The War has officially started. It's time for MARVEL and DC to face off...

Greetings,

Firstly, a very happy new year to all readers. I know it has been a long time since I wrote something but I have decided to flex my metacarpals today. This post is going to be different than my usual ones. It is not a review, rather a glimpse into what to expect from Marvel Studios and DC/ Warner Bros. in 2016. Without superhero movies being the Hitchcock equivalent of the 21st century, it is only natural that these are the movies that nerds are most excited about. 

In total, we have seven movies lined up for 2016. Marvel begins it year with Deadpool (owned by Fox Studios, not connected to the MCU films). Summer will bring us Captain America: Civil War from MCU and X-Men: Apocalypse from 20th Century Fox. Marvel will end its year with its most mystical movie yet, Doctor Strange which is scheduled for November and hopefully a Gambit stand-alone movie from Fox towards the end of the year. As for DC, the year starts with a bang with one of the most historic comic book showdowns being presented on the big screen in Batman v Superman; Dawn of Justice. The only other DC movie lined up for 2016 is Suicide Squad, focusing mainly on the antihero team of the same name. Here I will only be talking about the MCU and the DC movies so I will not discuss Deadpool, X-Men: Apocalypse and Gambit in detail. So let's get started.

                            

March 25: Batman v Superman

Batman v Superman will pick up where Man of Steel left off. This movie is to be the second installment in DC's extended universe. According to Zack Snyder, the director, the story is considerably different from the comic. From as much as we know, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) was somehow damaged in the Battle of Metropolis (Superman v Zod in MOS) and feels that Superman is a threat to humanity, so he dons the black cape once again to come back as Batman. Note that in the movie, we will be seeing a much older Bruce Wayne. The story will pick up after Robin's death, with Batman feeling responsible and hence hanging his cape. So it is looks like Batman will be coming out of retirement to fight the Man of Steel. The trailers have also pointed to some other important things about the movie. Firstly, Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) will definitely be making an appearance in the movie. In one of the trailers we actually saw the Holy Trinity come together. Second, the main villain of the movie isThsi  Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg). So Batman and Superman will be fighting but they will probably reconcile before the last half hour of the movie. We do know that Lex Luthor will be using kryptonite and Zod's body to create Doomsday. Essentially, Doomsday is the main villain but it is Lex Luthor who creates him. However, the highlight of the movie will be the Batman v Superman fight scenes. As Lex Luthor quotes, "Black v Blue, Day v Night, Man v God!" I do feel that the movie could be too cluttered up with characters but we'll have to wait and watch. The film is made on a reported budget of $200 million, so Warner Bros. are expecting huge profits from the movie.

Expected Rating: 7.2/10

May 6: Captain America: Civil War

Captain America: Civil War is a movie that will definitely be successful, because it is basically Avengers 2.5. The movie has all Marvel heroes that we know as of yet, except the Hulk, Thor and the Guardians. The title of the movie makes the plot fairly self-evident. After the destruction in Sokovia during age of Ultron politicians  decide to form a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to call in the Avengers, which results in the fracturing of the team into two opposing factions–one led by Rogers who wishes to operate without regulation, and one led by Tony Stark who supports government oversight. The movie will basically be war between Team Cap v Team Iron Man. As far as we know, Black Widow, Black Panther, Iron Patriot and Vision will be in Team Iron Man while Hawk Eye, Scarlet Witch, Falcon, Agent 13/ Sharon Carter, Winter Soldier and Ant-Man will be Team Cap. The Winter Soldier, a.k.a, Bucky will have a very important role in the movie. He is supposed to be the catalyst that really starts the war between Captain and Iron Man. The trailer also has footage of Black Panther/ T'Challa and he will be a having a pretty important role. The most exciting news is that Spider-Man will feature in the movie. Marvel hasn't released any footage of Spider-Man on set but then again, Marvel has a habit of not revealing their cards till the end. We are not sure how much of a role he will have in the conflict but he will definitely be in the movie. However, the movie will not completely focus on the war. We will have a villains Helmut Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) and Brock Rumlow/ Crossbones (Frank Grillo). However, since it is a Captain America movie, a lot of focus will be on Cap and we will be seeing the war through his perspective. The important thing to remember is that in the comics not every hero came out of Civil War unharmed. Since Marvel has many new heroes lined up in Black Panther, Doctor Strange and Mrs. Marvel, we could see the death of one or two heroes, just like Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron. One thing for sure is that the war will have serious repercussions which will be followed up in future Marvel movies. It is time to choose a side.

Expected Rating: 9.4/10

                     

August 5: Suicide Squad

Suicide Squad is a very interesting prospect because it is something different than the traditional superhero movie. Most of the things relating to the story line of the movie have been kept tightly under wraps and there are only a few things we know at this point. The basic plot is that a group of super villains accept a secret mission from the government, led by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), knowing that it will likely lead to their deaths. Why? We don't know as of yet. This movie will be picking up from where Batman v Superman ends so there are a number of ways that the movie could go. The movie will be featuring Batman but it will focus mainly on the villains. The villains include Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Rick Flag, Captain Boomerang, Enchantress, Killer Croc, Slipknot, Diablo, Katana and of course, The Joker. The trailer did not reveal much about Joker's role in the movie, whether he is in the Squad or not, but it is him that most of the people will go to see. Jared Leto, the actor who is playing the role of the Joker reportedly went to extreme measures to prepare for his role, to make sure that it is something different than Heath Ledger's portrayal in The Dark Knight. Heath Ledger's portrayal was so good that  it would be difficult to improve on that but it would be interesting to see what different dimensions Jared Leto brings to the character. As far the Squad is concerned, Deadshot (Will Smith) and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) will be the main members. Since this movie is so different than mainstream superhero movies, it could either be very good or very bad. The trailer has raised our hopes so it will be exciting to see whether David Ayer and his team can deliver on their promise.

Expected Rating: 8.5/ 10

November 4: Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange is the movie in which Marvel really opens the gates for weirder things to come. Doctor Strange will be Marvel's entry into the world of sorcery and mysticism. The story will deal with Doctor Stephen Strange, one of the top neurosurgeons, who, after an injury due to a car accident which ruins his career, sets out on a journey of self-healing where he encounters The Ancient One. Now the Ancient One is one of the Supreme Sorcerers who becomes Doctor Strange's teacher and mentor and teaches him the ways of sorcery. The best part about this movie is that Benedict Cumberbatch is playing the role of Doctor Stephen Strange. The depth in the character and the skill required to bring, quite literally, such magic to life can be found only in Benedict Cumberbatch. This just makes the movie all the more exciting. The movie will also feature Karl Mordo (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor), a former student of the Ancient One who goes rogue after the Ancient One chooses Doctor Strange ahead of him. The movie will be largely unconnected to the other movies because it is such a different concept. If you guys have seen Ant-Man, the quantum microverse shown in it is the closest example of what to expect from this movie. Not much has been disclosed about the movie yet but ever since its announcement people have had great expectations from it.

Expected Rating: 9.0/10

As we can see, there is a lot to look forward to this year. I for one hope that all of these movies and others which have I not talked about can live up to the expectations. These movies will be essential to determine the future of superhero movies. The excitement will rise over the next few months.

Till next time,

HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED

(PS: Do comment your views about these movies.)

GET READY!

What does the future hold for us? Are we truly meant to spend our lives on Earth? What happens when 'JUDGEMENT DAY' comes?

Greetings.
I know it has been a long time since I wrote anything on this blog but I am back with some more reviews of some of the movies that amazed us all last year.

"Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here."   

-Cooper

This quote by the lead character of the film, Cooper (portrayed by Matthew McConaughey), sums up the message of the film. Firstly, Interstellar is a Christopher Nolan film, and we all know what that means. If one is familiar with movies like Inception, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Insomnia and The Prestige, well, one would know what to expect from Interstellar. If you think all of these movies are good, I assure you that Interstellar is even better. 

The movie presents an apocalyptic scenario where life on Earth is about to end. In search of new habitable worlds for humanity, a few astronauts travel through wormholes and the film (as expected from Nolan) forces us to think whether a fourth dimension really does exist.

A brief synopsis is as follows:

In the world shown in the movie, crop blight has led to a failing agrarian society. Former NASA pilot Cooper lives with her ten year old daughter, Murphy, who believes that her room is haunted by a poltergeist. Soon, it is discovered that this 'ghost' is an unknown intelligence sending coded messages through gravitational waves which leads Cooper and her daughter to a secret NASA facility of Professor John Brandt (portrayed by Micheal Caine). It is revealed that a wormhole has opened near Saturn that provides passage to new galaxies for potentially habitable planets. According to the data presented by three astronauts, these worlds are orbiting a super massive black hole named Gargantua.

Copper, along with Brandt's daughter Amelia (portrayed by Anne Hathaway), scientists Romilly and Doyle, and robots TARS and CASE make their way to the wormhole.

As they enter one planet, they discover that it has a severe gravitational time dilation of seven years per hour on the Earth. By the time they come back to ENDURANCE (the space shuttle), twenty three years have passed.

Murphy (thirty three years old now) is a scientist at NASA and is trying to solve the singularity equation of the black hole. Low on fuel, the crew decides to enter Mann's planet (one of the three scientists). Here they find Mann but as a result of years of desperation in the hope of a rescue, Mann just wanted to save his own skin. He tries to escape in the ENDURANCE, but Cooper brings it under control and Mann dies in the process.

The major twist comes right in the end. Low on fuel, Cooper and Amelia slingshot towards Gargantua and Cooper arrives in an 'extra-dimensional' tesseract where he realizes that the wormhole's creators are future humans transcending time and space, who had constructed the tesseract so that he could communicate with Murphy as her "ghost" and save humanity.

Using the code, Murphy solves the singularity equation. and once the data is transmitted, the tesseract dissolves itself and Cooper travels through the wormhole and wakes up at a NASA space station, realizing that humanity has been saved.

The film ends with Cooper preparing a mission to travel to Edmund's (another of the three initial scientists) planet in order to rescue Amelia.

The film had countless positives. Matthew McConaughey's performance was truly commendable. The supporting cast of Micheal Caine, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain (adult Murphy) also did justice to their roles. The direction (again, as expected) was amazing. The way such a complicated movie was worn together was really spectacular to watch. Double Negative also deserves to be mentioned, for if not for them, such a movie, with so many extraordinary visual effects, would not have been possible.

The move was based on the idea of an alternate universe and the fourth dimension: time and space. Nolan presented a universe where one had the ability to transcend time and space, to affect it and to change it. The ending of the movie is a classic example of the Bootstrap Paradox, something which has been debated by time travel enthusiasts all around the globe. All in all, the movie is a very interesting fusion of science with action, which encourages rational thinking, in an irrational way.

As for the negatives, Nolan films don't have many. If I have to be critical, it would be regarding the running time of the film. With a running time of 169 minutes, sometimes the movie does get a bit stretched. The science of the film was not fully accurate, but then again, it is a film on time travel, so that is expected.

THE VERDICT:

Interstellar presents us an insight into a world of four dimensions. If we truly are able to transcend time and space one day, the results could be paradigm-shifting. Overall, the movie is a good blend of all the emotions that make a good movie. Christopher Nolan's just gives it that stamp of verification of a good product. It is a bit complicated, so you would have to use your brains when watching the movie.

OVERALL RATING: 9.6/10

(P.S.: Please leave comments, it really encourages me.)

Till you return to Earth,He Who Must Not Be Named

Time and space...so much Physics man.

Is the future truly set? Or can we change it? Can we? Is our past the answer to our future?...

"The past: a place of potential promise, and possibility. We are the sum of our choices, as what we do now defines what we will do. Infinite decisions mean infinite consequences, for the future is never truly set." -Charles Xavier

When the idea of the seventh installment of the X-Men franchise was taken up, there was a lot of debate about whether it would act as a sequel to First Class (2011) or The Last Stand (2006). Ultimately, Bryan Singer and the X-Men team decided to connect both the movies in Days of Future Past. So, yeah, the movie is a big cluster of around a dozen heroes and some not-so-powerful villains. Since I had been following the X-Men movies, Days of Future Past was a snooze for me, but if you are deciding to watch the movie without watching the other six, well, best of luck. As I said before, the movie is a big cluster that connects various plots from the previous six movies.

However, even though a bit too complicated, this movie is without doubt the best X-Men film yet. Here is a brief plot of the film:

SPOILERS ALERT

The movie starts in the future, where most of Professor X's students have been murdered by the Sentinels, robots who kill mutants and humans who support them. Professor X's last hope of averting this future is to go back in the past and change a certain event which has led to such a situation, the event being the murder of Bolivar Trask (creator of the Sentinels) at the hands of Raven/Mystique. Since professor X is too old and weak to go back 50 years, Wolverine is sent back by Kitty Pryde to find Charles and Erik (the future Magneto) and convince them to help stop Mystique (then Raven). Wolverine wakes up in 1973, finds Charles at X-Mansion with Hank (a.k.a. Beast), and is surprised to see that Charles is able to walk. Somehow, he convinces them to help him. The three decide to take the help of a mutant Quicksilver to break Erik out of a prison in the Pentagon. After Erik is out, the four set out to find Raven. They are successful in this and are able to stop Trask's assassination, but Magneto has his own plans and decides to kill Raven to secure his future. He is stopped by Beast (Hank) and Raven escapes.Full of anger, Raven decides to kill Trask in Washington D.C., during the inauguration of the Sentinels by the President, Richard Nixon. However, Charles is able to use his powers (giving up his legs) and gets into Raven's head, hence, stopping her. However, Magneto thinks that this war was inevitable and decides to take out the humans before they take out the mutants. He surrounds the White House by the RFK Memorial Stadium and commands the Sentinels to attack the humans.

At this point, most of the X-Men of the future such as Storm, Bishop, Iceman have died and Charles and Magneto are on the brink of death.

Magneto is about to kill the President Richard Nixon, when he is shot by him, who turns out to be Raven. With Raven's help, Charles is able to get inside Magneto's head and convinces him to stop. Magneto leaves and Raven disappears in the frantic crowd, and so, the dystopian future is averted. Wolverine is back in the future and sees that all the X-Men, Storm, Iceman, Bishop, Beast, Kitty, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Rogue etc. are alive.

Now, the positives of the film:

Overall, Bryan Singer and his team has done a very good job. The action and the visual effects are trademark X-Men style and the actors have done a fairly good job. The new look of a more mature Professor X suits James McAvoy. Wolverine is just as destructive as he was in the last six films. Micheal Fassbender is again, very intense in the role of Magneto. However, the pick of the actors was Jennifer Lawrence. She had quite a lot of screen time as compared to the other X-Men and the whole plot was centered around her. She certainly lived up to what was expected of her and really gave a new insight into Raven/Mystique.

As far as the negatives go, well, the plot was too clustered. as I have repeatedly mentioned, if you have missed even one movie, nothing will make sense to you. Another thing is the inclusion of too many heroes. There were around  eight X-Men in the future and around six in 1973. Many of these heroes, such as Bishop and storm were not required but in their defense, it completes the connection. Other than this, there are no negatives.

Professor X (Future) and Professor X (1973)

With such a huge star cast and such expectations from the fans, Days of Future Past was sure to do well at the box office. The film has been well-received and now the fans can look forward to the next installment, X-Men: Apocalypse. in the post-credits scene, a glimpse of Apocalype and his Four Horsemen was shown, and this has already created a buzz among the X-Men fans.

THE VERDICT:

Besides maybe an over-complicated plot, the movie is surely one of the best in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As far as the other X-Men films go, this is without doubt the best among them.

OVERALL RATING: 8.2/10

(P.S: Leave comments, it really encourages me.)

Till the future is being written,

He Who Must Not Be Named

You MUST watch this movie!

The name is SHERLOCK HOLMES and the address is 221B BAKER STREET...

Sherlock Holmes, all of us know this guy. Yes, he is probably the world's most famous detective. The only problem for all of us 'Sherlocked' people out there (including me) is that he is fictional, and he has to be, for if a man with such intellectual gifts was to ever walk upon the Earth, the governments and criminals worldwide would have a hell of a problem upon their hands. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories about this consulting detective have been adapted into various forms- plays, movies and TV shows. I, being a die-hard Holmes fan, am familiar with all adaptions of this genius, and personally the BBC TV series titled 'Sherlock' is my favorite. 

Yes, I know that this blog is about movies, but for Sherlock Holmes, I think I can make an exception and write about the TV series.

"I know you're an army doctor and you've been invalided home from Afghanistan. I know you've got a brother who's worried about you, but you won't go to him for help because you don't approve of him- possibly because he's an alcoholic, more likely because he recently walked out on his wife. And I know that your therapist thinks your limp's psychosomatic, quite correctly, I'm afraid. That's enough to be going on with, don't you think?" -Sherlock Holmes to John Watson

This quote tells you all that you need to know about Mr. Holmes. One word- Genius.

Yes, this man is the most intellectually gifted person to be ever born, and the way he has been portrayed in the TV series is just phenomenal. Benedict Cumberbatch, the highly talented actor, plays the lead in 'Sherlock'. The actor portraying Sherlock's only friend, Dr. John Watson, is also one of the few actors who can fit into any role- Martin Freeman. Since most of us are familiar with the basic plots of the Sherlock Holmes' stories and novels, I don't think I need to summarize the episodes here, unlike my previous articles. In all, there are 9 episodes of 'Sherlock', divided among 3 seasons. Each episode is generally 85-90 minutes long, but once you start watching it, you get so engrossed that 90 minutes seem to pass in no time.

The first episode of season one is based on the first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study In Scarlet. It introduces John Watson, an army doctor invalided to London, to the highly gifted Sherlock Holmes while looking for a flatmate. The first two episodes in season one focus on making the viewers familiar with the personality of Holmes and Watson. Both the episodes have different criminals and are not linked to one another except for their benefactor- Jim Moriarty. Yes, Jim Moriarty is the main villain in the series and he has been portrayed wonderfully by Andrew Scott. Moriarty is the only criminal who has been at least mentioned in every Sherlock episode till Season 3. Moriarty is the south pole to Sherlock's north, just like Sherlock is the world's only consulting detective, Moriarty is the world's only consulting criminal. Moriarty's character was shown extensively in episode three,'The Great Game'.  And yes, another important character that can be seen throughout the three seasons is the co-creator himself, Mark Gatiss, who portrays Sherlock's elder brother, Mycroft Holmes. Mark's acting as Mycroft is just as commendable as Benedict and Martin's. His accent and dialogue delivery is so pure that it is almost bewitching. 

The first episode of the second season introduces the character of Irene Adler, the dominatrix who brings England to its knees. She is also seen to have a romantic attachment with Sherlock, which ultimately leads to her defeat. The second episode is based on one of the most famous Sherlock Holmes novels, The Hound Of The Baskerville. The storyline is somewhat different from the novel but just like the other Sherlock episodes, simply amazing. The third episode is without doubt the best of them all. It is based on the story 'The Final Problem', where Moriarty sets out to destroy Holmes and in the end of which both, Holmes and Moriarty fall to their deaths. The story was changed for the adaptation but the basic plot remained the same, with Moriarty committing suicide and Sherlock jumping off the roof of Bart's Hospital.

When Season 3 started this year, there was a lot of excitement among the fans who wanted to know how Sherlock had faked his death. Sherlock did return in the first episode and even stopped a terrorist activity in the heart of London. This episode also introduced the character of Mary Morstan, who marries John Watson in the second episode of the season, 'The Sign of Three'. The first two episodes might have been average from Sherlock's standard, but the third one was again one of the very best. It introduced a new villain, the king of blackmail, Charles Augustus Magnussen. The standoff between Sherlock and Magnussen was amazing to watch, but in the end, Magnussen was shot by Sherlock.

However, the third season was left at a cliffhanger, with a video message showing the apparent return of Moriarty.

Season 4 is set to air by mid-2015.

The way the stories have been adapted by the creators, Mark Gatiss ans Steven Moffat, are just amazing. The wit and brilliance of Sherlock can be seen in everything he does- his walk, his dressing sense, his eating habits etc. Benedict Cumberbatch has done a phenomenal job as Sherlock. In fact, he looks best as Sherlock from among his many different roles and its as if he really was Sherlock Holmes. Martin Freeman as John Watson is a perfect choice, and he really portrays the character very well. As talked above, Mark Gatiss as Mycroft is amazing. Besides, various characters play supporting roles, such as Mrs. Hudson, DI Lestrade, Anderson, Molly Hooper, Sgt. Sally Donovan etc.

The one thing that the world learns from this show is The Science Of Deduction. The beauty of the show is so engrossing that you keep wanting for more. I'm sure all the Sherlock fans out there are eagerly waiting for Season 4.

So to conclude, I quote DI Lestrade,

"Sherlock Holmes is a great man, and we are lucky, one day he might even be a good one."

THE VERDICT:

Simply stunning. Even if you are not into detectives and crime shows, it's a must watch, for you will realize how much of your brain is unused and how much you can know if you stop seeing and start observing.

Overall rating: 9.7/10

(PS: A few likes wouldn't hurt.)

Till you deduce the truth,

He Who Must Not Be Named

Why can't people just THINK?

Drink up me' hearties yo ho! It's a pirate's life for me. Savvy?

"Alas, this is the day you will always remember as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!" -Johnny Depp

The year was 1967 when Disney opened the Pirates of the Caribbean theme park ride in Disneyland, Orlando, Florida. Who would've thought that one day, a film series based on that ride will become one of the most popular and loved film series of all time. Yes ladies and gentlemen, the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise is without doubt one of the most popular film series in the world. According to me there are two reasons for the series' being a huge success:

1. Hollywood doesn't have many pirate films that are both, entertaining and thrilling.

2. Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp portrays the lead character, Captain Jack Sparrow, in all the four films. The film series are based in the late nineteenth century, when piracy was at its peak in the world. The first three films follow the adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow, his rivalry with his treacherous First Mate, Captain Hector Barbossa (Rush), and the variety of problems that come their from, from the East India Company to ancient sea monsters. The main plot also includes a romantic side story between the EIC's Governor's daughter, Elizabeth Swann (Knightly) and a blacksmith-turned-pirate, Will Turner (Bloom), and how the two of them somehow get involved in Jack Sparrow's adventures.

Till date, there have been four films in the franchise, with a fifth one currently in development. The first three films are based on the Turner-Swann adventures, while the fourth film is a stand-alone sequel.

As far as the story line goes, here is a brief synopsis:

The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Captain Sparrow's former First Mate and his crew of undead pirates kidnap Governor Swann's daughter, Elizabeth. In order to save his love, blacksmith Will Turner teams up with Captain Jack Sparrow, who wants revenge on Barbossa (his first mate), for marooning him on an island and stealing his ship, the Black Pearl. On the other hand, Barbossa and his crew want to lift the curse of the 882 pieces of Aztec gold by returning them to Isla de Muerta. The last piece, however, is in the possession of William Turner, whose father was a pirate on the Black Pearl before his disappearance. The story follows Jack and Will's adventures to save Elizabeth and destroy Barbossa.

Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Lord Beckett of the EIC arrests Will and Elizabeth for aiding Jack Sparrow's escape. Jack, on the other hand, has to pay his debt to a sea monster, Davy Jones, who had raised the Pearl from the depths and made Jack captain for 13 years. In order to escape the debt, i.e., 100 years of service aboard Davy Jones' ship (The Flying Dutchman), Jack is in the search of a chest which contains Davy Jones' heart. Beckett too wants the heart to control the seas, and he guarantees clemency to Will and Elizabeth should Will be successful in obtaining the chest.
However, Will finds out that his father is alive and that he can use to chest to free of his debt. So, all three want the chest and what follows is a spectacular adventure.
(Personally,this one is my favorite out of the four.) 
At World's End (2007)
This movie continues from where the second one left off. Lord Beckett gains power over Davy Jones' and decides to use him to extinguish piracy and make the EIC the masters of the sea.
The Nine Pirate Lords (which include Jack Sparrow and Barbossa) decide to meet at Shipwreck Cove in order to summon the help of the ancient sea goddess Calypso, and to make their final stand against the EIC. What follows throughout the rest of the movie are fights and fight between the EIC, Davy Jones and the pirates. In the end, Jack Sparrow escapes his debt to Jones', Jones' heart is stabbed by Will, and Will becomes the new captain of the Flying Dutchman. Will and Elizabeth marry and the post-credits scene shows Will Turner Jr. at the shore with his mother, waiting for his father.
(This movie brings an end to the Turner-Swann faction of the franchise.)
On Stranger Tides (2011)
This movie is a stand-alone sequel to the first three, and follows the adventures of Jack Sparrow and his search for the Fountain of Youth. Captain Barbossa has left piracy and has become a privateer in King George II's Navy, and he too is in a race against the Spanish to find the Fountain. This movie also introduces the character of Edward Teach a.k.a. Blackbeard, an infamous pirate who is also in search of the fountain. As it turns out, Blackbeard's daughter was a former love interest of Jack's, and she still remembers Jack's betrayal. All three want to reach the Fountain for different reasons and the visual effects in this movie are better than the ones seen in the first three.

In total, the four movies have grossed somewhere around $3.8 billion at the box office, making it one of the highest grossing film franchises in the world. The concept of the films was new, something which the world wasn't familiar with and roping in Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow was the icing on the cake. Depp's portrayal of the character cannot be described in words. The rest of the cast has done a pretty good job in creating good story lines which maintain the interest of the viewers. A major positive in the series are the excellent dialogues. Throughout the series, the actors have talked like pirates, with constant use of phrase like 'Aye!', 'Land Ho!', 'Savvy?' etc. The direction provided by Verbinski and Marshall has been good and has really allowed the series to reach such heights.



In general, there are no negatives. Maybe the movies are a bit too long, maybe some scenes are unnecessarily stretched, maybe the creatures and pirates are too ugly etc. All these are very minor points and can even go unnoticed.
The movie has received a variety of awards and accolades, and I think think that the series very well deserved these honors.

THE VERDICT:

"Oi Mate, you like pirates?You like Johnny Depp? You wanna watch pirate movies? I tell ya what mate, Pirates of the Caribbean is just the perfect film series for you.

If you like the concept of pirates, sea monsters and unknown treasures of the seas, this is the film series for you.

Overall Rating: 8.8/10
Best Movie: Dead Man's Chest
Not the Best Movie: The Curse of the Black Pearl

(PS: A few likes wouldn't hurt.)

Till you are out of rum,
He Who Must Not Be Named

Do you like Pirates of the Caribbean?

When this city needs me, I will be there. Who am I? I am THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.

"Soon everyone in this city will know how it is to live in my world. A world without power, without mercy, a world without Spider-Man. They will see me for who I truly am. I'm Electro."                             -Jamie Foxx

Yes, it is here. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 is in theaters. After two years, all the fans of the web-slinger have something to see, and enjoy too. After the first movie, the expectations from Marc Webb and Columbia Pictures were very high. And boy, they have delivered one heck of a movie.
In 2012, when the first movie was release, it was marketed as "The Untold Story". The plot of the first movie was all about one thing- Peter finding out the truth about his parents. The second movie too starts from that base only, with Richard Parker's footage about the disappearance of his wife and him.First of all, I have to commend Marc Webb on the direction and Alex Kurtzman on the screenplay adaptation, for these two things were at a level completely different from what we saw in the first movie.
Now, I am going to talk a bit about the movie. Since this is a review (not a plot summation like my first article), there will be some SPOILERS ahead. So all of you Spidey fans who haven't seen the movie, well, read at your own risk.

The movie starts with Richard and Mary Parker leaving their son Peter at Uncle Ben's house and the events that followed,i.e., the death of Richard and Mary Parker. In the present, Peter is loving his double-life as Spider-Man, beating criminals, saving the damsel in distress, and being loved by the kids. Peter has graduated from Midtown High and is dating Gwen Stacy, though he continues to be haunted by the promise he made to her father, Captain Stacy in the first movie. While chasing a Russian mobster, Peter saves the life of Max Dillon, an Oscorp employee who is a nobody. Since Max is a loner and is always being used by people for getting their work done, he is inspired by Spider-Man and begins to idolize him.
 So much so, that he becomes obsessed with him and thinks of him as his 'best friend'. In another part of the city, Harry Osborn is back from boarding school after 10 years. Norman Osborn is dead and he realizes that he too, was going to die of the same disease that took his father's life (since the disease for hereditary). He becomes CEO of Oscorp Industries and starts looking for his cure. Now, Peter breaks up with Gwen and in Oscorp, Max is involved in an accident with electric eels which make him into a blue colored alien. After being humiliated by Spidey, Max becomes Electro and his only goal is to finish Spider-Man. Harry, in the search of his cure, realizes that Spider-Man's blood might be the only thing that could save him. When Spider-Man refuses, he decides to conduct an experiment on himself with the spiders from the first film (the spiders that bit Peter). Skipping the useless parts in the story line, the experiment goes wrong and Harry is converted into a green colored man, thus naming his avatar The Green Goblin. What follows are fights and fights between Spidey, Electro and the Green Goblin, with Electro and the Goblin teaming up against Spidey. Quite standard, huh? Here is the big twist in the tale.

In the last fight, The Green Goblin manages to kill Gwen Stacy. Yes, Gwen Stacy DIES in the movie. Peter is left heartbroken, he quits as Spider-Man, but one day Aunt May makes him realize how he had to go on and forget the events of the past. Peter realizes his responsibility to the city and returns, fighting a new villain called Rhino in the end. In the last scene of the movie, the shadowy figure is seen talking to Harry (who is in a mental asylum) about raising an army and revealing that Rhino was his creation
This is the basic plot.


Now, let's talk about the positives. Personally, I think Dane DeHann has done an amazing job bringing the character of harry Osborn to life. From his looks to his acting, he was completely immersed in the role and has definitely done a much better job than James Franco from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. 

Secondly, I think Electro's character was very well written. Jamie Foxx's acting might have been average, but the portrayal of this classic villain from the Spider-Man comics was a huge success. For a first on-screen appearance, kudos to Electro.
Andrew Garfield and the supporting cast was good as usual, though there was nothing spectacular about them.

On the negative side, the scenes involving Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy were far too lengthy and there was no need for them. Had those scenes been removed, the movie would have been shorter by at least 20 minutes. Plus, the death of Gwen in the end makes no sense. You can't kill the heroine in a superhero movie. Perhaps Webb was inspired by Nolan's The Dark Knight, in which the Joker killed Batman's love interest.
Secondly, I think the character of Rhino was a waste. He came on for only five minutes in the film, and that too at the very end. They could have introduce his character in the next film itself. Why they brought him for a cameo, I don't know.

Besides this, the movie was good.
THE VERDICT:
If you are a Spidey fan, this is a must-watch for you. For those who are not fans of the web-slinger, well, if you nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon, give this movie a shot, you might like it.

Andrew Garfield has signed a four film deal with Columbia, and two more films are in the making.
If you guys have any predictions regarding the third film, please right them down in the comments.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

(P.S: A few likes wouldn't hurt.)

Till you unravel yourself,

He Who Must Not Be Named.

Is Spider-Man my best friend?