frozenbiscuits-1

this is one of those films, that manages to walk a thin line between parody( but not with a mean streak) and true family entertainment.

my next thought might well spoil things for some, so please take caution, though I won't give away any specifics. I liked it, but for all the reasons I would normally not like a film so much... in places it does have emotional grappling hooks- yet it is a cacophony of formula, cliché, new twist on an old theme,

Evertything about it has been done, it's like all the best elements from other stories that worked have been haphazardly combined into one family movie that stops just short of parody but yet you know it kind of is . sort of a Dr. Doolittle, meets, romancing the Stone, meets, the swiss family Robinson... too many to mention. and then throw in a few scenes that can make any one who has ever been a tourist or part of pop culture that has been lured by the idea of " your own paradise" uncomfortable. ( and yes, it never turns out well for those who live there.) for all the reasons it shouldn't have worked for me, it did work, on some unexpected level. I liked it.

I absolutely adored the 1st movie for all the reasons that are missing from Dead mans Chest. I'm somewhat at a loss to understand why this sequel has evoked a nearly opposite reaction.

Except to say- the jokes both visual and verbal seemed somehow patronizing and ill -timed. The ingredients and timbre of the 1st film with it's blend of one liners, humor and expected pirate myths- sailing in a ship built out of salvaged parts of a host of films from several genres and vintages has lost it's compass here. If it is the same formula- then I have no explanation for why I liked the 1st film to begin with, or why it worked magic at the box office. It may well be that those who did not like the original, may like this one very well. It is also likely that fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean; Curse of the Black Pearl may well embrace this one as well- for all the reasons I find it forced, and way off course They may find it entertaining. I also think it gave in to some common "rules" and lazy ones at that. ( It was how they broke all the rules in Curse of the Black Pearl that made it so fresh and charming) Dead Mans Chest is doing the fashionable- kiss the sexy pirate- divide the lovers with the lowest common denominator, and roll so much video -game action that no has time to think if any of it is actually truly enjoyable storytelling.

I wanted to like this film, but in the end found it disappointing on several crucial levels. I don't expect word for word dialogue from Jane Austens' book, but I did expect the clever satire to remain in tact. The anachronisms within this adaption both of conversation and environment lead me to believe maybe both Deborah Maggoch and Joe Wright didn't truly understand the material or chose to ignore it. ( screenplay & director, respectively) If what's gone before can't be improved, then at least show us something new. There is neither here. The performances were good, given the canvas they had. But I was frustrated that this film had some moments and hinted at some potential to be very good. I have a much deeper appreciation for the work Emma Thompson did in adapting Sense & Sensibility. You had your romance, but the humor and sport making of society was not lost in it. Pride & prejudice is not just a romance. Both Darcy and Lizzy have certain prejudices ( so to speak) that must be demonstrated and overcome, by their actions and conversation. interpreted badly, and they become just a pair of spoiled brats. here is my argument about Direction and screenplay. Darcy and Lizzy must engage each other in a sort of verbal sparring match that exposes each of their flaws in a polite but pointed manner. Darcy must be shown in such a way that we believe his words & actions might possibly be misunderstood by Lizzy. He's elite because he believes the elite deserve their station. where Lizzy must demonstrate that she has qualities of deportment that would make Darcy consider her despite her not being among the elite class. here in this film, Darcy just comes across as snobbish and Dull Lizzy as impertinent with a sense of over entitlement. It's not believable, and all the subtle humor and caricature of class system is washed away for an attempt at grandeur and realism, and we are left to be told this is how it works out. instead of shown how it works out and why. It's not the cast at fault here, it's the adaption.