Opinion Battles Round 11Favourite Johnny Depp Roles

Welcome to Round 11 of Opinion Battles! This time, we’re sharing our Favorite Johnny Depp roles. While Johnny Depp has had many many remarkable roles, the one that I love the most would have to be Captain Jack Sparrow and I’m definitely not alone this time! 🙂
Head over to Movie Reviews 101 and drop a vote on who you agree with the most!

Movie Reviews 101

Opinion Battles Round 11Favourite Johnny Depp Roles

Johnny Depp has been working in Hollywood for over 3o years ever since we saw him get sucked into him bed in A Nightmare on Elm Street before starting off on a career of playing outside the box character with his relationship with director Tim Burton. Granted he has gone slightly off the rails recently but people still want to know what will out next from him.

If you want to take part in future rounds we will be looking at our Favourite Chris Evans roles. to take part in this round send your choices to moviereviews101@yahoo.co.ukby Sunday 12^th June 2016.

Darren – Movie Reviews 101

Sam – Benny and Joon

Sam is the young man who is obsessed with Buster Keaton using his comic timing to get a reaction of the Joon who is struggling with her own mental health…

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Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

I have to take a moment and applaud at my first marathon which I did totally like a marathon because there was no other movie reviews in between 😉 Except for between the 1st and 2nd movie of course.  Next movie and most up to date Pirates movie is Pirate of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.  In this one, a lot of the old cast is not there anymore, however, in At World’s End, we did get a snapshot of what they are after in this one.

Director: Rob Marshall

Cast: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Ian  McShane, Penelope Cruz, Kevin McNally, Sam Claflin, Astrid Berges-Frisbey

In continuation of At World’s End, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) ends up in London to save Mr. Gibbs (Kevin McNally) from hanging to find that he is not stuck in the presence of King George (Richard Griffiths) who has hired Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) to find the Fountain of Youth.  However, as he now has the map, they need his help.  After his narrow escape, he sees his father, Captain Teague (Keith Richards) who leads him to where the rumors have started that he is searching for a crew and he reunites with the imposter, an old flame Angelica (Penelope Cruz).  Not sure if Angelica is being an exceptional con artist or truly bitter about being abandoned, he lands himself unexpectedly on ship Queen Anne`s Revenge, which is the terrifying and deadly Blackbeard`s  (Ian McShane) ship.  They now need to not only find the Fountain of Youth but before that, find certain items to fulfill their quest. With Barbossa and also the Spaniards on the chase, they need to outrun each other and Sparrow needs to come up with another plan to staying alive.

At this point in the series I really hoped that it could keep up with the series before. This isn’t a bad one, it feels just a bit empty. The first time ever that I watched this was about a year ago and I fell asleep maybe 30 minutes in.  This time, I started feeling heavy eyelids at about an hour.  I did tough it out and finished the whole thing as it picks up pace shortly after.  The movie to me right now is a blur and its just the next day.

 With Gore Verbinski no longer doing this one, we have a new style from Rob Marshall, especially since it seems he’s involved in musicals.   Looking at his directorial efforts, I’ve only really enjoyed Memoirs of a Geisha.  This one wasn’t too bad but you can see the changes, especially since even the cast has many swaps.  However, Johnny Depp is still on as Captain Jack Sparrow.  He is what defines this movie.  In this one, we start looking more into his world and his life since we bring in his old lover, Angelica played by Penelope Cruz.  I’m not much of a fan of Cruz.  She’s just a pretty face in my book and never really excels in any of the roles I’ve seen her in but she was alright in this one.  A lot more acceptable than I had expected.

In this one, whats nice is that Mr. Gibbs played by Kevin McNally get a more important role from the start to finish.  He’s always been around and about in the previous few and he always has a nice witty dialogues to counter Jack.  Very enjoyable on screen.  Giving him more parts adds to this one for sure.  Plus, we continue to have Geoffrey Rush’s Captain Barbossa.  Except in this one, he now runs with the King’s crew but still keeps that ruthless trait in him.  Its an interesting change in events.

This time the big addition is our villain, Blackbeard played by Ian McShane. I wasn’t completely familiar with him before I searched him up but it seems that he’s actually done some pretty awesome roles in the past.  Blackbeard was played okay.  I never actually felt like anyone was in much danger even when this pirate was seriously evil with his zombiefied crew members and his rope manipulating sword.  Maybe its because I know that Jack Sparrow always makes it out. At the same time, there weren’t all too many surprises and exciting moments.

There is one aspect that I liked and disliked at the same time. I haven’t really made up my mind yet. The mermaids were done really awesome.  That whole scene where they enter the story and the whole scene following it was just amazing.  The character of Syrena was also quite nice.  Her story with the clergyman (??) Philip was a bit predictable and sappy but it was cute.  Although, their acting were both somewhat lacking.  However, they were no doubt the young and pretty faces for the movie and the blooming love story at the same time.

Overall, this isn’t a bad flick.  It had its issues and it wasn’t as gripping or intense as the previous ones.  The style was different and it was a bit slower.  I felt it was a little unnecessary to have this followup (or any more but obviously I’m wrong because the 5th one is due in 2015) but at least we had an awesome mermaid scene to watch and it was done really well.  There are pros and cons to this one and at times, it might even feel like it would never end but if you don’t go watch it with too many expectations, it has its entertaining parts and some redeeming features 😉

Despite all this, I’m still looking forward to Pirates 5, according to IMDB it has a 2015 release date and two new directors.  Who knows how that will go, but I’m staying hopeful! 🙂

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)

Moving along with the marathon, we arrive at the 3rd instalment of Pirates of the Caribbean with At World’s End.  If you haven’t read my reviews on the first two, you can check it out HERE and HERE! I saw this one in theatres with my mom in Hong Kong back in 2007 when I was in Asia for the entire summer.  Hong Kong had made its main promotion with Chow Yun-Fat‘s role as Sao Feng so my mom was interested as he was popular in her generation.

Director: Gore Verbinski

Cast: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Tom Hollander, Chow Yun-Fat, Bill Nighy, Geoffrey Rush, Naomie Harris

Dead Man’s Chest left us with a cliffhanger ending and this one picks up pretty much right after it.  Out comes Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) leading the crew along with Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris) in search of a new ship and help from Captain Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat), a ruthless Chinese pirate, in order to save Captain Jack Sparrow (each for their own reasons) from Davy Jones Locker. With the “song” being sung, Sao Feng and Barbossa has to find Jack Sparrow in order to have their meeting for the Brethren Court at Shipwreck Cove, and at the same time, not fall for another game of deceit/betrayal set up or manipulated by others controlled by East India Company and Lord Beckett (Tom Hollander) and as well as not fall prey to Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) and his Flying Dutchman.

At World’s End is somewhat hard to pinpoint as to whether I like it or not.  For one, the movie itself is very long and the plot keeps switching and switching from one betrayal, to another deceit to something else.  It seems like they wanted to wrap up the series desperately (but then they came out with On Stranger Tides which I will watch tonight probably). The plot becomes  a bit more serious with a few scenes of more dumbed down humor compared to before. Jack Sparrow’s appearance is kept to be the same craziness but it has less wit than before.  However, some characters did rise up to a better development.

For one, Orlando Bloom is always charming but before, his goal was just always Elizabeth and Elizabeth and even more Elizabeth.  This time, he’s got a brain of his own and his own agenda.  This makes him have a totally and completely renewed (and attractive) vibe to his character making him the one I loved seeing on screen.  Then, we have this whole fresh vibe between him and Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth.  On that same note, Elizabeth Swann really developed as well. She now has to tough up and face her choices with how things ended in Dead Man’s Chest and how to deal with the events to come in this one.  Both of them was a joy to watch on screen 🙂

Now lets look at the other tidbits! Chow Yun-Fat wasn’t on screen a whole lot (so much for the Hong Kong promotion, my mom felt cheated).  He was alright though as he usually is. That little part didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.  This movie had a lot of not very useful parts.  Maybe because the plot was all over the place and sometimes I wasn’t really sure where everything or anything was going.  On a side note, Davy Jones was still pretty awesome plus we saw more of Naomie Harris as Tia Dalma who is mysterious and dark so she adds a bit of darkness.  Hmm…and the whole thing was very CGI, good or bad depends on the person 😉 I found it fitting, fun, thrilling.

At World’s End is still quite a thrilling adventure to watch however, what makes it lose its steam a bit is the mass amount of plot with so many characters brought back or added in with more screen time.  What does help is that there are characters that develop and they bring on a different vibe to the whole story along with some darkness.  Overall, its a decent movie for the Pirates series.  I loved the first two and this one I occasionally watch as well, just because of the length I usually split it in various parts throughout the day or maybe two days. Not the best in the series but still enjoyable!

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)

Pirates marathon officially continues! After the success of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, we have the sequel followed up by Dead’s Man Chest. Johnny Depp returns as the rogue Captain Jack Sparrow to explore and conquer difficulties in the Caribbeans with yet another set of adventures. I saw this one in theatres back in 2006 when it first released with my best friend.

Director: Gore Verbinski

Cast: Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, Stellan Skarsgard, Bill Nighy, Jack Davenport, Tom Hollander

Gore Verbinski is back with this second instalment of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest! After the previous instalment with Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) helps Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from being hung, they now are separated on their wedding day and held in jail under the order of  Lord Beckett (Tom Hollander).  However, he gives Will a deal that if he can bring back Jack’s compass then he will give them back their freedom.  When Will finally catches up with Jack Sparrow, he gets deceived into getting caught in the way to cheat his way out of Jack Sparrow’s release from the pursuit of Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), the captain of Flying Dutchman that homes a bunch of pirates living in the middle of life and death.   On the pursuit of a key that opens something, they end up going through a lot of fights and frantic escapes with each having their own agenda.

Dead Man’s Chest is the one in my memory that I loved the most! Gore Verbinski did a fantastic job in the first one and coming back as the director in the second one helps this one out a lot.  This time, he brings in a whole lot more fun and action.  What really catches me is the action mixed with funny moments.  The interaction is hilarious even the sword fights are hilarious. Plus, maybe its the initial thought of when I first saw this  movie in theatres, I was with my best friend and it had some really memorable moments that makes this movie feel even closer to my heart.

One thing that works for this sequel is the cast.  We have a lot of the initial cast sticking around but after the first’s quest, they have grown and matured.  I’m all about character development and if anything, as much as it was a development in Jack Sparrow’s character, we also see the deeper side of Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner, not together but being independent of each other. Jack Sparrow is still the crazy, unexpected pirate who is obsessed over rum, lies about everything to everyone and is confused as always.  This time around, I started feeling that Jack Sparrow in Pirates is equivalent to John McClane in Die Hard.  Its what keeps the audience intrigued because he not only brings us action but he also brings us laughs 🙂

Another reason that I love Pirates is because yes, Orlando Bloom is hot but I do love Keira Knightley.  She is an awesome actress and I possibly own *almost* all of her movies.  I haven’t seen them all but she’s always quite impressive as her roles vary in character and style.  In this one, she starts off as the rebellious governor’s daughter and eventually finds that her true nature is quite like a pirate but then, she still finds the men around her quite silly at times, and childish.  Its a really charming and likable character.

Additonal mentions go out to Bill Nighy who plays Davy Jones.  What actually makes me laugh when I watch this movie is remembering how my best friend’s comment that Davy Jones was attractive. LOL! Weird tastes! Even Bill Nighy in real person would not make me connect with “attractive” but he was a mean and awesome character.  I love Davy Jones! He made the movie even better than it already was in my book 🙂 Plus, we have Stellan Skarsgard.  He`s not in it a whole lot but he plays a pretty awesome Bootstrap Bill and Will’s father.

So far, on this rewatch, Dead Man’s Chest is still more entertaining than the first one.  I love them both a lot but this one seems more fun and I really loved this villain a whole lot more.

I know there’s a lot of mixed reviews on this one.  What do you think about Dead Man’s Chest? Do you think the original is better?

Reboot! Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Back in April, I posted up this review as a guest contributor over at Tyson`s Head in a Vice.  However, as he has changed the direction of his blog and decided to take down that project.  I have carried over the review over here! If you haven`t read this, then here is your chance! If you have read it, please had on over to Head in a Vice because its an awesome blog! You will love every minute of it 🙂

Director: Gore Verbinski

Cast: Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush

When a young boy Will is picked up by a government ship by Commissioner Swann and his crew, his daughter Elizabeth Swann hides the pirate golden coin around his neck to protect him.  Years later when they are older, Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) looks at this secret coin and chooses to wear it around her neck, which sends off an invisible signal to the pirate ship, Black Pearl and causes her to be kidnapped.  Amongst the chaos, Will (Orlando Bloom) teams up with Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) who was left marooned on an abandoned island because of the captain of the Black Pearl and is on a quest to seek it as well.  On the Black Pearl, Elizabeth meets Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and learns that the crew is cursed because of their greed and this is why they need to get back the last coin to undo the curse.

I love the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.  Its always fun and it has Johnny Depp in one of his best roles.  He has some epic lines and he’s so happy-go-lucky and does some of the most surprising things.  Bring in Orlando Bloom fresh out from after handsome Legolas from Lord of the Rings trilogy and one of my favorite actresses, Keira Knightley and you’ve got me deeply in love with this series.  The fun factor gives me the opportunity to watch it over and over again.  Its somewhat turned into an annual marathon event.

Although this one isn’t my favorite in this franchise, it does give a good start.  We get to see everyone and how they are built in the characters they become.  The characters in the most part are very witty and enjoyable.  They have very catchy dialogue especially Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow and he matches it up with this awesome pirate accent.  Its has a great balance between adventure and humor. On the other hand, it also brings in questions of honesty and integrity and how far you would go to get what you want.

This review took me ages to write and its mostly because I loved it but I wasn’t really sure why I did and how to write it out. Its really fun, adventurous and funny.  Although in my opinion, the second one is the funniest one (but I know people might disagree with me).  However, this one really sets up the right path for the next one and that makes it total awesomeness.  Along with a great cast and we’re on our way to a great flick! Props to Disney for this one and giving us an iconic character in Jack Sparrow! Definitely one that I’d recommend for a fun time.

Just a little additional update…

Back in April, I had wanted to initiate a Pirates of the Caribbean marathon but I didn’t get to it! Just a heads up that I’ll be doing it soon! I already popped in the Pirates 2 into my player already 🙂 Just need to get a few reviews thats been sitting around up and then we’re in business to finish this up!