The very first images of Johnny Depp on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides have surfaced courtesy of PopSugar.

Now, these aren’t the most exciting images on the planet due to the fact that everyone side for Eskimos and Amish know exactly what Depp’s classic Jack Sparrow character looks like. Nevertheless, it is quite nice to seem him back in full Sparrow gear. Who needs frizzy-haired Hatters and malicious barbers when we have Captain Jack?

Also in the images you’ll see Kevin McNally, who plays Gibbs. This may mean nothing to most folks, but for fans such as myself, it’s good to see him back and at it as well.

Be sure to click on over to the other side to check out Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow filming the brand new Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides on location on the shores of Hawaii.

Walt Disney Pictures is about to get their new Blackbeard the Pirate; Ian McShane is in negotiations to star as the infamous pirate force in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth installment in their juggernaut franchise.

McShane would become the new villain in the movie, joining Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow and Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa. Penélope Cruz was also recently added to the cast, but details are not known as to who exactly she will play aside from the basic description of being Sparrow’s “foil and equal in many ways.”

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides will pick up from where Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End teased us at the end: with the pursuit of the mysterious and elusive Fountain of Youth. It will also be based loosely on the Tim Powers novel, On Stranger Tides, which happened to be a very similar story to the one the wanted to tell, so the rights to the novel were acquired.

Death Race
Unrated Blu-ray Edition
Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson
Starring Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Ian McShane, Joan Allen
Universal Home Entertainment
Release date: December 21, 2008

The suggestion that Hollywood is out of ideas seems more and more prevalent these days, especially with the proliferation of remakes. So it’s not surprising that a remake of a film from over 30 years ago isn’t going to have much originality. However, for a mindless action flick, Death Race isn’t bad. You really can’t think too much about this one or your head might start to hurt. It’s basically Twisted Metal: The Movie.

Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) is a former professional driver living in the United States after an economic collapse has changed everything about the way the country works. Prisons have become privately run businesses, one where life is expendable in the name of profits and entertainment. The Death Race is 3-part battle/race between prisoners shown on pay-per-view where participants can die but a five-time winner is promised their freedom. Jensen is framed for murder, sent to prison, and offered a place in the competition. Naturally, it’s not that simple, as the prison warden (played by Joan Allen) is conniving and manipulative to serve her own purposes.

Coraline
Directed by Henry Selick
Starring Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Ian McShane, Jennifer Saunders, Keith David, John Hodgman
Rated PG
Release date: February 6, 2009

There is something sadistic lurking in the mind of Coraline director Henry Selick, who also wrote the script from Neil Gaiman‘s children’s book. Selick’s vision evokes bareness and disconnection at their most extreme state. Coraline looks and feels like no other animated film in recent memory. Part of its mysticism is that it lays on the outskirts of conventional films, especially kid related films, where there isn’t any cuddly sidekick, boisterous colors, or predictable plot. It has a strange aura around it, the same aura synonymous with silent films in that it creates a supernatural feel to it not allowing the audience to fully comprehend what they are watching. This just goes to show people the talent that Selick acquires. That he can take the Christmas spirit (he directed Nightmare Before Christmas) and all the tidings attached to it and turn it into an artful piece of catastrophic evil proportions is truly amazing. That he can also use the same technology he used with Nightmare, which was a stop-motion animated feature, and upgrade it in Coraline giving it the full 3D experience is equally amazing. 2009 has just begun but Coraline has the potential of being the most creative and gorgeous looking film of the year as well as the most daring.

Death Race
Unrated Edition
Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson
Starring Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Ian McShane, Joan Allen, Natalie Martinez
Universal Home Entertainment
Released Date: December 21, 2008

Let’s get one thing out in the great wide open right off the bat: Death Race is not a good movie. It’s completely mindless and filled with over-the-top absurdities (when did the women’s prison get stocked with friggin’ supermodels?) dancing around a very “WWE Films Present” tone.

OK, now that that’s out of the way, I have to admit… Death Race is a pretty damn fun movie. Yes, I really just said that. No, I don’t get it either. Seriously, though, as obvious as it is that the movie won’t be scooping up a collection of Oscars, it’s not out there trying to look like it should be.

Death Race is about an ex race car driver (Jason Statham) who’s out trying to find work in the new great depression (surprisingly fitting) when his wife is murdered and he’s framed for the crime, setting this up to be one of them big, scary movie prisons. The Warden (Joan Allen) offers him the chance to take the place of their most popular (and now deceased) driver so they can make a lot of money off the name with their Internet sensation, the Death Race, where inmates race to the death and where if you win five events, you go free. Without much of a choice, he accepts the offer and attempts to find a way to pull it off.