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Coming in May: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides starring Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush & Ian McShane

Posted on December 23, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Pirates of the Caribbean 4- On Stranger Tides - starring Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane & Geoffrey Rush
Pirates of the Caribbean 4- On Stranger Tides - starring Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane & Geoffrey Rush. Image via filmofilia.com

Pirates of the Caribbean 4 starring Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush & Ian McShane

And Captain Jack Sparrow is back!

The first movie of the Pirates of the Caribbean Series, The Curse of the Black Pearl came out in 2003, starring Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush & Jack Davenport (Steve of Coupling). I find it to be one of Johnny Depp’s best movies. It was a perfect combo of adventure, romance & comedy – with great actors and impressive visual effects. It was huge hit with the audience and we had 2 more movies, pretty much with the same leads.

Unfortunately for me, the second part (Dead Man’s Chest) lacked the first one’s magic and the third (At World’s End) wasn’t a pleasant experience at all. Don’t get me wrong- I am not one of those people intrinsically against all sequels. I just didn’t enjoy these ones. When I heard a fourth was in the works, I couldn’t have cared less, that is until I saw the trailer.

The 4th film, On Stranger Tides is shot in 3D and looks really entertaining: there’s flesh blood, in the shape of Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane. Keira Knightley, Orlanda Bloom and Jack Davenport are not among the cast and this seems like a bonus. Sparrow has his usual quirky manners, unique sense of humor, a potential romance and more action and challenges than he can handle, including getting through zombies and surviving Blackbeard (Ian McShane) to get to the fountain of youth.

You can watch the trailer here, and decide for yourselves.

I just can’t wait until May.

Other Johnny Depp Movies & Posts

The Tourist starring Angelina Jolie & Johnny Depp

Top 8 Johnny Depp Films

Benny & Joon starring Johnny Depp, Aidan Quinn, Mary Stuart Masterson & Julianne Moore

Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale & Marion Cotillard

Celebrities That Aged Really Well feat. Depp

Johnny Depp A Kind of Illusion – book on Depp

Handsome Actors to Play Villains: Johnny Depp, Keanu Reeves, James Spader, Antonio Banderas and Timothy Olyphant

Johnny Depp and Robert Downey Jr.: Hunky Actors of the 80s and 90s

10 Celebrities to Wear Flats for: Featuring Taylor Lautner, Johnny Depp, Kevin Bacon, Jon Bon Jovi and More

Other Posts on Penelope Cruz

Vicky, Cristina Barcelona starring Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem & Scarlett Johansson

3 Happy Celebrity Couples: Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Martin, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: adventure, captain jack sparrow, comedy, curse of the black pearl, fantasy, Geoffrey Rush, ian mcshane, Jack Davenport, Johnny Depp, Johnny Depp movies, Keira Knightley, movies, on stranger tides, Penelope Cruz, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, pirates of the caribbean cast, Pirates of the Caribbean on stranger tides

Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona starring Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall and Penélope Cruz

Posted on July 21, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Vicky Cristina Barcelona starring Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johannson and Penélope Cruz
Vicky Cristina Barcelona starring Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johannson and Penélope Cruz. Written and directed by Woody Allen. 2008. Image via:vickycristinabarcelona.files.wordpress.com

There might be spoilers in this review but trust me: there won’t be anything you haven’t predicted from the poster or trailer.

Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johannson) are good friends who come to Barcelona for the summer.  They are pretty opposite when it comes to their views about romance, love and relationships as the film’s narrator (Christopher Evan Welch) informs us: Vicky values commitment and is engaged to be married (to Doug-played by Chris Messina). Cristina loves drama and passion and even though she doesn’t know what she wants from a relationship, she is sure she is not striving for the stability Vicky seems to be so fond of.

With the occasional but not overly intrusive additions from the narrator, we follow the girls to the house (family friend of Vicky’ s- played by Patricia Clarkson) they will be staying at, going to an art gallery and meeting the movie’s leading guy: Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem).While Cristina is fascinated about what he learns about the guy (that he is a painter and had a violent relationship with his ex-wife Maria Elena/played by Penelope Cruz) and his good looks, Vicky seems less than impressed. She seems even less happy when Antonio comes over to meet them and offers to sleep with them both. He offers a weekend trip and obviously it is up to the girls whether they want to have sex or not. While Vicky is outraged, Cristina has loved how upfront Antonio is and finds him absolutely charming. So despite her better senses, Vicky follows Cristina to the place Antonio takes them.  However when Cristina gets sick, Vicky is left to spend time with Antonio and to her surprise, she realizes she does want him- a lot!

Guess what happens afterwards? Although Juan Antonio can’t have the threesome he envisioned, he does managed to bed Vicky first and Cristina later- who doesn’t know about the night with Vicky. Now, we have a guilty and confused Vicky, an experimental Cristina who doesn’t even seem to mind when his psychotic ex-wife (Penelope Cruz) comes into the picture. In fact, she even “experiments” with her. Even though this love triangle seems to be working for a while, Mary Elena is highly unstable and neither Vicky nor her fiancé were ever out of the picture.

Written and directed by Woody Allen, this film is easy to watch and is entertaining. However I need to warn you: I am not a Woody Allen fan and most of his films bored me to death as I don’t usually his share his views on relationships or his sense of humor.  And for me, Vicky Cristina Barcelona was a popcorn film- an entertaining, light comedy so I totally disagree with IMDB’s genre labels: drama and romance. There is nothing romantic or dramatic about this film. It is a fun little love rectangle to watch with some real eye candy for both sexes, beautiful location that is Barcelona and great music. This film is  a nicely told male fantasy. Think about it: a painter charms the pants out of two good friends and one of them would probably have a threesome if the other one had been up for it. Then the experimental girl sleeps with his ex-wife…Seriously! A man gets to have all three women in one movie, two of who have sex with each other and one of these women is Penelope Cruz. The other is Scarlett Johannson. While Javier Bardem is certainly a good-looking guy, he is not that cute. No man is.

Sure, it is a common female fantasy to meet a stranger on exotic soil and have a romantic night or two with him. But those fantasies most often don’t involve best friends, lesbian sex, threesomes and cheating on lovely fiancés. But then again, if your idea of romance and fantasy are anything in line with Woody Allen’s mentality, you will disagree with me. Yes, I disagree with the guy’s outlook on life- he slept with his adopted daughter, for God’s sake!

But I’ll say it again, this movie is a fun comedy. And it does make me want to go to Barcelona. And I’ll rate it a 6/10 (it is rated a 7.4 on IMDB). But if you don’t watch this movie, you won’t have missed a thing.

Note: There is one thing romantic about this film: Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz started dating during the shoot and now they are married.

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Barcelona, Chris Messina, Christopher Evan Welch, Javier Bardem, movies, Penelope Cruz, Rebecca Hall, scarlett johansson, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Woody Allen

4 Good Movies with Awesome Soundtracks: Shoot ’em up, Jerry Maguire, Reality Bites and Vanilla Sky

Posted on April 16, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Both movies and music have been my addictions. It is always great fun to watch a good movie or a solid album. But sometimes, these two come together to double the pleasure. Below are some of the best soundtracked-movies.

Shoot ‘Em Up (2007)

Shoot 'Em Up starring Clive Owen, Monica Belluci and Paul Giamatti
Shoot ‘Em Up starring Clive Owen, Monica Belluci and Paul Giamatti. Sex, guns and rockn’roll! Image from: http://www.firstshowing.net

Not one of the most serious movies you will watch. It is non-stop action but it is so cool in its irrational and impossible scenes. But it works. Clive Owen at his best form as the mysterious Smith. Co-starring Monica Belluci. Wondering what the movie is about? Here’s the review. Wondering more about the soundtrack?

Featuring:

Kickstart my heart by Motley Crue

Ace of Spades, Motorhead

Breed, Nirvana

If you want blood, you got it- AC/DC

Oh of course, this isn’t it. They are just the songs I have loved long before the movie. Yes, the soundtrack is all about rock: grunge, rock, hard rock, alternative and classic rock. More on the movie and trailer: https://pinartarhan.com/blog/shoot-em-up/

Jerry Maguire (1996)

Jerry Maguire starring Tom Cruise, Renée Zellweger and Cuba Gooding Jr.
Jerry Maguire starring Tom Cruise, Renée Zellweger and Cuba Gooding Jr. Co-starring Kelly Preston and Jay  Mohr. Watch out for the most adorable kid on screen: Jonathan Lipnicki. Image from: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/

Tom Cruise has been one of my favorite actors. Because more often than not, I know I can trust him to make good movies.  And Jerry Maguire is my absolutely favorite Tom Cruise. It is also one of my favorites in general. It is funny, poignant, emotional, original and just lovely!!! Which reminds me I haven’t done an individual post on J.M. Shame on me.

Soundtrack featuring:

Pocketful of Rainbows, Elvis Presley

Oh Well, Fleetwood Mac

World on a String, Neil Young

Magic Bus, The Who

Freefallin’, Tom Petty

Burning Sky, Bad Company

And my absolute favorite: Bruce Springsteen’s Secret Garden. The video is below. Includes scenes from the movie.

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx_x6jMCxAY[/pro-player]

Movie Trailer:

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFs-E-FSkJU&feature=related[/pro-player]

Reality Bites (1994)

Reality Bites starring Ethan Hawke, Winona Ryder, Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo and Steve Zahn

 

Delightful romcom, smelling 1990s. I love the 90s, the movie and well, obviously the ost. Now this movie id delightful in its own little way with characters trying (or refusing) to fit in.  Ethaw Hawke’s character is singing  in a band so there are also songs sung by him. More on the movie and photos: https://pinartarhan.com/blog/reality-bites-always/

Featuring:

Rock’n’ Roll Part II, Gary Glitter

Locked Out, Crowded House

Story Of My Life, Social Distortion

Something So Strong, Crowded House

School’s Out, Alice Cooper

All I Want is You, U2

Absolute favorite: My Sharona by The Knack. The video is below:

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1T71PGd-J0[/pro-player]

Vanilla Sky (2001)

Vanilla Sky starring Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz and Kurt Russell

 

Another Tom Cruise movie and just like it written and directed by Cameron Crowe.

Too complicated to tell the story (again one of my fav. Cruise-its post will come) but in a nutshell:

David Aames (Cruise) is handsome, rich and in demand and despite to the inconvenience to the board members, he is the head of the business he inherited from his parents. And he has a friend with benefits- hot Julie (Cameron Diaz).  But  something remarkable happens to David when he meets Sofia (Penelope Cruz) at a party and falls head over heels. Of course this doesn’t go down with Julie -who has wanted David to be more than her bed buddy. An accident ruins David’s face and psychology. From that moment on, the audience has a lot to digest and interpret. Based on the Spanish movie also starring Penelope Cruz. But I dare say, this one is better. Great movie, great soundtrack.

Featuring:

Everything In Its Right Place, Radiohead

Vanilla Sky, Paul McCartney

All the Right Friends,REM

Last Goodbye, Jeff Buckley

Sweetness Follows, REM

Fourth Time Around, Bob Dylan

I Might Be Wrong, Radiohead

Wild Honey, U2

Absolute favorites: Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys and Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel

Movie trailer:

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHtF8PADoN0[/pro-player]

 

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors, Rock n' Roll (and Music in general) Tagged With: best movie soundtracks, Cameron Diaz, Clive Owen, listing of movie soundtracks, monica belluci, movie soundtracks, Penelope Cruz, Renee Zellweger, soundtracks, Tom Cruise, Winona Ryder

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