Today's Movie: Cutthroat Island (1995)

Cutthroat Island is a 1995 action/adventure flick with a reputation as being a 'bad movie', but is that a fair assessment? Now I'm not going to try to make an argument that's it's a great film, because it's not, but I will say that there are enough redeeming qualities to make it worth watching.

So, what's the film about? Well, it's a pretty generic plot: Genna Davis plays a pirate named Morgan Adams, who's father (also a pirate) has been killed, so she takes over as Captain of his ship and sets off to find the treasure buried on 'Cutthroat Island'. However, she only has one piece of the treasure map and thus, sets out to find the other two pieces. She rescues and, over the course of their adventure, falls for a thief named William Shaw (played by Matthew Modine). They eventually learn the location of the island, but there is another pirate crew led by Dawg Brown (played by Frank Langella) that is also after the treasure. In the end, after a big high seas pirate battle, it's Morgan that defeats Dawg and gets the gold.

Overall, there aren't a great number of really good pirate movies in the world, and Cutthroat Island is far from the worst. The movie does have a really good score, as well as, some fun action scenes with big sets, sword fights, cannons, and pyrotechnics. The acting is decent and there's also a bit of humor thrown in and some of it works. The film moves along at a brisk pace and, if nothing else, it'll likely keep you entertained during it's 2hr runtime. Sure, the plot is thin and predictable and many of the characters are underdeveloped but, again, there are far worse pirate films out there.

 

I give this one a 2.5 out of 5

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Ranking The Muppet Movies

I've been a huge Muppets fan for my entire life, so in this entry I'm going to be ranking the Muppet movies.

That being said, this will only be a ranking of Muppet films that had a theatrical release, so not included will be TV movies like “Muppets Wizard of Oz” or direct-to-video/DVD movies such as “Kermit’s Swamp Years”. Additionally, although characters from things like Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock were developed by the late Jim Henson the only films that qualify are the ones that center around the group of characters that are referred to as "The Muppets"; Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, etc. So films like Follow That Bird and Christmas Eve on Sesame Street also won't be on this particular list.

#8 Muppets from Space -1999

Keep in mind that I love all of these movies so it's not to say this one isn't enjoyable, it's just not the strongest of the bunch. There are some funny moments, but the central plot of Gonzo being an alien may have worked better as a subplot in another Muppet movie.

#7 Muppets Most Wanted -2014

The direct sequel to 2011's The Muppets was a decent follow up. However, the cast isn't as strong, the songs aren't as memorable, and the story lacks the heart of it's predecessor. A fun movie but there are better ones.


#6 The Muppet Christmas Carol -1992

The #5 and #6 picks basically came down to a coin flip honestly. They're both based on classic stories, both are a ton of fun, and I highly recommend both. For a story that's been told and retold as many time as Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, this is actually my favorite film version of that story.


#5 Muppet Treasure Island -1996

 While this one only came in at #5, it's not to say that it isn't worth watching. It's jam packed with wall-to-wall jokes, and I think it's actually one of the funniest of all the Muppet movies. Plus, Tim Curry as Long John Silver is just amazing.


#4 The Great Muppet Caper -1981

Though not quite as strong or as well remembered as the previous film The Muppet Movie or the film that would follow this one The Muppets Take Manhattan,this one is still really enjoyable. There are probably more really funny moments between Kermit and Fozzie in this one than in any of the other films.


#3 The Muppets -2011

After Muppets from Space, there was a pretty significant gap between big-screen Muppet films but when Kermit and the others finally returned to theaters it was well worth the wait. The Muppet brand of humor is as strong as ever in this one and both Jason Segel and Amy Adams are fantastic.


#2 The Muppet Movie -1979

Not only is this a solid movie, but it showed that people will go see a major motion picture starring Muppets because the movie is fun and full of lovable characters. This is the foundation for all the Muppet movies. Although Jim Henson passed away in 1990, the spirit and tone of all the films that have come since then, have always circled back to what made the original so great.


#1 The Muppets Take Manhattan -1984

Every Muppet movie needs three key ingredients good songs, humor, and heart and this one has the best balance of that. They're all really enjoyable, but if you're only going to watch one Muppet movie this is the one I'd recommend.