The Pirates! Band of Misfits

aka The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!

I am unclear on the reasoning behind changing the title of a movie based on a book called ‘The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!’ to ‘The Pirates! Band of Misfits’ for US and Australian audiences but I don’t hold that against this movie itself. I did before seeing the film. But after seeing it, I can safely say that ‘The Pirates! Band of Misfits’ is not a horrible title. The film is about 75% pirate-y and 25% scientist-y. And the pirates truly are a bunch of misfits, which is a big part of their appeal.

The clay figure characters, the sets, and the humor in this film are so well thought out and executed that it almost doesn’t matter that the plot ended up being the weakest part of the film. The characters are unmistakably Aardman. They have crazy little teeth and express more emotion than any number of human performers ever could. The sets used in the film are intricate and stunning to look at. The film is laced with an overwhelming amount of wit and whimsy. There is something to giggle at, snicker at, or just plain laugh at in almost every minute of The Pirates! The plot ends up being something of a let-down because while it is never entirely unimaginative, it is quite conventional.

The film is a pirate caper set in 1837, which centers on The Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) and his quest to finally be voted Pirate of the Year. I think it is safe to say that The Pirate Captain is not well suited to be a pirate, or a captain, let alone Pirate of the Year. He’s not a great pillager and his plundering skills are lacking. Nevertheless, his small and tremendously loyal crew is willing to help him with almost every silly, misplaced step along the way. During their pursuit toward the ultimate pirating prize, The Pirate Captain and his crew meet a young Charles Darwin (David Tennant), his brilliant ‘manpanzee’, and an evil Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton). The main scientist of the film, Darwin, informs the crew that The Pirate Captain’s plump parrot Polly is not really a parrot, but in fact, a dodo. Polly may just be the key to the Pirate Captain finally getting the recognition that he so desperately desires.  But one of the many things I learned from this film is that nothing in a pirate’s life comes without some sort of cost. After all, what respectable children’s movie doesn’t come loaded with a whole lot of knowledge nuggets?

I left this film with three things that I did not have before:
1. A greater appreciation for the actor who plays the second in command, The Pirate with the Scarf , Martin Freeman. (It made me more interested in seeing how he will do in The Hobbit.)
2. A more solidified belief that 3D is unnecessary. (I did not see it in 3D.)
3. A hankering for some ham. (That’s right. Ham.)

Beginners

Beginners seemed like an interesting enough film in its own right, but knowing that Christopher Plummer picked up several awards, including an Oscar, for his supporting role in the film it became a nagging sort of necessity that I see it. Since it was his first Oscar win, I had to see how good of a performance he actually gave. After all, as many of us know, he was robbed of a nomination, let alone a win, for his role in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. But let’s not dwell on that...

Beginners was a sentimental, depressing, and complex film. The story was set in three different time periods in the life of an American graphic designer, Oliver (Ewan McGregor). In the ‘present’ part of the film Oliver was dealing with life after the death of his father Hal (Christopher Plummer). He was also dealing with a new romantic relationship with Anna (Mélanie Laurent) and having a new roommate Arthur (Cosmo), his late father’s Jack Russell terrier/scene stealer. In the ‘recent past’ part of the film Oliver was dealing with the passing of his mother, the news that his father was coming out of the closet AND the news that his father had also been diagnosed with the terminal cancer. Finally, in the ‘not-so-recent past’ part of the film Oliver was dealing with being a kid who had a great relationship with his melancholy-yet-loving mother a less than great/almost non-existent relationship with his busy hard-working father. There was a lot going on in the film and it was all handled in an honest and charming way. However, even with three plot lines going on, there were still a fair amount of lulls in flow of the film.

Thankfully, there were no lulls in the chemistry between the four lead characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the interactions between them. The strongest character, in my opinion, was Arthur. He was a little ray of sunshine in an otherwise depressing film. Arthur is, of course, a dog but writer/director Mike Mills made him a hopeful and uplifting character in a very clever way. He did this by expressing Arthur’s thoughts in the form of subtitles. I understand this could very well be considered too ‘cutesy’ for some, but for me, I loved it. In fact, Cosmo would have been a better supporting actor nominee than Plummer based on this film. Cosmo played his role subtly and playfully. He was a dog full of soul and intrigue. I’m not completely blinded by Cosmo’s performance though. Plummer did do a fantastic job. He played an old man with ease, but considering his age and film career, I would expect nothing less.