Reviews_of_the_Dead

This is the next documentary from Seth Breedlove that I decided to check out while I was at work as I work through the ones I hadn't seen chronologically. These are easy watches where I don't need to pay full attention to the video. It is interesting here the experts and eye-witness stories of people or their families, telling what they encountered. I might not fully believe what they're saying, but what I will say is that I don't have an explanation to refute them either.

What makes this area of Chestnut Ridge/Kecksburg is that there are a multitude of weird things that have happened and people experienced. This area is in Pennsylvania. It is wooded and not as much light pollution. The first big story was about lights in the sky that were seen as far north as Ontario, Canada. It was thought to have crashed. It is from there that a white sasquatch was seen. Tales of the Abominable Snowmen were popular around that time of the past. That could be an explanation. The number of people that claimed to see things though is high.

Something interesting about this area and someone who was interviewed. There was a reporter team stationed here. They had state-of-the-art radio systems. They were able to get to areas of sightings faster because of it.

What I'll then say to end this out is that I'm glad that Breedlove and the team were incorporated in CG animated things. That makes it easier to watch instead of just seeing people talk. I also like showing maps, helping to give a better idea of the area. This is well-made which is impressive with how early into doing these docs that Breedlove is. This flew by, which helped make the afternoon go faster. This one is more interesting with the combination of alien and cryptid sightings as a selling point as well.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

This is the next installment of the Monster Madness series that I decided to check out while I'm working. It helps to pass the time later in the day and I treat these like a podcast as well. I mostly listen, but if something good pops up, I'll glance down at it. This is streaming on Tubi so that helps as well.

From the Golden Age of the monster movie, we move into the 1950s and then into the 1960s. This focuses on mutants, space invaders and the drive-in. What I love here is that we get to learn about how the fears of the era played into the films. This wasn't new, but it goes deeper than what I knew. There were fears of nuclear war so that in turn made radiation changing normal things terrifying. This could be giant insects, animals and people. We got a good amount of that.

There was also the fear of 'being different'. This brings up McCarthy and the 'Red Scare'. What is interesting there is that this is something that is even more relevant today. This leads to aliens attacking Earth, or the even more scary thing with Invasion of the Body Snatchers, someone around you could become something different without you even knowing. You also never knew what people were doing behind closed doors.

Then something else that I did learn here was more about how American International Pictures took advantage of the drive-in. They would cast actual young adults and teens in the lead roles to help better connect with movie goers who were that age. This led to things like I Was a Teenage Werewolf and similar films. The 'party beach films' also were sparked here.

I then want to shift over to filmmaking. This isn't the most exciting. They do well in providing information and then editing in clips to help show it. This looks good and feels like there was a decent budget behind it. What I love are the talking heads they interviewed, to help make sense of the information. Also, the different actors and behind the scenes people were good. This includes Samuel Z. Arkoff, Robert Clarke, Robert Wise, Roger Corman, Yvette Vickers, Rex Reason, Anne Francis, Kevin McCarthy and Forrest J. Ackerman.

There is quite a bit of good information here. I am excited to continue on with this series as well.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

This was a film that my father, sister and I would watch regularly. I'm not entirely sure if I ever saw it all the way through before picking up the DVD. It was on the movie channels so it would be one we would pop in wherever it was since it is a fun film. Something also interesting is that this is one I think of when hearing Johnny Depp's name. This rewatch was done with Jaime for JwaC Presents Depp Dive: A Depper Look at Johnny's Feature Filmography.

Synopsis: blacksmith Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) teams up with eccentric pirate 'Captain' Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) to save Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley), the governor's daughter and the former's love, from Jack's former pirate allies.

This begins in the past. There is a ship that I believe is coming from England to the Caribbean. On it is the governor, Weatherby Swann (Johnathan Pryce) along with his daughter Elizabeth. James Norrington (Jack Davenport) is the captain and part of the British Royal Navy. One of the mates on the ship is also Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin McNally). They come upon a ship that has been wrecked, being assumed that it was attacked by pirates. There is a survivor, a boy floating on a piece of wood. This turns out to be Will Turner.

We then shift to the present. Elizabeth has grown to be Knightley and Will into Bloom. Norrington is being promoted to commodore and he wants to marry Elizabeth. She is in love with Will, but he doesn't notice. These feelings are from that fateful day they met. He was wearing a piece of Aztec gold around his neck. She took it and kept it for safe keeping, fearing he was a pirate.

This place gets turned upside when Jack shows up. He's a known pirate. Not always great at what he does, but with luck he still seems to succeed. He flees as he tries to steal a ship. His goal is to find the Black Pearl, the ship that he was the captain of in the past. There was a mutiny, led by its now captain, Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). Elizabeth ends up in the water and we see that the gold around her neck reacts. Jack saves her and then uses her as a hostage. Will along with others capture him and he's taken to a cell.

The gold called out the crew of the Black Pearl. They attack, looking for it. What we'll learn later as well is that they need the descendant of a pirate, Bootstrap Bill. Elizabeth pretends to be that person and uses her position to help save the town. Norrington is cautious in going after her, balancing his duty with his feelings. Will makes a choice, freeing Jack, commandeering a naval ship and going after the Black Pearl. This proves to be more dangerous than they expected as they learned about this ship's cursed crew.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start here is that this isn't necessarily horror. What I do think this would be though is a gateway into the genre. We get elements like a curse, living skeletons and touching a bit into pirate lore. This movie is lighter than later installments but seeing the climactic scenes where we have the cursed pirates fighting people, which does get creepy with the effects there. Not to play my hand too much, but this would be one that I'd show my daughter to help get her closer to the genre.

Where I'll then start will be with the elements that put this horror adjacent and it is filmmaking. Now the tone isn't horror. It is fun, whimsical and action. That's not to say it doesn't go dark with the pirates attacking the city to end the first act. Or when they go to Isle de la Muerte, which I'm guessing is Island of the Dead. There is great cinematography, framing and editing of effects that when the cursed pirates are not being touched by moonlight, they're normal. The transitions to and from skeletons are great. This has Disney money behind it, so despite CGI being used, it looks good. They're also able to capture the era it is set with the clothing, the ships and even having people just being dirtier. I can appreciate that and I think this is well-made across the board.

Then let's go to something else that flirts with genre and that is pirates. I love that the first one we meet is Jack. Depp does a great job at bringing this character to life. I love that he's not great at what he does, but he's lucky. There is a certain bit of skill to put him in the right place to succeed, which I appreciate. Then we get to meet the members of the Black Pearl who are more marauders. That is a good touch as it would be terrifying being attacked at night like they do. As this goes on, we also get sea battles and things like this. Keeps the movie moving and entertaining.

Since I've already talked about Depp and his performance, let's go into the rest of the cast. Bloom and Knightley are great as our two leads here. They're both attractive and getting caught up in a world that they're not versed in. They represent the audience as well as seeing the truth behind things as well. Rush is excellent, like Depp, in bringing his character to life. Barbossa is great. Davenport works as this shady military officer. Pryce is funny since he's the governor. He's also a coward, but credits to the performance for getting a reaction. I'd say that all the pirates and minor characters are great. They add charm and personality where you can look at them, knowing just enough without having a name. Credit across the board there.

There isn't much more to say here so in conclusion, this is a fun popcorn action film that Disney created off a ride at their amusement parks. What I love here is the lore and the elements that are being pulled from horror. For that, I do consider this a gateway film. The acting is good to bring life to all the characters. This is well-made to capture the action. Credit to the cinematography, framing, editing and even the effects. They use practical and CGI, but that Disney money makes it work seamlessly. This is just a film to shut off your brain and go along for the ride, which I appreciate now and then.

My Rating: 8 out of 10.