Coram Deo ~

Looking at contemporary culture from a Christian worldview

Tag Archives: Javier Bardem


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My Review of F1: The Movie

F1: The Movie
***

F1: The Movie is an exciting summer film that is primarily about two car race drivers. The film was directed by Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick), who wrote the film with Oscar nominee Ehren Kruger (Top Gun: Maverick).
Sonny Hayes, played by two-time Oscar winner Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, 12 Years a Slave), is a veteran race car driver. Thirty years ago, Sonny’s Formula 1 career ended when he badly crashed his car. Now, he goes from town to town looking for a race, most recently winning at Daytona.
An old friend of Sonny’s, Ruben Cervantes played by Oscar winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), finds him in a laundromat. Ruben is desperate. His Apex Grand Prix team hasn’t won a race all season, and as a result, the board of directors is threatening to sell the company.
Ruben asks Sonny to come to England to race on his team and mentor the up-and-coming racing star on his team Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris. After initially hesitating, Sonny agrees to do so. But the two drivers do not get along, and the Apex team’s results suffer. Will the two drivers be able to turn things around and save Ruben and the team’s jobs with Apex?
The film includes themes of friendship and teamwork. Joshua has a close relationship with his mother Bernadette, played by two-time Emmy nominee Sarah Niles (Ted Lasso).
The film contains some adult language, intense car crashes and a bedroom scene between Sonny and  technical director Kate McKenna, played by Oscar nominee Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin), (though nothing explicit was shown).
This was an enjoyable movie, with a good cast and thrilling race scenes, though the film seemed a bit long at two hours and thirty-five minutes.


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My Review of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, rated PG-13
***

Captain Jack Sparrow and the gang return in a pleasing fifth episode in the Pirates of the Caribbean series.
Six years after 2011’s On Stranger Tides, one of my favorite film series returns. Truth be told, Johnny Depp had me in from the very beginning as he cruised into shore, doing his best drunken Keith Richards’ impersonation in 2003’s The Curse of the Black Pearl, a role for which he received a “Best Actor” Oscar nomination.
The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is the twelfth highest grossing franchise ever, with more than $1 billion in sales in the U.S. alone and about $3.75 billion in ticket sales worldwide. Three-time Oscar nominee Johnny Depp returns as Captain Jack Sparrow, and leads an outstanding cast in this film directed by the Norwegian directing team of Joaquim Ronning and Espen Sandberg. The film was written by Jeffrey Nathanson (Catch Me If You Can).  The budget of the film has been estimated to be in excess of $350 million and is projected to gross about $80 million in the U.S. over the Memorial Day holiday.  The music is handled well by Geoff Zanelli.
Brenton Thwaites portrays Henry, the grown son of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit films) and Elizabeth Swann (two-time Oscar nominee Keira Knightley), who briefly return after missing episode four in the series.  Henry partners with Carina Smyth (Kaya Scoderlario, The Maze Runner), an orphan astronomer who is accused of being a witch. Henry has been seeking the Trident of Poseidon, a magical object that supposedly holds power over the seas, so that he can free his father from the curse of the Flying Dutchman.  While looking for Captain Jack Sparrow to get his help in finding the trident, Henry ends up in the Devil’s Triangle, where he encounters the zombified Spanish Captain Salazar, portrayed by Oscar winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men). Salazar has a history with Captain Jack and is seeking revenge.
Henry eventually finds the down on his luck Captain Jack and his magical compass; Jack agrees to help him find the trident, thinking it will lead to a great treasure.  Carina has a book that she received from her father that has clues as to the location of the trident.
Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech) again portrays Captain Hector Barbossa. Paul McCartney portrays Captain Jack’s Uncle Jack in a brief scene. Uncle Jack is heard singing “Maggie Mae”, which was included on the Beatles final album, 1970’s Let It Be.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film. All of the main characters deliver and it is a good story. The film does include some intense (and scary for young children) violence. The dialogue was sometimes hard to hear, especially the drunken Captain Jack Sparrow. Disney throws everything but the kitchen sink into this film, and it was almost too much. The film features some excellent messages about the importance of fathers, and has the theme of sacrificial love.
DON’T FORGET TO WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE CREDITS FOR A SPECIAL SCENE!