G-Force
Blu-ray 3D Blu-ray Combo Pack
Directed by Hoyt H. Heatman Jr.
Starring Bill Nighy, Nicolas Cage, Zach Galifianakis, Penelope Cruz, Tracy Morgan, Jon Favreau, Dee Bradley Baker
Walt Disney Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: November 8, 2011

A specially trained squad of guinea pigs is dispatched to stop a diabolical billionaire from taking over the world.

G-Force is a harmless family film which sticks to an established formula that appeals to a mass audience. Kids will enjoy the talking animals and the action/epsionage plot. Adults will enjoy seeing and hearing from some of their favorite hollywood actors and actresses. It’s revealed in the special features that the director’s five-year-old son was the mastermind behind the film. Don’t expect too much cinematic depth here. Do expect a new Black Eyed Peas song every five minutes though.

It’s safe to assume that if you’re balls Depp in anticipation to see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, that you’re a fan of the previous three movies. You know exactly what to expect, and to that end you won’t be disappointed in the fourth relatively satisfying yet unspectacular entry into the Pirates film series. Despite the infusion of new blood into the franchise, almost everything about On Stranger Tides feels like seen, done, and argghed that before. This is not necessarily a negative criticism and by the time this is posted, Pirates 4 will have kicked out last week’s idiotic Priest to straight-to-DVD oblivion strictly based on the lines for midnight screenings and that no other movie is opening against it, unless you’ve been hankering to see A Beautiful Life at your local pretentious art-house theater.

Does it mean the latest installment of the Disney Cash Cow is a good movie? Good enough. I mean, it’s a Pirates movie and your expectations cannot POSSIBLY be that high, considering you sat through the convoluted mess of previous sequels and yet probably couldn’t pass a test on what exactly happened during the overly dense plot(s) of Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Directed by Rob Marshall
Starring Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, and Ian McShane
Release Date: May 20, 2011

It’s hard to believe that On Stranger Tides is the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie to come out in less than a decade. But Disney has found a cash-cow and it’s obvious the two big stars are still having fun with their roles, so the series marches on. But by the fourth film, most ongoing series have run out of material and the second and third Pirate films were showing big signs of burnout. On Stranger Tides needed to be a new beginning as much as it needed to be a sequel, and in many ways it succeeds.

Picking up an unknown amount of time after the end of the third film, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides finds the few returning characters in very different situations than we left them. Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) has long been without a ship, having lost the Black Pearl to Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) at the end of the last film. Barbossa, it turns out, is working for the British Navy, having also lost the Pearl, along with his right leg, in a battle with the most feared pirate in the world: Blackbeard (Ian McShane). Their paths cross once again after Spanish explorers find evidence of the Fountain of Youth. Joined by Angelica (Penélope Cruz), a mysterious woman with a history with both Jack and Blackbeard, everyone sets off in search of the fountain.

As you can see above, a lovely new banner featuring Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) has been released by Disney for their upcoming blockbuster, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Along with the banner, the studio has also sent out a veritable collection of fun facts about the movie, including nuggets of information about this fourth film in the franchise, the production, the various cast and crew, and a bunch of other interesting little bits you might be interested in knowing.

You can see a larger version of the banner by clicking above, and you can read all of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides fun facts by clicking on over to the other side now!

A few days ago, we posted a sneak peek photo unveiled by Disney of actress Olivia Wilde being made up to look like the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves with the headline, What’s Olivia Wilde Up To With Disney?.

We had a few guesses as to what Wilde was up to, one of which was the possibility of her being involved in a new series of Disney Dream Portraits by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz. Turns out, that’s exactly what it was.

Disney Parks Blog has revealed the new photo series, which takes well-known celebrities and transforms them into the role of famous Disney characters, all with stunning background scenery. See all three images from the new series here below.