Archive for July, 2006

So…that photo popped up when I searched google for “Pirates of the Caribbean” so I considered it to be fair game for this post.

Pretty much everyone I know that saw Dead Man’s Chest enjoyed it to some extent. However, all these people like the original, so I have not necessarily received an objective opinion in that respect.

I thought the film was decent in some aspects, and weak in others.

Despite what many people say, I actually liked the original Pirates of the Caribbean. I thought that is had a fairly decent story that was characteristic of films that come out of Disney. I think a lot of people got the wrong impression about what the film would actually be about, so their expectations were not satisfied.

The second film is in many ways like the original, but…less complicated, if that is possible. Dead Man’s Chest removes story depth in favor of a variety of action sequences. Also, the tone of the film is generally darker but still well within the bound of Disney.

Many people I talked to mentioned that the film just stopped, there was no resolution or anything of that nature. So, I was prepared for an abrupt hail towards the end of the film. However, this never transpired.

The basic goals of the characters were accomplished in this film, so in a certain sense there was a bit of resolution. Also, after the climax of the film they did a setup for the sequel due out next year. So, it was not as bad as people were saying that it was. I was expecting something as jarring as the abrupt halt of Halo 2, but actually got something more like the end of the Lord of the Rings movies. So, not too bad in that respect.

Really, the only thing that I did not really like about this film was the attempt to get across many instances of visual comedy that I found utterly simplistic and immediately insulting. Each time the audience burst into laughter when a Jack Sparrow was in some kind of predicament I become quite annoyed. But, even in this aspect it was not that bad.

If you liked the original, I would strongly recommend that you see the sequel because it offers many of the qualities that made the original good. If you did not like the original, you probably do not have very good taste so I cannot help you.

Well over a week ago (on opening day) I went out to see Superman Returns. Normally, I write posts about movies within a couple days of seeing them, but since I have been spending most of my down time working on Dark Room instead of working IN Dark Room, I haven’t had a chance to ham fist my thoughts. But, I digress.

The film itself was fairly decent. Really the only problem is that the various different subplots do not blend together very well. In that way, it very much reminded me of Van Helsing (although better than that). The actions sequences were all done pretty well, although my favorite scene was towards the beginning of the movie when Superman saves the space shuttle and airplane.

They tried to pull off some canned drama with Clark and Lois by adding in a child that Lois apparently had while Superman was off in the cosmos. And, to make matters even more bizarre, this child is the offspring of Superman (though it is not immediately obvious).

The whole Lex Luther thing was pretty incoherent. I have not seen the original films in a long time, but I don’t remember the Lex parts being so bad. However, I suppose that this could be explained by the fact that Kevin Spacey is not a good actor.

I’m not exactly sure what the name of the guy was that played Superman…Brad? Or something? It doesn’t really matter. Regardless, I do not really think that his body type really reflected the iconic appearance of Superman. I would say this Superman has the slimmest build of those that I have seen (I do admit that I am not a huge fan of Superman, so I have not seen all the other related works that have appeared throughout the years). I would have liked to have seen someone with a little bulkier build. Obviously, he does not need to be a body builder, but I don’t really think he should look like a bean pole either.

All things considered though, I would say that it was a pretty decent film. It is worth going to see if you are looking for a good summer flick. But, it just doesn’t look like it cost $200 million to make. Eh, see it.

Ironically, while I am writing this I am watching a show on National Geographical called “Science of Superman, The.” It takes and incremental scientific approach to Superman’s various different super powers. I actually think that I might like this micro-documentary more than I liked the movie. If you have National Geographic I suggest that you check your local listings and take a gander.