Dead Men Tell No Tales...Neither Do Ghosts (No Spoilers)

[Jeff in BigD]

So I saw Pirates Of The Caribbean. It was pretty fun. There were a few things from the ride. I think it pretty much had the good balance between goofy & serious. Lots of fun action. It's more intense than you'd think a Disney movie would be. Some of the special effects were impressive, others looked a little akward. Johnny Depp definitely steals the show & although he's occasionally a little too over the top, he doesn't become annoying (which is a tough feat for such a flamboyant character). Orlando Bloom seems a little flat, but Depp's drunken rogue is a tough act to follow IMO. Geoffrey Rush is also fun to watch. My initial reaction is A-.


As a side note - I got my first look at the teaser trailer for The Haunted Mansion. At first I thought it would be a total train wreck, but Eddie Murphy is a lot more subdued & it isn't the Casper knock-off I thought it might be. I'm still not holding my breath, but I have to admit that I was impressed with the graphics that I saw. I guess time (& the full trailer) will tell.


*sigh* I'm such a sellout

 

[Planogirl]

Thanks for the review Jeff. I'm looking forward to Pirates.

As for the Haunted Mansion, this one is making me nervous. In my opinion, Disney has to balance the playfulness of the attraction with a spooky story without making it either TOO playful or TOO spooky. If not done right, I agree that this one could easily be a train wreck.

 

[grinningghost]

Good review Jeff. Now, I'm just wondering if I tell DD and her goofy friends that Orlando Bloom was a little flat, whether they'll give up on wanting to see the movie...

I think I already know the answer.

 

[BRERALEX]

I just saw it. I enjoyed it. Johnny Depp really did steal the show i was awaiting his every word of dialogue. I got scared at the beginning when Jack Sparrow...i mean Captain Jack Sparrow did something impossible and i thought 'oh boy here we go' but the rest of the movie was pretty much on point. Geoffrey Rush did really well. Never really dragged, and set things up nicely for a 'fun' type film. Lots of killing which surprised me. I know its pg13 but still there was alot of killing. i'd give it a solid B.

The haunted mansion trailer really really really surprised me how good it looked. Looks like lots of detail was put in. I wish someone other then Eddie was in the title role. All i hear is Donkeys voice and then i get reminded legolas is in POC and Aragorn is in hidalgo lololol. The Mansion looked really good with lots of little elements from the ride. im lookin forward to it

 

[RustManFan]

Just this minute got home from the first local showing of Pirates. I loved it ! It was a fantastic mixture of campy and dramatic. Johnny Depp is going to be picking up new fans that are too young to know most of his work. Having the gold teeth applied (for REAL) helps him look amazing. And what can you say about Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Jonathan Pryce, etc.??? GREAT. Now I want to get the soundtrack!

And people are right.....Haunted Mansion doesn't look like the disaster that I was expecting!

 

[BRERALEX]

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/hauntedmansion/preview.html

 

[crusader]

Just got back -

Packed theatre. Great audience applause and several good laughs. Orlando Bloom got a few whistles. Johnny Depp was mesmerizing. You couldn't help but anticipate his every move. The movie kicks butt especially during the last 40 min.

I think it's got some serious staying power. No one came away disappointed which is great for the word of mouth endorsement.

 

[meiandrew]

We just got back as well. The 7:15 movie was totally sold out, and we loved it !! Its a bit long, but there was no scenes that I would say... "Okay, get rid of that scene" ..Depp was incredible.
Very aloof in the role, and he owned it. Cant wait for the DVD of this one !!!

 

[JoNo]

yeah, PotC is definately a solid B+, if not higher. The trailer for THM DID seem a tad "too" spooky, but we wont know for sure yet! BTW, I love the ghost of Walt in the trailer.

 

[FindingNemo]

Very pleased with the THM trailer and PotC is on my mustsee list. Now I just have to find the free time...

 

[Peter Pirate]

Just back as well!

Sold out theatre in Key West (yes, we drove 50 miles to see it).

GREAT movie. Very exciting and YES J Depp should win some award for his fantastically funny, quirky pirate portrayal!

As with others, I think 'Haunted Mansion' looks quite promising as well!

 

[Planogirl]

Johnny Depp's work has never failed to impress me and he's done it once again. I enjoyed the action and effects and most of the characters. I thought that the end was a little confusing but that's OK when the rest of the movie was so good.

I'm glad to hear that the theaters were crowded. Ours was a little emptier than I expected so I wondered.

 

[Jeff in BigD]

Originally posted by JoNo
BTW, I love the ghost of Walt in the trailer.

 

[FriendsOfEeyore]

Saw it in Mpls at 7:45pm last night. Theater was packed. The 10:45 show was going to be a sellout by the looks of the line as we exited.

My dw said that it was the best movie that she has seen in a long time (about 3 or 4 years).

Loved Depp's character. He had me laughing. But then again, he always gets me (loved him in Benny & Joon).

Anyway, I can see where the PG13 rating comes from. However, there were several young children in the audience and I did not hear anything from them (screams) or see anybody leaving the movie.

It was long at like 2 & 1/2 hours, but I did not realize it. It flowed very well, and as OPs have said, I could see any scenes that could have been scraped to shorten the movie.

We will go back a second time. Lots of scenery to take in. I thought the special effects were excellent.

Question for those that have seen it (and advice for those who have not, but will be going)?

Did you stay thru the credits????

 

[Peter Pirate]

I thought one of HM ghosts looked like Walt, too.

I think Bruckheimer was right on target with this one. There was lots of action & explosions, etc. but I never thought it got in the way (and I'm not a fan of blow 'em up action).

About the PG13 rating, we went with 4 kids (girls - 10, 11, 14 &15)
and the two yonger ones, while both liking the movie alot, had some trepiditious moments. I think this movie was probably a couple of cuss words and little bit more sheer bodice on the wet Elizabeth away from being "R". In otherwords, the PG13 was justified.

Again, more raves for Johnny Depp. I could definatly see the Keith Richards influence and the gold teeth & braided beard were great touches.

My wife and kids have already announced that they want to see this again and we HAVE NEVER gone to a theatre twice for a movie...EVER...

 

[crusader]

This movie is impressionable. You walk away with it for some odd reason. It seems to encompass every age group (beyond the young child). Pure entertainment - brilliantly combining a classic swashbuckling tale with today's special effects. The ships; the swordmanship; the demeanor; the interaction - were very resonating. You found yourself rooting for these guys who were pretty seemly characters. I could definately see why Errol Flynn was referenced in a critics remarks.

You can't shake this movie.

 

[lrodk]

I also saw POTC last night. The theater was packed(with a few standing -room only). I enjoyed the film thoroughly. It was just as I expected. This film will not win any academy awards, but is worthy of consideration in certain regards. I would give it 2&1/2, maybe 3 stars out of 4. It has a nice mix of action, comedy, and romance. Johnny Depp steals the show as the quirky Pirate captain. Jeffrey Rush did a very nice job playing the evil captain of the Black Pearl(much better in fact than I had envisioned). I would say that this film will have a huge opening week, followed by a rapid decline in the following week. The word of mouth will not be as good as a film like Finding Nemo, so I would have to revise my estimates to somewhere in the $150M range, making it somewhat of a financial dissapointment for Disney. I could be wrong, but a film has to be much much better than average(3&1/2-4 stars)to pull in numbers past $200M. It's a very good film, but just doesn't have the type of repeat factor that makes guests want to see it a second or third time. With that said, I look forward to watching it on DVD when it's released.

 

[Peter Pirate]

I am so often wrong on movie judgements I hesitate to make further comment...But since nobody really cares what I say anyway, I think I'll continue...In our group of six, every one of us liked 'POC' better than 'Nemo' (go figure), including the two somtimes scared little girls..My daughter (10), when asked if she'd rather see 'Nemo' or 'POC' again this weekend, she responded "duh, Dad"...Well, still not knowing what that meant I asked more specifically and the answer was, as I said, 'POC'.

I don't know about the star rating biz, but it gets big thumbs up from this Pirate's household!

Oh, and one other thing. While the two older girls (14 &15)certainly did like Orlando Bloom, they both thought Capt. Jack Sparrow was highly cool!

 

[crusader]

The star rating system is purely subjective so it fits right in line with the rest of us op eds.

I guess it makes sense to throw Nemo in there to see where pirates will ultimately wind up but theres a whole bunch of young adults who are getting in line for this one who may not have seen the little Pixar movie. Of course, then there are all those youngsters who will not be seeing PoTC so there is some disparity in weighing the spectators.

That second time around thing is the real telling event. The leads may get girls to go again and the theme may get a few guys in there too. Remember, girls were the principal repeat patrons for Titanic just to see all of Leo's scenes over and over. From what I saw last night there were clusters of them all hooting at Orlando on a Wed. night who very well may be back again this weekend hanging out with more friends.

We'll just have to wait and see.

 

[lrodk]

Yes you're right, the star rating is purely my take and is not meant to represent a universal sentiment of the overall quality of this film. I should add that at least a dozen or more people in the audience where applauding the film at the end(that doesn't usually happen). This is a very good film IMHO, and will not dissapoint unless you go in expecting more than it's able to deliver.