your sword smells funny

[carmen_lj]

Still giddy from Doctor Who. I think about it a bit and I get a terrible urge to express my feelings via the medium of dance. Have thus far resisted since I can't imagine anything good could come of self's dancing attempts.

But in other news, more animated Who! The Reign of Terror is going to have its two missing episodes animated. My first thought was "WTF, why couldn't we have The Crusade instead?" then "Oooh, animated!Babs" then "heh, if they're animating this story, which nobody cares about* then maybe next time there'll be a full colour Marco Polo**, omg, yay!" So really, hurrah for more animated missing episodes and hurrah that the choice of episodes seems to suggest there will be Even Moar animated eps to come.

*Not, y'know, literally, just that fandom does not speak of this story with a great deal of love, or really speak about it very much at all.

**I don't actually ever expect a full colour Marco Polo cartoon.

And in other fandoms, I went to see the shiny new Pirates of the Caribean movie. IT WAS PLEASING TO ME. There were reasons for this that didn't involve Barbossa, but it was pretty much Barbossa. I also spent the first fifteen minutes trying to remember why the title sounded familiar, before giving up and looking it up online when I got home to discover On Stranger Tides, which the movie is based on, is also the basis for Monkey Island. And then I was a bit sad, cause much as I enjoy the PotC series it does mean there is like no chance of me every getting to see Zach Braff as Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate.

But, yes, pirates! Thoughts, such as they are:

• Much cheer for the various cameos from nifty British actors - Richard Griffiths, Judi Dench and Roger Allam - and also cheer at Kevin McNally, who I didn't know was going to be back in this one. Though mostly I'm yayful at him cause he was Hugo Lang in Twin Dilemma and I imagine that's not really his proudest hour.
  
  
• I did love how there wasn't really a hero and the minister dude was clearly trying but he was a bit cack and Jack is obviously not heroic and Barbossa SORT OF IS IN MY HEAD but reality might beg to differ, so yeah.
  
  
• Penelope Cruz was Quite Good. Also she had a smashing hat. Wouldn't mind more from her.
  
  
• I liked the mermaid attack a lot. The siren trope is not one I am Tremendously Thrilled By, but if you're going to do it, at least do it better than anyone else, and those were some pretty awesome mermaids.
  
  
• And onto the important bits: OH BARBOSSA. First it was wonderful cause he was a privateer and he had a lolarious wig and also Jack called him Hector and Hector looked bored at Jack's ridiculous swordfightings and that's lovely, and then there was a bunch of chasing across the seas and stuff and that was fiiiine but then Jack and Barbossa TEAMED UP AND IT WAS GREAT. It was a whole other movie after that bit, A MOVIE OF AWESOME.
  
  
• The one bit of the chasing across the ocean stuff that was quite yayful was the mutiny and fallout on Blackbeard's ship. Thought both amusing and then pleasantly scary.
  
  
• Anyway, back to Barbossa: and so he teams up with Jack, and Jack really does need someone to team up with and Barbossa is the best of all his teams (I did miss Elizabeth, because she is my non-Barbossa favourite, but she was KING OF PIRATES and I'm not sure how you can improve on that really; I did not miss Orlando Bloom) and he can both communicate and understand Jack BEAUTIFULLY.
  
  
• And then THEY ARE CAUGHT and we find out the proper story of the film which is HECTOR BARBOSSA'S EPIC REVENGE ON THE EVIL PIRATE LECHUCK BLACKBEARD. OMG. At that point I was (1) excessively bitter than there were OTHER PLOTS distracting from this awesome and (2) trying very hard not to cry because OMG HE WAS SO SAD. He lost his ship and his crew and his leg and Blackbeard humiliated him and that JUST WASN'T ON and he didn't want eternal life like those other suckers he wanted REVENGE.
  
  
• So, there was some flail when Barbossa arrived to fight Blackbeard and it was the Worst Swordfight Ever. And by worst, I mean I was terrified Barbossa was going to die. Cause, yeah, Blackbeard was obviously the bad guy, but was Barbossa the hero? WAS HE? (I mean, yes, obviously, but maybe the film-making people didn't know that.)
  
  
• AND HE WON. AND HE CHEATED. AND THAT WAS GREAT. AND HE GOT A SHIP AND A MAGIC SWORD. So he's actually up on where his last Happy Ending was. AND HIS PIRATE HAT. It being found and him putting it on again and being all NOW I AM A PIRATE AGAIN. ::FLAIL::
  
  
• So, yeah, quite liked it.

Comments

[thedorkygirl.livejournal.com]

oops! check your link tag

[calapine.livejournal.com]

Fixed LIKE A PRO. Ahem.

[rhipowered.livejournal.com]

omg Zach Braff would be a GREAT GUYBRUSH.

And I do not even like him much usually.

[calapine.livejournal.com]

I've failed to see him in anything that isn't Scrubs. Which I sometimes pretend is an Monkey Island AU.

[moljn.livejournal.com]

I may have whooped (in a quiet, movie theatre-appropriate way) when the mermaids sunk that ship.

[calapine.livejournal.com]

I was rolling my eyes a wee bit until one of them leapt over the rowboat and snatched a sailor before they smashed the boat to kindling. Bringing down the privateer was icing on the awesome cake.

[jigglykat.livejournal.com]

ZACH WOULD BE AWESOME AS GUYBRUSH. Omg.

So I saw who was doing the animation for the lost episodes on Twitter, and it's not the same people who did it before, right? I'm going to be a bit judgey at whoever does it. Two of my favorite things combined!

[calapine.livejournal.com]

He, I love you are judgey at cartoon thingies. Though, obviously, I fail to see how animated Barbara, could possibly go wrong.

[be-themoon.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed Pirates! Minister dude was such a sweetheart, and Penelope Cruz was a total amazing badass and I adored her. Barbossa and Jack teamup was a thing of beauty too.

[calapine.livejournal.com]

My expectations were Terribly Low, but I think even if they hadn't have been it'd have stood up okay. Mostly cause it pandered wonderfully to my Fannish Preferences.

[kesomon.livejournal.com]

The connection between Stranger Tides and Monkey Island suddenly makes sense of a lot of stuff in that movie.

[calapine.livejournal.com]

Delighted to assist with the sensemaking, yes.

[livii.livejournal.com]

I really liked The Reign of Terror when I saw it! And with the animation we'll be able to see the Doctor knocking that dude out by hitting him over the head with a bottle, hurrah! I can't remember if the part where Ian and Barbara are running a bar is missing or not, but either way it would be great to see that bit on DVD. I <3 historicals.

[calapine.livejournal.com]

I appear to have forgotten SEVERAL AWESOME MOMENTS in the story.

[wishfulaces.livejournal.com]

Are you kidding? French Revolution costume! I am all for animated!Babs in fancy dress. Really. I should just rewatch the Romans now.

[calapine.livejournal.com]

BUT I LOVE THE CRUSADE BETTTERER.

[airie-fairy.livejournal.com]

I'm excited for The Reign in Terror! I haven't gotten around to seeing it yet, and yay for being mostly intact and getting lovely Invasion-style cartoon treatment of the rest, and that's really all I need. =D

[calapine.livejournal.com]

It's quite good, I think. It's just not one of those stories than anyone seems to have a Vast Amount of Love for, so it tends to get overlooked.

[fyrdrakken]

I loved that Penelope Cruz did Captain Jack cosplay -- and loved her later outfit more -- and that she turned out to really be Blackbeard's daughter. And that she got the Captain Jack voodoo doll in the post-credits cookie, so hopefully she'll be around in another PotC movie. Also loved Ian MacShane as The Dread Pirate Swearengen Blackbeard, but I've loved what he's done since Deadwood, so. And yes, Barbossa did very well at the end there. All in all, a lot of fun. I don't know if I liked it better than the third movie, but definitely better than the second.

[calapine.livejournal.com]

The third's still my favourite but, aye, I liked this better than the second too. And I did like what they did with Cruz's character and how she contrasted with Elizabeth.