So, this pirate walks into a blacksmith's shop...
Thursday, July 10th, 2003 08:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seraiHere's a more detailed review of Pirates of the Caribbean, for those of you interested. I got to see it in a real old-time movie palace in Hollywood. Woo-hoo!
Yo ho ho, and a Brace of Babes...
Just took in Pirates of the Caribbean last night, opening night at the El Capitan on Hollywood Blvd. This is one of the old classic movie palaces, bought and raised out of sad obscurity by Disney, to be its flagship showcase. The attendants were all in Disney-fied piratey gear, and the gilt and vaulted hall (really a masterpiece of restoration) was festooned with sheets of cobwebs, mounds of treasure and a huge skull-and-crossbones, which wavered spookily in the underwatery lighting trained on it.
There was an organist! It was so cool, the guy played nonstop for a half hour. He got a standing ovation from the hyped-up crowd (and deserved it), and then his whole rig sank into the floor.
After some fun with moody lighting and piratey music, the three (3!) different curtains parted - one red silk and gold brocade, one gold-trimmed blue velvet, and the last a thick drape of myriad silver mylar strands that reflected the wavering blue-green lights in such a way that it felt like we were diving into the film through a churning layer of sunlit ocean - and the movie began.
It's a fun flick, and no mistake. Big, loud, silly, sexy, summer fun. Nothing in the least serious or existential or reflective in any way. And it helps if you've ever been to Disneyland and ridden the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, because almost every single thing in it is quoted somewhere in this film, usually in passing or in the background. (The only thing I missed was the bird that sings "Yo ho, yo ho, a parrot's life for me!" They didn't throw him in.)
But don't expect brilliance. The story is fun, but the script is at times dreadful. Poor Orlando - he got some of the worst lines, and doesn't yet have the experience to turn a bad line into an asset and make it look effortless, the way Depp can. But he struggles gamely, and his sweet earnestness and airy beauty cover a multitude of sins.
And Geoffrey Rush is just a fucking hoot. Really, now, I'm sorry - no one should be allowed to have this much fun while they're working. He puts every ounce of his energy into his Captain Barbossa (how's that for a fulsome name?), fingers gesturing floridly, rolling his eyes and masticating every syllable to extract the juicy pulp from the words. You know, he even managed to make that pirate accent sound natural. (Another thing I found amusing was that the pirates did, in fact, say "Aaarrr!" often and with relish, several times en masse. Who else but Disney...)
But for sheer snaky, snarky, hotmaking, angina-inducing HOTNESS, Depp is It this weekend. Gods, what a piece of manflesh. As Captain Jack Sparrow, in his dark skin, dreadlocks and beads, with that killer wicked sideways dagger of a grin and that yummy slinking form, he sure made hash outta my corned beef! Sporting a lazy, bed-tousled voice, an eccentric set of gestures, and those agile eyes that do half the work, he just rules this film. He's definitely worth the price of admission all on his own.
(Note: that strange swaying thing he does? Accurate, surprisingly enough - apprarently men who spent years on these ships had a tendency to list on shore, on account of their bodies constantly trying to find a level on a yawing deck and not giving up the habit easily. Go figure!)
Of course, the effects are bloody brilliant. CGI is really developing mindbogglingly fast. The trailers were great, but I'd wondered whether the filmmakers could sustain the concept visually for more than a few seconds at a time. But they deliver - the weird magic of the curse takes full advantage of the visual technology, and vice versa. No complaints on any of that at all.
But it's the babe quotient that drew me, and on that front, as I said, we are well covered. All in all, not necessarily a good film, but definitely an enjoyable one. I absolutely recommend it as a great summer romp. :D
Yo ho ho, and a Brace of Babes...
Just took in Pirates of the Caribbean last night, opening night at the El Capitan on Hollywood Blvd. This is one of the old classic movie palaces, bought and raised out of sad obscurity by Disney, to be its flagship showcase. The attendants were all in Disney-fied piratey gear, and the gilt and vaulted hall (really a masterpiece of restoration) was festooned with sheets of cobwebs, mounds of treasure and a huge skull-and-crossbones, which wavered spookily in the underwatery lighting trained on it.
There was an organist! It was so cool, the guy played nonstop for a half hour. He got a standing ovation from the hyped-up crowd (and deserved it), and then his whole rig sank into the floor.
After some fun with moody lighting and piratey music, the three (3!) different curtains parted - one red silk and gold brocade, one gold-trimmed blue velvet, and the last a thick drape of myriad silver mylar strands that reflected the wavering blue-green lights in such a way that it felt like we were diving into the film through a churning layer of sunlit ocean - and the movie began.
It's a fun flick, and no mistake. Big, loud, silly, sexy, summer fun. Nothing in the least serious or existential or reflective in any way. And it helps if you've ever been to Disneyland and ridden the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, because almost every single thing in it is quoted somewhere in this film, usually in passing or in the background. (The only thing I missed was the bird that sings "Yo ho, yo ho, a parrot's life for me!" They didn't throw him in.)
But don't expect brilliance. The story is fun, but the script is at times dreadful. Poor Orlando - he got some of the worst lines, and doesn't yet have the experience to turn a bad line into an asset and make it look effortless, the way Depp can. But he struggles gamely, and his sweet earnestness and airy beauty cover a multitude of sins.
And Geoffrey Rush is just a fucking hoot. Really, now, I'm sorry - no one should be allowed to have this much fun while they're working. He puts every ounce of his energy into his Captain Barbossa (how's that for a fulsome name?), fingers gesturing floridly, rolling his eyes and masticating every syllable to extract the juicy pulp from the words. You know, he even managed to make that pirate accent sound natural. (Another thing I found amusing was that the pirates did, in fact, say "Aaarrr!" often and with relish, several times en masse. Who else but Disney...)
But for sheer snaky, snarky, hotmaking, angina-inducing HOTNESS, Depp is It this weekend. Gods, what a piece of manflesh. As Captain Jack Sparrow, in his dark skin, dreadlocks and beads, with that killer wicked sideways dagger of a grin and that yummy slinking form, he sure made hash outta my corned beef! Sporting a lazy, bed-tousled voice, an eccentric set of gestures, and those agile eyes that do half the work, he just rules this film. He's definitely worth the price of admission all on his own.
(Note: that strange swaying thing he does? Accurate, surprisingly enough - apprarently men who spent years on these ships had a tendency to list on shore, on account of their bodies constantly trying to find a level on a yawing deck and not giving up the habit easily. Go figure!)
Of course, the effects are bloody brilliant. CGI is really developing mindbogglingly fast. The trailers were great, but I'd wondered whether the filmmakers could sustain the concept visually for more than a few seconds at a time. But they deliver - the weird magic of the curse takes full advantage of the visual technology, and vice versa. No complaints on any of that at all.
But it's the babe quotient that drew me, and on that front, as I said, we are well covered. All in all, not necessarily a good film, but definitely an enjoyable one. I absolutely recommend it as a great summer romp. :D
