Hi all! This will be the last movie reviews for a week or so as we make our first road trip to Wisconsin for the summer. It will be mostly an I-80 route but some new territory with a detour to South Dakota and onward East. We hope to post some articles from the road. Over the summer we plan to explore the area, State(s), and maybe wander into Canada as time permits.
Spending time with family, learning to operate a pontoon boat, discovering restaurants (John actually found three Dim Sum restaurants in Milwaukee!) and other adventures in the region. So stay tuned and be sure to keep those comments coming.
Best wishes to all! J&J
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Oy Vey. Where to begin…Jack Sparrow slips into misfortune when a deadly ghost ship and its ghostly sailors track Captain Sparrow. In order to survive, Jack teams up with the legendary Trident of Poseidon. And so on…
There is a huge cast. Most noteworthy are Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, an awesome, but creepy, performace by Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush, Keira Knightley, Paul McCartney, Keith Richards and at least a dozen more character actors.
It is probably an unintended message that the story parallels the degradation of the franchise. This sequel fails to impress audiences with the same production quality of previous editions.
It is rated PG-13, genre is Fantasy/Action and runs a long 2 hours, 33 minutes. Unless you are a die hard fan, save your money and time or wait and see it on a long plane ride.
Rating 
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul
Apparently this is the 4th in the Wimpy Kid series. Our local newspaper reviewer gave this film a good, if modest, review that prompted us to consider and ultimately see the movie.
From the opening scene, we were concerned. The entire story line and every scene bordered on absurd slapstick. The acting was inconsistent except for the scenes that were brazenly overacted.
The genre is noted as a Road Movie/Comedy. The run time is 1 hour, 31 minutes. We cannot recommend this film. It delivers several poor messages to audiences and quickly becomes tedious.
Rating 
Hi, J&J – I’m so glad you did not care for either of these movies. I just can’t stand Johnny Depp so have never seen any of the Pirate movies. From the previews, this one seemed especially bad. I had decided to forego Wimpy Kid as I couldn’t find a point of appeal for me. Your road trip sounds like so much fun. I’ll look forward to your comments as you are able or when you return. Later…Meredith
Is it safe to say no makeup was required for Keith Richard’s role? 😉
Enjoy your time at Summer Camp!