Entertainment
Hello and welcome readers. This issue in the entertainment section we bring you many reviews that will you help you deiced if you want to see that movie you have yet to see. Pirates of the Caribbean review written by cosmicdude2 and The Simpsons Movie review by Doddsy1992 should tell if you those movies are even worth your money. Also Mr Brownstone has made a great album review of Libertad by Velvet Revolver to tell if this 80s-90s band is worth a listen.
-Jamie-
Review: Pirates Of The Caribbean 3 - By: cosmicdude2
It's here! Yes, the highly anticipated movie, Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End . It's a very good movie; what else could you expect? It's the guys from Disney. In this article, I will briefly explain why Pirates 3 is so excellent, whilst trying not to give much away.
The movie starts off with the same cast as always, featuring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. The first five minutes show that this is not the kind of movie little kiddies should watch. The movie starts off with a band of pirates about to be hung. The start is very superstitious as is the whole movie. Captain Jack Sparrow is dead whilst Captain Barbossa is alive. Jack only makes his first screen appearance a good half hour into the movie, though. You better be prepared for a whole lot of strange humour, as there's plenty of meetings where people gather around aimlessly lying at each other. For example, Jack tries to make a deal with the East India Trading Company, which well, you'll see what happens. Once the dealing and, well to put it nicely, lying is over, the movie kicks into a full-scale battle. The special effects are stunning, equivalent to final battles in movies such as the Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers . If you wait for the final credits, you can see how many stunt doubles they used, and trust me, there's a lot. The ending is what you can expect from the guys who made this. Also, when I saw the movie, there was an extended ending after the credits. So stick around for more!
There is also talk for a fourth movie, but if this is to be the last, it certainly is a good last movie. The big thing, which bugged me throughout the movie, is it's more of a love story between Will and Elizabeth then any other of the pirate's trilogy. So really, beneath all the swashbuckling and fighting, it is somewhat a love story in disguise. The effects are stunning, to be honest. The movie is very original and the plot is very twisting. It will keep you on the edge wondering, “What the heck is going to happen next,” as its very unpredictable. It is much more entertaining then the second movie as it sees the return of Captain Barbossa. Geoffrey Rush fits his role perfectly, making this better than Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest any day. He makes up for the countless errors that the producer made in Dead Man's Chest . However, there is one question that goes unanswered through the entire movie, and if it is the final movie, the whole trilogy. Who is Will Turner? His personality keeps changing and I doubt anyone has bothered to write a full character for him. Either that or the producers want us to think like that. Nonetheless, if you can be bothered to see this movie, I highly recommend it.
Overall Rating : 8/10
Overall, I would highly recommend this movie. Although, it does get a bit to silly in places, even for Pirates of the Caribbean! This is how I would rate this movie:
10/10 - Special Effects - Graphics are stunning with great special effects.
7/10 - Plot - Becomes a bit too silly as well as being very strange.
8/10 - Humour - The producers deliver that same humour that you can expect from pirates, but it does get a little to crazy in parts.
This movie is a must see for any Pirates of the Caribbean fan.
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Review: Simpsons Movie - By: Doddsy1992
18 years is a long time to wait for a movie but has the wait really been worth it. The Simpsons Movie was finally released at the end of July and has already begun making more millions for Groening and his cronies. With the movie's plot kept under wraps right up until the premiere the hype was huge. So huge that 7-Eleven were running Kwik-E-Mart style products and the usual amount of fast food restaurant merchandise flooded out of restaurants, but did it live up to the hype?
From a Simpsons fan there is only one answer, YES! The script was well beyond the standard and the jokes were wittier than any episode I have seen. The amount of cheap laughs were minimal but where they were located really improved the movie. Having a knowledge of the Simpsons really wouldn't have made that much difference. Having the knowledge would have increased the viewing enjoyment but it would have made only a small difference. Even with all this greatness surrounding the movie was the fact that they were showing you Bart's ‘doodle'. That's right, Bart bears all in the movie, but it was not for cheap laughs but it was an integral part of the movie. Now, back to the plot.
As usual it was at the standard Simpson level of outlandishness. Homer's ‘Pig Crap' curses the whole town as they're trapped inside a ‘d'ohme' (as Homer puts it) which the EPA place there for the good of the United States. The Simpsons escape to Alaska but return when Springfield is in danger. The thing that ties in most with the Simpsons episodes is that with the is central plot there is also a side plot surrounding Bart and Ned's relationship.
The whole movie was an incredibly enjoyable experience and I recommend it to Simpsons fans and non-fans alike. No matter what your opinion on the yellow-bellied family I suggest you see this movie and then make up your mind. This film definitely deserves: 9/10
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Review: Libertad By Velvet Revolver - By: Mr Brownstone
It seemed unlikely that a group of has-beens popular from the eighties and ninties would get a number one album in the our decade. It seemed unlikely that they'd have hit singles. Oh, but they did. In 2004, the new supergroup Velvet Revolver, consisting of Slash (Guns N' Roses), Dave Kushner (Wasted Youth), Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots), Duff McKagan (Guns N' Roses), and Matt Sorum (The Cult, Guns N' Roses), had a number one album, Contraband. They reached an incredibly large fanbase in a short time, and some critics even say that they could "Single handedly bring back hard rock". The band had amazing solos, aggressive drumming, and everything else you'd want in a hard rock band. Weiland was the singer of a grunge band, so his vocal style added an alternative element to the music. Contraband was indeed some of the best hard rock of the decade. But does their second album, Libertad, live up to this?
When I first got Libertad, it messed with my thought. The first four songs, Let It Roll, She Mine, Get Out The Door, and She Builds Quick Machines made me expect this to be better than their first album. Then came The Last Fight. This song, to me, was pretty boring and I didn't like it, but I expected it to be like Fall To Pieces from Contraband- the lighter song that I just don't feel. But I was wrong. The following song, Pills, Demons, Etc., wasn't too great either- but I started to like it after listening to it again. After that were American Man, Mary Mary, Just Sixteen, Can't Get It Out Of My Head (ELO cover), and For A Brother. I didn't like any of these. The next song, Spay, was great, but after that the song Gravedancer was yet another boring one. However, half-way through Gravedancer they did the whole hidden track thing, with the hidden track Don't Drop That Dime. Don't Drop That Dime seemed like a failed attempt to sound like The Rolling Stones.
Since I bought the iTunes deluxe edition, I got two bonus songs, Messages and Psycho Killer (Talking Heads cover). Messages seemed like another boring song, but Psych Killer certainly wasn't. After listening to Psycho Killer a few times, it became my favorite song from the album, and my current favorite song. They did a great job at this song, and it was much better than the original version. If you get Libertad but not the Deluxe Edition, I'm suggesting that you download Psycho Killer on iTunes.
So what makes these songs boring? The guitar is just weak. Most of the songs on the album are driven morely by the vocals instead of the guitar. I can't even really hear the bass or the rhythm guitar! Slash has proven to be one of the best guitarists of all time, but Libertad doesn't show any signs of that. I'm also really disappointed in how Scott Weiland sings in this. If you compare this album to his early work with Stone Temple Piolts (I.E., the song 'Plush') you'll notice that he's leaving his grunge voice behind, or at least losing it. He's done better in the past.
If you're starting to get interested in Velvet Revolver, you'd be better off getting Contraband. But for those of you who want to find some of this year's good rock under a sea of pop, you might as well be satisfied with Libertad.
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