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w22dheartlivie 
"Kitty Lover"
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 Posted - 05/28/2007 : 08:13:11
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I haven't seen it yet. I'm still trying to lasso someone into taking me to the theater (since any of them are 15-20 miles away). I was a little let down by POTC2, but I chose to see it as the middle part of a trilogy, and I've always found the middle part to be a bit of a lull. It was true for the Matrix films, the Lord of the Rings films, and the first trilogy of Star Wars (this is my opinion, mind you). I did feel like POTC2 ended rather abruptly, but it's Johnny Depp, and I forgive Johnny a LOT. Having said that, I will buy the trilogy on DVD when they release it, as I am positive Disney will do.
I was a bit annoyed this evening reading through a couple online reviews when they gave much too much of the plot away. Thanks to them, I understand the Keith Richards' wife comment, and know too much about the outcome for Will and Elizabeth. I gave them a sound thrashing for giving away the entire plot. I don't think I mind that Richards is oddly placed because it seems fitting and proper that he was worked into it at all. Depp owes him about $50 million for Jack Sparrow. |
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rabid kazook 
"Pushing the antelope"
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Posted - 05/28/2007 : 17:37:47
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quote:
Originally posted by benj clews
Are we going to get a decent blockbuster this year? 
Or generally some decent movies. Releases of Cannes movies seem moths away.  |
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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 05/28/2007 : 18:16:33
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quote:
Originally posted by rabid kazook
Or generally some decent movies. Releases of Cannes movies seem moths away.
RK -- I LOVE 'moths away' - unintentional, I know, but brilliant! 
Anyway - Here's my take on the film:
Back in the rabid witch-hunt days of the cold war 1950s many Hollywood filmmakers 'smuggled' political observations into westerns, crime thrillers, and other genre movies because it was the only way the studios could let them through without being accused of fomenting or encouraging subversion. Although there are certainly no direct parallels between then and now, there is enough recent evidence of some extraordinary re-evaluations of social change to have prompted some filmmakers taking a quasi-political stance - whether of a left or right wing sensibility - within the boundaries of popular culture movies.
Without giving anything away, director Gore Verbinski would never have offered the opening scene of the third in the POTC franchise unless he were making a point wider than one about 18th century piracy. And for those who wish to see them, there are sufficient references throughout this tale of adventures driven by military protection of commercial trading interests, which draw attention to the aimless muddle into which some contemporary world leaders have directed events.
That said, one can set that whole deconstructionist approach aside and take the film on its most immediate level - that of the third in a sequel of high sea adventures heavily spiced with a dollop of magical realism. The kind of territory so happily inhabited by the most potent mythologies of our ancestors from all cultures. Also, at such a level, this kind of film lends itself to spectacular displays of special effects and offers a platform for technical viruosity in the key departments of sound, music, and editing. Although there should be equal opportunity for facility in screenwriting and acting, sadly it's those two areas which let the film down. Primarily it's the fault of a screenplay which is so eager to prove its credentials that it muddles the details of a story which actually proves to be a thin tale, packing it so full of the trappings of bureaucracy there's little room left for wit or character.
Actually there are some witty visual ideas, such as Sparrow's stir crazy hallucinations, the alter egos of his thought processes. And there is some truly wonderful spectacle, which will undoubtedly suffer by comparison with the first film which was still able to take us by surprise. We're now sated. Give us more, we cry. And when we unwrap the prezzie, we toss it aside with a sneer, "Is that it?! Hunh!"
But the dialogue is clunky and the story ain't so much a story as a series of convoluted incidents leading to inevitabilities, and the promise of even more. But more what? More of the same, I'm betting. Meanwhile, the film will rake in the shekels and the parents will have somewhere to take the kiddies on a rainy afternoon. So that's all right, then.
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Edited by - BaftaBaby on 05/28/2007 18:18:30 |
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rabid kazook
"Pushing the antelope"
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Posted - 05/28/2007 : 21:23:57
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quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
quote:
Originally posted by rabid kazook
Or generally some decent movies. Releases of Cannes movies seem moths away.
RK -- I LOVE 'moths away' - unintentional, I know, but brilliant!
I love your insertion of the 'rabid'.  |
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MisterBadIdea 
"PLZ GET MILK, KTHXBYE"
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Posted - 05/28/2007 : 21:35:43
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The characters' motivations are simplified but not quite to a fault, in my opinion, and no one ever quite acts out of character (save possibly Will Turner, whose motivations confused and frustrated me throughout). After the surprisingly puny Shrek the Third, I've concluded that I prefer my summer movies big and bloated, even if to a fault. Overambitious, too much spectacle, but far superior to Shrek 3.
Of the movie's sins, I'd say the lack of a A-plot is the biggest, with the decision to make Cap'n Jack no more or less important than any of the other characters a close second. Still, this movie cuts deeper than the other two below the surface, even if it's not quite as good above the surface.
The plot is so heavy that the film has filled it with comedy to relieve the tension. But the extreme weight necessitates a great lot of comic relief, and eventually the seams begin to show.
I was honestly surprised at how affecting the conclusion to Will and Elizabeth's romance was, considering how short-shrifted it got in the bulk of the picture. |
Edited by - MisterBadIdea on 05/28/2007 21:36:27 |
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damalc 
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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Posted - 05/30/2007 : 06:29:46
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i know a lot of people have ripped Barbosa's scene chewing, but i LOVE it.
i rate this one in the middle, not as good as 1, better than 2.
way too long, and not enough swordfighting. MORE SWORDPLAY! that's the backbone of any good swashbuckling film.
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Edited by - damalc on 05/30/2007 20:09:29 |
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Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End
