DeadMansChest Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Ahoy there! You've been eyeing your calendars. You've been counting the days. We told you it was coming, and now...it's here! And I hope you people are happy, I just sat through two hours of Dancing With The Stars to bring you a report on this thing! (Joey Fatone's going all the way this year, by the way). The official trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was unveiled to the general public tonight during the hit ABC show. Did you see it? The preview will have its online debut in just a few minutes at 10PM Pacific Time. You can see it in hi-def at Yahoo, regular-def at Disney.com, and at "other premium online destinations." Yahoo has really been hyping the event, their site has a countdown going and everything.

I thought Dead Man's Chest was a big ol' mess (don't make me walk the plank!), but this one looks pretty sweet and I've got high hopes for the third chapter. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has been saying the first two movies were "hors d'oeuvres" compared to At World's End. And why would he lie? The new film (and the trailer) picks up where Chest left off, with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), Will Turner (Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) trying to free Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) from his trap in Davy Jones' locker. Go over and check the trailer out, it's jam-packed with crashing waves, waterfalls (the actual edge of the world?), swordfights, exploding cannons, monkey antics, wisecracks, a marriage proposal, and a very intriguing shot of a ship sailing through the desert. The gang's all accounted for (Octopus-Face! Voodoo Woman!) and it was cool to see new addition Chow Yun-Fat in the mix.

One complaint -- would have loved to see Keith Richards, but I guess they've got to keep some surprises up their sleeve. Only about two months until you can see the real deal, Pirates 3 opens on May 25th -- arrrrgh you excited?

For me the most entertaining part of the annual Oscar schpiel is not seeing which films get awards and what actors earn the most respect; it's scratching my head through the boneheaded decisions that seem to come a) out of nowhere and b) from a bunch of people who really ought to know a little better. Here are my picks for the seven biggest pieces of silliness regarding this year's Oscar nominations:

7. Borat for best adapted screenplay? Whaaaaat? Did we see the same movie? Don't get me wrong: I absolutely LOVED this movie -- I called it "one of the funniest movies ever made" and I stand by that opinion today -- but didn't most of the funniest bits come from moments best described as "off the cuff," "reaction-driven" and "semi-improvised"? I understand that more of the flick was scripted than one might expect, but c'mon. Unless all of Borat's interview subjects were given lines to read, I really don't see how this nomination makes any sense. I love seeing the movie get some respect, but what a silly way to do it.

6. Click gets nominated for best makeup ... but Pirates of the Caribbean 2 does not? What the hell? Did any of the Academy members see this movie? Yeah, I know that most of the more dazzling FX were full-bore CGI, but heck; the makeup used on Naomie Harris was more impressive than anything in freakin' Click! Fat suits and really lame "old man" makeup is all it takes to get an Oscar nom these days? Sheesh. Plus I just don't like living in a world that calls Click an Oscar nominee.

5. Nominating The Devil Wears Prada for Best Costume Design is like nominating Talladega Nights for Best Product Placement. Welcome to the world of Home Shopping Cinema.

Think about a room full of five million people. Now imagine they all bought one copy of your DVD. That's (kinda) what happened yesterday when Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest hit the video stores: People went entirely hog wild to get their hands on a copy for Little Timmy or Cousin Janey or ... themselves. (I'm entirely certain that my early review of the DVD was a huge factor in the sales department, and I'd like a Thank You card from Mickey himself. Or Belle.)

By selling 5 million units in one day, POTC2 is on track to become the biggest DVD ever (live-action division) and, combined with the cash-geysers that met a bunch of recent Disney DVDs (The Little Mermaid, Cars, Narnia), is sure to make everyone at the Mouse House all giddy with greenery. And by greenery, I mean cash. (Too bad they still have to fire all those animators, eh?)

For the record, the all-time biggest-selling DVD is Finding Nemo, which sold approximately 142 kamitojillion units, whereas the lowest-selling DVD of all time is BloodRayne, which at last count sold 12 copies. (It used to be 14, but two of 'em were returned for store credit after the buyers' moms saw that prison scene.)

Clearly all this digital pirate booty bodes well for the third and (ha!) final chapter in the Pirates trilogy ... and then I'll be back here next year announcing that the Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End DVD just sold 6 million units in one day. One of which will be mine.

(Quick poll for those who bought the DVD already: Did you get the 1-discer or the sweet, sweet 2-platter version?)

Beerfest -- Those oh-so-wacky knuckleheads who brought you Super Troopers (yaaaay) and Club Dread (boooo) are back with a beer-soaked semi-sports comedy that celebrates the irreprressable beauty of yeast, malt, barley and fermented hops. (At least I think that's what beer is made of.) Haven't seen the flick yet, but I'm told it's actually pretty darn funny. Extras include two audio commentaries, a handful of featurettes and more than 20 deleted scenes.

How to Eat Fried Worms -- Yet another kid's book turned into a movie that nobody really cared to see. Then again, home video is where titles like this one make their bread and butter anyway. Extras include a director/kid actor commentary, a gag reel ("gag," get it? cuz it's about the eating of worms!), and a handful of featurettes.

Idlewild -- Kim was pretty surprised by how much she liked this flick, but going only by the box office numbers it seems she was most definitely in the minority. The "Outkast musical" was lauded by some and derided by others, but most seem to agree that it sure is ... different! Extras are pretty slim: two deleted scenes and a pair of music videos.

Miami Vice -- I think it's one of the worst movies of the year. Honest. But hey, if your idea of fun is 140 minutes of two preening actors wandering through a plotless and a stunningly generic plot construct, have a ball. Yeah, Michael Mann knows how to swing a camera around the room, but this flick's about as deep and edgy as an episode of Murder She Wrote. (Rant over. Sorry.) Extras include a director's commentary, six featurettes and a 15-minute-longer Director's Cut.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest -- I can be pretty critical of the Disney output from time to time, but where the Pirates movies are concerned, I'm little more than a hyperactive 8-year-old screaming "Yay, yippee, more!!" And the 2-disc release of DMC is an absolute treasure chest of digital awesomeness. The movie looks and sounds great, the screenwriter's commentary is quite illuminating, and there's more supplemental material to choke a Kraken: Blooper reels, documentaries, featurettes and yes: at least five hidden goodies!

Pulse -- The remake nobody asked for became the movie nobody went to see. I paid to see it only because of my Kristen Bell crush, and while it's certainly not a GOOD movie, I don't think it's as worthless as most PG-13 horror flicks I've seen lately. Extras include two commentaries, three featurettes, some deleted stuff and (of course) an "unrated" cut.

Rocky Anthology -- I'm pretty sure that all the sequels in this new collection are the same DVDs as before, but the original Rocky is given a rather swanky new digital release that should thrill anyone who loves the flick as much as I do. (Available separately) the Rocky 2-disc Collector's Edition comes with three audio commentaries, a half-dozen featurettes / mini-docos and some old-school archival footage that's never been released before. Yo, MGM! Thanks!

If you're a big fan of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, then the massive, sprawling, and almost exhaustively entertaining sequel Dead Man's Chest is going to remind you of either The Empire Strikes Back or Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Either way, it's worth the price of a movie ticket to find out, isn't it? One of those sequels is the most exciting and dramatic ever made ... and the other one's a big sloppy mess that's a huge ball of fun. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest falls squarely between the two.

Before I commence with my second Pirates tongue-bath, I feel it's important to make one thing very clear: I am an unapologetic and rather enthusiastic "geek" when it comes to this series.  This might help to explain why the sequel's narrative logjams and occasional moments of plot-structure confusion didn't bother me all that much. This is certainly not a flawless piece of entertainment (indeed, I still like POTC1 a bit more), but this follow-up is the crown jewel of this summer season -- and it's packed with more multiplex treasures than you'll know what to do with.