EW review: 'Pirates' a Bermuda Triangle of bad

[KiwiCoromandel]

By Lisa Schwarzbaum......Entertainment Weekly...

I was wrong to be so harsh on "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" when it steamed into port three years ago.

The original is a thing of balletic grace, theatrical richness of character, and self-effacing economy of action when compared with the shapeless, weightless, endless "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." The sequel is a version 2.0 that, in its final minutes, portends a future 3.0 of such necessarily staggering, ostentatious extravagance as to bankrupt all but the most iron-walleted of Hollywood producers.

Yes indeed, "Pirates" 2.0 is a theme ride, if by ride you mean a hellish contraption into which a ticket holder is strapped, overstimulated but unsatisfied, and unable to disengage until the operator releases the restraining harness......

more here....... :)

[KiwiCoromandel]

Pirates sets new box office record.......

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest set a new record for the highest opening in box office history on Sunday, smashing the four-year-old record held by Spider-Man, said distributor Walt Disney Co.

The widely hyped family adventure sequel, marking the return of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, sold an estimated $US132 million worth of tickets in its first three days of release across North America, easily surpassing industry expectations of an opening in the $US100 million range.

The old three-day mark of $115 million was set by Spider-Man in May 2002.

Additionally, the Pirates haul of $US55.5 million during its first day of release on Friday set a new record for a single day, beating the $50 million earned on a Thursday in May 2005 by Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.

source:reuters