8:00 PM, 27th March, 2004
No Guests
Pirates of the Caribbean stars Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, a pirate with no ship and no crew. Sparrow steals a British navy ship as he helps Will Turner (Bloom) rescue his love Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) from Captain Barbossa (Rush). Elizabeth has been kidnapped by Barbossa and his cursed crew as they believe she holds the key to the lifting of the curse - by moonlight the crew of the Black Pearl are revealed to be walking, talking, not quite dead skeletons.
Geoffrey Rush is great as the villain, but it is Johnny Depp who is the true star of the film as he gives a very camp performance as Jack Sparrow. Orlando Bloom has gone for the Errol Flynn look and serves as good eye candy, but I'm afraid he cannot compete with Mr. Depp.
The idea of a film being based on a Disneyland theme park ride sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, but Pirates manages to capture all the essence of pirate movies of old. This movie has everything - action, adventure, romance, suspense, humour, and fun. There is swordfighting, chivalry, piracy (of course) and mystery.
Jacinta Nicol
9:00 PM, 27th March, 2004
I am not usually one who pays a great deal of attention to the technical aspects of films, but I loved the look and feel of Sleepy Hollow, which shares its title with the name of the remote village in which it is set. The film, directed by Tim Burton, is shot in mists and eerie shades of grey and is perfect for the Irving Washington story the film is loosely based on - a 1799 legend surrounding a series of gory decapitations carried out by the ghost of a headless horseman. Johnny Depp is at his quirky best as the faint hearted constable Ichabod Crane, who is investigating the case and attempting to find a scientific reason for the ghostly murders. The beautiful Katrina Van Tassel, a resident of the village, played by Christina Ricci, assists Crane. As Crane conducts his investigation the various dark secrets of the town unravel until the film meets its dramatic end. A beautifully shot, creepy, yet sometimes amusing, film, with a great cameo from Christopher Walken as the "pre-headless" horseman.
Melissa Collins