# Avast! Have purchased my tix; counting down til Pirates time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 22, 2007, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116 "2007-05-22T19:00:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![twopiecesofeight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5e9695/32.png) [@twopiecesofeight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twopiecesofeight)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/21 "2007-05-24T16:12:48Z")
> [@](#): > > _Disclaimer: Conversation snipped for shorter length. Did not add extra words, artificial flavors or sweeteners._ > > **randwill:** It’s getting bad reviews, > > \*\*Duck Duck Goose:\*\*We. > > Don’t. > > Care. > > 😃 > > **randwill** : but it’s critic-proof as far as ticket sales will go. Aye, both o’ ye speaks de truth! I saw the first two movies and enjoyed them both. Gore Verbinski is like Michael Bay\* (shudder) with half the caffeine. A good thing, methinks. I can actually follow the camera action without getting seasick. Johnny Depp _and_ the legendary Chow Yun-Fat? Woohoo! (Does Mr. Chow get two guns? Darn historical reality, he should wield dual auto-loading flintlock pistols. :)) Bring on the popcorn! \*Yes, I’m watching Transformers. I trust that Executive Producer Steven Spielberg won’t let it turn into a 90-minute music video advertising toys…much. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/22 "2007-05-24T16:53:03Z")
[QUOTE=Red Barchetta] Watch Ebert & Roper, do you? [/QUOTE] No, but it doesn’t surprise me that others felt the same way. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/23 "2007-05-24T17:05:13Z")
My wife, who worked a bit on the Pirates Franchise doing continuity editing for the larger franchise really loved it when she saw a screening on Monday, as did my friend Chrysoula who went with her. I of course had to miss it because someone had to stay home with our baby girl. I am looking forward to it, but I’ll probably see it by myself as a Matinee sometime. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/24 "2007-05-24T17:23:58Z")
Went to a ‘pre-premiere’ screening at our local cinema yesterday at 22 o’clock. It was worth it, overall. Attendance was surprisingly low - some 300 people in a 600-plus venue, for a screening that was advertised for the last three weeks. I recollect much more interest for the second movie. The beginning was pretty dark - the designated bad guys hanging _children_, for God’s sake. Jack Sparrow in the Netherworld - well done. He doesn’t suffer, as such - but to spend _eternity_ in this way ::shudder:: Chow Yun-Fat doesn’t get much screen time IMO - a first meeting, a fight, another meeting, then he gets spitted. His character’s main dramatic purpose is making the heroine a pirate captain. Not many good new supernatural inventions - the 1st and 2nd movies had more original ideas; the 3rd movie tends to coast on them. Ending: well done. Conventional happy end resisted. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/25 "2007-05-24T18:36:44Z")
[QUOTE=randwill] So you wouldn’t describe yourself as a discriminating movie-goer I take it? [/QUOTE] Huh. I would describe myself that way, yet I know I will enjoy this movie. I also enjoy Shakespeare, dystopian fiction, disaster movies, classic comedies, dense foreign films, and heavy dramas. :dubious: Fun is fun. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/26 "2007-05-24T19:52:53Z")
[QUOTE=EJsGirl] Huh. I would describe myself that way, yet I know I will enjoy this movie. I also enjoy Shakespeare, dystopian fiction, disaster movies, classic comedies, dense foreign films, and heavy dramas. :dubious: Fun is fun. [/QUOTE] You’re more psychic than I am then. There’s no way I could know I was going to enjoy a movie, or a book or a television program for that matter, prior to having seen or read it. There have been things I have had high hopes for and, naturally, I want to enjoy anything I have choosen to put my time into. But I can’t _know_ that I’m going to enjoy something just because I want to and believe I will. I loved all of Stanley Kubrick’s films to varying degrees and just _knew_ that “Eyes Wide Shut” was going to be great. Oops! Lesson learned. Yes, fun is fun. But not having seen it I don’t know that “Pirates…” is gonna’ be any fun. Maybe it’ll be, “overstuffed”, “textbook definition of overkill”, “confusing”, “choppy and long”, “lukewarm maelstrom”, “tiresome and disorienting,” to use a few phrases some critics have written about it. To be fair, roughly half the reviews have been positive. One thing’s for sure, it’s been hyped to the max, so sheep-like audiences will fill the mega-plexes this weekend just like they do every weekend whether that week’s must-see movie is a jewel or a turd. It makes no difference. I’ll be waiting for “Knocked Up” and “Waitress”. I just _know_ those are gonna’ be better movies. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/27 "2007-05-24T20:14:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Huh. I would describe myself that way, yet I know I will enjoy this movie. I also enjoy Shakespeare… You want mass entertainment written with no regard for “discriminating tastes”, that’s it right there. Had Shakespeare the technology, he most certainly would have made movies like _Pirates_. Admittedly, he wouldn’t have _only_ made movies like that, but there’s nothing wrong with a completely unrealistic action-packed eye-candy swashbuckler every now and then. Oh, and **randwill** , there are other reasons to see this movie than ogling Johnny Depp dressed like a pirate for two hours. Some of us are quite looking forward to ogling Kiera Knightly dressed like a pirate for two hours. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/28 "2007-05-24T20:29:21Z")
[QUOTE=randwill] So you wouldn’t describe yourself as a discriminating movie-goer I take it? [/QUOTE] If you mean as in “paying attention to what the critics say”, then no, I guess not. I’ve been burned by Roger Ebert in particular too many times over the last, oh, five years or so. It seems like back in the 80s and 90s he used to be able to say, “This was a dumb movie, but it was fun and I liked it”, but lately it seems like he sits there and watches the movie with a critic’s eye, and awards stars on the basis of how it stacks up **to that critic’s eye** , and not to how enjoyable the movie was overall. Virtually everything he’s given four stars to since about 2002 I have found was not worth carting home from Family Video, so I have stopped paying attention to the “Two Thumbs Up–Ebert and Roper” on the box. So if that makes me a “non-discriminating movie-goer”, then guilty as charged. ---
**Author:** ![RogueRacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RogueRacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RogueRacer)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/29 "2007-05-24T20:56:46Z")
[QUOTE=randwill] One thing’s for sure, it’s been hyped to the max, so sheep-like audiences will fill the mega-plexes this weekend just like they do every weekend whether that week’s must-see movie is a jewel or a turd. It makes no difference. [/QUOTE] I fail to see how enjoying a popcorn movie makes one a sheep. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/30 "2007-05-24T20:58:50Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] If you mean as in “paying attention to what the critics say”, then no, I guess not. I’ve been burned by Roger Ebert in particular too many times over the last, oh, five years or so. It seems like back in the 80s and 90s he used to be able to say, “This was a dumb movie, but it was fun and I liked it”, but lately it seems like he sits there and watches the movie with a critic’s eye, and awards stars on the basis of how it stacks up **to that critic’s eye** , and not to how enjoyable the movie was overall. Virtually everything he’s given four stars to since about 2002 I have found was not worth carting home from Family Video, so I have stopped paying attention to the “Two Thumbs Up–Ebert and Roper” on the box. So if that makes me a “non-discriminating movie-goer”, then guilty as charged. [/QUOTE] That’s why [rottentomatoes.com](http://rottentomatoes.com) is such an excellent resource for serious film fanatics. There you get to see the consensus of opinion from a large number of people who write about film for a living. At this writing “Pirates 3” has 44 “fresh” reviews and 41 “rotten” for a Tomatometer score of 51%. For me the 75% point is about as far down as I’ll go when choosing a film to see. That has worked well for me and I am rarely dissapointed adhering to this rule. I would never go by the rating of only one writer, including Roger Ebert, for whom I have a great deal of respect, but who has steered me wrong in the past as well. I’ve loved looking at Keira Knightly, too, since “Bend It Like Beckham” which, by most accounts would be a better choice for viewing, even a repeated one, than “Pirates 3”. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/31 "2007-05-24T21:11:02Z")
[QUOTE=RogueRacer] I fail to see how enjoying a popcorn movie makes one a sheep. [/QUOTE] Me either. But all you have to do is go to the mega-plex on any given weekend and look at the long lines for whatever heavily promoted piece of crap has convinced the masses that they \*must \* see it. Then look in the smaller theaters playing what is probably the best movie currenly in release (you know, the one you never heard of because it hasn’t been advertised on television) and see only a few people there. Look, there’s no accounting for taste. The best movies don’t always sell the most tickets. Since that’s what corporate movie-making is all about, loud, expensive, mindlessness will always be popular. If that’s all you want this weekend, and that’s fine, “Pirates 3” may be the movie for you and millions of your peers. ---
**Author:** ![NailBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@NailBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NailBunny)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/32 "2007-05-24T21:13:54Z")
With all due respect: I know it’s not for me to say, not having posted the OP, but would it be too much to ask for those who have already made up their minds that they dislike the film to let us “sheep” just enjoy the anticipation? I know _Pirates_ is not everyone’s cup of tea, or rum as it were, and personally I enjoy hearing everyone’s take on the movies be it good or bad, but some of us are genuinely excited and disparraging us for that strikes me as a wee bit…rude? ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/33 "2007-05-24T21:14:10Z")
To Randwill, re his Post, #26: I hate being called sheep-like just because I choose to divert myself with a highly marketed movie. I didn’t go see “Spiderman”, or “Shrek”, even tho they were pushed by marketing machinery. I’m going to “Pirates” cause I loved the first one so much; not because I’m a sheep. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/34 "2007-05-24T21:28:03Z")
[QUOTE=well he’s back] To Randwill, re his Post, #26: I hate being called sheep-like just because I choose to divert myself with a highly marketed movie. I didn’t go see “Spiderman”, or “Shrek”, even tho they were pushed by marketing machinery. I’m going to “Pirates” cause I loved the first one so much; not because I’m a sheep. [/QUOTE] I didn’t mean to offend you personally, I don’t even know you. I hope you come out of the screening feeling happy. But the sheep analogy is hard to ignore if you go anywhere near a theater the opening night of a heavily hyped blockbuster that all advance word has told us is terrible. Maybe cattle-to-slaughter would be more on the mark! ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/35 "2007-05-25T02:27:48Z")
Well, my daughter and her entire posse are down at the Hickory Point 12 even as we speak, and I’ll bet she’s having an absolute blast, dissenting critics notwithstanding. And she and her posse are about as un-sheep-like as you can imagine. They aren’t standing in line to see P3 because they’re undiscriminating moviegoers who only go see what Corporate Hollywood tells them to go see–they’re standing in line to see P3 **to see how the story comes out.**. I think that’s something you’re totally missing here: we have all collectively invested two movies’ worth of time in learning about–and caring about–these characters, and we wanna know what happens next. Same thing happened with the Star Wars movies. I’m old enough to remember simillar highbrow quibbles with the utter baseness of its subject matter first time around–and not to care. I saw it 10 times. And I saw all the others in turn. Because I wanted to see how it came out. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/36 "2007-05-25T03:26:16Z")
I’m no Marshall McLuhan (neither is he, anymore) but when intelligent people are talking about how good a movie is _that they haven’t seen yet_, I’d say the marketing department has done their job. Enjoy maties, this ole landlubber hopes you have a good time. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/37 "2007-05-25T03:52:26Z")
[QUOTE=NailBunny] With all due respect: I know it’s not for me to say, not having posted the OP, but would it be too much to ask for those who have already made up their minds that they dislike the film to let us “sheep” just enjoy the anticipation? I know _Pirates_ is not everyone’s cup of tea, or rum as it were, and personally I enjoy hearing everyone’s take on the movies be it good or bad, but some of us are genuinely excited and disparraging us for that strikes me as a wee bit…rude? [/QUOTE] There’s a radio show I listen to where one of the guys will–on a daily basis–take a virtual crap on someone else’s anticipation or enjoyment of some popular movie, music, book, or television show. He doesn’t really add anything useful to the conversation, he just pipes up to say how stupid and pandering and awful everything is that’s produced for the masses. So the other on-air personalities have dubbed him “the afternoon cloud” because he can’t resist the urge to pop up every day and rain on someone’s parade. Well, we have our own afternoon cloud here on the SDMB. Check out all the Lost threads for the past season and you’ll see the cloud doing its best to spout negativity among fans of the show who just want to discuss the episodes with other fans. Sound familiar? ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/38 "2007-05-25T04:37:07Z")
[QUOTE=Tangent] There’s a radio show I listen to where one of the guys will–on a daily basis–take a virtual crap on someone else’s anticipation or enjoyment of some popular movie, music, book, or television show. He doesn’t really add anything useful to the conversation, he just pipes up to say how stupid and pandering and awful everything is that’s produced for the masses. So the other on-air personalities have dubbed him “the afternoon cloud” because he can’t resist the urge to pop up every day and rain on someone’s parade. Well, we have our own afternoon cloud here on the SDMB. Check out all the Lost threads for the past season and you’ll see the cloud doing its best to spout negativity among fans of the show who just want to discuss the episodes with other fans. Sound familiar? [/QUOTE] Are my negative opinions less valid than someone’s positive opinions? Are criticisms of media not welcome along with praise? Don’t thoughtful people who want to talk about the true merits of a film and how it is sold to its customers rather than how dreamy Johnny Depp is or how hot Keira Knightly is have a voice? Is this a pajama party or a discussion forum? I merely pointed out that the critics are split on the quality of the film. If the majority of the reviews said it was better than the first one, I’d be looking foward to seeing it too. And if you read those “Lost” threads you’ll see that I _am_ a fan of the show who became disheartened at the drop off in quality and repetition of certain plot elements this season. And I’m not the only one, but even if I was it’s still my valid opinion. If you want to know the truth, unearned adoration of entertainment of questionable quality (try saying _that_ three time fast) is a little discouraging to me. But there’s plenty of stuff that I revere that you would probably hate, so there you go. Like it says up above, “It’s taking longer than we thought.” So enjoy the movie. And stay off my lawn! ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/39 "2007-05-25T05:14:28Z")
Just got back from seeing it. I give it a “meh.” To be fair, I disliked the second one when seeing it in the theater, but watching it for a second time yesterday (getting ready for today) it was much better than I remembered. Maybe the third will grow on me as well. > [@](#): > > **SPOILERS** > I have several questions. If the goddess chick hated the pirate captains (or whatever they called the 9 of 8) so much, why did she have a fling with Jack, who is a pirate captain? > > Anyone else roll their eyes when Keira was made pirate king? Puh-lease. > > The scene where they sailed off the edge of the world seemed like a tribute to Erik the Viking. I kept thinking to myself: “SHE blew the horn resounding!” For the next 45 minutes I was thinking about how much I would rather have been watching Erik the Viking. > > Pirate council? Lame. This is a pirate movie. More swashbuckling, less town hall meeting, please. Reminded me of how lacking the Star Wars prequels were and why. > > Anyone other than me offended by the ending? I’m not usually the first one to champion feminism, but that ending was a ridiculous male fantasy. What, Keira is supposed to be chaste for here entire life with a week’s worth of a relationship interspersed throughout? She hasn’t been with a man in _ten fucking years_? Poor girl has to get some. > > The final battle was kinda silly in a two ways. First, you have two opposing armadas that never actually do anything. Two ships square off in a whirlpool while hundreds of other just sit there watching? Okaaay. Worse was when the Flying Dutchman and the Black Pearl surround the command ship and blow it up. That command ship had about a million cannon; it could easily have sunk both the Dutchman and the Pearl without even reloading, but yet didn’t fire a shot. I can sorta fanwank being paralyzed in awesome fear of the Dutchman, but they’d already been “behind the curtain,” so to speak, so the abject terror angle doesn’t make sense either. > > I did like it when they shot the undead monkey out of the cannon. Seeing the little guy hurtle through the air on fire was funny. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116/40 "2007-05-25T09:44:56Z")
[QUOTE=Ellis Dee] I have several questions. If the goddess chick hated the pirate captains (or whatever they called the 9 of 8) so much, why did she have a fling with Jack, who is a pirate captain? [/quote] According to IMDB, the third movie wasn’t fully written when they started shooting. I assume they could have edited that however. > [@](#): > > Anyone else roll their eyes when Keira was made pirate king? Puh-lease. No, but I did scoff at her speech of “motivation”. She was obviously uncomfortable and not really fit to lead a gang of bandits. > [@](#): > > [spoiler]Anyone other than me offended by the ending? I’m not usually the first one to champion feminism, but that ending was a ridiculous male fantasy. What, Keira is supposed to be chaste for here entire life with a week’s worth of a relationship interspersed throughout? She hasn’t been with a man in ten fucking years? Poor girl has to get some. To be fair, she has a lot more freedom to meet other partners than Turnerdoes. He’s chained to the ship after all. > [@](#): > > [/spoiler]Worse was when the Flying Dutchman and the Black Pearl surround the command ship and blow it up. That command ship had about a million cannon; it could easily have sunk both the Dutchman and the Pearl without even reloading, but yet didn’t fire a shot. [spoiler]I think you missed the point entirely. Cutler felt he had already lost the battle, since he didn’t anticipate the other ship. He had won by betraying Turner but was bested still. He simply gave in to the better man. [/spoiler] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avast-have-purchased-my-tix-counting-down-til-pirates-time/405116.md?page=3)