In some movies, all the enjoyment comes from hoping the main character doesn't survive the constant danger.

So I saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes,
I never saw the previous movies- no interest on those at all. But I thought this one was great! Took my father to see it, who is familiar with the movies- he loved the movie.

It was terrific, Andy Serkis as Caesar was terrific. Those apes were the best part of the movie... well, they WERE the movie. Without them we'd have nothing. Excellent watch IMO.

I have a question. I watched the first two PotC films and love them, and I want to see At World's End too. But the question is: how was the fourth one? Was On Stranger Tides worth the ticket price? My biggest concerns are these:

1. Mermaids- how...'revealed' are they? I hear that they cover up with hair, etc. On a scale of one to ten (one being nothing at all shows to ten, everything does), how immodest are the mermaids? I don't want my poor brother to have to look away every two seconds.

2. Innuendos, etc: How much of that stuff is mixed in? Like the first two, or more?

3. Cussing. How does that compare to the first two?

Thanks for anyone's help!

A modly note: the terminology to describe the mermaids has a tendency to get a bit too graphic for NarniaWeb, so we ask that whoever answers Lucy's valid questions keep their descriptions very general, please. Or, if you wish to be more specific, please PM her instead. Thanks!

I thought the mermaids were just fine, though I'm not as big a stickler as some people. Everything is covered and not once did I see anything at all.

There are some mild innuendo cases, but nothing graphic or anything.

I didn't notice much cussing at all.

It's actually my second favorite of the movies, right up there with the first one. I didn't care much for the second or third Pirates movies.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Lucy of Narnia, if you want more of a blow-by-blow, I'd say check PluggedIn online. They can be rather biased in there conclusions, but they do a good job telling what's in a movie.

Lucy of Narnia: regarding On Stranger Tides,
Mermaids: On a scale of one to ten, I'd say about 7.5 exposure. It's hard to say what your family is used to, of course. I was sitting next to my high school brother in the theater, and once or twice I did feel uncomfortable for him, but for the most part it was okay.
Innuendo: I thought a bit more than the others. Certainly at least as much as the previous one.
Cussing: I don't remember any. That's not to say there's none. It just wasn't anything very bad/worse than usual.

On the whole, I did like this one better than PotC 2 and 3.
PrinceCor004 is right about PluggedIn - I check out a lot of movies on there before seeing, and am usually pretty glad I did! Here's their On Stranger Tides review.

Thanks everyone, I think I have it now. And yes, I love PluggedIn- it's a great help!

PluggedInOnline is better than ChristianSpotlight but they still both found wanting. They seem to rate pretty much everything as if it was appropriate for a 3 year old. If the movie is rated PG-13 or R etc. it should be reviewed as a movie for that age group, not for a 3 year old. Otherwise, it's just stupid.

I'm keen to see Hanna. It sounds like a quality thriller.

A site I check out when reviewing movies is www.decentfilms.com. It's the personal site of a movie reviewer, and his words about movies are insightful and judge the movie based on artistry and skill as well as content. He's a lot more balanced than pluggedin and interesting to read as well, especially as he manages to give thorough movie reviews without giving away the core plot points of the movie. I try to read several review sites, though, before I see movies, to get a balanced view.

^ I've also used Decent films and I think its pretty good.

I watched Captain America. I agree that the first part of the movie was very good while the second part was a bit mediocre imo. I thought the villian was a bit boring and not very scary. However I really like the romance between Peggy and Steve. Much more subtle than most romances on film these days. I just wish they developped the plot more. I would give it a 7/10.

I saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes yesterday, and like narnia1 I really liked it!
Andy Serkis is Amazing!!! WETA as always did an amazing job on the Apes!!!

I grew up watching the original Planet of the Apes with Charles Heston, so I enjoyed some of the nods the movie gave to the original movie:

Spoilers!

And I was happy they had all three species of ape.

I just returned from seeing Hanna a character-based thriller/drama. Unlike Andrew, I really enjoyed the movie. Yes, it was different but I quite liked the European flavour. Hanna, the lead character was well-developed and intriguing. Saoirse Ronan (from The Lovely Bones) showed that she can do amazing things with acting - what a talent! Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana were also very good and rather mysterious. Blanchett's character was creepy. The music was electic but excellent. The cinematography was both epic and intimate and took the audience to landscapes rarely captured on film. Action scenes were short but fascinating. The story was thin but everything else comes together so well. This is a heart-felt, suspense-filled ride. Sombre in tone but with some humorous moments.
Recommended for mature audiences - contains some strong violence and adult themes.

8/10

I just saw The Help. Very well done movie. Set in the 1960's in the US during the civil rights movement, a young college graduate, Skeeter, is determined to become a writer. She decides to interview African American women, the helps, about them taking care of the houses they work at, even if it upsets her friends and the Mississippi community.

The script was excellent, and acting matches it very well. My only main gripe is the movie is a little too long. Otherwise go see it.

9/10

I really, really want to see it, Lou!! Was there anything objectionable in it? I heard just some language.
Last night I saw Seven Days in Utopia, because we'd won free tickets from our local radio station. But we would have gone and seen it anyway, because we liked the trailer so much.
The movie wasn't quite as good as I was expecting, but I really liked it. All the acting was really good, it had excellent Christian themes, and was an enjoyable watch.