At the local multi-plex the battle is between Pirates 3, Shrek 3 and Spiderman 3, all full of computer effects, loud noises, cute creatures, thwarted loves, and bloody battles. And none in the same class as the original.

We went to the bloodiest or so I hear, Pirates. Craig Lindsey of NandO writes a review that I agree with (for a change) here. When Depp finally showed up, the movie was beyond saving at least as far as having any coherent storyline goes. But then maybe having a coherent storyline is overrated.

Still, Depp could have been deployed much better and then there is Keith Richards. You bring in someone like Richards because he’s recognizable, not because he’s a great actor — he isn’t, but he does play a great Keith Richards if you let him and don’t overdress him to the point of having him wear a fake nose that makes him look like Cyrano’s lost brother! Yikes! If you have to wear a nose like that, you should get to be in the sword fight scenes.

Even when I tried to let loose and not care about the details and let the effects sweep over me — I didn’t care.

I wonder of Disney or the audience is aware of the various ironies in the text. The armada of evil are at the command of a large faceless corporation whose goal is to eliminate Pirates from the face of the earth. Not only that but the corporation has manipulated the government to act on its behalf even to the point of suspending the freedom of assembly, of habeas corpus, of trial by jury and a number of other civil liberties. Yes you can’t help but think Gitmo and then oddly of Disney and copyright.

No copyright is not equal to Gitmo. I’m not so dumb as to make that assertion. The messages are tangled in an odd way. But no matter before too long my brain like Depp/Sparrow’s had checked out. I let my body react. I didn’t fall asleep, but I wasn’t very engaged either. I should have been in awe when Naomie Harris grew to a giant size then turned into a rain of crabs (I am not making this up) but I wasn’t.