New On Video: 'Pirates,' 'Bad Boys II'
Also New: 'Stiller Show' Finally Debuts On DVD
POSTED: 4:49 p.m. EST December 9, 2003
'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl' (PG-13): There's no question "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" was "cutthroat" proposition for the suits at Walt Disney last summer, considering Hollywood's last large-scale attempt at a pirate adventure -- 1995's "Cutthroat Island" -- ended up being one of the biggest box office disasters in movie history.
But thanks to the uniquely irreverent performance by star Johnny Depp, stunning special effects, a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere and most importantly, good old-fashioned storytelling, "Caribbean" has lifted the pirate movie curse.
Inspired by the Disney theme park ride (although it bears little resemblance to it), "Pirates of the Caribbean" stars Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow -- a smart and swift, yet bumbling drunkard of a pirate seeking to reclaim his ship, the Black Pearl, from Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and the crew that betrayed him.
But he's not the only one who wants a piece of Barbossa: There's Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), a commoner blacksmith who's looking to save the governor's (Jonathan Pryce) daughter, Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), from the clutches of the evil pirate. Barbossa has kidnapped Will's childhood friend for good reason: she has a gold medallion in her possession that holds the key to lifting a curse on the captain and his men that turns them into ghastly skeletons in the moonlight. And that's a huge problem for Will, considering the medallion was originally his.
Uniting with Jack despite his dislike for pirates, Will embarks on a mission to save Elizabeth. But what Will doesn't realize, is that Jack -- being the conniving pirate that he is -- has something else up his sleeve.
While it possesses the same sense of Errol Flynn-like swashbuckling adventure that we've come to expect from pirate-themed movies, "Pirates of the Caribbean" scores its high marks by bringing a decidedly different spin to the genre. Enter the unique talents of Depp in this area, who was delightfully quirky in roles ranging from "Edward Scissorhands" to "Ed Wood" to "Sleepy Hollow."
Forget about Depp emulating Flynn here. Instead, Depp purposefully jaunts around with the abandon of rocker Keith Richards -- and sp-sp-spits out his lines like comedian Foster Brooks in his trademark drunkard-like fashion. The risk pays off, as Sparrow comes off as a far more interesting character than he would have been as a straight and narrow hero.
That's not to say the film is void of heroics, however. Bloom assumes those duties well as Turner, who actually looks like he stepped out of the Flynn movie era. He doesn't quite match the intensity of his turns as Legolas in "The Lord of the Rings" movies, but it's a memorable role for him nonetheless. The same goes for Knightley ("Bend It Like Beckham"), who's stunningly beautiful as the very able damsel in distress; and the always reliable Rush, who's dead-on as the crusty ghost of a sea captain.
While "Pirates of the Caribbean" relies on traditional swordplay and acrobatics to drive some of its key sequences, the film has its fine share of special effects, too. Most notable are the transformations of the cursed pirates into skeletons - which is especially dazzling when you see the change from the living to the walking dead (and vice-versa) as they drift in and out of the moonlight.
If "Pirates of the Caribbean" suffers from anything, it's its excessive length. Clocking in at over 2 hours and 20 minutes, the film -- like another summer hit, "The Hulk" -- can't seem to get a fix on where it should end. As adventurous as the scenes are, there seems to be one too many trips to the gallows for Sparrow.
Directed by Gore Verbinski ("The Ring"), "Pirates of the Caribbean" charts a new course for Disney as the studio's first PG-13 film. Parents should know, though, that it's not nearly as dark and violent as another recent PG-13 offering, "The Hulk." There's really no blood to speak of, but there are plenty of swords impaling humans and ghouls, and an occasional cannon ball that wipes out a crewmember. The rotted, cursed pirates may also look frightening, but their witty dialogue helps dull the edge.
DVD Features: The two-disc DVD set includes commentary tracks by Verbinski, Depp, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Knightley, Jack Davenport and the writers; making-of featurettes; 19 deleted and alternate scenes; "Below Deck," a feature that presents an interactive history of pirates; a blooper reel, DVD-ROM content and more. (Walt Disney Home Entertainment)
'Bad Boys II' (R): "Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?" Well, if you don't like excessive gun violence, f-bombs dropped every other word and extreme chases and car crashes, then you better run from the "Bad Boys" sequel starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
To tell you the truth, I didn't think much of the first "Bad Boys" film, which was below average at best. But since the 1995 action flick, Smith, Lawrence and director Michael Bay's acting and directing skills, respectively, have grown by leaps and bounds.
For starters, not only do Smith and Lawrence have great chemistry, they are much better and funnier actors than before.
As for Bay, he's fostered his dazzling visual technique with such smash hits as "The Rock" "Armageddon" and "Pearl Harbor" (and action producer Jerry Bruckheimer is along for this one, too). And he doesn't take long to show it off in "Bad Boys II," as waits all of a half-hour to pull off one of the most amazing freeway chase-turned multi-car crash scenes ever put on film.
Unfortunately, the trio's improved abilities to entertain is about all "Bad Boys II" has going for it. Smith and Lawrence, otherwise, are stuck in another far-fetched also-ran plot as a couple of narcotics cops trying to bust up a flow of Ecstasy into Miami.
Essentially, "Bad Boys II" is just another in a string of buddy-action flicks where the principal players are whipping out one-liners in rapid-fire succession. There's no doubt some will be entertained by that, as long as you're willing to put your skepticism on hold and pop a huge batch of popcorn.
DVD Features: Deleted scenes, production diaries, sequence breakdowns, stunts and visual effects featurettes and more. (Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment)
TV On DVD
'The Ben Stiller Show' (NR): Long before movies like "There's Something About Mary" and "Zoolander" catapulted Ben Stiller into superstardom, the actor toiled for a year in 1992 on Fox television's "The Ben Stiller Show," which is arguably one of the funniest parody shows in the last decade or more.
The long-awaited two-disc DVD set includes the 12 episodes that aired on Fox, as well as a "lost" 13th episode that was permanently canned when the show was abruptly yanked off the air.
The show features, of course, the comedic genius of Stiller, but also the early talents of comedy actors Andy Dick, Janeane Garofalo and Bob Odenkirk -- who wrote with Stiller during his short stint in 1989 with "Saturday Night Live."
The show consists mainly of parodies of films and television shows, along with some original sketches. Highlights include the utterly hilarious "Cape Munster" -- where Stiller plays Eddie Munster with the psychotic demeanor of Robert De Niro in "Cape Fear" and "A Few Good Scouts" -- where Stiller channels Tom Cruise from "A Few Good Men." Stiller also spoofs the megastar in an all-Cruise variety show.
Stiller and company are also a hoot on spoofs of the reality show "Cops" ("Cops in Salem" and "Cops in Ancient Egypt" are gut-busters) and "Jake Steel: Marionette Cop" -- a twisted, but funny sketch that tracks a marionette police officer on his bloody beat.
Stiller and his cast mates contribute commentary to seven of the season's key episodes. (Warner Home Video)
But thanks to the uniquely irreverent performance by star Johnny Depp, stunning special effects, a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere and most importantly, good old-fashioned storytelling, "Caribbean" has lifted the pirate movie curse.
Inspired by the Disney theme park ride (although it bears little resemblance to it), "Pirates of the Caribbean" stars Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow -- a smart and swift, yet bumbling drunkard of a pirate seeking to reclaim his ship, the Black Pearl, from Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and the crew that betrayed him.
But he's not the only one who wants a piece of Barbossa: There's Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), a commoner blacksmith who's looking to save the governor's (Jonathan Pryce) daughter, Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), from the clutches of the evil pirate. Barbossa has kidnapped Will's childhood friend for good reason: she has a gold medallion in her possession that holds the key to lifting a curse on the captain and his men that turns them into ghastly skeletons in the moonlight. And that's a huge problem for Will, considering the medallion was originally his.
Uniting with Jack despite his dislike for pirates, Will embarks on a mission to save Elizabeth. But what Will doesn't realize, is that Jack -- being the conniving pirate that he is -- has something else up his sleeve.
While it possesses the same sense of Errol Flynn-like swashbuckling adventure that we've come to expect from pirate-themed movies, "Pirates of the Caribbean" scores its high marks by bringing a decidedly different spin to the genre. Enter the unique talents of Depp in this area, who was delightfully quirky in roles ranging from "Edward Scissorhands" to "Ed Wood" to "Sleepy Hollow."
Forget about Depp emulating Flynn here. Instead, Depp purposefully jaunts around with the abandon of rocker Keith Richards -- and sp-sp-spits out his lines like comedian Foster Brooks in his trademark drunkard-like fashion. The risk pays off, as Sparrow comes off as a far more interesting character than he would have been as a straight and narrow hero.
That's not to say the film is void of heroics, however. Bloom assumes those duties well as Turner, who actually looks like he stepped out of the Flynn movie era. He doesn't quite match the intensity of his turns as Legolas in "The Lord of the Rings" movies, but it's a memorable role for him nonetheless. The same goes for Knightley ("Bend It Like Beckham"), who's stunningly beautiful as the very able damsel in distress; and the always reliable Rush, who's dead-on as the crusty ghost of a sea captain.
While "Pirates of the Caribbean" relies on traditional swordplay and acrobatics to drive some of its key sequences, the film has its fine share of special effects, too. Most notable are the transformations of the cursed pirates into skeletons - which is especially dazzling when you see the change from the living to the walking dead (and vice-versa) as they drift in and out of the moonlight.
If "Pirates of the Caribbean" suffers from anything, it's its excessive length. Clocking in at over 2 hours and 20 minutes, the film -- like another summer hit, "The Hulk" -- can't seem to get a fix on where it should end. As adventurous as the scenes are, there seems to be one too many trips to the gallows for Sparrow.
Directed by Gore Verbinski ("The Ring"), "Pirates of the Caribbean" charts a new course for Disney as the studio's first PG-13 film. Parents should know, though, that it's not nearly as dark and violent as another recent PG-13 offering, "The Hulk." There's really no blood to speak of, but there are plenty of swords impaling humans and ghouls, and an occasional cannon ball that wipes out a crewmember. The rotted, cursed pirates may also look frightening, but their witty dialogue helps dull the edge.
DVD Features: The two-disc DVD set includes commentary tracks by Verbinski, Depp, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Knightley, Jack Davenport and the writers; making-of featurettes; 19 deleted and alternate scenes; "Below Deck," a feature that presents an interactive history of pirates; a blooper reel, DVD-ROM content and more. (Walt Disney Home Entertainment)
'Bad Boys II' (R): "Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?" Well, if you don't like excessive gun violence, f-bombs dropped every other word and extreme chases and car crashes, then you better run from the "Bad Boys" sequel starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
To tell you the truth, I didn't think much of the first "Bad Boys" film, which was below average at best. But since the 1995 action flick, Smith, Lawrence and director Michael Bay's acting and directing skills, respectively, have grown by leaps and bounds.
For starters, not only do Smith and Lawrence have great chemistry, they are much better and funnier actors than before.
As for Bay, he's fostered his dazzling visual technique with such smash hits as "The Rock" "Armageddon" and "Pearl Harbor" (and action producer Jerry Bruckheimer is along for this one, too). And he doesn't take long to show it off in "Bad Boys II," as waits all of a half-hour to pull off one of the most amazing freeway chase-turned multi-car crash scenes ever put on film.
Unfortunately, the trio's improved abilities to entertain is about all "Bad Boys II" has going for it. Smith and Lawrence, otherwise, are stuck in another far-fetched also-ran plot as a couple of narcotics cops trying to bust up a flow of Ecstasy into Miami.
Essentially, "Bad Boys II" is just another in a string of buddy-action flicks where the principal players are whipping out one-liners in rapid-fire succession. There's no doubt some will be entertained by that, as long as you're willing to put your skepticism on hold and pop a huge batch of popcorn.
DVD Features: Deleted scenes, production diaries, sequence breakdowns, stunts and visual effects featurettes and more. (Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment)
TV On DVD'The Ben Stiller Show' (NR): Long before movies like "There's Something About Mary" and "Zoolander" catapulted Ben Stiller into superstardom, the actor toiled for a year in 1992 on Fox television's "The Ben Stiller Show," which is arguably one of the funniest parody shows in the last decade or more.
The long-awaited two-disc DVD set includes the 12 episodes that aired on Fox, as well as a "lost" 13th episode that was permanently canned when the show was abruptly yanked off the air.
The show features, of course, the comedic genius of Stiller, but also the early talents of comedy actors Andy Dick, Janeane Garofalo and Bob Odenkirk -- who wrote with Stiller during his short stint in 1989 with "Saturday Night Live."
The show consists mainly of parodies of films and television shows, along with some original sketches. Highlights include the utterly hilarious "Cape Munster" -- where Stiller plays Eddie Munster with the psychotic demeanor of Robert De Niro in "Cape Fear" and "A Few Good Scouts" -- where Stiller channels Tom Cruise from "A Few Good Men." Stiller also spoofs the megastar in an all-Cruise variety show.
Stiller and company are also a hoot on spoofs of the reality show "Cops" ("Cops in Salem" and "Cops in Ancient Egypt" are gut-busters) and "Jake Steel: Marionette Cop" -- a twisted, but funny sketch that tracks a marionette police officer on his bloody beat.
Stiller and his cast mates contribute commentary to seven of the season's key episodes. (Warner Home Video)Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
