Tag: Pirates of the Caribbean

The Legend of The Soldier Review: Little Drummer Boy

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The Legend of the Soldier: On DVD Release From 10th October

For those of us not up on the historical beef between Napoleon’s army and the Catalan rebels in 1808, Legend of the Soldier, paints a vivid picture of the battle of Bruc in which one Spanish drummer boy defeated the invading French army. As important as this legend may be to the Spanish, UK viewers may well be scratching their heads as the story relies on a pre-existing knowledge of the battle, so it wouldn’t hurt to do a little research before watching as much is left unexplained.

In the wake of the battle, a simple coal miner/military drummer boy, Juan (Juan José Ballesta) tries to return to his normal life and his beautiful fiancée Gloria (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey). The French’s defeat is bitter for Napoleon who orders brave Captain Maraval (Vincent Perez) to bring back the head of the Spanish drummer. Maraval and a band of soldiers travel to Juan’s small village in the Catalan mountains and slaughter his family and kidnap Gloria in an effort to draw him out. Do It!

Rango Review: West Is Best

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RANGO (PG): On General Release From Friday 4th March

Gore Verbinksi, best known for the Pirates of the Caribbean series, takes his first step into the weird and wonderful world of animation and he’s taking them with the very weird and the exceedingly wild Johnny Depp. They come together once again to bring life to Rango, an animated Western for kids which for some bizarre reason is also a drama about one chameleon’s (Depp) identity crisis. These two elements don’t always sit comfortably together but it’s definitely an interesting experiment.

The film opens with Rango performing a monologue in which he reveals that he’s struggling with feeling lost and alone in what appears to be a dreamlike desert where his only friends are a wind-up fish toy and a headless Barbie. In reality, he’s a pet chameleon travelling in the back of a car which, thanks to a pesky armadillo, is thrown from the car and left to his own devices. This is one of the best openings to a film I’ve ever seen, almost on par with Toy Story 3 and that’s going some. The sun hits Rango’s terrarium as it flies through the air like a light at the end of the tunnel signals freedom, sweet and terrible freedom. Do It!