Arrrrrrr...zzzzzzzzzzz
Jul. 28th, 2003 12:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dmarleyI can't believe how sleepy I was all day yesterday. I didn't stay up particularly late the night before, and got to sleep an extra hour, but I was still a walking zombie all day. When Boo had her morning nap, I had one, too, and when she woke up I was still so groggy that I just got her out of her crib, carried her straight into the living room, and laid down on the floor to keep snatching z's while she played. Naturally, since I could barely keep my eyes open, Boo was a playing machine all day. She didn't have an afternoon nap to speak of, and stayed up a good hour and a half past her normal bedtime. Possibly some sort of infant vampirism was involved.
No gaming Saturday night, so instead some of us got together and went to the movies.
I had absolutely no desire to see "Pirates of the Caribbean." What little I knew of the plot and premise sounded lame, and the trailers and posters I first saw pretty much insured that any minimal spark of interest was reduced to zero. But a number of factors conspired to make me rethink my first impression, chiefly the comments from folks who'd actually seen the movie. Plus, I knew that if it really sucked, with Johnny Depp on the screen I'd at least have something pretty to look at.
The short version is that I had some amazing fun for two and a half hours. It rocked, it rolled, it kicked ass and took names. Good plot, great characters, good visuals, good music, and some darn good acting. I had heard some buzzing around the internet about it, but, to be honest, I knew that with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom on screen together there'd be buzz no matter what. All I can say is that both of them were incredibly, amazingly hot, and that that wasn't even close to being the best thing about the movie. Which is saying something.
Now let's talk about the plot. There was one. A good one. I wouldn't call it wildly original, but all the elements were put together with a panache and finesse that made them greater than the sum of their parts. In particular I enjoyed how well the plot revealed itself, information being supplied only when needed and not before, and never in a way that made the movie screech to a halt while vital clues were revealed. It was really rather onion-like, with character motivations being revealed layer by layer, each new insight adding to the drama of what was taking place. Plus, it was--at least on one viewing--a good, tight, consistent plot. I never caught myself second-guessing what was happening, and the actions of the characters were supported and enhanced by the plot, instead of the one being used as an obvious device to support the other.
The characters were terrific, and I was impressed with the balance of good and bad points in each of them. Even the hero and heroine figures were more than just stereotypes, each of them having flaws and strengths and depth. Will was wonderful, every inch the hero but with just enough doubt to make him interesting, and make his story that much more engaging. Elizabeth was likewise a wonderful character. It would have been all too easy for her to be nothing more than Will's damsel in distress to rescue, but I was impressed at the way that she was able to take care of herself, at her competence and bravery and smarts, and most of all that she could do everything she needed without ever having to stop being a lady, too.
Barbosa (hope I got the spelling right) was another gem. He was everything the villain ought to be, but again there was an undercurrent of sympathy for his plight. Not a nice man at all, but I couldn't help but be a bit moved by his desire to be a living man once more.
Captain Jack Sparrow, though, stole the show. Not only was he incredibly funny, as the story unfolded he became even more and more of a sympathetic and even tragic figure. It really was impossible to tell whose side he was really on, and even his madness had a certain method. Johnny Depp was awesome, everything from timing to gestures to inflections absolutely perfect to make Sparrow the lynchpin of the movie. What an amazing job.
Lest it seem from all this pontificating that I only cared for the noble and lofty artistic content, let me just say, again, that Johnny Depp was hot, hot, hot. Whoever designed his look deserves some kind of erotic excellence award. Yowza! I may possibly forgive him now for not appearing as Christopher Marlowe. Or may never forgive him, I'm not sure. And Orlando Bloom dirtied up nicely, I have to say.
I probably won't get a chance to see it again in the theatre, but I'm setting aside the dough to get the DVD right now. This one's a keeper.
No gaming Saturday night, so instead some of us got together and went to the movies.
I had absolutely no desire to see "Pirates of the Caribbean." What little I knew of the plot and premise sounded lame, and the trailers and posters I first saw pretty much insured that any minimal spark of interest was reduced to zero. But a number of factors conspired to make me rethink my first impression, chiefly the comments from folks who'd actually seen the movie. Plus, I knew that if it really sucked, with Johnny Depp on the screen I'd at least have something pretty to look at.
The short version is that I had some amazing fun for two and a half hours. It rocked, it rolled, it kicked ass and took names. Good plot, great characters, good visuals, good music, and some darn good acting. I had heard some buzzing around the internet about it, but, to be honest, I knew that with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom on screen together there'd be buzz no matter what. All I can say is that both of them were incredibly, amazingly hot, and that that wasn't even close to being the best thing about the movie. Which is saying something.
Now let's talk about the plot. There was one. A good one. I wouldn't call it wildly original, but all the elements were put together with a panache and finesse that made them greater than the sum of their parts. In particular I enjoyed how well the plot revealed itself, information being supplied only when needed and not before, and never in a way that made the movie screech to a halt while vital clues were revealed. It was really rather onion-like, with character motivations being revealed layer by layer, each new insight adding to the drama of what was taking place. Plus, it was--at least on one viewing--a good, tight, consistent plot. I never caught myself second-guessing what was happening, and the actions of the characters were supported and enhanced by the plot, instead of the one being used as an obvious device to support the other.
The characters were terrific, and I was impressed with the balance of good and bad points in each of them. Even the hero and heroine figures were more than just stereotypes, each of them having flaws and strengths and depth. Will was wonderful, every inch the hero but with just enough doubt to make him interesting, and make his story that much more engaging. Elizabeth was likewise a wonderful character. It would have been all too easy for her to be nothing more than Will's damsel in distress to rescue, but I was impressed at the way that she was able to take care of herself, at her competence and bravery and smarts, and most of all that she could do everything she needed without ever having to stop being a lady, too.
Barbosa (hope I got the spelling right) was another gem. He was everything the villain ought to be, but again there was an undercurrent of sympathy for his plight. Not a nice man at all, but I couldn't help but be a bit moved by his desire to be a living man once more.
Captain Jack Sparrow, though, stole the show. Not only was he incredibly funny, as the story unfolded he became even more and more of a sympathetic and even tragic figure. It really was impossible to tell whose side he was really on, and even his madness had a certain method. Johnny Depp was awesome, everything from timing to gestures to inflections absolutely perfect to make Sparrow the lynchpin of the movie. What an amazing job.
Lest it seem from all this pontificating that I only cared for the noble and lofty artistic content, let me just say, again, that Johnny Depp was hot, hot, hot. Whoever designed his look deserves some kind of erotic excellence award. Yowza! I may possibly forgive him now for not appearing as Christopher Marlowe. Or may never forgive him, I'm not sure. And Orlando Bloom dirtied up nicely, I have to say.
I probably won't get a chance to see it again in the theatre, but I'm setting aside the dough to get the DVD right now. This one's a keeper.
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Hello there!
Date: 2003-07-29 03:31 pm (UTC)And yeah, that movie was better than it had any right to be, although I could have done with a tad bit less of the ghost pirates fighting the sailors. Looking forward to having it on DVD so I can FF through those parts and just watch Jack.
What is it about men named Jack? *sigh*sigh*sigh*