a series, with two back-to-back sequels, Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, released in 2006 and 2007. A spinoff/sequel to the trilogy, On Stranger Tides, was released in 2011. The original film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Depp.

As Governor Weatherby Swann (Jonathan Pryce), his 12-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, and Lieutenant James Norrington (Jack Davenport) sail to Port Royal, Jamaica, their vessel encounters a shipwreck with a sole survivor, the young Will Turner (played as an adult by Orlando Bloom). Elizabeth hides a gold medallion that the unconscious Will is wearing, fearing it will identify him as a pirate. She glimpses a ghostly pirate ship, later identified as the Black Pearl.

Eight years later, Captain James Norrington of the Royal Navy is promoted to Commodore. He proposes to Elizabeth (Keira Knightley). Before she can answer, her over-tightened corset causes her to faint and fall into the bay. When the medallion she is wearing touches the seafloor, it emits a pulse.

Pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) arrives in Port Royal to commandeer a ship. He rescues Elizabeth, but Norrington recognizes Jack as a pirate and arrests him. Jack briefly takes Elizabeth hostage in order to escape and ducks into a blacksmith's shop, encountering Will Turner, now a blacksmith's apprentice. After a sword duel between the two, Jack is knocked unconscious and jailed, to be hanged the next day. That night Port Royal is besieged by the Pearl, answering the medallion's pulse. Elizabeth is captured and invokes parley. She negotiates for the pirates to stop attacking Port Royal in exchange for the medallion and falsely tells captain Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) that her surname is Turner. Barbossa agrees but keeps Elizabeth prisoner, believing she is the key to breaking a curse they are under.

Will, who loves Elizabeth, suggests that they make a deal with Jack Sparrow to lead them to the Black Pearl, but Norrington refuses. Will then persuades Jack to help him rescue her in exchange for Jack's freedom. Jack agrees after learning Will's surname is Turner, believing he can use Will to reclaim the Pearl. Will and Jack commandeer the HMS Interceptor and recruit a crew in Tortuga with help from Jack's old friend, Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin McNally). They set sail for Isla de Muerta, as Jack knows the pirates will go there to break the curse.

Will learns Jack was once captain of the Pearl, questing for Aztec gold, when Barbossa, Jack's first mate at the time, mutinied and marooned him on an island. Following the Pirate Code, Barbossa gave Jack a pistol with a single shot, intended for suicide. Jack escaped three days later and kept the pistol for ten years; saving the bullet to kill Barbossa. The pirates spent the treasure but learned it was cursed, turning them into immortal skeletal beings whose true forms are revealed in moonlight. The curse can be lifted if the coins and each pirate's blood is returned to the chest. William "Bootstrap Bill" Turner, Jack's only supporter, sent a coin to his son, Will, believing the crew should remain cursed. Barbossa had Bootstrap tied to a cannon and thrown overboard, only later to learn his blood was needed to break the curse.

At Isla de Muerta, Barbossa, believing Elizabeth is Bootstrap's child, anoints the last coin with her blood and drops it into the chest; the curse remains unbroken. After reaching the island, Will suspects Jack may betray him and knocks him out. He rescues Elizabeth and they escape to the Interceptor leaving Jack behind. Jack barters with Barbossa, offering Bootstrap Bill's child in exchange for the Pearl, but Barbossa rejects his offer and pursues the Interceptor. Barbossa's crew sinks the Interceptor and imprisons the crew. Will reveals he is Bootstrap Bill's son and demands that Elizabeth and the crew be freed, or he will shoot himself and fall overboard, foiling Barbossa's plan to break the curse. Barbossa agrees but applies another loophole, marooning Elizabeth and Jack on the island Jack was on ten years earlier. Will is taken to Isla de Muerta, to be killed to break the curse. Elizabeth discovers how Jack escaped: the island was used as a cache by rum runners and Jack managed to barter passage off.

Elizabeth burns the cache of rum to create a signal fire that Norrington's ship spots. She convinces Norrington to rescue Will by accepting his marriage proposal. Returning to Isla de Muerta, Norrington sets an ambush while Jack persuades Barbossa to form an alliance. He tells him to delay breaking the curse until they have taken Norrington's ship, the Dauntless. Jack's plan goes awry when Barbossa orders his crew to infiltrate the Dauntless from underwater. Elizabeth infiltrates the Pearl and frees Jack's crew. They leave with the Pearl while Elizabeth heads to the island and saves Will while Jack battles Barbossa.

Norrington spots his ship under attack and orders his men to return. They make it to the ship and engage the cursed pirates. Meanwhile, when Barbossa attempts to kill Elizabeth, Jack shoots Barbossa as Will drops the last two medallions, stained with his blood, into the chest. No longer immortal, Barbossa collapses and dies. The now-mortal pirates aboard the Dauntless surrender.

At Port Royal, Will attempts to rescue Jack from hanging. Both are captured. Jack jumps into the ocean and swims to the newly-repaired Black Pearl. Will is pardoned and allowed to marry Elizabeth. The crew rescues Jack, appointing him captain. The film ends with Jack looking at his compass while singing "A Pirate's Life for Me".

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Bad Boys 2

The original Bad Boys was the first collaboration between producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay, and it was the start of a successful run of mindless action films. These include The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor (their failed attempt to emulate the success of Titanic), and now, Bad Boys II. While Bruckheimer has had varied levels of respectability, Bay has always been a symbol for critically hated action films with lots of explosions and no substance. He doesn’t disappoint in this latest trek, but he is getting a little more disturbing.

Narcotics detectives Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) are still partners after all these years, but that may soon end. Mike has been seeing Marcus’ sister, Syd (Gabrielle Union), without Marcus’ knowledge. Marcus has put in for a transfer in the department because he doesn’t want to be around all the action Mike generates anymore, and he wants to spend more time with his wife Theresa (Theresa Randle) and kids. Mike does not know of this action yet. Both partners are looking for the right time to tell the other about their secrets. In the meantime, they are working on stopping the flow of ecstasy into Miami. Their boss, Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano), is becoming increasingly upset with them for failing to do so. At the beginning of the movie, they invade a Ku Klux Klan rally. Based on a tip from an informant named Icepick (Treva Etienne) and working with the Tactical Narcotics Team and its leader (Henry Rollins), they only manage to dig up two bags of the drug, despite shooting and killing a bunch of bad guys (and injuring Marcus’ posterior in the process.) They do discover the involvement of a local drug lord named Johnny Tapia (Jordi Mollà), who wants to control the whole drug trade while working with local dealers and club owners, such as Alexei (Peter Stormare.) He has been smuggling drugs and laundered money in the caskets and dead bodies of the clients in the funeral home he owns. The police have tried several times in the past to bust Tapia, but he keeps getting away and suing the department for false arrest. It’s during their investigation of Tapia that they discover that Syd is actually an undercover DEA agent who is pretending to be Tapia’s money launderer and girlfriend. When her cover is blown, Tapia kidnaps Syd and takes her to Cuba. Mike and Marcus must then put aside their differences to rescue Syd.

First off, I want to let you know…this movie is two and a half hours long! It is longer than this summer’s The Hulk and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Does that mean they take the time to flesh out the characters even more than they did in the first movie and give it some substance between action scenes? Ummm…you did see me mention that this is a Michael Bay movie…right? No, the time is spent adding more car chases, shootouts, and the R-rated versions of sitcomy comic relief. Now, before you start thinking I’m bashing the film, I’m not. I expected all of this to happen! It’s like a familiar brand label. When you go into a Bay movie, expect a lot of shooting and explosions.

One aspect of the gunplay did rather throw me for a loop though. In the past, Bay films had shootouts where people were shot and killed generically. In this film, the deaths are actually quite graphic. It almost resembled a serial killer horror movie in its explicitness. Also, the scene where Marcus gets his butt grazed by a bullet was done in that slow-motion Matrix style. Enough of this already! If you are not a science fiction movie, there is no need to see a slow-motion bullet!

With all my whining and moaning, you may be wondering why I am giving Bad Boys II a relatively high rating. It is because it was entertaining. I wasn’t expecting to do a lot of thinking while watching it, and in its slightly too long running time, it never dragged. The pointless comedic moments weren’t original, but they were funny nonetheless. Oh…and finally, someone has acknowledged that no one knows the words to the verses of Inner Circle’s “Bad Boys,” only the chorus (they attempt to sing it twice in the movie.) Would I call for a Bad Boys III? I wouldn’t say I’d be waiting for it on my hands and knees, but I would certainly give it a try.

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14 Blades

Remember the HK martial arts films from the early 90s? Well, they're back. The first time I picked up some really obvious signs was when watching Tracing Shadows, but with 14 Blades I think the verdict is definitive. The year 1993 is here again and has returned with a vengeance.

For me personally, '93 is the glory year of Hong Kong martial arts cinema. Titles as Iron Monkey, Green Snake, Fong Sai-Yuk and Tai-Chi Master all belong to my absolute favorites in the genre. 14 Blades revives plenty of that former glory, mixing it with more recent period piece styling. Watching 14 Blades, it's easy to recognize influences from Lee's previous film Three Kingdoms just as much as from the classics.

14 Blades also reinforces (once again) the comeback of Donnie Yen. It's funny how he slipped from the scene just when it started to collapse down on itself, only to return when the HK industry was starting to pick up its pieces. This last year has been a blast for Yen, with major roles in Ip Man, Bodyguards and Assassins and now 14 Blades, each film displaying another aspect of his action hero talents.

The story behind 14 Blades is a pretty simple one. Yen is the leader of an elite group of government agents. He is framed during one of his missions and barely manages to escape. He sets out again to finish his mission and to uncover the conspiracy against him. Most of the storytelling is done during the first half of the film, after that there is little time for such silly stories, as the action and acrobatics take center stage.

Visually 14 Blades is a true marvel. Using modern camera techniques and smart yet modest use of computer power, Lee recreates the appeal of the 90s HK movies. This means lots of monochrome shots, agile and creative camera work during the actions scenes and a good dose of smoke to make it all the more mysterious. Classic settings like desert towns, inns and forests all pass the screen, making fans feel right at home.

The soundtrack is pretty unremarkable though. Usually not a big asset in these type of films anyway, so it's not really a big issue. It doesn't irritate, which is just about all I expect from it. Sound effects on the other hand feel stronger and carry a lot of punch, making the fights that more powerful. Acting is pretty solid too, with Yen as an impressive stoic force and Zhao being her typical self.

The second part of the film is mostly spent on action scenes and some quick plot progression. Which is a good thing really, as the main story leaves little room for much elaboration and the action choreography was just too good to let it go to waste. The build-up towards the final fight is pretty much perfect, with some solid and quick matches between several side characters and the main villain, a snake-like woman displaying incredible fighting powers. The finale doesn't disappoint either, delivering a truly epic battle which is already a classic if you ask me.

It's good to see this kind of fast-paced martial arts cinema being revived. I didn't mind the more gracious kind of the past 10 years either, but it did lack some of the more macho elements of fighting action. Yen is perfect in his role, the choreography is splendid and creative. Add some neat visuals and the results is a perfect update of the martial arts genre, making me look forward to the next film of this caliber.

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Kung Fu Hip Hop 2

The storyline was simple but the main focus of this movie was the dancing, there was actually quite a lot of scene of dancing involved here, the kind of dance mainly involved were hip hop and breaking.

In this movie WangZi is called WangZi using his stage name, I guess since it’s his first movie shown in China they wanted people to know him and recognise him. In here WangZi played a role of a genius choreographer in a crew name Encore. He then left the crew because he needed money to cure his mother’s illness so he signed a contract with Mr. Ye who I think some kind of artist agent. Then this dance competition was held, Mr. Ye told WangZi if he able to make the crew win then all the prize money would go to him unfortunately his girlfriend found out the truth that the money will all be split. She told LeTian and LeTian decided to win the competition for WangZi so that he can use the money to cure his mother.

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Alangkah Lucunya (Negeri Ini) (2010)

Alangkah Lucunya (Negeri Ini) (2010)

Directed by Deddy Mizwar Produced by Zairin Zain Written by Musfar Yasin Starring Reza Rahadian, Tika Bravani, Deddy Mizwar, Slamet Rahardjo, Tio Pakusadewo, Jaja Mihardja, Asrul Dahlan, Rinna Hasyim, Teuku Edwin, Sonia, Robby Tumewu, Sakurta Ginting, Boy, Angga Music by Ian Antono Cinematography Yudi Datau Editing by Tito Kurnianto, Enjah, Hanif Ridlo Studio Citra Sinema  Running time 100 minutes Country Indonesia Language Indonesian

Alangkah Lucunya (Negeri Ini) adalah sebuah film komedi satir yang disutradarai oleh Deddy Mizwar. Film ini sendiri merupakan film pertama Deddy setelah sukses mengarahkan sekuel Naga Bonar, Naga Bonar (Jadi) 2, pada tahun 2007 lalu. Dengan naskah yang ditulis oleh Musfar Yasin (Ketika, Kiamat Sudah Dekat), film ini menampilkan permainan akting dari beberapa pemenang Piala Citra seperti Deddy Mizwar, Slamet Rahardjo, Tio Pakusadewo dan Reza Rahadian.

Sarat dengan kritikan moral dan sosial, Alangkah Lucunya (Negeri Ini) mengisahkan mengenai Muluk (Reza Rahadian), seorang pemuda yang setelah dua tahun diwisuda menjadi seorang sarjana, masih belum menemukan pekerjaan yang tepat untuknya. Untungnya, ia tak pernah patah semangat. Ia selalu mendapat dukungan dari sang ayah, Pak Makbul (Deddy Mizwar), serta sang kekasih, Rahma (Sonia).

Suatu ketika, Muluk berkenalan dengan Komet (Angga), seorang pencopet cilik yang dijumpainya di pasar. Oleh Komet, Muluk kemudian dikenalkan dengan Jarot (Tio Pakusadewo), pimpinan dari sekelompok pencopet anak-anak yang seringkali beraksi di masyarakat. Atas pertemuan ini, Muluk kemudian menawarkan sebuah kerjasama pada Jarot. Ia akan melakukan sistem manajemen terhadap setiap penghasilan yang didapat dari setiap pencopet di setiap harinya. Muluk beralasan, dengan cara ini, maka sedikit demi sedikit, uang tersebut akan terkumpul dan para pencopet cilik tersebut nantinya dapat membuka sebuah usaha dan tak perlu lagi mencopet. Dengan mengenakan biaya 10% dari hasil setiap mencopet akan diberikan pada Muluk, Jarot pun setuju menjalani kerjasama tersebut.

Walau mendapat tentangan dari beberapa orang pada awalnya, hubungan Muluk dengan para pencopet cilik tersebut bertambah justru lama-kelamaan malah bertambah dekat. Tidak hanya menjadi manajer uang yang keluar masuk, Muluk kemudian mengajak dua orang temannya, Pipit (Ratu Tika Bravani) dan Samsul (Asrul Dahlan), untuk mengajarkan anak-anak tersebut ilmu kewarganegaraan serta ilmu agama. Hasilnya, kini anak-anak pencopet tersebut telah menjadi orang yang “berpendidikan”, baik secara sosial maupun relijius. Namun, apakah pendidikan mampu membuat mereka untuk berhenti dari mencopet?

Berbagai pertanyaan serta kritik moral dan sosial yang terjalin di sepanjang jalan cerita film ini, tentu saja merupakan sebuah tamparan keras pada mereka orang-orang yang mengaku berpendidikan dan memiliki nilai moral tinggi, namun dengan tega merampas hak-hak rakyat yang seharusnya mereka berikan. Seperti halnya di Naga Bonar (Jadi) 2, segala tema yang mungkin bagi sebagian kalangan, khususnya kaum muda, akan dirasakan terlalu berat dan terkesan menggurui, mampu disampaikan Deddy Mizwar dengan jalan yang lancar, komikal dan dipenuhi anekdot-anekdot politis yang pas ukurannya. Hasilnya, tanpa disadari oleh setiap penontonnya, berbagai pendidikan moral nan relijius mengalir lancar dalam 100 menit masa penayangan film ini.

Naskah cerita yang telah terjalin kuat, ternyata mampu mendapatkan sokongan yang sangat baik dari akting para pemeran film ini. Sebagian aktor yang berperan di dalam film ini, harus diakui, memang para aktor yang telah memiliki jam terbang akting kelas tinggi, seperti Deddy Mizwar, Slamet Rahardjo, Tio Pakusadewo, Jaja Mihardja, hingga aktris Rina Hasyim yang mendapat bagian peran pendukung di film ini. Tak heran, departemen akting dari film Alangkah Lucunya (Negeri Ini) bukanlah sebuah hal yang dapat dipermasalahkan.

Bahkan permainan para aktor dan aktris senior itupun, mampu ditandingi oleh akting para aktor dan aktris muda yang berada di posisi sebagai pemeran utama di film ini. Reza Rahadian — yang baru memenangkan Piala Citra untuk aktingnya di film Emak Ingin Naik Haji — kembali membuktikan bahwa kemampuan aktingnya semakin terpoles dengan sangat baik selepas hijrahnya ia dari layar televisi ke layar lebar. Penampilan Reza yang sederhana mampu menghidupkan dan sesuai dengan karakter Muluk yang ia perankan. Penampilan Reza juga seringkali mendapatkan sokongan akting yang pas dari dua pemeran sahabatnya, Pipit (Ratu Tika Bravani) dan Samsul (Asrul Dahlan). Yang tak kalah memukaunya tentu saja pemeran dari pasukan copet cilik yang berisi sekelompok aktor berusia muda. Penampilan mereka, dipimpin oleh Angga sebagai Komet dan Boy sebagai Glen, yang seringkali memberikan unsur hiburan di sepanjang film ini.

Beberapa bagian cerita di film ini, seperti kisah mengenai Jupri (Teuku Edwin), mungkin dimasukkan hanya sebagai bagian penghibur semata. Walau begitu, tetap saja, beberapa kali diantaranya sangat terasa bahwa beberapa adegan tersebut membuang-buang waktu dan tidak relevan dengan garis jalan cerita utama yang ada. Belum sampai pada level mengganggu harmonisnya jalan cerita yang sudah ada, namun kisah-kisah sampingan tersebut hadir tetapi seperti kurang mendapatkan penggalian cerita dan karakter yang tepat.

Menyaksikan Alangkah Lucunya (Negeri Ini) mungkin akan mengingatkan beberapa orang pada kekhasan kisah cerita Naga Bonar (Jadi) 2 yang sama-sama bermuatan cerita nasionalis dan sedikit relijius. Namun, Alangkah Lucunya (Negeri Ini) mampu ditampilkan secara lebih ringan dan lebih mengena kepada para penontonnya. Dengan dukungan barisan jajaran pemeran yang sangat kuat, naskah cerita yang tampil sederhana dan tidak berlebihan, serta dukungan teknis berupa tata suara dan sinematografi yang seringkali mengisi masuk ke dalam jalan cerita yang disampaikan, Alangkah Lucunya (Negeri Ini) mungkin akan menjadi suatu fenomena tersendiri di industri film Indonesia dimana film ini mampu berbicara secara kualitas serta dengan mudah akan disukai para penontonnya.

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