PotC: On Stranger Tides / Doctor Who
Finally managed to get to the cinema today to see On Stranger Tides (after watching rowing world cup while unblocking the sink and doing laundry, then a swim, then the supermarket shopping; when I got back from the cinema I made rum and mint brownies. Today was a day off from rowing!) I liked it, although I can see it's flawed and they failed to recapture all the magic of the first film. I think they tried to replicate some of CotBP's successful points, but failed to learn from the mistakes of the second and third installments.
So, things I liked: so much Jack Sparrow, always a good thing, and some classic Jack lines. Also, Sparrovian back-story, which is interesting (I bet there'll be fanfic from someone).
The whole opening section in London was fantastic. I wondered if they were deliberately echoing Jack and Will's first swordfight in the "two Jacks" fight (cleverly done) but it's too long since I saw CotBP to judge exactly.
Gibbs. I love Gibbs.
Barbossa. Geoffrey Rush clearly relishes the part and he's such a good character.
The mermaids were brilliantly conceived. And I liked the Philip/Serena subplot, although it was maybe a bit extraneous ... which brings me on to things I think could perhaps have been better:
There was just too much going on. This was the problem with particularly the third film. Screen filled with characters, multiple plotlines, random objects changing hands in a rapid fashion, many many characters briefly introduced only to be bumped off. Sometimes less is more.
Ships with sails filled with holes, even magic ships, annoy me. Holey sails are not very safe! Also, Barbossa's complete lack of concern for his privateer ship and the vast majority of her hands going down to the mermaids struck me as a bit too callous.
But overall, a thumb up, although I'm not raving about it the way I did after CotBP.
Doctor Who, meanwhile, continues to flabbergast and amaze. Matt Smith was superb in "The Almost People" and the ending ... well. I need to rewatch to work out exactly what happened when!
So, things I liked: so much Jack Sparrow, always a good thing, and some classic Jack lines. Also, Sparrovian back-story, which is interesting (I bet there'll be fanfic from someone).
The whole opening section in London was fantastic. I wondered if they were deliberately echoing Jack and Will's first swordfight in the "two Jacks" fight (cleverly done) but it's too long since I saw CotBP to judge exactly.
Gibbs. I love Gibbs.
Barbossa. Geoffrey Rush clearly relishes the part and he's such a good character.
The mermaids were brilliantly conceived. And I liked the Philip/Serena subplot, although it was maybe a bit extraneous ... which brings me on to things I think could perhaps have been better:
There was just too much going on. This was the problem with particularly the third film. Screen filled with characters, multiple plotlines, random objects changing hands in a rapid fashion, many many characters briefly introduced only to be bumped off. Sometimes less is more.
Ships with sails filled with holes, even magic ships, annoy me. Holey sails are not very safe! Also, Barbossa's complete lack of concern for his privateer ship and the vast majority of her hands going down to the mermaids struck me as a bit too callous.
But overall, a thumb up, although I'm not raving about it the way I did after CotBP.
Doctor Who, meanwhile, continues to flabbergast and amaze. Matt Smith was superb in "The Almost People" and the ending ... well. I need to rewatch to work out exactly what happened when!