Movie Review Black Los Angeles

BlackNLA Movie Reviews

*****THE REEL DEAL: Reviewz from the Street*****

by Edwardo Jackson

BIASES: Early 30s black male; frustrated screenwriter who favors action, comedy, and glossy, big budget movies over indie flicks, kiddie flicks, and weepy Merchant Ivory fare

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END (PG-13)

MOVIE BIASES: Over-sold!

MAJOR PLAYERS: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Naomie Harris, Tom Hollander, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, writers Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio, and director Gore Verbinski (all "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest")

"Yo ho ho, a pirate's life for me…" Ever try watching the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies back to back? First of all, there isn't one that's less than two and a half hours long, however exciting the first one is and exposition-laden the second one. However blurry-eyed I was from the night before in bringing The Girlfriend up to speed on the franchise (halfway through "Dead Man's Chest" - "Um, can we just skip to the end?" Answer: "Kinda."), nothing could dampen my spirits for my
personally most anticipated movie of the summer. Good and bad, the movie is as much a ride as its Disney theme park predecessor. Tallyho, land lubbers! (I have no idea what that means, but it felt good to do it - just like this movie.)

From the dire, grim, anti-piracy (pre-RIAA) open in the Caribbean and Singapore, it's hard out there for a plunderer. Lord Cutler Beckett (Hollander) has all but enslaved Davy Jones (Nighy) and his immortal crew of the Flying Dutchman to terrorize the high seas in the name of the East India Trading Company, ridding the seas of pirates and clearing the way for unfettered global business. Alas, young Will
Turner (Bloom) and his emotionally estranged fiancée Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) link up with a Singaporean crew and the voodoo priestess Tia Dalma (Harris) to fetch "witty Jack" (Depp) from the depths of sailor purgatory known as Davy Jones Locker. Even weirder than before (if that's possible), Jack, always working at cross-purposes, leads them towards an uneasy alliance of scaliwags and mercenaries at
Shipwreck Cove, a veritable convention of the nine pirate lords, where they have to make a stand once and for all against Beckett and the end of their free-wheeling way of life.

And that's the CliffNotes version of the plot, y'all. Double- and triple-crosses, pirate kings, skirmishes for captaincy, fifty foot sea goddesses named Calypso, scorned lovers…it's all in there and then some. I swear on everything I love that when we tittered out of the famed El Capitan theater in Hollywood with the press screening crowd, I honestly heard someone say of a Jerry Bruckheimer (Top Gun, Armageddon, Bad Boys) production that there was "too MUCH story." ! (Yes, that sound you hear is the moon is crashing into the sun right now) However, that IS true of this bloated but enjoyable third installment (trust me, this franchise shows no signs of slowing down) of "Pirates" lore, a movie with more plotlines than a subdivision under construction. Strangely (for Hollywood) but artistically sound, the creative team has been left intact throughout the series, with whimsical, creative geniuses Ted Elliott and Ted Rossio concocting their agreeable brew of action, comedy, fantasy, romance, and, well (CAPTAIN!) Jack Sparrow. Granted the script is as dense as the fourth act of a Shakespearean play but it rewards those "Pirates" faithful and newcomers alike with more emotional and physical ups and downs than the Dow Jones. Backed by a dashing, militaristic yet familiar score by The Man I Want to Score the Soundtrack of My Life, a.k.a. Hans Zimmer (Gladiator, Crimson Tide, Backdraft), gorgeous Caribbean cinematography and production design, plus gonzo special effects that are more astounding than the first two (and certain to be remembered come Oscar time), "At World's End" is a technical marvel, transporting you to a world where we are all nine year olds waiting in an hour long Disneyland line to ride the ride.

Why will this movie make more money than the first two? All our beloved characters and actors are back and in rare, more evolved form (there's something satisfying about watching characters we love grow up before our very eyes in a franchise, a la the first "Star Wars" trilogy). Bloom's Will Turner is far more grown into his pirate legacy and assured of his buccaneering skills while the former governor's daughter Elizabeth Swann is played with Knightley's subtle, sensual sensibilities and forthright assurance, even though this couple has serious trust issues due to her fateful dalliance with Jack in the "Dead Man's Chest." Geoffrey Rush agreeably leaves no piece of scenery unchewed as hygienically-challenged control freak Captain Barbossa (I defy you not to let loose at least one piratey "Aaaarrrghh!" when he's on screen). Naomie Harris is dirty sexy money (sorry ABC) as not-so(?)
wicked witch Tia Dalma and the tentacled and hammy Nighy still imbues a sense of romantic sadness as the cursed, evil (un)hearted Davy Jones. Even Tom Hollander enjoys his villainy more this time around as Lord Beckett, wonderfully detestable with a cold, bottom line business acumen ("It's just good business.") befitting of a man at the helm of the world's first joint-stock company.

Oh, and what of witty Jack? Worth your ten dollars or more alone, Johnny Depp remains brilliantly affected, back with Captain Jack Sparrow's unremitting love of rum, his effects, and his hat. Visiting Jack in Davy Jones' Locker is an amusing, stylistic detour that's a bit jarring but a quite welcome bit of fresh air. If there is a soul to a Hollywood tentpole feature, it is Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack, zigging where he should zag, always looking out for self, yet somehow, inadvertently stumbling into doing something good ("Do you think he knows what he's doing, or does he just make it up as he goes along?" wonders Will aloud, half-admiringly).

Why won't this movie make more money? First, its length. It's two hours and forty-eight minutes long, which should dampen the amount of runs (although some enterprising theaters are offering it every half hour on the half hour out here in SoCal). However action-packed, "At World's End" seemingly has no end, with the climactic seafaring battle going on for a butt-numbing forty-five minutes or so. I love you, Gore, but you could've excised about five to ten minutes from Depp's amusing Davy Jones purgatory and at least twenty from the finale and lost nothing for it (the editing crew will NOT be receiving any Oscar nods - neither will my editor (me) for the length of this review). Second, its story. I agree, there IS too much story. But I'd gladly take too much than not enough in the story department, especially in my summer whiz-bang blockbusters. While the flow chart necessary plotting may scare some off, it'll also inspire repeat viewings to get it all straight (I know I'm going to find the biggest freakin' screen I can find and watch it with an opening night crowd tonight).

(Decision: This movie will make more money. More money than God. More money than is printable. By the time its run is over, there will be no money left. We'll all be calling Bruckheimer for a home loan.)

"No cause is lost if there is but one fool to fight for it." - Will Turner. Call me a fool but I love this "Pirates" movie, warts (and teeth and monkey) and all. I'm glad I sleepwalked through the last minute cram session with The Girlfriend, which also served to bring me up to speed on the 'chise. Sure, it's a bit insular on the inside
jokes ("Sea turtles, mate!") and bears a steady memory or refresher of the previous. Sure, loyalties shift faster than quicksand and the plot is extremely complex. Yet at its heart "Pirates" is a multi-layered love story: Will and Elizabeth, Davy Jones and the chick who semi-literally cut his heart out, and Jack Sparrow and rum. The
emotional stakes are higher, the direction confident and inventive. There's even a serviceable cameo from Depp's Jack Sparrow inspiration Keith Richards as "Jackie's" dad, Capt. Teague). And, as with all the "Pirates" movies, there's a tag at the end of the credits that's worth staying around for (in fact, it's CRUCIAL). The story is left open-ended enough for more installments or to serve as a series
finale. Either way, all I know is yo ho ho, it's a "Pirates" life for me…

@@@ REELS
(THREE REELS)
It's pretty hot – go give it a shot.

Like what you read? Agree/disagree with The Reel Deal? Think he's talkin' out his...HUSH YO' MOUF! (I'm only talkin' about The Reel Deal!) Email him at EJAce1@gmail.com!

Edwardo Jackson is the author of the novels EVER AFTER and NEVA HAFTA, (Villard/Random House), a writer for UrbanFilmPremiere.com, and an LA-based screenwriter. Visit his website at www.edwardojackson.com




			BlackNLA Movie Reviews ***THE REEL DEAL: Reviewz from the Street*** by Edwardo Jackson BIASES: Early 30s black male; frustrated screenwriter who favors action, comedy, and glossy, big budget movies over indie flicks, kiddie flicks, and weepy Merchant Ivory fare PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END (PG-13) MOVIE BIASES: Over-sold! MAJOR PLAYERS: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Naomie Harris, Tom Hollander, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, writers Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio, and director Gore Verbinski (all "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest") "Yo ho ho, a pirate's life for me…" Ever try watching the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies back to back? First of all, there isn't one that's less than two and a half hours long, however exciting the first one is and exposition-laden the second one. However blurry-eyed I was from the night before in bringing The Girlfriend up to speed on the franchise (halfway through "Dead Man's Chest" - "Um, can we just skip to the end?" Answer: "Kinda."), nothing could dampen my spirits for my personally most anticipated movie of the summer. Good and bad, the movie is as much a ride as its Disney theme park predecessor. Tallyho, land lubbers! (I have no idea what that means, but it felt good to do it - just like this movie.) From the dire, grim, anti-piracy (pre-RIAA) open in the Caribbean and Singapore, it's hard out there for a plunderer. Lord Cutler Beckett (Hollander) has all but enslaved Davy Jones (Nighy) and his immortal crew of the Flying Dutchman to terrorize the high seas in the name of the East India Trading Company, ridding the seas of pirates and clearing the way for unfettered global business. Alas, young Will Turner (Bloom) and his emotionally estranged fiancée Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) link up with a Singaporean crew and the voodoo priestess Tia Dalma (Harris) to fetch "witty Jack" (Depp) from the depths of sailor purgatory known as Davy Jones Locker. Even weirder than before (if that's possible), Jack, always working at cross-purposes, leads them towards an uneasy alliance of scaliwags and mercenaries at Shipwreck Cove, a veritable convention of the nine pirate lords, where they have to make a stand once and for all against Beckett and the end of their free-wheeling way of life. And that's the CliffNotes version of the plot, y'all. Double- and triple-crosses, pirate kings, skirmishes for captaincy, fifty foot sea goddesses named Calypso, scorned lovers…it's all in there and then some. I swear on everything I love that when we tittered out of the famed El Capitan theater in Hollywood with the press screening crowd, I honestly heard someone say of a Jerry Bruckheimer (Top Gun, Armageddon, Bad Boys) production that there was "too MUCH story." ! (Yes, that sound you hear is the moon is crashing into the sun right now) However, that IS true of this bloated but enjoyable third installment (trust me, this franchise shows no signs of slowing down) of "Pirates" lore, a movie with more plotlines than a subdivision under construction. Strangely (for Hollywood) but artistically sound, the creative team has been left intact throughout the series, with whimsical, creative geniuses Ted Elliott and Ted Rossio concocting their agreeable brew of action, comedy, fantasy, romance, and, well (CAPTAIN!) Jack Sparrow. Granted the script is as dense as the fourth act of a Shakespearean play but it rewards those "Pirates" faithful and newcomers alike with more emotional and physical ups and downs than the Dow Jones. Backed by a dashing, militaristic yet familiar score by The Man I Want to Score the Soundtrack of My Life, a.k.a. Hans Zimmer (Gladiator, Crimson Tide, Backdraft), gorgeous Caribbean cinematography and production design, plus gonzo special effects that are more astounding than the first two (and certain to be remembered come Oscar time), "At World's End" is a technical marvel, transporting you to a world where we are all nine year olds waiting in an hour long Disneyland line to ride the ride. Why will this movie make more money than the first two? All our beloved characters and actors are back and in rare, more evolved form (there's something satisfying about watching characters we love grow up before our very eyes in a franchise, a la the first "Star Wars" trilogy). Bloom's Will Turner is far more grown into his pirate legacy and assured of his buccaneering skills while the former governor's daughter Elizabeth Swann is played with Knightley's subtle, sensual sensibilities and forthright assurance, even though this couple has serious trust issues due to her fateful dalliance with Jack in the "Dead Man's Chest." Geoffrey Rush agreeably leaves no piece of scenery unchewed as hygienically-challenged control freak Captain Barbossa (I defy you not to let loose at least one piratey "Aaaarrrghh!" when he's on screen). Naomie Harris is dirty sexy money (sorry ABC) as not-so(?) wicked witch Tia Dalma and the tentacled and hammy Nighy still imbues a sense of romantic sadness as the cursed, evil (un)hearted Davy Jones. Even Tom Hollander enjoys his villainy more this time around as Lord Beckett, wonderfully detestable with a cold, bottom line business acumen ("It's just good business.") befitting of a man at the helm of the world's first joint-stock company. Oh, and what of witty Jack? Worth your ten dollars or more alone, Johnny Depp remains brilliantly affected, back with Captain Jack Sparrow's unremitting love of rum, his effects, and his hat. Visiting Jack in Davy Jones' Locker is an amusing, stylistic detour that's a bit jarring but a quite welcome bit of fresh air. If there is a soul to a Hollywood tentpole feature, it is Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack, zigging where he should zag, always looking out for self, yet somehow, inadvertently stumbling into doing something good ("Do you think he knows what he's doing, or does he just make it up as he goes along?" wonders Will aloud, half-admiringly). Why won't this movie make more money? First, its length. It's two hours and forty-eight minutes long, which should dampen the amount of runs (although some enterprising theaters are offering it every half hour on the half hour out here in SoCal). However action-packed, "At World's End" seemingly has no end, with the climactic seafaring battle going on for a butt-numbing forty-five minutes or so. I love you, Gore, but you could've excised about five to ten minutes from Depp's amusing Davy Jones purgatory and at least twenty from the finale and lost nothing for it (the editing crew will NOT be receiving any Oscar nods - neither will my editor (me) for the length of this review). Second, its story. I agree, there IS too much story. But I'd gladly take too much than not enough in the story department, especially in my summer whiz-bang blockbusters. While the flow chart necessary plotting may scare some off, it'll also inspire repeat viewings to get it all straight (I know I'm going to find the biggest freakin' screen I can find and watch it with an opening night crowd tonight). (Decision: This movie will make more money. More money than God. More money than is printable. By the time its run is over, there will be no money left. We'll all be calling Bruckheimer for a home loan.) "No cause is lost if there is but one fool to fight for it." - Will Turner. Call me a fool but I love this "Pirates" movie, warts (and teeth and monkey) and all. I'm glad I sleepwalked through the last minute cram session with The Girlfriend, which also served to bring me up to speed on the 'chise. Sure, it's a bit insular on the inside jokes ("Sea turtles, mate!") and bears a steady memory or refresher of the previous. Sure, loyalties shift faster than quicksand and the plot is extremely complex. Yet at its heart "Pirates" is a multi-layered love story: Will and Elizabeth, Davy Jones and the chick who semi-literally cut his heart out, and Jack Sparrow and rum. The emotional stakes are higher, the direction confident and inventive. There's even a serviceable cameo from Depp's Jack Sparrow inspiration Keith Richards as "Jackie's" dad, Capt. Teague). And, as with all the "Pirates" movies, there's a tag at the end of the credits that's worth staying around for (in fact, it's CRUCIAL). The story is left open-ended enough for more installments or to serve as a series finale. Either way, all I know is yo ho ho, it's a "Pirates" life for me… @@@ REELS (THREE REELS) It's pretty hot – go give it a shot. Like what you read? Agree/disagree with The Reel Deal? Think he's talkin' out his...HUSH YO' MOUF! (I'm only talkin' about The Reel Deal!) Email him at EJAce1@gmail.com! Edwardo Jackson is the author of the novels EVER AFTER and NEVA HAFTA, (Villard/Random House), a writer for UrbanFilmPremiere.com, and an LA-based screenwriter. Visit his website at www.edwardojackson.com © 2007, Edwardo Jackson