ARRRR!

[double posted from rbsn]

- have come to the realization that the only real reason i would ever see talladega nights in the theaters is due to the catchy title and not because of will ferrell or even the hot chick who plays his wife. talladega just rolls off the tongue. and "ballad"??? the ballad of ricky bobby?? who in the world made that up? way funny in and of itself.
- ohhh. so by "snakes on a plane" they mean, literally, SNAKES. on a PLANE. huh.
- i'd go see the transformers movie if only for the visuals. less than 10 seconds of the scenes from mars and i'm hooked. definitely a cgi addict.
- so did you know that a movie makes much more sense if you're awake during the viewing? ha!
- this sequel played out to me the way the first one did: a bit dull and nonsensical during the initial round but definitely more punchy by the second. i'd say that 90 percent of this movie's awesomeness is owed to the power of gore verbinski. i done see the depptser in other flicks and he's not always consistently fab. it's verbinski's vision and direction that gives these pirate flicks heart and swashbuckle. and his sense of framing...woohoo for a director who doesn't always sucker out to the usual epic shots of a bruckheimer production. verbinski does excellent with sets crammed with props and then really integrating people with the objects to set mood and ground. possibly the only corny shot was the three progressive close-ups when our hero trio first arrives on the secret island. if nothing else, these flicks are purty. color, framing, hair, makeup. quite yummy.
- another cheer for verbinski, this time for his ability to capture each character in their own special quiet moments. character development moments. the look of pained rememberance in davy jones's beady eyes, sucking in his breath along with his lower lip. the horror of realization on bootstrap's face as he faces his son. from norrington to jack to will to elizabeth. we don't get enough of that emotional stuff in today's hit-and-run flicks (yieah that's right schumacher, imma talkin to you).
- again with the excellent script. plenty of clever banter and the occasional soul baring words. thump thump? check check. hide the rum? check check.
- i can't be the only person who craved sushi when shots of bbq'ed kraken tentacle flashed on screen. calamari? no wait, better yet, cthulu?
- the flying dutchman takes the cake. i thought the cursed crew of the black pearl to be a clever idea but the creature design never wowed me much. davy jones and his posse are fucking beautiful. not just with the excellent barnacles and mussels and salty sea water dripping everywhere...the best creature designs invoke believablity and add background dimensions to the story. here we've got men so cursed and doomed to serve the sea that they are literally becoming the sea. the idea itself creates a pretty intense creepiness. and whoever decided to give davy jones a crab claw for a hand...thanks. he's now the sphinx of the sea. yarr!
- excellent! make the east india company the ultimate evil! about time someone made that lot carry the villain load.
- romantic. there's a big mushy story behind davy's jones' tentacles and the mushy part of me can't wait for that reveal. and i'd like to see elizabeth and jack get it together (what exactly did the compass point to when jack was rowing away from the pearl?). that woman needs someone to smack her around once in a while. though it's more likely that she'll still end up with will...especially now that it looks like he's willing to save jack only because he thinks she's so heartbroken over losing him. an interesting twist to the usual love triangle bit.
- hot. norrington is hot. i already thought the man sexy with the wig in part one. and now he's wiggless and a lot more piratey. ooooo!
- whoever dreamed up tia dalma is brilliant. and the actress played her out brilliantly too. the accent, the bloodshot eyes, the perfect cleavage.
- it's nice of them to incorporate actual parts of the ride into the plot. i recognized the swamp with the lights, the man tied to the well bucket, and again with the puppy dog. good stuff aye.
- the score suffered a bit. whatever happened to the klaus man? i miss the heavy timbres, the bass, the violent cello riffs. the themes from the first flick blended piracy in minor keys so well with the familiar epic swigs. notes i couldn't predict; phrases i couldn't instantly pair up with. so unique that it was the first soundtrack i rushed out to buy in nearly two years. now it's been blockbuster-fied in the bruckheimer style by zimmer. moved up by two octaves and mixed with repetitive corn. i'm so sad dammit.
- davy jones is adorable. not least due to bill nighy's drawn out scottish syllables.