1) Oh how I love Elizabeth. If I had Jack, Will and James around, I couldn't make up my mind either. Of any of them, she's the one whose morality I relate to the best: Will's too innately noble -- poor Orlando Bloom, saddled with yet another character who's written as too good to be true -- James is too selfish and caught up in his own ambitions and Jack is...well, Jack. I really thought Elizabeth meant all those things she said to Jack at the end right until she helped him do the right thing by chaining him up. (I foresee much bondage among her, Jack and Will once Jack is back, and James too because he should by all means be invited to work out his Jack Sparrow obsession). Jack so has Elizabeth's number: she ran away to sea because she wanted to as much as to find Will. I love that none of the men want her to be a proper lady and don't even pay attention anymore when she fake-faints.
2) My favorite line in the movie was probably Will's reiteration to Jack the phony story about his escape via sea turtles. Though I also loved all the eunuch jokes in various (fake) languages. I must admit that much as I adore Jack, Will's the one I'd marry; wouldn't want to BE him, but what a family man he is, without losing that fun edge that doesn't mind teaching his wife to be as good with a sword as he is and admiring her for dressing up as a boy so she can go to sea.
3) Speaking of which, I probably should have been as offended here as in King Kong about the crazy-stupid cannibalistic people of color, but all serious thought went out the window with the giant hamster ball of doom. I laughed so hard it hurt. Also, near the end, the giant gerbil wheel of doom with the three men...priceless, and I really hope there's something on the extras showing how they green-screened and filmed those stunts. This movie is playing with stereotypes about pirates, islanders and greedy East India Company Brits (and having a grand time doing so) rather than reinforcing them as thoughtlessly as King Kong did.
4) The SHIPS! When I saw the first POTC I was a little baffled why so many people were so impressed initially; it took me three viewings in the theater to really appreciate it, and my affection only grew with every DVD viewing (it helped that Curse of the Black Pearl is one of the best-packaged DVDs I've ever seen, with all those extras about filming and hilarious cast interviews and several wonderful documentaries about historical pirates and piracy). But I wasn't a full fledged ship geek then -- it was months before Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World converted me -- and I didn't appreciate either the things that were historically accurate and charming or the things that were fanciful and purely mythological. This time I was really noticing the ships and how they moved and how people moved on them...so much fun.
More later...I am going now to see Ocean Orchestra at a park in McLean. I know I am behind on comments and tags, shall endeavor to catch up tonight.
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