Gore Verbinski is a vibrant visual director, but the casting of Armie Hammer as John Reid aka The Lone Ranger, doesn’t do the film any good, and the whitewashing of Tonto with the casting of Johnny Depp makes things worse. There are some wonderful sequences, some great images, and some fun comedic moments, as the…
Tag: johnny depp
Ed Wood (1994) – Tim Burton
I don’t think there’s another director that could have done a biopic on the eccentric, imaginative, and terrible director that was Ed Wood than Tim Burton. Burton’s love and use of miniatures, dark themes and humour, and his eye for casting. Leading the story on screen is Johnny Depp as Ed Wood. Depp has a…
The Ninth Gate (1999) – Roman Polanski
Johnny Depp finds himself caught up in a literary supernatural film noir that serves as the next entry in the chapter of The Devil’s Work in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movie. Using the novel The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte as its basis the film follows a book detective, Corso (Depp) who is hired…
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007) – Gore Verbinski
The third volume of Disney’s theme park attraction turned tentpole franchise is the next selection in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book as I explore the chapter on Myths, Legends and Fairy Tales. I’ll admit this instalment in the series is a little top heavy with a convoluted plot, but as showcased in the…
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) – Gore Verbinski
DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies takes to the sea as I explore the chapters on Myths, Legends and Fairy Tales, and find myself confronting Davy Jones as I settled in for the first sequel to the surprise franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean. When Disney had a surprise hit on their hand with Pirates, based…
Sleepy Hollow (1999) – Tim Burton
DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book takes me into classic ghost tales territory with the next film that haunts the chapter on spirits, Tim Burton’s take on the legend of Sleepy Hollow. His bloody film, which serves as his version of the tale, also serves as a nod and homage to Hammer Films as…
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) – Gore Verbinski
Who would have thought that Disney could turn one of their oldest theme park attractions into a tentpole franchise back in 2003? Sure the series has floundered, and perhaps overstayed its welcome since, but that first film, directed ably by Verbinski, with a definitive score by Klaus Badelt, and featuring an A-list cast delighted audiences…
Platoon (1986) – Oliver Stone
Walking away with Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Editing, and Best Sound, Platoon is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film following my screening of Apocalypse Now. The film serves as a commentary on the horrors of war, even as two sergeants seem to be fighting for the…
Alice in Wonderland (2010) – Tim Burton
The final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my viewing of The Wizard of Oz, is a bit of a swing and a miss. Combining Disney and Burton with a much beloved classic like Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland seems like an easy winner, but I was less than…
Edward Scissorhands (1990) – Tim Burton
Tim Burton’s suburban fairy tale is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film following my screening of The Wizard of Oz. Perennial Burton favorite Johnny Depp is the titular character, a gentle young man, created by an elderly inventor (Vincent Price) who dies before he can give his creation…
The Mind Reels 