2.35:1 Widescreen

Pirates of the Caribbean – The Curse of the Black Pearl

Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 11th, 2003

Based on a ride at Disneyland, you probably would not have expected much except for the fact that you have Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush cast as the leads. The Black Pearl is a mysterious pirate ship half old-wives-tale half ghost story. Geoffery Rush plays Captain Barbossa the captain of the Black Pearl he sails the seas in search of every last piece of cursed Aztec gold to try and free himself and his mates. Johnny Depp plays the roguish Captain Jack Sparrow (the acting for this part was based on Keith Richards) on...e captain of the Black Pearl and trying to find his ship and get it back. Add to the mix Keira Knightley as the kidnapped daughter of a governor and Orlando Bloom as the son of a long lost pirate and you are ready for a rousing good time on the high seas. The story is pretty straight forward, the acting is great and the film looks fantastic all adding up to one of the best popcorn flicks in a long time.

Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) dvd cover art

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All the Queen’s Men

Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 29th, 2003

Synopsis

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League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Widescreen Edition)

Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 26th, 2003

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (LXG) might best be described as a Movie of Bizarre Moments. Attempting to blend Gothic Batman imagery with an Indiana Jones cast, director Stephen Norrington shows his relative newness to directing. The film is at times awkward and unbalanced, but overall entertaining and visually impressive enough to justify watching.

The Plot: The story of LXG is an interesting one. A band of miscellaneous folk hero’s and mythological urban characters are brought together to f...rm a “Special Forces” commando squad for turn of the century (that is the prior century – 1899) Britain. Their task – prevent the warmongering terrorist activities of the mysterious villain “The Fantom.” Apparently this is all based on a comic book from some number of years ago, and you have to approach the movie ready to acknowledge that it is a fantasy in a more aggressive sense than in Indiana Jones – the laws of physics, the technologies employed, and the existence of some of the characters have to be taken as they are. This plot is Mission Impossible style over-the-top, and by end I was ready for a break from last minute twists.