Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is the fifth film in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series that sees Jack Sparrow teaming up with Will Turner's son and a woman interested in science to help find Poseidon's Trident while being pursued by a ghostly Spaniard captain wanting revenge against Sparrow. Though fun, with amazing action set pieces, Dead Men has too many action scenes happening one after the other and can sometimes be too goofy. While Johnny Depp is great in the role since 2003, in this film he plays Sparrow as too weird than usual. The story is pretty standard as usual in finding an ancient artifact that's tied with whatever curse is happening. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley both return, though very briefly, and their small appearances is very memorable. The effects for the cursed crew commanded by Salazar, as played by Javier Bardem, is impressing especially when some of them are missing parts of their body like their entire heads or a hole in their chests. Bardem himself is very frightening as the cursed ghost of a Spanish Navy captain obsessed with killing pirates and anyone in his way. One huge drawback is how certain things happen without barely an explanation like how Barbossa knew how to grow back the Black Pearl from a small bottle or why Jack's compass is connected to Salazar's curse keeping him inside the Devil's Triangle. Also I feel that Barbossa should have revealed to Carina, the girl interested in science and the only one who knows how to find the Trident, that she is his daughter as her accepting it after he dies doesn't feel that believable. Over all: 86%
2017 top list so far:
1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
2. Logan
3. Alien: Covenant
4. John Wick: Chapter 2
5. The Lego Batman Movie
6. Saban's Power Rangers
7. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
8. Kong: Skull Island
9. Split
10. The Fate of the Furious
11. Beauty and the Beast 2017

Free Comic Book Day: Secret Empire

Free Comic Book Day: Secret Empire was one of the seven comic books that I got for the first time that I tried Free Comic Book Day. It tells two different stories, both small, that are a part of larger narratives in Marvel that's going on at the moment. The first story being part of the major Secret Empire arc wherein Captain America has somehow become a part of HYDRA and leads some of Marvel's greatest villains against his former allies. While the second half has Spider-Man fighting the Vulture while being observed by unknown people in what is supposed to be the beginning of a new series for him. For very short stories they do a pretty good job at setting up what will come in the future of Marvel. The artwork for the first part was very interesting with its use of sepia tone, though the numerous panels can be distracting, while for the second part is very colorful. One huge amazing thing in the first part was the fact that Captain America was able to lift Thor's hammer, thus being considered worthy even though he's now on HYDRA. Over all: 99%
Top list so far:
1. Deadpool Killustrated
2. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6
3. Civil War: Choosing Sides Vol. 1 #1
4. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4
5. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3
6. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2
7. An Innocent Guy
8. Batman: The Killing Joke
9. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1
10. Batman: The Long Halloween
11. Justice League/Power Rangers #3
12. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2016 Annual #1
13. Justice League/Power Rangers #1
14. Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe
15. Crisis on Infinite Earths
16. Justice League/Power Rangers #2
17. Free Comic Book Day: Secret Empire
18. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5
19. Star Trek/Planet of the Apes: The Primate Directive
20. Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2
21. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1
22. The Dark Knight Returns
23. Doctor Who: Beneath the Waves Part 1
24. Old Man Logan
25. Cartoon Network Super Secret Crisis War
26. Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 1
27. The Comic Cavalcade: Archives Volume 1
29. Civil War
29. The New Mutants #98

Alien: Covenant

Serving as both a sequel to 2012s Prometheus and the second part of a prequel series to the Alien series, Alien: Covenant is a well crafted film and great installment to a series that first started way back in 1979. Set over ten years after 2012 film, Covenant has an entirely new cast, except for Michael Fassbender in a dual role and small appearances by Noomi Rapace and Guy Pearce, wherein a colonization ship is damaged and stop near a planet wherein the crew decides to explore. This is where the familiarity with the series begins as when they land they come upon early versions of the classic Xenomorph designs and Fassbender's android from Prometheus is introduced as we learn about what has happened to him over the years. Dark and atmospheric, Ridley Scott does a good a job as he did with the original Alien as he does here which is definitely better than the previous film due to not being afraid to shy away from the bloodshed and disgust the series is known for, though Prometheus is still a good film. The cast does a phenomenal job in showing the dangers and unfamiliarity of dealing with the monstrous creatures, with the chemistry and acting one of the strongest points. Though one fault is James Franco's small role as he just barely appears in it and those prologue clips in YouTube feel more like deleted scenes than the videos done for Prometheus. One aspect that I was expecting from this film is to answer some questions that the previous film asked such as what the Engineers wanted and why they built the substance that eventually created the Xenomorphs, and unfortunately we never got those answers. Yes the story is similar to the rest of the series but the way it was told was still a lot different from past film, especially the ending. Over all: 99%
2017 top list so far:
1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
2. Logan
3. Alien: Covenant
4. John Wick: Chapter 2
5. The Lego Batman Movie
6. Saban's Power Rangers
7. Kong: Skull Island
8. Split
9. The Fate of the Furious
10. Beauty and the Beast 2017

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

James Gunn has proven to be Marvel's crazy genius when it comes to dealing with the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, everything anyone loved about the first film is here and a whole lot more. Most of the cast returns, with newcomers like Ego and Strakar, played by Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone respectively, adding more of the fun and imagination to this film than even Doctor Strange had. The chemistry between the cast is great, especially the initial relationship between Star-Lord and Ego, his father. Baby Groot practically steals the movie like Groot did in the first film, with Mantis coming a close second. Though the story may be simple and the plot dealing with the Sovereign doesn't do that much but to foreshadow their involvement in the future, it still a pretty much awesome film with great effects, the funniest Stan Lee cameo ever, really top notch acting, and a series of post credit scenes that can make you laugh, squee in excitement, and make you wonder how they will be handled in future installments. Over all: 100%
2017 top list so far:
1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
2. Logan
3. John Wick: Chapter 2
4. The Lego Batman Movie
5. Saban's Power Rangers
6. Kong: Skull Island
7. Split
8. The Fate of the Furious
9. Beauty and the Beast 2017

Pop Culture Guy episode 27: Is CBS's Mom A Sitcom or A 30 Minute Drama W...