Arrrgh you looking for movies?

I’m at least a dozen movie reviews behind, but here are some of the movies I’ve seen in theaters as of late.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Meh.  This is however a qualified meh.  I wasn’t a fan of the original film.  It was highly overrated and I never really understood why it was so popular.  The plot was knee-deep in holes and it went on forever.  So it wasn’t a huge surprise that I wasn’t thrilled with the sequel, which was much of the same.  As any professional reviewer will tell you, the movie is too long.  Despite the length and the genuinely enjoyable characters, I was never pulled in.  Captain Jack is fun to watch, but I never really cared about the story.  And they did well to focus more on Depp than Bloom, but they overkilled the character.  His prancing and posturing lost its novelty about half way through.  I enjoyed the increased fantasy elements of the story (Davey Jones and his monstrous crew were much more interesting than Barbosa and his zombies) but it did contribute to making the whole thing seem silly and unreal.  If you liked the first, you’ll like the second; the cloning was well-done.  

The Devil Wears Prada

Despite my better judgment, I saw this movie.  It was free and was “bonding” with my family, but it ultimately wasn’t worth my time.  I knew it wasn’t my type of movie beforehand and proved myself correct.  This isn’t to say that the movie didn’t have its enjoyable elements.  I did enjoy watching Meryl Streep verbally assault every other person on screen, and Ann Hathaway certainly is pleasing to look at.  I also enjoy movies and books that give me a view of particular professions.  Who knew the fashion world was like this?  And perhaps it’s not, but it’s something I may never have seen otherwise.  

Thank You For Smoking

This was definitely my winner for the week.  I walked out of the movie immediately wanting to own it.  It was hilarious throughout, thought usually in a subversive and subtle way.  There were certainly many laugh-out-loud moments, but most of the humor was sly and just applied to the whole situation being presented.  It wasn’t a joke-per-second film, but no opportunity for humor was lost.  The personal assistant they meet in LA kept me laughing every second he was on screen.  I had thought the film would be a simple satire of the tobacco industry, but Nick Naylor did such a good job that you found yourself rooting for Big Tobacco.  The movie did feel a bit amateurose, but this style worked well for it.  Aaron Eckhart was fantastic in his part as the lovable cancer-salesman.  The all-star supporting cast each filled their small roles admirably, creating a film that obviously had a lot of support and passion behind it.  The language is rather coarse throughout or I’d recommend this movie nearly universally.  

Song of the moment: “Haunted” The Pogues and Sinead O’Connor