Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Crosses Billion Dollar Mark

Disney’s and Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” Crosses $1 Billion in Global Box Office

Fourth installment becomes second “Pirates” film and fourth Walt Disney Pictures film to reach billion-dollar box office threshold

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Disney’s and Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides crossed the $1 billion mark in global box office on July 2, only the eighth film in history to reach this threshold. This is The Walt Disney Studios’ fourth title to earn a place on this exclusive list, with no other studio achieving more than one. Five of the 10 biggest films of all time are now from The Walt Disney Studios.

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Films and The Walt Disney Studios, and directed by Rob Marshall, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is the second film in the Pirates of the Caribbean series to accomplish this box-office feat; 2006’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest was the Studios’ first billion-dollar film ever. Rounding out the Studios’ four billion-dollar earners are 2010’s Alice in Wonderland and Toy Story 3.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has shown us just how strongly this story and these characters resonate with people the world over,” said Rich Ross, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios. “To reach $1 billion with any film is such a rare and exciting milestone, and I want to thank and congratulate Jerry Bruckheimer, Johnny Depp, Rob Marshall and the rest of our Pirates family on this incredible feat.”

After launching with the biggest international opening ever, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides now ranks as the #3 film of all time at the international box office and Disney’s biggest overseas release ever, with a total gross of $774 million (as of 7/4/11). The film sailed past the $500 million international threshold in a record-setting 14 days and is the biggest Pirates of the Caribbean installment in 59 territories. In Japan, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has passed $100 million USD, having spent its first 6 weeks at the top of the box office chart. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides became the highest-grossing Disney film ever released in the burgeoning Chinese and Russian markets in just nine and 11 days respectively, its opening weekend surpassing the entire gross of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End in each market.

“There can be no greater thrill or satisfaction than knowing that you’ve been fortunate enough to produce a series of films which have delighted millions all over the world,” said Jerry Bruckheimer. “The success of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is a testament to the great talents of Johnny Depp and our wonderful cast, director Rob Marshall, screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and the entire company.”

Director Rob Marshall adds, “I am thrilled that Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has been embraced by the global audience in such a profound way. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to make a movie that reaches across the world.”

The four Pirates of the Caribbean films have earned a combined $3.68 billion in global box office, with the second, third and fourth claiming spots on the all-time top 10 list. Series star Johnny Depp – who also headlined Disney’s Alice in Wonderland – now has four films on that list, three of which have surpassed the billion-dollar threshold.


About “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Rob Marshall, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides captures the fun, excitement and humor that ignited the hit franchise—this time in Disney Digital 3D™. Johnny Depp returns to his iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow in this action-packed adventure that finds him crossing paths (and swords) with the enigmatic Angelica (Penélope Cruz). When she forces him aboard the “Queen Anne’s Revenge,” the ship of the legendary pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected journey to the fabled Fountain of Youth. Along the way Jack must use all his wiles to deal with the barbarous Blackbeard and his crew of zombies, Angelica, the ravishing pirate with whom he shares a dubious past, and the beautiful, enchanting mermaids whose masterful cunning can lure even the most seasoned sailor to his doom. The international cast includes franchise vets Geoffrey Rush as the indestructible Captain Hector Barbossa and Kevin R. McNally as Captain Jack’s longtime comrade Joshamee Gibbs, plus Sam Claflin as a stalwart missionary and Astrid Bergès-Frisbey as a mysterious mermaid.

About “Pirates of the Caribbean”
In 1967, the Pirates of the Caribbean ride opened at Disneyland Park in California, quickly becoming one of the theme park’s most popular attractions and a natural inclusion in the planning of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland. More than three decades later, The Walt Disney Studios brought the attraction’s scenes to vibrant life in a film series that has reinvigorated the pirate and adventure genres, while The Walt Disney Company’s Interactive and Consumer Products divisions have parlayed the rich source material into a treasure trove of toys, clothes, home décor, books, video games and more.

Review: Woody Allen Gets Serious in "Cassandra's Dream"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 57 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Cassandra’s Dream (2007)
Running time: 108 minutes (1 hour, 48 minutes)
MPAA - PG-13 for thematic elements, some sexual material and brief violence
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Woody Allen
PRODUCERS: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum, and Gareth Wiley
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Vilmos Zsigmond
EDITOR: Alisa Lepselter
COMPOSER: Philip Glass

DRAMA/CRIME

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Colin Farrell, Tom Wilkinson, Sally Hawkins, Hayley Atwell, John Benfield, Clare Higgins, Ashley Madekwe, and Phil Davis

Cassandra’s Dream is a 2007 film from writer/director Woody Allen that got its U.S. release in 2008. An American/British/French co-production, this drama tells the story of two British brothers who commit a shocking crime that changes both their lives – one for the better and the other for the worse.

The Blaine brothers, Terry (Colin Farrell) and Ian (Ewan McGregor), have serious financial woes – Terry from gambling and Ian from trying to invest in highly speculative and risky business ventures. When their uncle, Howard (Tom Wilkinson), proposes that the brothers commit a crime for him in exchange for the money they need to make their problems go away, they agree. However, one brother moves on from the crime as if nothing happened, while the other feels the heavy weight of guilt upon his shoulders.

Cassandra’s Dream could be seen as something akin to a Greek tragedy. The film’s simple premise deals with complex characters and the complications that arise from their life-changing decisions and sometimes rash actions. Cassandra’s Dream engaged me, and I found myself thinking about what I might do if I were in the Blaine brothers’ position. Viewers could spend the entire movie thinking about which brother’s side they would take. I found myself sympathetic with Ewan McGregor’s Ian.

Speaking of which, McGregor and Colin Farrell give good performances, with Farrell showing a sensitivity and vulnerability we don’t often see in the characters he plays. However, the focus is on Ian, as the lead character, and his point of view is the window through which the audience sees the story. McGregor, as always, proves to be a capable leading man, who has the ability to convey the internal conflicts that direct a character’s actions and the way he lives.

I’ve been watching Woody Allen’s film for three decades. I’ve noticed that his best work features characters making momentous, even life and death decisions that not only impact their own lives, but also change the lives of other characters – often for the worst. Cassandra’s Dream reveals that Allen has only scratched the surface of his talent for telling crime stories.

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, July 02, 2011

----------------------

Review: "The Last Samurai" is a Fine American Jidaigeki (Happy B'day, Tom Cruise)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 179 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Last Samurai (2003)
Running time: 154 minutes (2 hours, 34 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence and battle sequences
DIRECTOR: Edward Zwick
WRITERS: John Logan, Edward Zwick, and Marshall Herskovitz, from a story by John Logan
PRODUCERS: Tom Cruise, Tom Engelman, Marshall Herskovitz, Scott Kroopf, Paula Wagner, Vincent Ward, and Edward Zwick
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Toll (D.o.P)
EDITOR: Victor Dubois and Steven Rosenblum
COMPOSER: Hans Zimmer
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/ADVENTURE/ROMANCE/WAR/HISTORICAL

Starring: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Tony Goldwyn, Shichinosuke Nakamura, Masato Harada, Timothy Spall, Billy Connolly, Koyuki, Shin Koyamada, Aoi Minata, Hiroyuki Sanada, Seizo Fukumoto, Shoji Yoshihara, and William Atherton

My beat up, worn copy of the 1980 edition of The Random House Dictionary defines romance as “having feelings and thoughts of love and adventure” and “fanciful and impractical.” It defines romanticism, “as a style of literature and art of the 19th century that encouraged freedom of form and emphasized imagination and emotion.” Director Edward Zwick's (Glory, Legends of the Fall) new film, The Last Samurai, fits all of those definitions quite well, and that’s a blessing for moviegoers. In the tradition of The Lord of the Rings films, The Last Samurai is a gloriously romantic epic of war and of warriors fighting for tradition, honor, and the old way.

Captain Woodrow Algren (Tom Cruise) is an alcoholic veteran of the War Between the States. He was also an “Indian fighter” for the United States Army where he participated in a horrible massacre of native people by the Army. By the late 1870’s, he is a spokesman for Winchester guns when he gets an offer to go to Japan and train troops for Emperor Meiji (Shichinosuke Nakamura).

Japan is trying to break away from the centuries long tradition of employing samurai to protect the territories and serve the emperor. Advisors close to the emperor want a modern army, and it wants Algren and the Americans to train the new army to wipe out the remaining samurai warriors, who have rebelled and hide in the forests.

The first battle between Algren’s troops and the samurai is a rout as the army is ill prepared to face the ferocious warriors. Algren is wounded in combat, and the samurai capture him after he fiercely defends himself against the highly trained warriors. This impresses the samurai’s legendary leader Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), who teaches Algren the warrior’s code of honor. The rest of the men respect and him and teach Algren their techniques. As he embraces this new way of life, Algren must chose upon which side of the conflict he is on, even as he recalls how his old life tormented him.

Zwick has a gift for filming powerful war epics, as he shows in Samurai’s stirring and elegantly mounted battle scenes. The film is gorgeously designed and is awash in rich colors, from the intense earth tones of the countryside to the opulent yet practical costumes. Zwick is ably assisted by talented set designers who created fabulous structures that looked simultaneously lavish and new but also lived in. Hans Zimmer’s score really sells this film; it’s the sweet and tempting icing on the cake.

This is a good performance by Tom Cruise, but not one of his best. Here, both his star power and acting experience serve him quite well. He can hit all the marks, but his personality seems to get in the way. Sometimes Cruise is too cool for his own good, to laid back, sexy, and confident in his screen presence. Other times on screen, he seems to unleash so much anger and aggression in portraying the character, but that juxtaposition of too cool and simmering anger adds to the sense of mystery and danger in many of his characters, almost as if he’s crazy. Still, the camera loves Cruise, and the big screen maximizes the power of his matinee idol looks.

In one of the few times this will happen, Cruise has to share the screen with another maximum presence, Ken Watanabe as the majestic warrior Katsumoto. His deep and powerful presence really add weight to this story, making it seem less fanciful. The idea of the almighty whitey going to another culture, embracing it, and learning its ways to become just like one of the other natives is laughable and old fashioned, but when it works, it’s high romance that’s hard to resist. Watanabe is the balance, and he creates a character and gives a performance that embraces the foreigner. Katsumoto is tremendous intelligence, great patience, and gigantic wisdom; if he accepts Captain Algren, then so can we.

The supporting cast does major work here, especially the largely Asian and likely Asian-American cast. Tony Goldwyn is an under appreciated actor, and he shows once again that he can turn a character into an interesting and engaging character. Mr. Nakamura plays the Emperor Meiji with perfection, making his personality fit into the politics of the story. In his face, we see Japan’s struggle to both hold onto the past and the necessity to move forward.

Who is the “last samurai?” It could be Algren, but more than likely, it’s Katsumoto. Even though the film has a muddled, neatly packaged Hollywood ending, Katsumoto’s spirit, discipline, and way of life gives The Last Samurai a strong pleasant fragrance. When you see this film, you’ll know how it should have ended and what it says about Japan then and the way we live now.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards: 4 nominations: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Ken Watanabe), “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Lilly Kilvert-art director and Gretchen Rau-set decorator), “Best Costume Design” (Ngila Dickson), and “Best Sound Mixing” (Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, and Jeff Wexler)

2004 Golden Globes: 3 nominations: “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Hans Zimmer), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Tom Cruise), and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Ken Watanabe)

---------------------

Review: "Mean Girls" Gave us Peak Lohan (Happy B'day, Lindsay Lohan)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 62 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Mean Girls (2004)
Running time: 97 minutes (1 hour, 37 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sexual content, language and some teen partying
DIRECTOR: Mark S. Waters
WRITER: Tina Fey (from a book, Queen Bees and Wannabes, by Rosalind Wiseman)
PRODUCERS: Lorne Michaels and Tony Shimkin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Daryn Okada
EDITOR: Wendy Greene Bricmont

COMEDY

Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows, Lacy Chabert, Amanda Seyfried, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Neil Flynn, Tina Fey, Jonathan Bennett, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Franzese, Rajiv Surendra, and Daniel DeSanto

She’s been home-schooled since she was a small child growing up in Africa, but now Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) is living in a small town outside Chicago, Illinois. It’s time to attend North Shore High School for her junior year, and Cady is a cultural blank slate totally unaware of the social politics of high school students. Even her time in Africa has not prepared her for how wild and dangerous things can be in high school, and Cady learns this like a cold slap in the face when she meets the “Queen Bee,” the most popular girl in high school, Regina George, (Rachel McAdams).

Regina invites Cady to join her crew, The Plastics:” three girls who rule the top of the social ladder. Cady creates havoc in the group, however, when she literally falls head over heels for Regina’s ex-boyfriend, Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett). When Regina sabotages the budding relationship by reuniting with Aaron, Cady joins two social outcasts in a quest for revenge. Cady enjoys both being in The Plastics and hanging with the outcasts, but her fence straddling has disastrous consequences.

Although Paramount may try to sell this film as some kind of teen comedy or high school version of Legally Blonde, Mean Girls is the smartest comedy about teenagers and high school cliques since Election. Directed by Mark S. Powers, it’s a dark comedy and blunt satire of status seeking and of how cruel, hypocritical, mean-spirited, vicious, and two-faced people can be to one another. It stings all the more because we actually have to watch people who aren’t legally adults doing with relish to each other what we’d like to believe only exists in the “adult world.”

The performances are utterly on the money; rarely has a young adult ensemble been this good. Lindsay Lohan isn’t yet showing the chops of a top actress, but she has the makings of a movie star; the screen loves her face, and she looks good on the big screen. Although this won’t happen, Rachel McAdams as Regina and Lacy Chabert as Gretchen Weiners give Oscar® caliber performances, especially McAdams who chews the scenery like a natural born screen diva. It’s the kind of over-the-top supporting performance that makes a film and steals the attention from the other stars.

The film drags during a few crucial moments in the story, and the adult characters are superfluous, like grown ups in the comic strip, Peanuts. Still, it’s quite entertaining, although like the aforementioned Election, it may appeal more to an older audience, in particular because the humor is hard-edged and not the silly fluff teens and most 20-somethings prefer in their teen comedies. It’s an odd film, filled with countless hilarious and uproarious moments, but the comedy skirts being sinister. In fact, you can feel that some of the filmmakers were trying to use the film to send a message.

Mean Girls is an interesting movie, and although it winds down to a Hollywood happy ending, that same ending is off-kilter. The film is not perfect, but seeing a major Hollywood film studio throw a curve ball to the audience is worth the price of admission.

7 of 10
B+

--------------------

New Season of "Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan" Anime Streams July 3rd

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES THE SIMULCAST PREMIERE OF NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN - DEMON CAPITAL ON VIZANIME.COM AND HULU ON JULY 3RD

To Celebrate, NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN Vol. 1 Manga Available For Limited Time As Free Download On VIZ Manga App

VIZ Media has just announced the online simulcast of the second season of the hit animated fantasy action-adventure, NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN – DEMON CAPITAL, on VIZAnime, the company’s own free website for anime, as well as on content provider HULU. The first subtitled episode of the new season (rated TV-14) launches on Sunday, July 3rd, with new episodes to debut weekly.

To celebrate the premiere, VIZ Media also makes the NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN manga (graphic novel) Volume 1 (rated ‘T’ for Teens) available digitally for FREE via the VIZ Manga App for the Apple iPad™, iPhone™ and iPod touch™. The special promotion runs for a limited time only starting July 1st. The VIZ Manga App is free to download through the iTunes store and is the leading digital application to read Japanese manga. For more information on the VIZ Manga App, please visit www.VIZ.com/apps.

NURA RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN – DEMON CAPITAL is based on a bestselling manga series created by Hiroshi Shiibashi, and also published in North America by VIZ Media under its Shonen Jump imprint. Rikuo Nura looks like your typical junior high student, but in reality, he is a quarter yokai and is the grandson of Nurarihyon, the leader of all yokai! As the Third Heir to the Nura Clan, Rikuo has successfully brought an end to the territory conflict against the Shikoku yokai. Now, Rikuo must face his most powerful enemies yet—the Hagoromo-Gitsune and her Kyoto yokai! With her absolute power and charisma, the Hagoromo-Gitsune is taking the ancient capital of Kyoto by storm in a quest to fulfill her four-hundred-year-old wish. Joined by the Oshu-Tono Family yokai and the Keikain Clan Onmyoji, Rikuo and his Nura Clan will take on the Hagoro-Gitsune for an epic showdown!

VIZAnime.com is a free-to-use web destination that is now the permanent home to some of the company’s best-loved animated series. Over 1,700 episodes are currently available, and new content is added on a weekly basis. Series currently simulcast on VIZAnime.com include TIGER & BUNNY, BLUE EXORCIST, NARUTO SHIPPUDEN and BLEACH. Other fan-favorite series available include CROSS GAME, DEATH NOTE, FULL MOON, INUYASHA: THE FINAL ACT, KEKKAISHI, NAOKI URASAWA’S MONSTER, NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN, ONE PIECE, VAMPIRE KNIGHT, and more!

To stream subtitled NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN – DEMON CAPITAL animated episodes and other VIZ Media animated titles, please visit VIZAnime.com.

For more information on NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN and other Shonen Jump manga titles, please visit http://www.shonenjump.com/.

Review: Penelope Cruz Rescues Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 56 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Running time: 96 minutes (1 hour, 36 mintues)
MPAA – PG-13 for mature thematic material involving sexuality, and smoking
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Woody Allen
PRODUCERS: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum, and Gareth Wiley
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Javier Aguirresarobe (D.o.P)
EDITOR: Alisa Lepselter
Academy Award winner

COMEDY/ROMANCE/DRAMA

Starring: Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Chris Messina, Patricia Clarkson, Kevin Dunn, Pablo Schreiber, Carrie Preston, Zak Orth, Josep Maria Domenech, and Christopher Evan Welch (narrator)

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a 2008 romantic comedy and drama from director Woody Allen. This was also his fourth consecutive film shot outside the United States (beginning with 2005’s Match Point). This Oscar-winning film is the story of two American girlfriends on a summer holiday in Spain who both fall in love with a womanizing Spanish painter.

Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) travel to Barcelona, Spain to spend the summer with Vicky’s distant relatives, Judy (Patricia Clarkson), and her husband, Mark Nash (Kevin Dunn). Vicky is practical and traditional in her approach to love and is preparing to marry Doug (Chris Messina), a well-to-do white collar type. Cristina is non-conformist and spontaneous, but doesn’t know what she’s looking for in love.

Late one night at a restaurant, Juan Antonio Gonzalo (Javier Bardem), an artist, boldly approaches Vicky and Cristina and invites them to spend the weekend in the city of Oviedo with him. Vicky is reluctant, but Cristina is ready to go. Both young women eventually develop strong romantic feelings for Juan Antonio, but in different ways. Neither woman, however, knows that Juan Antonio’s mentally unstable ex-wife, María Elena (Penélope Cruz), is about to re-enter his life.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona received some of the best reviews any Allen film has had the past decade. Penélope Cruz even received a best supporting actress Oscar for her performance as the tempestuous and sometimes violent María Elena. In fact, it is Cruz’s Elena that saves this film. The first 50 minutes are listless, dull, and, in a few places, almost unwatchable. When Elena arrives, this movie perks up and its themes of unhappy marriages, romantic longing, and the search for meaningful, fulfilling relationships suddenly resonate, whereas those themes were hollow and did not feel genuine before the arrival of Elena.

One of Allen’s strengths has been his screenplays, but this one isn’t strong. The dialogue is flat and fake, and the actors, try as they might, cannot make it anything better. Working this poor script causes the actors to give middling performances, except for Cruz. These characters and the subplots all have potential; the screenplay just rushes by them as if they were nothing more than items on a grocery list that just needs to be gotten out the way. Vicky Cristina Barcelona was a successful film for Woody Allen, and I am happy for him as a fan of his work, but I only enjoyed half of this movie. Once again, I credit the lovely and talented Penélope Cruz, who can bring energy even to a limp film like Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

5 of 10
B-

NOTES:
2009 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Penélope Cruz)

2009 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Supporting Actress” (Penélope Cruz)

2009 Golden Globes: 1 win: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical;” 3 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical” (Javier Bardem), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical” (Rebecca Hall), and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Penélope Cruz)

2008 Black Reel Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Supporting Actress” (Penélope Cruz)

--------------------

Negromancer Declares Independence...

...but really, he can be bought!

Welcome to Negromancer, the rebirth of my former movie review website as a movie review and movie news blog. I’m Leroy Douresseaux, and I also blog at http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/ and write for the Comic Book Bin (which has smart phones apps).

All images and text appearing on this blog are © copyright and/or trademark their respective owners.

Summer DVD recommendation: