Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

I went to see this with my brother before he left CO as one last thing to do together before he left and because he's really enjoyed the series so far. I've enjoyed them as well, but as with most every series, they get at least a tiny bit worse with each installment. From what I've seen, a lot of people agree that this is the least of the Pirates movies so far (I think it's mostly because they miss Bloom and Knightley).

Much like the Fast & Furious series, if you've liked the others, you're likely to enjoy this one as well. There was nothing too surprising. Captain Jack Sparrow is in some sort of pirate trouble and he has to deal with some mythical thing to get out of that trouble. In this case it's the Fountain of Youth. The twist on mermaids was interesting, but clearly a bit much for the young crowd these movies draw - grade schoolers might be afraid of the ocean for a little while.

The single best thing about Pirates 4 is Ian McShane. In losing some 'star power' for this and future movies, Disney picked the best person to fill that void. I love listening to this guy talk. I thought Sparrow's 'pirate speak' was fun and interesting, but I would pay money to be able to talk like McShane's Blackbeard.

All in, a fun 'popcorn' movie for most ages.

Fast Five

Having enjoyed all the previous Fast & Furious movies to some degree, I have a bias. This installment deviated significantly from the others, though. Instead of being a racing movie, this one is more of a heist movie.

Unless you're some sort of F&F hater, this movie will be equal parts what you expect and awesome new direction. The one thing that really stood out to me was how funny the movie was. A good portion of the comedy was reference to the previous films, so my advice is watch those first.

Other notes: Fun seeing Dwayne Johnson. The girl on the F&F team wasn't hot (but these movies were never about the girls for me).