PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES (Rated PG-13)

The “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise is now working the swashbuckling adventure into its fifth installment with “Dead Men Tell No Tales,” in which the one certain constant is the presence of Captain Jack Sparrow and his adversary Captain Hector Barbossa.

It should not be unexpected if you get the feeling you’ve seen this movie before. Johnny Depp’s Captain Sparrow, operating in full pirate mode, is still fond of his liquor, stumbling about while plotting his next larcenous move.

Meanwhile, Geoffrey Rush’s Captain Barbossa remains Sparrow’s pirate nemesis, a circumstance of the mutinous fallout from “The Curse of the Black Pearl,” the first film in the franchise released back in 2003.

“Dead Men Tell No Tales” opens with a brazen pirate heist of a bank vault in which Sparrow has dozed off after a dalliance with the Port Royal mayor’s wife still in his clutches.

The heist itself, though ingeniously ludicrous, may not have been completely thought out by Sparrow’s crew.  This may be the first time in film history that an entire building has been hauled away by a team of horses.

The amusing part of this caper is that while a building being carted through town leaves an endless wake of destruction, the treasured contents of the open safe empty out during the ride back to the pirate ship.

True to form, Sparrow sneakily retrieves the one gold coin left behind. During his escape from the British army, Sparrow encounters Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), a young astronomer determined to find the Trident of Poseidon, which can only be located by reading the stars.

The Trident holds the key to saving Sparrow from the vengeance directed his way by Captain Armando Salazar (Javier Bardem) of the Spanish Navy, who along with his crew was condemned years ago to the ethereal purgatory of the Devil’s Triangle.

The Spanish captain remains committed to his mission of eradicating the high seas of all pirates. That puts Sparrow as well as Barbossa in a perilous position if Salazar obtains the Trident.

The importance of the Trident is that it allows one to reverse curses, and Salazar and his crew members are all undead and seen as CGI-created ghosts that look and act more like zombies with lots of missing limbs and body parts.

In a parallel story, a young Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) would like to find his father Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), who can only return to human form with the help of the Trident.

As a sailor in the British navy, Henry soon runs afoul of his captain’s ill-advised orders, and while imprisoned in the ship’s hold, he is the only one spared death when Salazar easily dispatches the rest of the crew.

Knowing that Henry should be left behind as the one person to tell the tale, Salazar realizes the young sailor would be useful to locate his father as well as Jack Sparrow, thereby advancing his quest for revenge.

As the result of the confluence of events in Port Royal, which includes Carina being slated for hanging for the trumped-up charge of witchcraft and Sparrow to get the guillotine on general principles, Henry comes to their aid and thus an alliance is formed.

Though not quite as good as in the past, Depp’s drunken, degenerate Sparrow remains, though diminished in luster, the source of comic relief with his bawdy sense of humor and one-liner sarcasms.

Even when Sparrow seems on the verge of getting serious about the mission, he can’t help messing up when he barters away for a bottle of booze the magic compass needed to find Salazar. His anarchic, reckless spirit never wavers, and that might be adequate enough here.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” which may have enough action on the high seas to satisfy fans of the franchise, has run aground, at least in terms of originality.

There is the inescapable feeling that this fifth installment is fueled by the good will of the previous spirited pirate adventures in which the main characters are somewhat fun to watch. But all good things can only go so far without creative reinvention.

Regrettably, “Pirates of the Caribbean” has basically run out of new initiatives, but the retread of the familiar is not so bad if you’ve been hooked on the pirate story and welcome another round.

At least, Javier Bardem’s Captain Salazar brings much-needed menace to his villainous role, while Kaya Scoledario and Brenton Thwaites prove to be appealing newcomers with prospects for a foreseeable return. This “Pirates” would have been an even lesser chapter without the new blood.

Reducing “Dead Men Tell No Tales” to its essence, much like the Disneyland theme park ride upon which the franchise is based, could be fun to take for a spin but you may wish to ponder the commitment of two-plus hours of your time.  

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Middletown's monthly Summer Movie Series in the park will feature “Monster Trucks” on Saturday, June 10.

The free outdoor movie showing will begin at dusk – or around 9 p.m. – at the Middletown Square Park, in front of the library and senior center complex on Highway 29/Calistoga Road.

Bring chairs and blankets, come early with a picnic and enjoy a movie at the park.

For more information, visit www.middletownareamerchants.com or call 707-987-0998.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Middletown Art Center has announced the start of its second “Resilience” workshop series, “Writing Resilience.”

Thanks to a Local Impact Grant from the California Arts Council and local support, MAC is able to offer Lake County communities its project Resilience.

Resilience provides broad access to the arts for adults of all ages and teens ages 12 and up.

It consists of four monthly five-hour classes that are offered first through fourth Saturdays, June 2017 to May 2018.

All classes will run from noon to 5 p.m. with a 30-minute break. This schedule provides easier connection to Lake Transit from Clearlake for those who want to use public transportation.

The fee is $5 per session. Preregistration is preferred as space is limited.

Resilience workshops cycle through the month with week one, photography; week two, poetry/written and spoken word (June 10); week three, painting (Sunday 6/18 due to Middletown Days); and week four, drawing/printmaking (June 24).

Resilience kicked off last weekend with Photographing Resilience, which was a “fun and inspiring learning experience” according to photographer Ruth Stierna.

Photographing Resilience will be offered next on Sunday, July 9, due to holiday weekend, and generally the first Saturday of the month.

The first “Writing Resilience” for poetry/written and spoken word will take place this Saturday, June 10.

It will be facilitated by Clive Matson, published author and poet, with a career of 40-plus years teaching creative writing.

Matson uses his own methodology based on his book “Let the Crazy Child Write!” to allow writers to delve into their unconscious and express that itch or urge that the creative unconscious wants to release.

As Matson expresses it, “We recognize three voices in the writer’s psyche: ‘Editor,’ ‘Writer’ and ‘Crazy Child’ – or creative unconscious. The Editor is the ‘should ‘ voice, as in you should write everything perfectly the first time, you should make money with your writing, you should make no spelling errors. The Writer organizes your writing life, finds blank paper and pens that work, makes time to sit at the computer or go to a coffeehouse with your notebook. The Crazy Child is the urge to write, that itch in your psyche or body that wants to get out into the world. We’ll tell the Editor and Writer to take a walk and let your Crazy Child write whatever it wants.”

To learn more about Clive Matson, check out his Web site at http://matsonpoet.com/ .

“The Resilience project focuses on nature’s recovery and rebound as an inspiration and mirror for our own resilience after the fires of 2015 and 2016,” said Lisa Kaplan, executive director at MAC. “People of all backgrounds, abilities and experience from professional to newbies are encouraged to attend and engage with the arts and creative expression.”

To register for “Writing Resilience” this Saturday or any other of the upcoming Resilience classes, or to learn more, visit www.middletownartcenter.org/resilience .

Middletown Art Center is a local arts nonprofit dedicated providing art opportunities, art education, cultural enrichment, and ecological awareness, contributing to the social and economic well being of rural Lake County.

MAC’s operations are supported by donations and membership as well as sales in the gallery. Visit www.middletownartcenter.org to learn about MAC’s current exhibit or how you can support MAC.

Middletown Art Center is located at 21456 Highway 175, at the junction of Highway 29.

COBB, Calif. – The Friends of Boggs Mountain group is excited to announce the world premiere performance of “Firestorm,” a sonata in three movements by pianist and composer Karen Rhoads on Saturday, June 10.

The event will take place, weather permitting, at 11 a.m. at the Cobb Elementary School outdoor amphitheater, 15895 Highway 175.

Rhoads began composing the work in the aftermath of the Valley fire.

The admission-free benefit (donations encouraged) will be open to the community, and sponsored by Friends of Boggs Mountain with support from Evanger's Dog & Cat Food Co.

Children are welcome, and refreshments will be provided.

The performance will be followed by a slow-paced, easy nature hike led by naturalist Darlene Hecomovich, who will share local flora and fauna.

The hike will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., starting at the school, Bring water and a hat.

For more information or to RSVP, call or text 707-321-4964 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Friends of Boggs Mountain via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FOBMCA/ .

We're taught to never speak ill of the dead. Well, then, what do we do? Perhaps we forgive. Here's a lovely poem by Sarah White, who lives in New York. It's from her book from Deerbrook Editions, Wars Don't Happen Anymore.

Nothing But Good...

I will not speak ill of Jack Flick.
I will rarely look
at the scar he made on my cheek
one summer at the lake.

I won't speak ill of Jack whose freckles
and gangly legs are gone.
So is the drained face I saw when he saw
what he'd done with a sharp rock
nonchalantly skipped.

I will speak well, for it was somewhat
sweet to lie on the dock while Jack
and his friends bent down
and wiped my face with a sandy towel.
I will speak well of them,
for most are gone
and the wound proved small.

I will speak well, for the rock
missed my eye. I can hardly find
the scar. Jack went into the air
corps, fought in one of the wars,
retired, and lived less than a year
before his tender heart gave out.

I will speak well of Jack.

American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited submissions. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2015 by Sarah White, “Nothing But Good . . . ,” from Wars Don't Happen Anymore (Deerbrook Editions, 2015). Poem reprinted by permission of Sarah White and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2017 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.

BAYWATCH (Rated R)

Pop culture legends Pamela Anderson and David Hasselhoff achieved their level of fame from a popular television series that conjured up fun-loving images of sun, surf and statuesque lifeguards running in slow-motion in form-fitting red swimsuits.

Of course, that show “Baywatch,” which thrived for many years in syndication, featured a slew of attractive men and women patrolling the beaches of Los Angeles County, with cast changes over the years that even included former Playboy playmates.

Given that a number of TV series have been turned into feature length movies over the years, with “21 Jump Street” and “Charlie’s Angels” as more notable recent examples, it was only a matter of time before the jigglefest of “Baywatch” would be added to the mix.

The selling point for this adaptation is the towering presence of Dwayne Johnson, aka “The Rock,” inhabiting the David Hasselhoff starring role of sturdy Lieutenant Mitch Buchannon, a man with the megawatt smile and enough charisma to cast a wide net on the beach.

The odd thing about “Baywatch” the movie, which has plenty of raunchy humor, is that it doesn’t quite know what type of entertainment to be. Sure, it’s a comedy, but also a drama. It’s a story of intrigue and detective work, with a heavy dose of high-octane action.

Persuasively charming, Johnson could sell ice to the Eskimos, and here he sells the idea of Mitch Buchannon as a sort of demigod (one beachgoer has sculpted his likeness in the sand) who rules his lifeguard crew with benevolent efficiency.

But then, along comes Zac Efron as disgraced gold medal-winning Olympic swimmer Matt Brody, who arrogantly believes he’s entitled to become one of the new lifeguards for the summer season at Florida’s Emerald Bay.

Probably the most fun of this comedy-drama-action picture is watching Mitch’s verbal assault on pretty boy Matt with the put-downs of calling him “Malibu Ken,” “High School Musical,” and “One Direction,” among a steady stream of other insults.

“Baywatch,” of course, would not be what it is without a bevy of drop-dead gorgeous lifeguards that look more like Victoria Secret models. In fact, Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Kelly Rohrbach has the Pamela Anderson role of C.J. Parker.

Besides the usual saving of ocean swimmers, Mitch and his crew get mixed up in detective work involving drug-running and murder, when the nefarious activities of club owner Victoria Leeds (Priyanka Chopra) result in the lifeguards going undercover.

None of this sits well with the local police and a city administrator, but the death of a corrupt councilman screams for the lifeguards’ involvement when a boat fire goes horribly wrong.

It’s worth noting that Chopra, the star of the “Quantico” TV series, makes for a good villain, and Alexandra Daddario stands out as smart new recruit and Ilfenesh Hadera makes a capable second-in-command.

The original TV series may have been suitable for family viewing, but the same cannot be said for “Baywatch” the movie, which overall is silly and dumb for the most part and yet is far too raunchy in its humor and abundant string of F-bombs.

‘I’M DYING HERE’ ON SHOWTIME

Author and journalist William Knoedelseder wrote a book about the comedy club scene in 1970s Los Angeles, where the best-known venue for the discovery of new talent was at Mitzi Shore’s Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip.

Taking its name from the book, Showtime’s “I’m Dying Up Here” is a thinly-veiled disguise of the real story, and as such, Melissa Leo’s Goldie, the hard-charging owner of Goldie’s comedy club also located on the Strip, rules with an iron fist that seems vaguely familiar to the truth.

Unlike the book, the cast members, all vying to get stage time in the Main Room, are fictionalized characters, allowing for a lot of creative leeway in fleshing them out. The first episode has the stand-out character of Clay Appuzzo (Sebastian Stan).

To the encouragement as well as resentment of his fellow comics at Goldie’s, Clay not only gets to perform on “The Tonight Show,” but Johnny Carson (Dylan Baker) calls him over to the couch after his routine, a sure sign of approbation that marks a career turn.

“I’m Dying Up Here” focuses a lot on the dark side of the business. Clay doesn’t make it to the second episode, but his spirit hangs over the other comics, particularly ex-girlfriend Cassie (Ari Graynor), the lone female in the group who struggles to break the “glass ceiling.”

Meanwhile, a pair of Boston comics, Eddie (Michael Angarano) and Ron (Clark Duke), shows up penniless in Los Angeles and end up suffering the indignity of living in the closet of another Goldie’s regular.

Seeing that the series is structured as an ensemble, the aspiring comics, all vying for stage time, include the hot-tempered Edgar (Al Madrigal), the Vietnam war veteran Ralph (Erik Griffin), who helps to moderate showcases, and the embittered Bill (Andrew Santino).

Getting a shot on a TV show, Bill has to contend with his judgmental father (Robert Forster) and oblivious mother (Cathy Moriarty). Meanwhile, young newcomer Adam (RJ Cyler) has even greater challenges that veer into uncomfortable sexual abuse territory.

Showtime provided the first six one-hour episodes of “I’m Dying Up Here” for review. Only the first two hours have been considered here, but I’m not dying to finish the rest just now.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.