movie journal: pirate of the caribbean sea: dead man's chest

this film is so overhyped it's not even funny. opening weekend and several days afterwards the story is the same everywhere: sold out, solt out, gone. Johnny Depp just commands such a huge fan base (mainly of female variety) that people are dying to see just about anything with him in it. this is reportedly the second of at least 3 instalment that will be star wars/lord of rings trilogy like and next one (supposedly a finale of the current story/plot) will be here next summer for another blockbuster opening (pretty much granted if J Depp doesn't get some cheap blowjob at a southern california highway or start believe in scientology, divorce his wife and marry some chic 20 years younger). all in all, his captain jack sparrow role is still pretty much alive and kicking. However, the major disappointment of this film is its seemingly millions of sub-plot and development that keet uninformed audience mesmerized and brain overclocked to melting point in order to figure out what is what is the fuck is going on. at times there are black voodoo woman who speaks a strand of english only she can understand, some giant seafood buffet pirates in a ship that apparently can eat a whole enemy ship (and impossible to fight back), and jack sparrow's personal journal to fight against himself and the whole british empire. keira knightly is still all pretty and sexy in this film, but visibly aged and not the young princess of yester-year anymore. more matured is a good thing some might argue though.

he film starts unannounced at sea and finished uneventfully at the black voodoo woman's house. basically, it looks and smells like the middle chunk of a really big and smelly fish waiting to be cooked. a bit like the second lord of the rings trilogy now that i come to think of it: long, elaborately CGed, epic, and serves no purpose but to propel the story towards the finale climax which is one year away. cool.

but then again, this is exactly the biggest weakness of the film. of any epic trilogy that is. that the middle chunk is big, fat and unannounced. character and plot development is constrained by the beginning and finish story so the middle film are left to do whatever is necessary to entertain and hook to the next film. on a brighter note, the next pirate of the caribbean will be brilliant though, with captain jack sparrow returns. the return of captains.