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Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Review

Weak

Subtitled Salazar's Revenge in the UK, this fifth film in the long-running series never quite gets its sea legs. With a waterlogged script and a startlingly murky production design, this is the first movie in the franchise that lacks a sense of swashbuckling merriment. It's lively enough to keep the audience watching, but it never quite makes any sense because any sensible details are lost amid the chaotic action sequences.

It opens with Henry (Brenton Thwaites), son of franchise veterans Will and Elizabeth (Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley in cameos), who is on a quest to free his father from his watery imprisonment. For this he needs Poseidon's trident, which only Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) can find with his magical compass. Except that Jack has swapped the compass to buy some whiskey. Then Will meets the feisty Carina (Kaya Scodelario), who's star-reading skills will come in handy. But the vengeful Salazar (Javier Bardem) is also after the compass and the trident, hoping to reverse his own ghostly curse. And as things heat up, Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) dives into the pursuit as well.

What follows is a series of set-pieces in which these various factions scuffle for control of people and artefacts that can lead them in their quests for power. They all talk incessantly about the elaborately complex mythology, but it never makes any sense why each person knows only fragments of the lore. And it's also not easy to hear what they're shouting amid the general chaos of yet another epically choreographed fight scene. Thankfully, the actors are hammy enough to stand out from the sea of digital effects that fill the screen.

Continue reading: Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Review

Pirates Of The Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Salazar's Revenge) - Featurette and Trailer


It seems Captain Jack Sparrow has been sailing the seas as a pirate for many, many years, and in that time he's made a lot of enemies. As a young trouble-maker, he damned a pirate-hating adversary and his crew to a seabound immortality - and now Captain Salazar has returned to exact his revenge. Panic is afoot when it becomes clear that Captain Salazar has escaped his eternal torment at the bottom of the Devil's Triangle, and as much as Jack loves an adventure almost as much as he loves rum, this time he could truly be out of his depth. It will take more than his trusty compass to help him this time, but thankfully he has the help of a new headstrong maiden named Carina Smyth who happens to be a skilled astronomer, plus the return of his old friend Will Turner. Together they must uncover the Trident of Poseidon before Salazar does, and send the enemy back to their watery graves.

Continue: Pirates Of The Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Salazar's Revenge) - Featurette and Trailer

Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales Trailer


Forget Davy Jones' Locker and the Fountain of Youth, Captain Jack Sparrow is on an all new quest as he embarks on the hunt for the fabled trident of Poseidon. It may sound like he's set his sights far too high this time, but he's never failed the crew of the Black Pearl yet - and he really could do with a windfall right about now. To make matters worse, Capitan Salazar is back from the Devil's Triangle with his ghostly crew, and the trident is his only hope of stopping them. This time he's got the help of his old friend Will Turner, who is apparently free of his binding contract with The Flying Dutchman. 

Continue: Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales Trailer

Blinky Bill The Movie Trailer


Blinky Bill has always considered himself an explorer, the kind of Koala that's willing to put everything on the line to take the next adventure. Some might say he got his wild streak from his father who left home to go and find The Sea of White Dragons. Everyone in Blinky's home town of Green Patch say that Blinky's father is no longer alive but Blinky is convinced that his dad IS alive and a recently uncovered clue could just be the thing that leads Blinky to his father. 

Setting out on his Outback adventure, Blinky is joined by two friends, a Koala from a zoo called Nutsy and a frilled lizard called Jacko who's happy to exclaim  'I'm Jacko who can track-o' and also likes to think that his frilled neck helps hone is radar skills. As much fun as the trio have together, they're also being chased by some nasty feral cats who want to ruin their adventure. 

Blinky Bill The Movie is based on the 1933 childrens books by Dorothy Wall.

The Turning Review


Excellent

Life-changing moments feature in each of the nine short films in this Australian anthology, and each is told with remarkable artistry and sensitivity. While the filmmakers use different styles of filmmaking, there's a clever connection between the shorts, as themes of inner longing are made resonant by earthy honesty. So even if each brief segment film feels like just a fragment of an idea, taken together the film is remarkably moving.

It opens and closes with the animated "Ash Wednesday", using the T.S. Elliot poem to explore the idea of communal memory. From here a variety of mini-stories unfurl, often using the same character names even though the films are dramas, comedies or documentaries, and many have no dialogue at all. The lighter clips include "Reunion", in which a couple (Cate Blanchett and Richard Roxburgh) are surprised that spending Christmas with his mum isn't as awful as expected. "Cockleshell" follows a young guy (Toby Wallace) who's obsessed with the girl (Brenna Harding) next door. And both "Big World" and "Boner McPharlin's Moll" take lively kaleidoscopic looks at how reality is often nothing like our idea of how things should be.

Other segments are dark and provocative, including "Aquifer", about a man (Callan Mulvey) who is pushed by a news headline to recall a painful childhood memory. Two young boys (Jakory and Jarli-Russell Blanco) have a creepy adventure while on a beach day out with their dad and uncles in "Sand". The most moving film is "Commission", in which a young man (Josh McConville) drives to the outback to tell his estranged dad (Hugo Weaving) that his mother is dying. The best performance comes from Rose Byrne in the eponymous "The Turning", as a trailer-trash wife and mother whose friendship with a rich woman (Miranda Otto) sparks a religious epiphany. And the most unforgettable short is "Long, Clear View", impressively directed by Mia Wasikowska, which follows a young boy (Matthew Shanley) playing with his dad's rifle.

Continue reading: The Turning Review

300: Rise Of An Empire Review


OK

Fans of the 2007 Spartan war romp 300 probably won't care that this spin-off is even more chaotic and much murkier to look at. It still features armies of scantily clad muscle men grunting idiotic declamatory dialogue as they charge into cartoon-style battles against all odds. No, this isn't particularly subtle filmmaking: it's loud and brutal. And good for an unintentional laugh.

At the same time as Spartan King Leonidas (a briefly glimpsed Gerard Butler) is leading his 300 men to battle against Xerses (Santoro), Greek General Themistocles (Stapleton) approaches Leonidas' wife Gorgo (Headey) for help facing Xerses vengeful military commander Artemisia (Green) on another front at sea. Themistocles' main officers are Aesyklos (Matheson) and Scyllias (Mulvey), whose son Calisto (O'Connell) secretly joins the army as they set sail for an epic ship-based battle against Artemisia's fearsome forces. And there are two more watery conflicts to come, each more outrageous than the one before, as Artemisia taunts Themistocles seductively while dispensing fiery death and destruction at every turn.

The addition of two strong women adds a bit of interest here, but the focus is still on the bare-chested men, even if only three or for of them actually emerge into proper characters. Headey's chief contribution is a rambling voiceover narration explaining everything for us, while Green's wry smirk and momentous glower let her steal every scene. By contrast, the men seem rather feeble. Stapleton is manly and commanding, but not hugely charismatic. Rising-star O'Connell barely gets two decent scenes. Santoro is hilariously grouchy eye candy. And everyone else is clearly expendable.

Continue reading: 300: Rise Of An Empire Review

300: Rise Of An Empire - Clips


When Leonidas and his valiant army of 300 Spartans were wiped out by the vast forces led by Persian God King Xerxes, the rest of Greece now feel that their country has gained honour following their tragic loss. However, their battle is not over yet as Persia is rapidly sailing in for another invasion. Rival cities Sparta and Athens are forced to set aside their bitterness towards each other if they have any hope of victory - though with Xerxes on their tail with immortal power, their lives teeter on the edge. Nonetheless, the Greeks remained filled with a fierce determination following Leonidas' heroism and so Themistocles of Athens leads his naval fleet to war while Sparta's army prepares for another fight. How can they survive against a seemingly impervious God King and his female ally, the just as ruthless, sword-wielding Artemisia? Outnumbered and overpowered once again, there is still hope.

Continue: 300: Rise Of An Empire - Clips

300 Rise Of An Empire - Alternative Trailer


Following Leonidas' honourable though inevitable death alongside his Spartan army of 300 at the hands of Persian God King Xerxes, the rest of Greece cannot help but feel a certain pride at the valiant effort. Now, with Persia quickly threatening invasion, rival cities Sparta and Athens must throw aside their differences and rally together to defeat their forces - but with an all-powerful king like Xerxes, their chances of survival look minimal. Nonetheless, filled with a newfound determination after Leonidas' heroic venture, Athens' naval fleet led by the admiral Themistocles set out to bring Persia down, as Sparta's army prepares another brave attack. They may be outnumbered yet again, but hope is the last thing Greece is going to give up.

Continue: 300 Rise Of An Empire - Alternative Trailer

Lena Headey And Eva Green Ensure '300: Rise Of An Empire' Has A Strong Female Presence [Trailer]


Lena Headey Eva Green Zack Snyder David Wenham Hans Matheson Jack O'Connell Sullivan Stapleton Andrew Tiernan Callan Mulvey

300: Rise of an Empire promises to have a stronger female on-screen presence, which isn't exactly a difficult feat considering 300, released in 2007, was nothing but wash-board abs and a host of handsome men.

Lena Headey
Lena Headey at Elle's Women in Hollywood event, held at the Four Seasons Hotel in L.A.

The sequel's list of equally butch men includes Jack O'Connell (Skins); Sullivan Stapleton (Gangster Squad); Hans Matheson (Sherlock Holmes) and Callan Mulvey (Zero Dark Thirty). David Wenham, Andrew Tiernan and Rodrigo Santora are reprising their roles from 300.

Continue reading: Lena Headey And Eva Green Ensure '300: Rise Of An Empire' Has A Strong Female Presence [Trailer]

300: Rise Of An Empire Trailer


After a valiant but ultimately unsuccessful attack by Leonidas' army of 300 Spartan men on Persia's much larger army led by the 'God-King' Xerxes, the rest of the Greeks are at war with Persia determined to end their invasion and bring down their so-called God once and for all. Athens and their strong naval fleet, led by the admiral Themistocles, are forced to team up with Sparta, their civil rivals, and their formidable army though the Greeks are still ultimately outnumbered on a massive scale by Persia. However, with a determination instilled by a national pride in the sacrifice of Leonidas and his men, the Greeks enter in their new battle gladly and with a significantly reduced fear of their enemy.

'300: Rise Of An Empire' is the gritty, action-fuelled follow-up to 2007's '300' directed by Zack Snyder ('Dawn of the Dead', 'Watchmen', 'Man of Steel'). This sequel has been adapted from the graphic novel 'Xerxes' by Frank Miller and directed by Noam Murro ('Smart People'), though Snyder does make his return alongside Kurt Johnstad ('Act of Valor') on the screenwriting credits. With a multi-award winning epic to beat, 'Rise Of An Empire' looks to be a thrilling addition to this war saga and it is set to hit screens in the US on March 7th 2014.

Click here to read - 300: Rise of an Empire Movie Review

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David Wenham Movies

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Movie Review

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Movie Review

Subtitled Salazar's Revenge in the UK, this fifth film in the long-running series never quite...

Pirates Of The Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Salazar's Revenge) Featurette and Trailer

Pirates Of The Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Salazar's Revenge) Featurette and Trailer

It seems Captain Jack Sparrow has been sailing the seas as a pirate for many,...

Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales Trailer

Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales Trailer

Forget Davy Jones' Locker and the Fountain of Youth, Captain Jack Sparrow is on an...

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Trailer

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Trailer

Jack Sparrow finds himself in constant trouble with the law; not only is his name...

Lion Trailer

Lion Trailer

Saroo Brierley has lived a good life with his caring mother and father in Australia,...

Blinky Bill The Movie Trailer

Blinky Bill The Movie Trailer

Blinky Bill has always considered himself an explorer, the kind of Koala that's willing to...

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The Turning Movie Review

The Turning Movie Review

Life-changing moments feature in each of the nine short films in this Australian anthology, and...

300: Rise of an Empire Movie Review

300: Rise of an Empire Movie Review

Fans of the 2007 Spartan war romp 300 probably won't care that this spin-off is...

300: Rise Of An Empire Trailer

300: Rise Of An Empire Trailer

When Leonidas and his valiant army of 300 Spartans were wiped out by the vast...

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