Drink Up Me Hearties, Yo Ho!

As a cinema production major people always expect my favorite film to be either some silent, independent, or incredibly artsy film.  My favorite film, however, fits into none of these categories.  So get ready, because my favorite film is (drum roll please) Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. 

When this film was first being written, many critics believed that it would be a flop, for pirate films had not been popular for a number of years.  The film, however,  has done so well that it has inspired four sequels, one of which is to begin shooting in Australia this February.  The characters of Captain Barbossa and Jack Sparrow were so popular that they were added back into the ride that originally inspired the movie.

Sorry...Captain Jack Sparrow

There is something very cathartic about Pirates of the Caribbean.  It allows me to become something that I am not, and bring me back to a time period that I would have no access to otherwise.  When I watch this film, I feel like a total rebel.  I want to be a pirate.  I want to live that dirty swashbuckling life where it is okay to steal things, hunt for treasure, and do whatever you want to do just because you feel like it.  And hey, it would be so cool to just be able to be a salty old pirate.  Although the life of pirates is glorified in these films, I can’t keep from wondering what it would be like to be a pirate for the day.

One thing I enjoy about these films is that pirates are portrayed as heroes.  In a decade when superhero movies preach universal morals, the Pirates of the Caribbean films root for the bad guy.  These pirates fight against the law for the liberation of pirates while committing immoral or illegal actions the entire time.  Each of the protagonists‘ goals is motivated by selfish reasons.  Though the pirates are truly in the wrong in this situation, the government officials are the antagonists.

Even though the pirates break the law, the audience enjoys taking their side, for each of the protagonists has an incredibly strong character.  The best example of this is Captain Jack Sparrow.  He is charming and funny.  When he spills his heart to Elizabeth about the Black Pearl being his one true love, you can truly feel his heartache.  Elizabeth Swan, on the other hand, is a strong and independent young woman thrown into a world she has never seen before.  Will Turner gives his all and risks his life to save his true love.

The production design and costuming in this film is absolutely stunning.  A lot of research had to be done in order to procure the correct weapons that fit within the time period.  The costumes for both the pirates and the government officials are beautiful and also look very authentic.  When I watch this film, I feel as though I can almost smell the pirates.

And with that I leave you with one last question...Why is the rum always gone?

Hans Zimmer, The Great and Powerful

Many times in life we look for something to inspire us, something to give us some kind of guidance. And for many of us, music does this. It is meant to create something within us to make us want to look for more, or to not give up, or even to help us mourn. Music covers everything and it is our best friend who is always there for us. It picks us up when we have fallen. It teaches us to stay motivated and go for our dreams. It tells us stories of heart break and death, things we relate to. Music does it all, and it does it for every single person in this world. 

When I was little, most of the movies I was attracted to were mainly disney movies. Most of these disney movies were musicals. But some had some kind of sound track that helped build the plot. As I got older I obviously watched more than just disney movies, and I found myself looking at more than just the film. The music that played during the story helped me believe more in what I was watching. And I found myself looking up several different soundtracks, composers, and downloading all of the songs I had witnessed during the films. These songs stuck with me so much that I wanted to listen to them everyday. And I can tell you right now, had there of been no music in these films, I probably would not have liked the film as much or felt as connected to them as I did, and still do.

Obviously there are many different composers and each of them have their own style.

However one of my absolute favorites would have to be Hans Zimmer. Hans Zimmer has composed music for over 150 films! And that’s only films. He’s also done television in his lifetime. If you have seen Dark Knight, Pirates of the Caribbean, 12 Years a Slave, or the classic disney movie The Lion King, then you have been graced with the music of Hans Zimmer. Hans had his big break when he composed for Rain Man in 1988. The movie deals with two brothers 

whose father has just died. The father leaves one of 

them a huge amount of money, and leaves the 

other one close to nothing, so they decide to travel across the country together. Being that this movie takes place mainly on the road, Hans wanted the movie to be different than any other road movie. Normally road movies are found to have a lot of music containing guitars, or stringed instruments and so he wanted to create something new. He did this by using mainly an electronic keyboard, and he also incorporated flutes into it. The soundtrack was very airy and misty that created a bit of sadness that the film needed, and it matched the emotion of the story completely. The film’s soundtrack was nominated by The Academy for Best Music, Original Score. The film definitely got him much attention because it led him to many other projects.

Another soundtrack that got him much attention was Disney’s, The Lion King. Hans worked with Elton John, as well as Tim Rice, and he produced a score. This soundtrack is very well known throughout the whole world. It was made in three different countries, and it is known as the best selling soundtrack album in an animated film in America. It has sold over 7 million copies. More than half of those copies were sold the same year it came out, in 1994. Hans won an oscar for this film for best music, and original score in 1995. However, one of my favorite scores that Hans has done would have to be his work on the Pirates of the Caribbean. Hans was originally asked by Director Gore Verbinski to work on the first Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl. However he was working on another score, so he did not officially work on it, he only helped the other composer Klaus Badelt with it. However once the second movie came rolling around, he couldn’t help himself and he completely immersed himself in the score. He worked on the1st,  2nd,  3rd, and 4th of the Pirates of the Caribbean series. I loved his work in these movies because he was able to catch the life of a true Pirate and somehow not make it corny. And while doing all of that, he also helped build each character. Depending on what race they were, he could have influences from many different cultures.

"You try to treat each film as an autonomous movie, but at the same time, there's great fun in revisiting old friends, as it were. We now have Penélope Cruz playing Angelica, who's Spanish, so I felt that there could be some Latin influences in the score for On Stranger Tides. I've been a big fan of Mexican guitarists Rodrigo y Gabriela for years now, and I asked them if they wanted to come and play with us. We've been having a really great time with them being part of the musical world this film gets to inhabit.” -Hans Zimmer, Pirates Wikia

He was nominated for these movies several times and won many awards. For Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, he won the ASCAP Film and Television Music Award in 2012. He was also nominated by the World Soundtrack awards in 2011 for Soundtrack Composer of the Year for his work on Pirates, Inception, How Do You Know, Megamind, The Dilemma, Rango, and Kung Fu Panda 2. For Pirates of the Caribean: Dead Man’s Chest, he won the ASCAP Film and Television Music Award in 2007. He also won it the same year for The Da Vinci Code. He was also nominated for his work on the 2nd Pirates film by the Grammys in 2007 for Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture. And for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, he won the ASCAP Film and Television Music Award in 2008. Needless to say Hans Zimmer’s work on Pirates was awesome. I'm curious to see if he works on the new Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which is suppose to come out in theaters July 2017. Fingers crossed he does work on the film score!

 Hans Zimmer is one of the best film composers out there. His music never fails to be different each time. He is able to create such a specific sound for each story and represent each character differently, yet keeping them similar at the same time. If you haven’t payed close attention to the detail of his music, then I suggest you start. What makes Hans so great is that he does this because he loves it and I think that shows in his music. He isn’t doing it for the money, or just because he has to, he is doing it because he chooses to. He loves it and will continue to share his love for it with the ears of the world. 

"If something happened where I couldn't write music anymore, it would kill me. It's not just a job. It's not just a hobby. It's why I get up in the morning."- Hans Zimmer

Check out the best of Hans Zimmer in the video below, you won't regret it!

From Good-BAD

There are movies today that most people find entertaining upon leaving the theatre. They leave the theatre satisfied with the overall quality of the film itself, and feel they spent their money well on this film. However, when the second, third, fourth etc. movie comes out, they spend more money to go see the sequels and leave the theatre having a different opinion about the film. From my experience, I can agree that most sequels that come out ruin the reputation of the first film. Such films draw attention away from the films and tend to lose more Box Office money. Here below are three of the many worst sequels to movies that I found repulsive to watch.

After watching the first Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl I was very intrigued with the film and it drew me back in to watch the second Pirate movie "Dead Man's Chest. After this second movie, they got worse and worse to the point where I walked out of "Stranger Tides," the fourth one. The Curse of the Black Pearl had a total Gross of $305, 413,918 with Dead Man's Chest topping that at $423,315,812. After the second film the Total Gross decreased to $309 million to $241 Million. 

I saw Jaws when I was little and it scared the living s%^t out of me. I feared water for months and months. However, when i saw the sequels to Jaws, I was more afraid of NOT going into the water. These sequels in my opinion grabbed no interest in me. While the original Jaws had a Total Gross of $260 million, the sequels didn't make nearly as much dropping to $77Million to $45 million to $20million.

When I saw the Matrix I was entertained and I felt I spent my money's worth on this movie. However, I felt the sequels were absolutely horrible. I had no interest in these movies and it drew me away from further Keanu Reeves' movies. While the first movie made a Total Gross of $171 million, the second movie received more ($281 million) while the third movie slumped down to to $139 million. 

I could go on and on but this would take up a large portion of the post. I still love many movies, but sometimes I feel some sequels aren't necessary to a film.