‘Pirates’ offers solid action

Pirate movies were a staple of Hollywood’s Golden Age and gave us

such classics as “The Sea Hawk,” “Captain Blood” and “The Crimson

Pirate.” These swashbucklers eventually fell from favor and audience

response to more recent efforts such as “Cutthroat Island” and the

animated “Sinbad” now in release have been lukewarm at best.

All that is likely to change with the hugely entertaining “Pirates

of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.” Despite being cursed

with the longest name in recent memory, this film is an action-packed

and often very funny romp on the high seas.

The plot centers on an ancient curse involving Aztec gold. The

pirates who stole the gold aboard the sailing ship Black Pearl, are

sentenced to live as skeletal ghosts until every last piece of the

treasure is returned to the chest where they found it.

The possessor of the last piece of the accursed treasure is

Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) who is the daughter of the Governor

of the British Caribbean outpost of Port Royal (Jonathan Pryce).

Elizabeth is pursued by the British officer Norrington (Jack

Davenport) although she is in love with Will Turner (Orlando Bloom),

a lowly blacksmith.

In one of the greatest entrances in film history, Captain Jack

Sparrow (Johnny Depp) arrives in Port Royal. Soon after Sparrow

arrives, the crew of the Black Pearl led by Captain Barbossa

(Geoffrey Rush) attack the city. After sacking the port, the pirates

escape with much booty including the unfortunate Elizabeth.

Soliciting the help of Sparrow, who readily agrees in order to escape

the hangman’s noose, Turner sets out to find the Black Pearl and

Elizabeth.

Depp continues to build his reputation as an actor’s actor not

afraid to risk everything for his craft. Depp’s Jack Sparrow is one

of the most memorable performances in recent memory. Reportedly

inspired in part by Rolling Stone Keith Richards, Depp combines a

mincing gait, frantic hand gestures, rolling eyes and a drunkard’s

slurred speech to create an unforgettable character. Whenever he is

on the screen, Depp completely dominates the proceedings.

In a performance that is second only to the amazing Depp, Geoffrey

Rush delivers a scenery-chewing performance as Barbossa. The pirate

captain is intelligent, ruthless and conniving. Rush plays him

perfectly with just the right note of humanity.

Bloom, the heartthrob of the moment, delivers an appropriately

earnest performance in the thankless role of Turner. Knightley has

the classic beauty of an antique cameo and portrays the fairly

one-dimensional Elizabeth as well as the situation allows.

The primary special effect of the cursed pirates true appearance

only being visible in moonlight is done flawlessly. The film has a

wonderful fairy tale sheen and the makeup and costumes invoke the

period well. Some fight scenes are overly long and repetitive, but

the overall story moves along so well the running time of 134 minutes

is inconsequential. Remember to watch for the many funny references

to the “Pirates of the Caribbean” Disneyland ride and sit through the

credits for one tiny little last surprise.

This is the best action picture of the summer thus far. So weigh

anchor and make sail to your local theater mate.

* VAN NOVACK, 50, is the director of institutional research at Cal

State Long Beach and lives in Huntington Beach with his wife

Elizabeth.

’28 Days Later’ a superior B movie

You get hit by a car and wake up a month later, abandoned in a

hospital. What’s the first thing you do? In “28 Days Later,” our

hero, Jim, drinks a Pepsi. OK, I understand that making movies is

expensive, and strategic product placement helps defer costs, but

come on! In many ways, this sums up the problems with “28 Days

Later.” This would be a great movie, instead of just another b-movie,

if the script made a little more sense.

Some monkeys infect England with a deadly virus that makes its

victims insane and homicidal. The handful of survivors must

constantly defend themselves from the infected population. It’s kind

of the UK version of the George Romero zombie movies. “28 Days Later”

doesn’t have Romero’s extreme gore, there’s no scenes of zombies

eating intestines; however, it isn’t without its gruesome moments.

People who are infected have a nasty habit of projectile vomiting

loads of blood. What makes “28 Days Later” stand out from other

horror movies is the way the characters thoughtfully reflect on their

circumstances. They frequently ask themselves, and each other, why

they bother to continue to struggle in a hopelessly empty world.

Everything they know has changed and everyone they love is dead. In

“Dawn of the Dead,” Romero’s heroes take refuge in a shopping mall.

In “28 Days Later,” the heroes don’t have the resources to take

refuge anywhere. They’re never truly safe. Mentally, that takes its

toll.

This movie is directed by Danny Boyle whose previous credits

include the classic “Trainspotting.” Boyle makes visually smart

movies and this is no exception. Musical legend Brian Eno contributed

to the score, but Boyle is very crafty about his use of sound and

music. One of the great scenes is when Jim wanders out of the

hospital and into the empty streets of London. The long shots of the

city, completely devoid of people and traffic, are chilling and

surreal. Boyle doesn’t put a soundtrack behind these images. There’s

no melodrama. It’s just the cold reality of a dead city.

Eventually Jim encounters other survivors including Selena, a hard

edged woman who understands her first priority is to do whatever is

necessary to stay alive. Selena is a total hottie. It always amazes

me how fashion models can survive disasters that kill the general

population. I’m guessing that models probably learn survival skills

the same day they are taught how to maintain perfect hair and makeup

under extreme circumstances. It’s important to know how to maintain

your look while being chased by zombies and Selena clearly knows how

to do this.

Despite some occasional silliness in the script, Cillian Murphy

(Jim) and Naomi Harris (Selena) both create empathetic heroes with

real frailties. They are part of a first-rate cast. The acting makes

“28 Days Later” a surprisingly good movie. Murphy and Harris both

make you want to believe in their characters and believe in the

story.

The problem is that occasionally their actions don’t quite make

sense. When Selena meets Jim, she’s wandering around at night

carrying firebombs and wearing a gas mask. She tells him that the

first rule is to avoid going out at night because it’s too dangerous.

She never wears the gas mask again, which makes you wonder why she

wore it in the first place. When characters contradict themselves

like this it drives me crazy.

The question people have asked me is whether “28 Days Later” a

scary movie. I heard people shriek and gasp when I was tempted to

laugh, but that’s because I’m more afraid of nut cases like Robin

Williams in “One Hour Photo,” than I am of homicidal zombies. I’ve

seen enough movies to know what do to when the zombies attack.

Overall, this is a movie that will satisfy anyone who’s into

b-horror. It’s worth seeing in the theater if you don’t have air

conditioning at home and a total fan of this kind of movie. For most

people, this one’s a renter. There wasn’t much of a crowd in the

theater, so it may be out on DVD in time for Halloween.

* JIM ERWIN, 40, is a technical writer and computer trainer.