Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Captain Jack Sparrow is back once again in the fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Johnny Depp's performance is flawless as always as Jack Sparrow is off to find the Fountain of Youth. At his side for the first time in the series is Penelope Cruz as Angelica, the long lost daughter of the infamous pirate Blackbeard, portrayed by Ian McShane. I personally was disappointed to learn that Kira Knightly and Orlando Bloom would not be appearing in the film, and even more so with Cruz being added to the cast. But after watching the film I quickly realized that Cruz was the perfect fit for Angelica.

'On Stranger Tides' has more action than you need, with plenty of sword fights, dangers at sea, and the always funny chase scene. It is no surprise to me that 'On Stranger Tides' stands as the 8th highest-grossing film of all time worldwide, with a box office total reaching over $1 billion. In my opinion this might be the best film of the series... excluding the first film of course. I really could not find a single flaw in the film, everything from the story-line, to the acting, and special effects were outstanding.

Other returning cast members included Kevin McNally as Joshamee Gibbs, and Geoffrey Rugh as Captain Barbossa.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides gets a full and well deserved 5 stars from me. This film is what entertainment is all about.

Once Upon A Time

Looks like ABC is jumping onto the fantasy/thriller bandwagon with 'Once Upon A Time'. The new series premiers Sunday October 23 at 8/7c, and is brought to us by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (Lost, Tron: Legacy). The story takes place in a world where fairytales and modern day collide.

Jennifer Morrison portrays Emma Swan, a 28-year-old bail bonds collector, that knows how to take care of herself. After all she has been on her own since she was abandoned as a baby. The rest of the cast include: Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Carlyle, Lanna Parilla, Josh Dallas, James Dornan, Jared Gilmore, and Raphael Sbarge.

The previews look pretty good, and the cast speaks highly of the script. But, I guess we wont know for sure until October. I for one am looking forward to it, I just hope they don't let us down.

Your Highness

A better name might have been Your Ignorance... Because that's what this 2011 fantasy comedy is, ignorant. The film was written by Danny Mc Bride and Ben Best, but unfortunately that isn't what they gave it, their best that is. The best thing about the entire film is the Northern Ireland country side, which is quite beautiful. Nothing really fits together in the film, the language is too modern, as is the ideals. I enjoy a good comedy and a good fantasy movie, but "Your Highness" is definitely not either.

The film doesn't take off right away, not until The lazy, inept son of King Tallious (Charles Dance) joins his brother in a quest to rescue Belladona (Zooey Deschanel). Belladona is to wed Fabious (James France), and is taken by the evil sorcerer Leezar (Justin Theroux) during the wedding. The king orders Thadeous (Danny Mc Bride) to join his brave brother to rescue Belladona, and destroy the sorcerer wants and for all.

The comedy is mediocre at best. I found my self feeling sorry for the wonderful cast of actors as they did their best to bring terribly written characters to life. One high light in the film is Natalie Portman as Isabel. Natalie always seems to bring her characters to the next level, make them real, and with this role she had her work cut out for her, but Isabel is the one stand out character in the film. Next would have to be Zooey Deschanel. Even though she doesn't have much to say, Zooey's abilities help bring Belladona up from the over acting pit that the rest seemed to stay in.

There are a few laughs in the film, one being after Thadious slays the minotaur, and cuts the beast's third horn off and hangs it around his neck with pride. But that is one of very few moment that I found myself even releasing a chuckle.

"Your Highness" had a $50 million budget, and pulled in a whopping $26,121,638.00 at the box office. If you have seen the advertisements for the DVD, don't waste your money buying it... rent it instead if you feel the need to make your own opinion on the film.

I give "Your Highness" a 1 star rating.