Movie Review: THE PIRATES! BAND OF MISFITS

THE PIRATES: BAND OF MISFITS

PG

2012

"Avast! I'm a pirate captain, and I'm here for your gold!"

-- Pirate Captain

The Pirates! Band of Misfits is a 2012 stop-motion animation film directed by Jeff Newitt & Peter Lord. The film tells the story of the bumbling Pirate Captain (voiced by Hugh Grant) who has led his crew on many adventures but has somehow managed to steal absolutely no booty. As the annual "Pirate of the Year" awards descend upon the seas, the Pirate Captain desperately attempts to find a way to win the award for the first time. He has quite a bit of competition from some of the best captains on the seven seas, but his crew is determined to help him bring home the trophy. After a string of unsuccessful attempts at plundering, the crew meets a scientist named Charles Darwin (voiced by David Tennant) who identifies the crew's parrot Polly as actually being a dodo, which the world thought to be extinct. He informs the crew that a scientists' convention might pay handsomely for such a find, so the Pirate Captain makes sail for London, knowing full well that the pirate-hating Queen Victoria (voiced by Imelda Staunton) may lay in wait.

Those of you who have been reading my reviews for quite a while will know that I'm a bit of a fan of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and those films got me interested in the idea of pirate movies altogether. So, when I heard about an upcoming animated film featuring a ragtag group of pirates sailing for adventure, you can be sure that I was terribly excited to see it. The Pirates! Band of Misfits even managed to pull the number five spot on my ten most anticipated films of 2012. That's saying quite a bit. And so, I impatiently awaited my opportunity to see the film, which has finally come.

I have to say that I feel a little letdown by the film, which didn't necessarily prove to be as funny as I thought it could be. Although there are plenty of moments where the film offers a smile or a chuckle, I was honestly hoping for something a little bit stronger. The film has been well-received by most critics, and it currently holds an eighty-six percent approval rating on Rottentomatoes.com. That's strong, I suppose. I mean, I did find the film utterly entertaining, and it definitely kept my interest from start to finish. Some of the jokes and gags were incredibly inventive and intelligent. They help keep the story moving along nicely, and for that, the screenplay should be commended. There just isn't a ton of depth to the storyline and the dialogue, and that itself is a bit of a knock against the screenplay. It's entertaining, but there was definitely room for improvement.

Luckily, we as the audience are getting a rather strong vocal cast for the film. Grant plays the Pirate Captain fantastically, bringing quite a bit of emotion to the character that could have easily fallen into typical caricature. I also thought that Tennant and Staunton did well. We're also getting a number of smaller vocal performances from some big-time actors. Be on the listen for the likes of Martin Freeman, Salma Hayek, Anton Yelchin, Brendan Gleeson and a slightly misplaced Jeremy Piven. But this is definitely Grant's effort, and it's a very strong effort and worth enjoying.

I do have to commend the animation crew for crafting some of the best stop-motion animation I've ever seen in a film. We're starting to see a resurgence in the stop-motion field, and I think each subsequent film will provide a little more of a piece to the puzzle, and it starts here with The Pirates! Band of Misfits. It's a visually beautiful film, and for that reason alone, it's worth watching.

At the end of the day, The Pirates! Band of Misfits is a fun film that's good for a chuckle and a few laughs, and the animation itself is astoundingly beautiful. Still, the film as a whole feels just a little bit flat, and although you'll be smiling at film's end, I'd challenge any viewer to try to remember the film a week from now. It just doesn't have that retaining factor to bring it into the upper echelon of animated films.

Movie Review Summary

Grade: B

Should You Watch It? Yes

Movie Review: FRIGHT NIGHT

FRIGHT NIGHT

2011
R


"That is a terrible vampire name. Jerry?
-- Charley Brewster

Fright Night is a 2011 horror film directed by Craig Gillespie that serves as a remake of the 1985 film of the same name. When a number of people start to disappear from their small-town community outside the Las Vegas Strip, Charley Brewster's (Anton Yelchin) estranged best friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) makes a stunning accusation: he claims that Charley's new neighbor Jerry (Colin Farrell) is actually a vampire. Charley doesn't believe him, however, but after Ed mysteriously disappears as well, he starts to get a little suspicious. After a little while, it starts to seem as though Jerry is targeting Charley's mother (Toni Collette) and girlfriend Amy (Imogen Poots) as his next victims. As a result, Charley seeks out the help of an apparent professional vampire slayer named Peter Vincent (David Tennant), who hosts his own theatrical show at one of the casinos on the Strip. Jerry's advances soon become more and more dangerous, and Charley desperately seeks the answer to stopping this menace before it's too late.

As some of you may now, I wasn't a huge fan of the original Fright Night. I thought it was good, but there were definitely some glaring flaws. To be honest, the only reason I watched it was in preparation for the remake's release because I like to see original films before seeing their re-imaginings. That being said, there's quite a bit of throwback to the original film in this particular remake. While a lot of the storyline has been changed (i.e., Charley is no longer the teen obsessed with the occult; Vincent is a young man; etc.), there's definitely enough to constitute this as a remake rather than a complete re-imagining. For example, Jerry is still a hyper-sexualized vampire, whose bloodlust places the emphasis on lust. I could go on and on with the comparisons, but I'll leave that for another time.

One thing that I liked about both films is that they delve into the historical mythology concerning vampires. Rather than having something like those "vampires" in the Twilight films, we actually get a look at vampires how they should probably be portrayed. They're able to be killed with a stake through the heart. They can't go out into sunlight. They have to be invited into a home before entering. It's refreshing to see that a film can apply these age-old myths and still make them relevant and believable. At the same time, however, this remake gives Jerry the chance to be a little edgier and more savvy to the 21st century. He's been around for so long that he's found loopholes in his restriction, making him all the more demonic a foe.

Let's talk about the acting for a little bit. Yelchin does just fine as the film's lead, bringing his usual self to the screen. I've seen him bring more entertaining roles before, but he's serviceable for this type of film. To be fair, he's not given a ton with which to work, so what we get works. Farrell does a great job with his role. In fact, I think he did a little bit better than I expected. You get the sense throughout the film that he had a ton of fun making this movie. I love when an actor's enjoyment conveys to the screen, and it's no different this time with Farrell's performance. He has a couple of scenes that are truly fantastic, so if there's any reason to see Fright Night, it's him. The rest of the cast fills out quite nicely, with Collette, Poots and Mintz-Plasse giving decent performances. Tennant is good for a number of laughs as well.

Overall, there isn't anything truly spectacular about Fright Night, but I personally think it's an improvement over the original 1985 film. While it doesn't offer a ton of scares, there's definitely some good suspenseful moments, and the laughs are pretty consistent throughout. Still, I wouldn't say that this remake is a must-see. If you're a fan of the original film, I'd say give this one a go, if only for the references to its predecessor. Who knows - maybe you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Movie Review Summary
Grade: B-
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