+ pirates of the caribbean: dead man’s chest

Director: Gore Verbinski Cast: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightly, Jack Davenport, Jonathan Pryce, Bill Nighy 7.5/10

One of the really spectacular moments is when towards the end Captain Jack Sparrow (dare not call him just Jack Sparrow, unless one wants to be snapped at by Keira!), prepares to meet the huge sea monster Kraken opening up behind him. It makes up for the rather dragged-out sequence that led to it, and after it one is enthusiastically nodding with Keira that, yes, one is impatient to journey to the earth’s end in sequel Pirates 3 to bring back Captain Sparrow, and for that mission, there’s an entry at the end that startles and delights. Which is something one would have wished a little more of in this sequel to the first part, Pirates of The Sea: The Curse of The Black Pearl.

Delightful moments there are many, but not enough that startle or keep one in suspense. Even in the much talked-about ambiguity in Captain Sparrow’s character, there is nothing really much that’s unexpected, though he is supposed to keep one guessing about his true intentions. But that is not to for a moment dispute that as a character he is not fabulous and that his foppish, sexually ambiguous and devilish kinkiness doesn’t go down brilliantly with the young and the old alike. And it’s not difficult to understand why his compass when in Keira’s hand points towards him as the thing she wants most.

By themselves most of the sequences work well, whether it is the sequence with Naomie Harris as Tia Dalma, who tells them the fable behind the dead man’s chest, or when Orlando first meets Captain Sparrow in this sequel and finds him in the clutches of a group of cannibals who are convinced he is their god and want to liberate him from his human form!

The sequence on the island where the chest is found is full of fun moments, too, especially the fight on top of the giant water wheel and, of course, the sight of The Flying Dutchman is breathtaking. But problem begins when some of the sequences simply do not want to end, and the tentacles of the sea monsters and the grotesque forms of the ghoulish crew of the legendary Davy Jones fail to make one wince with disgust or fear after some time. One would rather have seen more of Jack Sparrow. Sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow.

+ arjun

Director: Hara Pattanaik Cast: Anubhav, Rameshwari, Pradumna Lenka, Debu Bose, Gargi, Hara Pattanaik 3.5/10

This is another vendetta saga [dubbed from Oriya]. The death of a honest firefighter is avenged by his son, here comes the twist, and wife. Anubhav for the first half of the film plays Hrithik in Koi...Mil Gaya, and for the next half Sunny Deol in Ghayal. The female lead is camera-free but the camera is not that free with her. Come on guys, even cameramen have some aesthetic sense. Anubhav looks fabulous in the new hairstyle; however he still needs a new accent. Admitted this is an action film, but people would like to understand what he is saying, anyway. The mother (Rameshwari) teaches the son ways of battle, even swordfighting, but one wonders why would anybody need to know rock-climbing to rise against the system? But, there it is and thus the audience gets to see the little training scenes we love so much.

However, an ominous feeling of dread creeps over as the mother urges the son to murder and even physically assists him. As the final wishful thinking, they even get away with it. Murder in the name of student power, even in Calcutta, is very hard to take. In Arjun, the action scenes are handled with some semblance of professionalism. The crowd cheers to see the ‘Indian mother’ in this new avataar, and it is proved once again that the only way to fight the system is through the shortcut of physical violence. Amid the wild clapping of blood-thirsty co-viewers, the yells of the villain, the cry of the hero and the smirk of the mother (he has just killed another) we heard a strange tune...Nero playing his fiddle.