Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Don’t Tell Tales indeed. Booze hound vaudevillian pirate Captain Jack Sparrow is under attack by ghost pirates led by super creepy, half faced, snake haired but still kinda hot Javier Bardem as Captain Salazar. The ghost crew is loosed from the Devil’s Triangle and Sparrow’s only hope is to protect himself with the lost treasure, Poseidon’s Trident. If he finds and claims it, he will be untouchable. Now if he could only put that bottle down and think things out. Instead he steals a bank – literally – and has it off with the local lasses. Thankfully a lady pirate (Kaya Scodelario) appears who does the thinking for him with help from her lusty young beau (Brendan Thwaites). But hang on! Who are their fathers? Big surprise! Geoffrey Rush and Orlando Bloom co-star and a romantic figure from the past shows up. Extremely loud and rambunctious but fun in a slapdash way.
Paris Can Wait is a lovely tale of midlife reawakening based on something that happened to 81-year old Eleanor Coppola, Francis’ wife in 2009. Diane Ladd plays Coppola’s character Anne, a business widow whose film producer husband (Alec Baldwin) sends her with his associate to drive from the south of France to Paris because he’ll be in Budapest with his first love, business. Arnaud Viard plays the associate who shows her the sights, sounds and tastes of France, the joys of not hurrying, and the attention of an enchanting new friend. Anne wants to hurry to as is her habit but realises that these are the moments she’s been waiting for, to expand and breathe. It’s sunny, uplifting and contagiously sensuous film that reminds us all to slow down and live well. Coppola wrote, directed and produced this, her first narrative film. You may remember she made the documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse about the making of her husband’s Apocalypse Now.
Transfiguration is a moody, bleak and horror story of a meeting of young minds. The simplicity of the cinematography, minimal dialogue and absence of music make for a disturbing, unprotected realism. A practising adolescent vampire with no friends meets a lost girl, he’s sympathetic and they form a bond. Her sunken eyes and pale skin suggest she may be a vampire as well and soon enough they’re watching videos of animal bloodletting with an understanding of where they’re going. It was a bit much for me and cut my losses at fifteen minutes.
House of Cards Season Five launches May 30 as Francis and Claire (Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright) appear to on shaky ground. He’s fighting tooth and nail to win the Presidency again and as ever, makes people dangerously beholden to him. Spacey says storylines they had on the show 18 months ago that seemed crazy then are considered quite possible now. Co-stars Michael Kelly, Jayne Atkinson, Neve Campbell, Derek Cecil, Paul Sparks and Joel Kinnaman add to the continuing pain/fun. Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic throws water on it saying “It’s good to remember that Cards really, fundamentally is a stupid TV show instead of a particularly cunning comment on political reality”. Hey now, that’s not nice.
Netflix’ Bloodline has begun its third and final season globally on Netflix. The Florida Keys based suspense thriller about the Rayburns, hardworking community leaders with more than a little bad blood in their veins may wind things up – or not – but it will be memorable, that’s a given. Each has come to terms with the family history and dark stains and the deed that inspired many more bad deeds. Let’s see how long it lasts, because as we all know, this family is ten miles of rocky road. Kyle Chandler, Sissy Spacek, Ben Mendelsohn, Linda Cardellini and Norbert Leo Butz are back, baby.
Delicious is a sunny, rural Cornwall hotel chef romcom that slowly morphs into an extremely weird mix of murder, incest, death and ruined legacy. Odder still is that Dawn French of the comedy duo French and Saunders, Vicar of Dibley and Harry Potter is anything but funny here. She co-stars with Iain Glen and Emilie Fox of the British Fox acting dynasty as the ex-wife and wife of a talented but flawed chef rock star and the country inn he can no longer afford. The step children are the adults in the group as the parental units display childish behaviours that threaten everyone’s wellbeing. All the bad stuff comes into sharp focus when the chef dies from an apparent overdose. This is riveting stuff, and the unexpected story line following the path of one quiet, deep shock after another is irresistible. Looks bucolic and lovely, and yet … Streaming now on Acorn.
History launches an eye opening new series The World Without Canada on Wednesday, a three part documentary highlighting our country’s contributions to the world and the void left if there was no Canada. Our physical, intellectual and historical achievements and resources have helped shape global existence more than you might imagine. What would it be without us? Catastrophe, according to the filmmakers. Sobering, provocative and a celebration and another reason to celebrate Canada 150.
Slice launches a new design competition reality series… What’s that you say? We need another? Well, I take your point. But this one has some celeb interest as it stars Miley Cyrus’ mother Tish and sister Brandi in Cyrus Vs. Cyrus: Design and Conquer. Mother and daughter are evenly matched in ambition and bossy ‘tude but completely at odds in décor styles, so things gets pretty spicy. Residents of Nashville, Tennessee must see both pitches for the space and choose one. The losing designer then must work as the winner’s assistant in bringing her vision to life. To add much needed excitement, Miley shows up. Premières June 1.
PBS’ American Masters series Inspiring Woman is a year-long digital campaign highlighting women– famous and ordinary alike – who have touched people’s lives. The public is invited to submit blog posts, videos, and other content about women they find inspiring using the hashtag #InspiringWomanPBS.