and it is, it is a glorious thing to be a pirate king

[arisha]

Last summer I watched the anime Fullmetal Alchemist, and believed it to be the most HEARTWRENCHING but simultaneously AWESOME thing I would ever see. Well, I was wrong. PotC3 took the combination of HEARTWRENCHING and AWESOME and kicked it up about six thousand notches.


SEVERE SPOILERS, I AM NOT KIDDING
~some random first reactions, all completely out of order xD ~
- I just now remembered the very first promotional pictures I saw, where Jack was dressed up to look like a pirate from Singapore (or at least I imagine that was the idea). But ... he was never dressed like that in the movie! Am I missing something? I mean, the photos did look a wee bit Photoshopped but I still believed they were real ... :p

- "I love those moments. I like to wave at them as they pass by." Oh, Jack, no you don't, and I am so glad for it because if you had waved at that moment, I would have left the theatre crying tears of "Why did Will have to go and become my favourite character?" ^^; I cannot even explain to you how glad I am that none of the trio was (permanently) killed off. And it's kind of funny, I never even considered it to even be a possibility before this movie was all of a sudden a lot darker than even PotC2 ...

- My opinion of this movie is a lot more favourable than the opinion I had of PotC2 right after seeing it. PotC2 took me numerous rewatchings before I could really start to like it. This time, I sort of went in figuring that even if I hated PotC3 the first time, I would grow to adore it. Maybe that contributed to my not hating it? Hahaha, amusing.

- I liked when they used pieces of music from the first two movies, and I liked the music when Jack was in limbo (it reminded me of Escaflowne's "Machine Soldier," and I thought it fit where he was), but when Elizabeth and Jack and Barbossa were walking along that spit of sand, I very much missed the bell sort of piece that's played in PotC2, when Elizabeth and Jack and Norrington are doing the same sort of thing. I mean, electric guitar? Just because Keith Richards is in your movie doesn't mean you should use electric guitar! Please at least pretend you're pretending to be historically accurate.

- That ending was impossibly bittersweet, oh man oh man, I deal not so well with the bittersweet. But I am glad Will and Elizabeth are on good terms again. <3 For the first little while whenever they were onscreen together I would think, "Oh right, they're NOT TALKING." And then like Will's first line to her was something like, "How long are we going to keep not talking?" HAHAHA I TOTALLY CALLED THAT ONE!! XD After athena_crikey suggested the idea of Jack marrying Will and Elizabeth, I TOTALLY wanted it to happen, but Barbossa made a good second choice. Oh, that whole marriage scene was so ridiculous but I loved it so much. The soppy music is the only thing I really could have done without. The fact that Barbossa apparently had the wedding ceremony thinger memorized is hilarious to me. XD

- When I first saw the trailer, I was so skeptical of Will in that do-rag or whatever you want to call it, but my final verdict on it is that Will as the captain of the Dutchman was pretty well the hottest thing ever. Should I hate the PotC movies for convincing me of Orlando Bloom's good looks? Hahaha, WHATEVER.

- I was sad when Elizabeth left the Pearl! :( I mean, she became captain of a ship, she became the King of Pirates or whatever that was called (lol Pirates of Penzance), and then she was like, "KTHXBYE, GUYS!!!1!#!!" Aw, haha, I liked when Jack voted for her, that was cute. ;) I was sad for her at the end of the movie ... all alone on some beach somewhere? I hope she finds some new friends or something! Maybe meet Annamaria once a week for afternoon tea? :)

- Speaking of tea, how fantastic was Will and Beckett's little tea party??? HAHAHA that killed me! XD

- What was that line of Elizabeth's? "Words whispered through iron bars lose their charm"? Well I don't remember but I LOVED it. I loved all of the echoes of the first two movies, both obvious and not so obvious. Well, I am about ready to push that dog off a cliff (the_wykydtron tells me that by the time of the post-credits scene, the dog would most likely have died, and is it terrible that this cheers me up? That joke is JUST NOT FUNNY ANYMORE!!!!), but everything else was good. <3

- WHEN THEY USED THE MUSIC FROM THE RIDE OH MAN THAT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL!!!! I loved that I recognized it right away; four months ago I wouldn't have recognized it until the last line of dialogue. Oh~ I miss Disneyland so much~~~~ ;_; ;_; ;_; ;_; I mean, inserting those sounds into the movie, yeah, perhaps it was a little random. But it kind of fits, doesn't it? Where it is? Oh, it'll probably always stand out to me as "OH HERE'S THE PART WHERE THEY STOPPED PRETENDING TO RIP OFF THE RIDE AND JUST DID IT," but at the same time I just think it's so fantastic that they went there, hahaha. I really want to know how the crowd reacted to this part when the movie premiered in Disneyland! I mean, some people would've just gotten off that ride! XD XD XD hahaha~ <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

- I love that we were expected to recognize Tia Dalma from a shot of her teeth, hahaha, beautiful. XD As for the rest of her role in this movie, I'm not talking about it. :P She was much more awesome when she was single, when she was mysterious, when she was not playing the role of Gulliver, before it was revealed that she was plotting to destroy them all, etc. etc. etc. ... I think this is my major beef with this movie, is how they were like, "Oh, Tia Dalma was an awesome character, wasn't she? Almost as awesome as Jack? Well, NOT ANYMORE!!!!!" >_< >_< >_< >_<

- So my heart spent this entire movie being wrenched and torn and beaten up (I think perhaps my mother was right when she told me I've become way too attached to these movies, hahaha, but that's all right, I secretly enjoyed it), but the only time I actually teared up enough that I thought they might start spilling was when Elizabeth was trying to rescue her father. ;_; ;_; I mean, who cares about Governor Swann, right? But that scene broke my heart. I can't help but wonder if it would have affected me so strongly if I had seen it a year ago. I mean ... I mean, I dunno. I guess it just didn't help that Governor Swann tells Elizabeth he's proud of her and before my grandma passed away, she was telling everyone to tell me she was proud of me ... ;_; ;_; ;_; ;_; Okay I have to change the subject now, so moving on ...

- I kind of hate that the movie starts with a whole whack of hangings, because I hate watching hangings in my movies!! The one in The Mummy is the only one I can watch without flinching, and that's because I know he survives. ARUGH.

- I wish I could tell you how heartbroken I am that Barbossa's apple did not return! What was UP with that??? Peanuts just are not the same thing at all. :( :( :( :(

- I am not a fan of the multiple Jacks, even though, judging from the audience's general reaction, mine is going to be an unpopular opinion. :P I didn't terribly mind it at the beginning, when it was obvious he was just going a bit batty (shirtless!Jack = TOTAL FANSERVICE), but even after he got out of limbo it kept up and that bothered me so. It seemed like a very contrived way to let the audience in on what Jack was thinking, which is kind of ridiculous, because when have we ever really known what Jack is thinking? :P And now I am left wondering if Jack is still going crazy or what. The whole thing just bothers me. >_<

- Still not talking about Tia Dalma.

- There seemed to be a lot more body humour in this one, although maybe I'm making that up. I mean, Ragetti looking up Elizabeth's skirt? I know in the first one there's that part where they're annoyed she won't be naked, but actually looking up her skirt seemed to me a bit much. :P When PotC2 came out I was annoyed by how much unnecessary body fluids there were in it (Ragetti spitting on his eyeball, Barbossa's spit dribbling down his chin - although I guess it's actually apple juice, it still bothers me! haha), and in PotC3 it seemed like they'd moved on to actual body parts. I mean, that dude snapping off his frozen toe? WHAT WAS EVEN UP WITH THAT??? It's not like the writers are getting less clever, there are still perfectly good lines in PotC2 and PotC3. And it bothers me, because this stupid visual humour doesn't even mesh well with the serious side of the movie ... I mean, they cut from Will dying to the monkey hanging onto the makeshift parachute. Were we supposed to laugh at that? Sorry if I wasn't exactly ready to guffaw! I'm trying to recover from my main character getting STABBED!!! >_< >_< >_< >_<

- And speaking of people getting stabbed, omg Norrington. I don't think I realized how much I liked him until Bootstrap Bill's shouting at him started to FREAK. ME. OUT. I can't decide if I prefer sudden death scenes or drawn out ones. When Davy Jones stabbed Will? Maybe some people saw it coming but I was SHOCKED. But when Bootstrap was obviously going to hurt Norrington? It was breaking my heart. ;_; I hate that they built Norrington up so much in the second movie only to shoot him down so soon in the third. I hate that! I was so sure he would have a major role in this one! Not only was he not a major player, he was barely even cranky! And he didn't vomit ONCE! (Hahaha and just now I was complaining about the abundance of body fluids, too.) Where is the Norrington I know and love?? ;_;

- This cracks me up: I just remembered that Norrington and Elizabeth kissed. They did, right? I'm not making this up? So many other heartbursting things happened in this movie that I don't even know anymore. Oh man. Oh man. This movie was SO FULL, so convoluted, so entertaining ... just like a PotC movie should be. :D But that does make it hard to remember bits. ^^;

- I love how this series started out fairly normal and then just got weirder and weirder. Hahaha, this movie. They could have killed off everyone except the dog and I STILL would have loved it way too unhealthily much. XD Who needs drugs when you have H!P and PotC? hahahaha ...

- Elizabeth's conversation with Bootstrap ... <3 <3 <3 but so sad. :( Oh, I don't know. Why is this movie so impossibly bittersweet? SIGH. I loved, though, that the audience was so eager to aww. XD When Will gave Elizabeth the chest at the end, like half of the people in the theatre let out a great, "Awwwwwwwww~~~" It was great. XD <3 <3 <3 XD

- I really hope I am not the only one who thought it was totally vulgar when Jack, Scarlett and Giselle were talking about the Pearl at the end of the movie. I'm not, right? I can't be the only one! I mean ... "I thought it would be bigger than that"? COME ON!!!

- Plausibility was so non-existant in this movie that in the aforementioned scene, I thought Jack was trying to get everyone to punch him so hard he would go flying right back to the Pearl. If that had happened ... it would have been the most ridiculous thing in the world. Oh man.

- When Jack sang "Drink up, me hearties, yo ho" at the end, a lot of the audience clapped. And they even applauded at that shot of him atop the boat that echoed his first shot from the first movie!! Oh, that made me so happy. I'm so glad I went to the first showings for both PotC2 and PotC3. I do think it makes a difference, watching it with a whole whack of people who are as desperate to see it as you. And also you get to see everyone dressed up as pirates! ;D If this does turn out to be the last PotC (and it definitely wrapped up like an ending, although that Fountain of Youth thing is I guess supposed to be a potential lead-in to another one ... yuck, the Fountain of Youth is so overplayed), I will definitely be sad to never again be able to go to the first showing of one of them, but still so glad I went to these. <3

- Hahaha this movie is so full of stuff I don't even know what else to talk about. XD

- I'm still not talking about Tia Dalma, but the part where Ragetti said that line to her like a lover? UNNECESSARY. :P That whole scene was unnecessary. >_< He didn't bother me as much this time as with PotC2, though, where he was all of a sudden the smartest guy there. >_<;

- They brought back the two navy dudes and also the dude we have nicknamed Schick! Or at least I think that was him! haha. I was glad to see the two navy dudes back again, and I liked their dialogue with Jack, even if it was forced into the mold of their first dialogue with Jack. XD; But that was great. I didn't realize I missed them until I saw them again! haha. XD It's kind of funny that they became pirates at the end, because weren't they supposed to be, like, the foils to Pintel and Ragetti? Or am I making that up? XD;

- I didn't find Beckett as entertaining in this one as in PotC2. I liked his last scene but at the same time it seemed kind of sudden. Why did he suddenly have a breakdown? I mean, we can guess, but still ... It was very interesting to watch, though. And I sort of knew he wouldn't make it out alive. Unlike Norrington! Oh man, after Norrington's death my heart wouldn't stop pounding for like ten minutes. It was like Troy all over again. ;_; I am still sort of reeling! I am going to wake up tomorrow and think that I dreamed the whole thing, just you watch. That's what happened after I watched the second Matrix, hahaha. I was like, "Did Neo actually touch Trinity's heart, or did I just make that up???" Man ... it seems so weird to think I was once as excited for Matrix Reloaded as I was for the PotC sequels. The days when I thought The Matrix was fantastic seem so faraway ...

- I liked the scene where everyone was covered in ice. I could have totally done without the dude plucking his toe off, but the rest of it was cool. (HA! Get it? "Cool"?)

- How has Jack managed to survive so long with that compulsive licking habit he seems to have? WHY DID HIS IMAGINARY FRIEND LICK HIS IMAGINARY BRAIN?? I have a feeling that when this movie comes out on DVD, that will be a scene I will be skipping. :P I liked the "NOBODY MOVE! I lost my brain" joke, but other than that, ehhhhhhhh ...

- Cotton's parrot flying away reminded me of Natal flying away in Escaflowne. XD Although I believe she comes back eventually, haha. XD I was amused by the part where Jack thought everyone was a hallucination and he was saying the most ridiculous things. XD That part was WEIRD but I loved it anyway. XD

- Jack standing atop the Black Pearl in an echo of his very first scene in the first movie? That was BEAUTIFUL. <3

- Why did they show us the kraken's body? I thought it was made obvious that it was dead when Beckett made that comment about making Jones kill his pet. Unless there's a plot point I'm missing, I don't think it was totally necessary to show it. Which isn't a complaint or anything, I'm just musing.

- MAN, that scene with Governor Swann is still making me sad!!!!! And I wasn't supposed to like him anymore!!!!!!!! >_< >_< >_< >_<

- I knew in advance about the scene where they tip the boat over, and so when it started I kind of felt like, "Oh, here we go, this is gonna be LAME," but then it was awesome, hahaha. It looked like so much fun! XD Except for, y'know, the tipping over part. Oh, that was a good scene. XD

- I don't like that the green flash was used when the Dutchman was going away from Elizabeth ... it confused me. :X I mean, they say the green flash happens at sunset (or sunrise or WHATEVER IT WAS) ... then they say a green flash means a soul's been brought back to life (or am I misremembering?) ... then it's used to mark the movement of the Dutchman and I was just confused. :/ I guess because I thought that for its captain to step on land once every ten years, the Dutchman would have to sail to that land itself, it couldn't just be magically transported as though it fancied itself an Escaflowne character. (Why am I mentioning Esca so much?? Gosh!) But I guess that's what's being implied ... ? I dunno. I was confused. I was like, "But Elizabeth's not dead, is she? What's up with the light???" x_x; I also thought that the first scene with Dutchman!Will and Elizabeth was ten years later, and then was confused that it had taken Barbossa so long to get around to stealing the Pearl. I have since decided that scene is obviously not ten years later. XD (But the actual "ten years later" scene that's after the credits, man, I keep thinking that was part of the main movie. This is going to throw me off forever! I am glad it had main characters in it, though. I AM GLAD IT INVOLVED NEITHER THE MONKEY NOR THE DOG.)

- The writers apparently realized this was their last chance to get everyone's names into the movies, and I was totally amused. XD Hector, Pintel, Ragetti ... XD And everyone knew the monkey's name, which I thought was pretty fantastic. XD

- I am actually sparing you some more Aladdin ramble, mostly because I forgot exactly what it was I was going to say. (There was a line that reminded me of Aladdin and a scene that reminded me of Aladdin but I forget what they both were! No more Bootstrap/Cassim parallels, though, thank goodness.) But one thing I will mention is that when I first noticed Will's new earring, I totally thought of "The Sands of Time," because that is the episode where Aladdin has earrings for a couple scenes, and, hahaha, I like to pretend that is the sole reason that episode is ever talked about at all. XD

- Will and Elizabeth end this movie in totally different places than they began the first movie, but Jack is practically the same. Interesting~ (AUGH I HATE BITTERSWEET ENDINGS THEY DRIVE ME INSANE)

- The movie was eighteen minutes longer than the other two! Yet it felt a lot shorter than PotC2 did, at least to me. Perhaps that's because with PotC2 it was like, "Is this this end? No ... Okay, is this the end? No ... All righty, this is the end! No ..." :P

- MAN, these movies own my SOUL! But I appear to be running out of things to jot down, and it took an hour longer to write this entry than I wanted it to (it's already two o'clock! who knew! haha), so I guess I will end it here for now. :) But man, this movie ... As with PotC2, I think it'll take a while for me to fully accept it as canon or whatever, but already I like it better. :) Still, perhaps, not as carefully crafted as PotC, but all in all still good. :)

MAN, Pirates is AWESOME!!!!! XD

Oh, and unrelated: the Enchanted trailer was played before the movie, and it actually looks more amusing than I have been giving it credit for (although I'm a bit bitter that they played clips of everyone's favourite Disney animation classics and then were like LOOK WHAT WE HAVE NOW, when the animation quality of Enchanted appears to be rather below that of, say, The Lion King), but it made me think of a Maclean's article I recently read that was discussing the popularity of the Shrek films. I definitely didn't agree with everything this article said (mainly because it was like, "ALL TEENAGERS HATE DISNEY AND THINK ITS ANIMATION IS UGLY" - wait, what??), but one thing it said was that one of the reasons Shrek is popular is that it pokes fun at Disney where Disney cannot poke fun at itself. But Enchanted looks like it has its moments of poking fun at Disney. It will be interesting to see how it actually turns out.

Comments

[arisha.livejournal.com]

I will totally see it again with you! XD And I am glad we share the same opinion re: Tia Dalma. Everyone else I've talked to just plain didn't care! :p

And yes, your other comment was a little TMI, but I shall take it as a compliment. XD

[mydochas.livejournal.com]

what's your work schedule like?

or perhaps... in a week when i get back from the show we can have pirates night and then watch the third?

And THEN plan disney night?

[arisha.livejournal.com]

This is my week this week:

Tuesday: class 9-12, work 5:45-11:15
Wednesday: class 9-12, hangin' with athena_crikey in the afternoon
Thursday: class 9-12, work 5:45-11:15

And after that I don't know yet. :/ I'll learn my next week work schedule tomorrow (Tuesday) night, though. But, I mean, whenever works for you! :D I am most definitely up for Pirates night, PotC3, and then Disney night. XD Or whatever! haha XD

Do you know if leaf_green wants to join us in any of this? XD

Also, I now own the Japanese dub of the first PotC, but I haven't watched it yet and can't vouch for its quality. You haven't seen it in Japanese, have you? :)