Pirates review
Whenever I see a movie that has sophistication or subtlety, I am a little reticent to criticize it, because there's always a chance that I miss some redeeming quality and consequently lose face. I foresee no such danger as I review "Pirates of the Caribbean: the End of the World as We Know It, and Keira Knightley Looks Fine."
First off, the movie ended a little more than three hours after its scheduled start time (though part of that is trailers, so the movie is probably 2:45-2:55). That is not necessarily too long for a broad, panoramic, action-packed epic such as one of "The Lord of the Rings" movies, but Pirates is not broad, is rarely panoramic, and is dialogue-driven for much of the first two hours. I could barely help MST3K-ing it a little to my friend next to me in the theater (who responded in kind). It has its moments of humor, and a few good fight scenes, and, I mention it lest my introduction lead you to believe I missed it, an ill-fitting tribute to Ingmar Bergman - a scene jarringly out of place in a light-hearted adventure movie aimed at an audience that, for the most part, has probably never heard of Bergman nor would like his films (not called "movies").
If you want to see an adventure movie, you would be bored sitting through the dialogue, if you want to see a funny movie, the jokes mostly fell flat (but there are plenty of opportunities to make your own), and if you want to see Keira Knightley or Johnny Depp or Orlando Bloom sashaying around in pirate costumes, knock yourselves out. No, literally knock yourselves out, you philistines. And when you come to, go rent an Ingmar Bergman film.
As for other movies, I haven't seen anything else in theaters recently - I don't have that kind of money - but I do see ads for them on TV. It occurred to me that the last time I saw or heard anything about Nancy Drew, she seemed a lot older than I. That is, I was just a child, and Nancy Drew was rather grown up - about the Hardy Boys' age, I guess. It's kind of a shocking parallax to see how young she looks in the tv spots for the Nancy Drew movie that's coming out.
Disclaimer: I too am somewhat philistine, as I have seen only one Bergman film, "Wild Strawberries."
Self-promotion: read about my view of the political and historical insinuations of Pirates 3 on my political blog.
Backlog Bob
First off, the movie ended a little more than three hours after its scheduled start time (though part of that is trailers, so the movie is probably 2:45-2:55). That is not necessarily too long for a broad, panoramic, action-packed epic such as one of "The Lord of the Rings" movies, but Pirates is not broad, is rarely panoramic, and is dialogue-driven for much of the first two hours. I could barely help MST3K-ing it a little to my friend next to me in the theater (who responded in kind). It has its moments of humor, and a few good fight scenes, and, I mention it lest my introduction lead you to believe I missed it, an ill-fitting tribute to Ingmar Bergman - a scene jarringly out of place in a light-hearted adventure movie aimed at an audience that, for the most part, has probably never heard of Bergman nor would like his films (not called "movies").
If you want to see an adventure movie, you would be bored sitting through the dialogue, if you want to see a funny movie, the jokes mostly fell flat (but there are plenty of opportunities to make your own), and if you want to see Keira Knightley or Johnny Depp or Orlando Bloom sashaying around in pirate costumes, knock yourselves out. No, literally knock yourselves out, you philistines. And when you come to, go rent an Ingmar Bergman film.
As for other movies, I haven't seen anything else in theaters recently - I don't have that kind of money - but I do see ads for them on TV. It occurred to me that the last time I saw or heard anything about Nancy Drew, she seemed a lot older than I. That is, I was just a child, and Nancy Drew was rather grown up - about the Hardy Boys' age, I guess. It's kind of a shocking parallax to see how young she looks in the tv spots for the Nancy Drew movie that's coming out.
Disclaimer: I too am somewhat philistine, as I have seen only one Bergman film, "Wild Strawberries."
Self-promotion: read about my view of the political and historical insinuations of Pirates 3 on my political blog.
Backlog Bob
posted by weblogbob83 at 1:03 AM
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