Since I’m on the subject of monsters. . .
My peeps got back from seeing Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End part (what is is now?) 
three. And they all had the same opinion:
The sets and creatures were cool, but the movie was dumb.
Hmm. I’ve heard that before. In fact, it appears to be a trend these days. No story? No problem. Just add more monsters. Is it me or is Hollywood prone to cover up plot and character deficiencies with — you got it — more special effects?
I wasn’t that impressed with the first Pirates and haven’t seen one since. Although the Cthulu-like character introduced in volume two piqued my interest, the reviews stunk. But even a 47% Rotten Tomatoes rating couldn’t keep the latest from making over $200 million in just two weeks. Neither could more bad reviews. From Jeffrey Overstreet’s review at Christianity Today:
If you choose to join this rowdy cruise, plan to purchase a couple of meals’ worth of popcorn and soda. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End packs more characters, more action, more surprises, and more metaphysical nonsense into 168 minutes—yes, that’s right, almost three hours—than most adventure trilogies contain in their whole series.
The previous Pirates movies have shown a flair for the grotesque, and this time, they pull out all the stops. In fact, they dismember them. Characters have a troubling tendency to snap off digits, gouge out eyes (and suck on them), rip brains out of craniums (and lick them), and yank out beating hearts (and maybe even stab them).
You’ll notice I haven’t summarized the story yet. That’s because it would take hours to diagram the crisscrossing currents of this narrative. Screenwriters Ted Elliott and Ted Rossio fail to rekindle the chemistry of the characters in Dead Man’s Curse, and their turbulent pacing sinks the storyline’s coherence rather spectacularly. We’re left flailing about, grasping at pieces of the narrative’s wreckage, while it all eventually goes down in a whirlpool of chaotic action as powerful as the Charybdis.
Hey, this Charybdis creature looks cool! Either way, while the critics crank out lukewarm to chilly reviews, the Disney juggernaut is sailing into a golden sunset.
Okay, so I’ve got a soft spot for monsters — the slimy, oozing, foaming, scaly, lumbering, writhing; it’s all good. Give me some tentacles, fangs and jaundiced eyes and I’m happy. Which creates a dilemma. 
How can I be a snobbish connoisseur of fine films and still enjoy this crap? I mean, should I sit through a bad movie just because it has good special effects? Or do “good special effects” make “bad movies” not-so-bad? So what if the Pirates‘ plot is “a whirlpool of chaotic action” — it has a guy with an octopus face! What more can I want?
To date, Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings may have the best combination of CGI effects and story. Sure, there were monsters — cave trolls, Balrogs and Ents. But the strength of the movie was the myth, the characters, and the quest. LotR proves it doesn’t have to be either/or. Still, by the looks of it, and despite so many rotten tomatoes, I’ll probably get suckered into Pirates. . . at least, on DVD.
So does this mean monsters make the movie? I’m not sure. But it’s obvious that enough of them will make millions.
I liked the movie, and I’m not afraid to say it. So call me a movie imbecile, if you’d like. Christianity Today lost me when they said more good things about the Left Behind movie than Rent.
My older daughter was the one who convinced me to see the first one and there’s so many cool sets and creatures, she swears I’ll love two and three. On her recommendation, I’ll see it. Besides, ever since Shine I’ve liked Geoffrey Rush. So I guess that’ll make both of us “movie imbeciles.”
I loved one and two, but three was too long and too confusing. The popcorn was good.
I loved the first one. I thought Depp was fabulous, and Bloom and Knightley were an adorable spunky couple. And, hey, Geoffrey Rush. The Mir ADORES Geoffrey Rush, an actor they need to use a whole lot more, if you ask me.
So, I waited quite a while after it was out on DVD to see the second part, mostly cause the first one felt nicely resolved to me and I didn’t see the need for part two. But hey, Depp is so cool as Sparrow, I watched. And…it had Bill Nighy, who I also find cool. But it was rather…I dunno…lacking. The stunts were astounding, but it felt hollow. Then Geoffrey Rush shows up at the end. This means I MUST see #3 when it comes on DVD, cause, well, GEOFFREY RUSH and I find out how it ends. And, please, Lord, let this be the end.
I have not and refuse to watch the LEFT BEHIND movies. Just the preview I saw on tv looked amazingly schlocky. And I still have brain damage from The Omega Code. (No, No, I must forget.)
Mir