'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' Concept Art

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is available on home video beginning tomorrow and we have some very cool concept art from the latest chapter in the life of Captain Jack Sparrow. Pirates and a zombies and mermaids, oh my!

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'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' Blu-Ray Giveaway

Jack's back on October 18, 2011 when Disney releases Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides to home video.

The Mouse Castle is giving away a 2-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack of the 4th installment of the POTC saga to one of our loyal readers. The Combo Pack includes both a Blu-ray 2D and DVD version of the film. To enter, all you have to do is:

1. Visit The Mouse Castle Facebook page at www.facebook.com/themousecastle and become a fan (click the "Like" button, if you haven't already).

2. Find the event "PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES Blu-ray Giveaway."

3. Confirm that you will be attending this event.

4. Wait for us to announce the winner, savvy?

Get your entry in no later than October 26, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. Pacific time. You must be a resident of the United States to enter. Only one entry per person, please.

Remember, you must "Like" The Mouse Castle on Facebook and RSVP for the giveaway event by clicking "I'm Attending" (mobile Facebook users may see a button labeled "Confirmed" or similar).

Sometime after the entry deadline, we will draw one winner at random. The winner's name will be posted on The Mouse Castle Facebook page.

Good Luck ye scurvy dogs!

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Yo Ho, Yo Ho....Yawn

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides avoids the excesses of the last two movies, but also sucks the life out of the franchise.

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and
Angelica (Penelope Cruz) search for the
Fountain of Youth.

By their own admissions, both Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski were confused by the numerous plot twists in the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean films. Depp explained to Entetainment Weekly that he told Verbinski on several occasions, "I don't really know what this means," to which Verbinski would reply, "Neither do I, but let's just shoot it." This resulted in two movies that, although entertaining, had needlessly over-the-top visuals and horribly convoluted plots. Their sole purpose was to keep hurtling forward, even if they had no idea where they were going.

Breaking free of the wretched excess of Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides focuses more on characters, cutting down on the subplots and special effects. It's the right idea, but director Rob Marshall and screen writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio take it way too far, removing most of the excitement audiences demand from a Pirates flick. On Stranger Tides is a snore.

Oh sure, there are plenty of sword fights, chases and explosions as Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) goes in search of the Fountain of Youth, encountering his old flame (Penelope Cruz) and the vicious pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane) along the way. The problem is there's never any real sense of peril to the action, never a moment when we think, "Wow, how's Jack going to get out of this one?" The movie just plods along from mild cliffhanger to mild cliffhanger with Jack effortlessly extricating himself every step of the way. It wants to be Pirates of the Lost Ark (complete with a scrappy ex-girlfriend and religious subtext), but it doesn't have the energy or heart to pull it off.

Ian McShane's Blackbeard is a bad man.

Which is an even bigger shame because the performances are pretty good. By now we've become very familiar with Johnny Depp's twitchy pirate captain, but in On Stranger Tides, he doesn't use the flamboyant gestures as a crutch like he did in Dead Man's Chest. Here, they're more subtle, the basic extension of a character Depp's become very comfortable with. Also effectively dialing it down a bit is Geoffrey Rush as Sparrow's longtime frenemy Barbossa, who's now sold his services as a privateer to the British navy and may have his own score to settle with Blackbeard. Rush has always channeled Robert Newton in his portrayals in the past, but this time he keeps the "ARRRGGHH's" to a minimum, making Barbossa less campy.

Cruz is smart and sexy as Capt Jack's former conquest Angelica. Even better is McShane, dark and menacing as Blackbeard, a "bad man" who will kill for sport and sacrifice others for his own self-interest.

If only they weren't all scuttled by Marshall's controlled, lazy direction and a tired storyline. Say what you will about Verbinski's bombastic approach to the first three Pirates movies. At least they were never boring.

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush)

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'Pirates' Premiere: On the Black Carpet at Disneyland

Here's some more video from Saturday night's premiere of Pirates of Caribbean: On Stranger Tides at Disneyland. It's the next best thing to being there:

On stage at the Pirates premiere (l. to r.): Producer Jerry Bruckheimer,
director Rob Marshall, Geoffrey Rush, Penelope Cruz, Johnny Depp,
Ian McShane, Keith Richards, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Sam Claflin.

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Disneyland Hosts Premiere of 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'

Direct from the black carpet (what, you expect pirates to walk a red carpet?), we've got early footage of the crowds on Disneyland's Main Street, USA getting ready to watch the celebrities arrive for the premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Some folks have been waiting in line for the arrivals since 7:00....yesterday morning.

This evening's presentation of the latest installment in the Captain Jack Sparrow saga will be projected on a giant screen on Tom Sawyer Island that stands six-stories tall. Special bleachers have been constructed along the Rivers of America just for the event.

I'll have more photos and video from tonight's festivities, with plenty of celebrity sightings, later this weekend. Stay tuned...

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'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' Trailer - Die Hard Fans Sail With the Dawn

Forget about seeing the whole movie, how early would you get up to be first to see a trailer for a movie?  A group of dedicated Pirates of the Caribbean fans, many dressed in full buccaneer garb, tested that idea at the AMC Theatre in Disneyland's Downtown Disney district yesterday.  Winners of a local radio contest, they were lined up before dawn to see the trailer for the newest installment of the Pirates franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, hours before it was released to the public.  They were also treated to an invitation-only reception and a special ride on the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction before the park opened.

Here's a peek inside the event, along with the complete trailer and comments from On Stranger Tides director Rob Marshall:

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opens May 20, 2011.

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