[IMDB link] [Netflix link] When I first saw this at the Arlington Cinema Drafthouse … I had a bit too much wine, nachos, and cigarettes. I ended up remembering nothing about the movie even as the credits rolled. All I remembered is that I knew I liked it, and should re-watch it. Finally, years later, I did.
BAD STUFF: I really didn’t find anything bad about this movie at all. It was a great epic fantasy movie, and it had its own legend. And how often do such movies deal with pirates? After Lord Of The Rings, and several childhood-fantasy movies such as Pan’s Labyrinth … It was nice to have something pirate-based.
CONCLUSION: Loved it. 5 stars. This is how fantasy movies should be done.
RECOMMENDATION: See it. Unless you have some inexplicable hate of fantasy and/or pirates and/or Johnny Depp.
FRIENDS’ RATINGS: Carolyn, Jordan, Christian D, Kipp, Eric M, Becky S, Wayne H, Scott S all loved it. Metinee and 55+-year-old ex-co-worker Jacqueline only really liked it. No ratings below 4 stars in the 11 people I know who have rated it.
Mood: hazy
Music: Church Of The SubGenius – Hour Of Slack #1150
Claire's blog 
September 17, 2008 at 10:39 PM
its good, but orlando and kiera suck
and they get worse as the trilogy goes on.
September 17, 2008 at 11:29 PM
Definitely the best one of the trilogy.
September 18, 2008 at 11:21 AM
I didn’t think they got worse. We watched all three 3 nights in a row and liked them all pretty equally. 1 had the fresh edge, but 2 & 3 .. esp 3 .. ventured into cool territory. Sailing across the edge of the world was awesome.
September 18, 2008 at 2:06 PM
Not that 2 or 3 were bad, but I still liked 1 the best.
September 19, 2008 at 9:38 AM
@Clint – Huh. I did not like all three movies equally. I loved one. I do remember thinking there were a lot of great things about the second. But, I also recall not enjoying 3 very much…like compn said– Orlando and Kiera were especially annoying in that one and I thought the film felt too long.
September 19, 2008 at 9:46 AM
I tend to think that “too long” is not really a flaw in movies.
Unless a movie is sucky to begin with, more is always better. Always.
If it ALREADY sucks, making it long will drag it out will make it painful (that would be “Unforgiven” for me) — but it has to suck by some other virtue other than length first. I don’t think being long in and of itself can turn make a movie from good to bad.
Though Hollywood and the impatient american populace seem to think so. And so do movie theatre owners, since they make less profit per hour on long movies.
I may have liked 3 better than 2. Since 2 ended on a cliffhanger, unlike 1, I consider 2 & 3 to be paired; almost a single movie that was too long to release as a single movie – like Kill Bill.
September 19, 2008 at 9:47 AM
On the subject of Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp, here is a good collection of clips of Orlando Bloom’s appearance on the comedy series “Extras”.
September 19, 2008 at 11:43 AM
I dunno; pacing is important with anything that is good. A like a nice bowl of ice cream, but I want to finish it in time for the rest of my life to take place.
September 19, 2008 at 11:50 AM
I agree, Dave. With explanation.
Pacing != length. I don’t view your statement as disagreeing with mine at all.
Like I said, if a movie is already bad (by horrible pacing for example, like “Birth”), length will make it worse.
But if it’s already good? More of a good thing is always better. Even if a movie takes 2 nights to watch because it’s 4 hours. More good is better than less good.
An interesting case is if there is a stretched out boring part that isn’t as good as the rest of the movie (like some of the middle of Clockwork Orange, for example) — while the rest of the movie is exceptional. In that one case, more might not be as good. But I don’t consider that the movie’s length making it bad, because it’s already by definition a good movie in this example. :)
Philosophical tangent:
Americans like to shorten things too much. We’re rushed. We’d rather have a sound byte than a full explanation. We probably wish movies could fit in the length of a twitter/text message :) And then people complain that book adaptations of movies cut out important parts (like, oh, Sauruman’s final fight in Return Of The King). But it’s their own damn fault for being anti-length just for the sake of being anti-length and causing Hollywood to buckle to their demands. And then the same people probably complain about the extended versions coming out and having to buy it twice :) At least Lord of the rings put the deleted scenes back in-sequence. Most movies don’t do that. I had to download fan edits of the Harry Potter movies, because they, too, had 30+ minutes cut out from almost every one. And the full versions? MUCH better, don’t feel rushed, and thoroughly better. ‘Cause Harry Potter is already good…
September 19, 2008 at 11:53 AM
OMG, extras is one of my FAVORITE shows…that episode was HILARIOUS.
September 19, 2008 at 12:58 PM
Two hours later, I’m still eating my ice cream. It’s so delicious. I think I’m gonna be sick.
September 19, 2008 at 1:00 PM
If they make an non-melting ice cream, expect ice cream sales and peoples’ weight to go up. A lot.
The thing about watching movies is they don’t physically fill you up and make you sick, and 25% of the planetary population is not movie-intolerant, so your metaphor falls flat in attempting to ascribe the physical metabolic qualities of the human digestive system to the mental qualities of watching (digesting, if you want) a movie. :P
September 19, 2008 at 1:07 PM
@Brittany – Yeah, Extras is GREAT!
September 19, 2008 at 1:40 PM
Two weeks later, I’m still watching that awesome scene that I love in my favorite movie. Heart just stopped. Oh, there it goes again.
September 19, 2008 at 1:41 PM
haha… if your trying to say that longer movies waste your life, the solution is to watch fewer movies, not shorter movies.
September 19, 2008 at 2:40 PM
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present. ”
– Master Oogway, _Kung Fu Panda_
September 19, 2008 at 3:38 PM
I think “too long” is a relative term. Vicky said it felt too long, not it that it was too long. I agree with the sentiment.
Personally, I’ve seen movies that at an hour and a half are “too long”, while others, at three hours are “not long enough”.
September 19, 2008 at 3:45 PM
Sounds to me like you don’t know what long means :P
[Or at the very least, for purposes of this conversation, I am using a stricter, more quantified definition of “long” than others are.]
I don’t think 2X can be not long enough and X simultaneously be too long. Not for the same measurement of length. (I like to use time, personally.) If they are, then you aren’t measuring length. You’re measuring something else. It’s not length.
I find “too long for what it was” to be a bit less bothersome, because at that point I contend that the problem is the “what it was” part, not “too long” part.
September 19, 2008 at 3:55 PM
Wow; this semantic debate is too long. ;)
September 19, 2008 at 3:59 PM
That’s exactly what it is, semantic. I have a problem with the whole phenomenon of people calling movies “too long”, because I want more demonstrative explanations. I don’t think it’s actually the *length* in those cases. It’s almost a misnomer to me. (note to self: never call a movie too long again) (hhehehe)
September 19, 2008 at 4:04 PM
Sounds like you don’t know what “misnomer” means. ;)
September 19, 2008 at 4:06 PM
Sounds like you don’t know what “almost” means. :)
(hehe, this could go on… Why can’t ice cream last this long?!?!)
September 19, 2008 at 4:11 PM
The internet melted my ice cream. DAMN YOU, INTERNET!
September 19, 2008 at 5:42 PM
This conversation is too long. he he
September 19, 2008 at 5:44 PM
You’re making it longer!
(You should sell that in pill form… Then our ice cream will never melt.)
September 25, 2008 at 4:25 AM
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