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talkingsoupOkay, before I review this awesome movie, I have to first review the AWESOME FUCKING TRAILER that came on before it. I'm talking, of course, about the Golden Compass trailer.
Holy fuck-doodles! Was that awesome or was that fucking awesome? Okay, not only do all the people look like how I imagined them (holy shit, Serafina! Lee! the gyptians!), the animation looks incredible! You've got to spend a hell of a lot of money to pull off the daemons and the weirdo world that Lyra comes from. Oh my god, I'm so excited! Admittedly, there was something Lord Asriel said in the preview that kind of had me going "wha?", I think when he mentioned multiple worlds--because I don't think I remember him ever saying that in the book. Well, as long as they don't fuck with the book too much, I think I can get over the nitpicks and just drool over the CGI and Iorek's voice. Okay, this is so wrong, but did anyone else find Iorek's voice to be TEH SEX? Who the hell does that voice? I gotta look that up, because oh my god, *squeeflaildie*
Yeah, so excited.
Okay, anyway, now onto
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Absolutely brilliant. The best of the trilogy without a doubt. I just really hope they don't make a fourth, because although they left it slightly open, they did conclude a lot of things (in any case, Elizabeth and Will probably wouldn't be in the fourth one).
Man, they fixed up so much of the stuff that was wrong with the second movie. The opening scene is so incredibly wonderful, and I was practically laughing at the blatant reference to Bush and the Patriot Act when the soldier was reading off the rights that had been taken away. And just that whole thing with the boy singing and the gallows and the rows of people, it was just so cinematically beautiful.
For anyone who's been living under a rock, the premise is that Will and company are trying to get to the End of the World, where they can hopefully rescue Jack from Davy Jones's Locker. Barbossa takes the lead while he and Elizabeth and Will pretty much betray each other left and right. Almost constantly too, and even moreso when Jack returns. There was so much betrayal going on it was hard to keep up. Anyway, they also introduced a whole shitload of new plot twists--and one that people noticed in the second one as well. Turns out that Tia Dalma was the woman that Davy Jones fell in love with, which you would have known if you had looked closely at the two lockets in the second movie. Also, Tia Dalma turns out to be a sea goddess called Calypso (but wasn't she one of the Greek Nereids? She popped up in The Odyssey). Meanwhile, the nine Pirate Lords are being called together to decide what to do about the East India Trading Company and the Flying Dutchman. Chow Yun Fat has a brief appearance as a pretty awesome Singaporean pirate lord who, upon death, makes Elizabeth the new captain. Lol.
There are so many turns and twists that it's hard to keep up and it keeps you interested through the whole thing. And, most important, all of the characters got a hell of a lot more development. I mean, Elizabeth went from being this weak broth character to actually having dimensions, and also being slightly badass. Will and Barbossa got more development as well, though not as much as Elizabeth did, I don't think. I was actually quite proud of Elizabeth, since she was the only one who really stuck to her guns through the whole thing. She also did a minimal amount of betraying. In the course of this last movie she finally became a three-dimensional character who you could care about and respect.
Davy Jones and Tia Dalma/Calypso got a lot more development as well, which I was very pleased with since they're both such intriguing characters. Tia Dalma in particular started in the second movie as a quirky and awesome secondary character, but in this one she really took on an important role (being a goddess will do that). We also saw a much more emotional, human side of Davy Jones, and learned how he became all...fishy, and why.
And Jack. Jack, Jack, Jack. He really just can't get any better, but the writers did manage to throw in some new tidbits for us, particularly with the use of the multiple Jacks. It was kind of...eh, just cinematically. It almost seemed gratuitous, but it did give us a look inside Jack's head so we can see how he operates. There were some really awesome scenes with him, obviously, since it's Johnny Depp. I really loved the scene of him in the Locker, alone on the ship in the middle of the salt flats. I mean, Jack is the kind of character who really takes nothing seriously, so reading emotions off him is hard to do--but you could tell how painful it was, him being there so far from water. We learned in the first movie how much he loves the ocean.
Another really brilliant moment with Jack was when they come upon the dead Kraken. The way he looked at it--almost like he regretted its death. I mean, here's this monster that chased him all over the ocean and actually killed him; I think he respected it in his own way. You could tell he also understood the magnitude of what was going on, that the bad guys could succeed in killing the Kraken.
And I gotta say right now, I really want an icon of Jack versus the stone crab.
Yet another really brilliant moment was when they were coming back from the End of the World and they see Elizabeth's father in one of the little boats. A lot of Elizabeth's emotions up till then--and I mean through the first and second movie--felt way too flat, but she really nailed it there--you could tell how horrible it was for her. And you could tell that even the hard-boiled pirates were sympathetic.
Another great moment (I'm almost done, don't worry), was at the end when Davy Jones stabbed Will. I mean, the look on Jack's face--even I wasn't expecting a reaction like that. And then he goes against his very nature and actually does a good thing, sort of.
Although I'm sort of meh about that whole Will becoming the captain of the Flying Dutchman thing. I mean, let me tell you right now, it doesn't matter how much too people love each other, if one of them is immortal that relationship ain't gonna last. What the hell is Will gonna do when Elizabeth dies? He can only see her once every ten years. I'd bet anything that once Elizabeth dies he'll go all Davy Jones with heartbreak. Unless Elizabeth becomes immortal or becomes part of the crew. That might work, but I dunno. It just isn't all that logical.
Although the scene at the end when Elizabeth and Will's chibi showed up (though how the hell does an undead guy impregnate a woman?) was really cute.
For the record, though, green flashes aren't like that. I've never seen one--really want to--but they're more like little blips of green right above the sun as it sets. Not a big jet of light. Nitpick, though.
The appearance of Captain Teague, Jack's father, played by none other than Keith Richards, was very awesome. That was just such a great moment between them. And who knew Keith Richards could act? He had about four lines of dialogue, but he did them really well.
And finally, just a comment on the visual quality of this movie. Okay, moviegasm anyone? The CGI, the fight scenes, everything at the End of the World, plus Shipwreck City and Singapore? Holy crap, it was all just stunning. The only thing I really didn't like was Calypso's transformation. Okay, she got really tall--can we get any lamer? A goddess doesn't have to be big to be powerful. Just having her look more "godly" or whatever--give her something blue to wear, maybe have her even look like water or something--would have been so much better.
Oh, and Norrington might have redeemed himself, but he was so much more awesome in the second movie. It's like he skipped over all the development in the second movie and went back to flat and weak broth for the third movie. As for Will's father, you know, it was really heart-wrenching to see him slowly break down, but he lost all the charm he had in the second movie, just like Norrington did. They both could have been a lot better.
Beckett, on the other hand, was awesome, as was his death scene. Just that look of disbelief on his face, man. There were so many good expressions in this movie.
Overall, I thought it was wonderful as a piece of entertainment, excellent as a third installment, and pretty damn good in terms of movie-making. They even manage to leave you with that sense of "well, it's over" at the end, though it's not as punch-you-in-the-gut as the end of LotR, but then again, you can't really compare anything to LotR.
Great movie. Go see it.
Score: 8 out of 10
Now I need to see Spiderman 3. Just for shits and giggles.
Oh, and I have seen the first episode of Sousei no Aquarion. It is fast-paced, very nicely animated, kind of confusing, and generally good, and yes the music is that holy-shit-good.
Holy fuck-doodles! Was that awesome or was that fucking awesome? Okay, not only do all the people look like how I imagined them (holy shit, Serafina! Lee! the gyptians!), the animation looks incredible! You've got to spend a hell of a lot of money to pull off the daemons and the weirdo world that Lyra comes from. Oh my god, I'm so excited! Admittedly, there was something Lord Asriel said in the preview that kind of had me going "wha?", I think when he mentioned multiple worlds--because I don't think I remember him ever saying that in the book. Well, as long as they don't fuck with the book too much, I think I can get over the nitpicks and just drool over the CGI and Iorek's voice. Okay, this is so wrong, but did anyone else find Iorek's voice to be TEH SEX? Who the hell does that voice? I gotta look that up, because oh my god, *squeeflaildie*
Yeah, so excited.
Okay, anyway, now onto
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Absolutely brilliant. The best of the trilogy without a doubt. I just really hope they don't make a fourth, because although they left it slightly open, they did conclude a lot of things (in any case, Elizabeth and Will probably wouldn't be in the fourth one).
Man, they fixed up so much of the stuff that was wrong with the second movie. The opening scene is so incredibly wonderful, and I was practically laughing at the blatant reference to Bush and the Patriot Act when the soldier was reading off the rights that had been taken away. And just that whole thing with the boy singing and the gallows and the rows of people, it was just so cinematically beautiful.
For anyone who's been living under a rock, the premise is that Will and company are trying to get to the End of the World, where they can hopefully rescue Jack from Davy Jones's Locker. Barbossa takes the lead while he and Elizabeth and Will pretty much betray each other left and right. Almost constantly too, and even moreso when Jack returns. There was so much betrayal going on it was hard to keep up. Anyway, they also introduced a whole shitload of new plot twists--and one that people noticed in the second one as well. Turns out that Tia Dalma was the woman that Davy Jones fell in love with, which you would have known if you had looked closely at the two lockets in the second movie. Also, Tia Dalma turns out to be a sea goddess called Calypso (but wasn't she one of the Greek Nereids? She popped up in The Odyssey). Meanwhile, the nine Pirate Lords are being called together to decide what to do about the East India Trading Company and the Flying Dutchman. Chow Yun Fat has a brief appearance as a pretty awesome Singaporean pirate lord who, upon death, makes Elizabeth the new captain. Lol.
There are so many turns and twists that it's hard to keep up and it keeps you interested through the whole thing. And, most important, all of the characters got a hell of a lot more development. I mean, Elizabeth went from being this weak broth character to actually having dimensions, and also being slightly badass. Will and Barbossa got more development as well, though not as much as Elizabeth did, I don't think. I was actually quite proud of Elizabeth, since she was the only one who really stuck to her guns through the whole thing. She also did a minimal amount of betraying. In the course of this last movie she finally became a three-dimensional character who you could care about and respect.
Davy Jones and Tia Dalma/Calypso got a lot more development as well, which I was very pleased with since they're both such intriguing characters. Tia Dalma in particular started in the second movie as a quirky and awesome secondary character, but in this one she really took on an important role (being a goddess will do that). We also saw a much more emotional, human side of Davy Jones, and learned how he became all...fishy, and why.
And Jack. Jack, Jack, Jack. He really just can't get any better, but the writers did manage to throw in some new tidbits for us, particularly with the use of the multiple Jacks. It was kind of...eh, just cinematically. It almost seemed gratuitous, but it did give us a look inside Jack's head so we can see how he operates. There were some really awesome scenes with him, obviously, since it's Johnny Depp. I really loved the scene of him in the Locker, alone on the ship in the middle of the salt flats. I mean, Jack is the kind of character who really takes nothing seriously, so reading emotions off him is hard to do--but you could tell how painful it was, him being there so far from water. We learned in the first movie how much he loves the ocean.
Another really brilliant moment with Jack was when they come upon the dead Kraken. The way he looked at it--almost like he regretted its death. I mean, here's this monster that chased him all over the ocean and actually killed him; I think he respected it in his own way. You could tell he also understood the magnitude of what was going on, that the bad guys could succeed in killing the Kraken.
And I gotta say right now, I really want an icon of Jack versus the stone crab.
Yet another really brilliant moment was when they were coming back from the End of the World and they see Elizabeth's father in one of the little boats. A lot of Elizabeth's emotions up till then--and I mean through the first and second movie--felt way too flat, but she really nailed it there--you could tell how horrible it was for her. And you could tell that even the hard-boiled pirates were sympathetic.
Another great moment (I'm almost done, don't worry), was at the end when Davy Jones stabbed Will. I mean, the look on Jack's face--even I wasn't expecting a reaction like that. And then he goes against his very nature and actually does a good thing, sort of.
Although I'm sort of meh about that whole Will becoming the captain of the Flying Dutchman thing. I mean, let me tell you right now, it doesn't matter how much too people love each other, if one of them is immortal that relationship ain't gonna last. What the hell is Will gonna do when Elizabeth dies? He can only see her once every ten years. I'd bet anything that once Elizabeth dies he'll go all Davy Jones with heartbreak. Unless Elizabeth becomes immortal or becomes part of the crew. That might work, but I dunno. It just isn't all that logical.
Although the scene at the end when Elizabeth and Will's chibi showed up (though how the hell does an undead guy impregnate a woman?) was really cute.
For the record, though, green flashes aren't like that. I've never seen one--really want to--but they're more like little blips of green right above the sun as it sets. Not a big jet of light. Nitpick, though.
The appearance of Captain Teague, Jack's father, played by none other than Keith Richards, was very awesome. That was just such a great moment between them. And who knew Keith Richards could act? He had about four lines of dialogue, but he did them really well.
And finally, just a comment on the visual quality of this movie. Okay, moviegasm anyone? The CGI, the fight scenes, everything at the End of the World, plus Shipwreck City and Singapore? Holy crap, it was all just stunning. The only thing I really didn't like was Calypso's transformation. Okay, she got really tall--can we get any lamer? A goddess doesn't have to be big to be powerful. Just having her look more "godly" or whatever--give her something blue to wear, maybe have her even look like water or something--would have been so much better.
Oh, and Norrington might have redeemed himself, but he was so much more awesome in the second movie. It's like he skipped over all the development in the second movie and went back to flat and weak broth for the third movie. As for Will's father, you know, it was really heart-wrenching to see him slowly break down, but he lost all the charm he had in the second movie, just like Norrington did. They both could have been a lot better.
Beckett, on the other hand, was awesome, as was his death scene. Just that look of disbelief on his face, man. There were so many good expressions in this movie.
Overall, I thought it was wonderful as a piece of entertainment, excellent as a third installment, and pretty damn good in terms of movie-making. They even manage to leave you with that sense of "well, it's over" at the end, though it's not as punch-you-in-the-gut as the end of LotR, but then again, you can't really compare anything to LotR.
Great movie. Go see it.
Score: 8 out of 10
Now I need to see Spiderman 3. Just for shits and giggles.
Oh, and I have seen the first episode of Sousei no Aquarion. It is fast-paced, very nicely animated, kind of confusing, and generally good, and yes the music is that holy-shit-good.
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no subject
Date: 2007-05-30 03:53 am (UTC)And, in summing up most of what you've said, I agree. Not sure how I felt about Beckett's death scene... it sort of felt off, to me. Like they went, "Oh, right... this guy. Shipsplode!"
Jack's expressions = LOVE
And I sort of thought the multiple-Jacks thing was a "See how flipping nuts he went locked up away from water?" sort of thing--he didn't seem quite that nuts before.
And I also agree in the visual effects department. MAJOR moviegasm--except Tia Dalma. WTF, mate. She's a goddess being freed after years of imprisonment, finding out that she was betrayed into the hands of her enemies by the man she loves, and the best you can give her is, "I... AM... BIIIIIG NOOOW, YOU BAASTAAARDS!!"
I'm going to go see it again, so I can drool without my little sister poking me in the shoulder every two minutes with observations and commentary. Not that I don't love her dearly dearly, but she talks constantly during movies.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-30 10:13 pm (UTC)Yeah, I agree a little. It did seem like suddenly, "Oh, he's important and you should sympathize with him!" And it was kind of like, "what?" But I thought it worked overall, very well done.
I can't get over the look on his face when Davy Jones stabbed Will. It was like, "Holy shit, he really does care about him!"
Yeah, totally, but I think to some degree that's how he works things out in his head. I sort of have conversations with myself when I'm thinking things out, though not to the point of hallucinating, lol.
Tia Dalma. *shakes head*
Hee hee, I used to do that all the time. I was so annoying, lol.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-30 04:51 pm (UTC)I was very fond of Elizabeth as well, and though I know she and Will love each other, I thought the hasty marriage was foolish... until the end, when they talk about setting out for the fountain of youth. If there is another movie, somehow I think that Elizabeth and/or Will will be involved, if only because that would solve their problem.
I heart Tia Dalma.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-30 08:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-30 10:15 pm (UTC)Yeah, if Elizabeth can figure out how to be immortal without any of the nasty side-effects, that whole "I shall live forever and you shall DIE!" thing wouldn't be an issue.