Stranded In The Southland

Saturday, February 26, 2005

The Shining and Pirates of the Carribean

I was blown away by The Shining. Yow, what a film. I don't usually go in for horror flicks, but I decided to check out this one because it is such a classic.

I can see why -- the hairs on the back of my neck really did stand up. Only two people died in the movie, but it was utterly terrifying. Kubrick just rocks. Everything was so low-key, that it seemed all the more horrible. Yow.

After watching The Shining, I sat down to The Pirates of the Carribean with my sweetie. To my surprise and delight, this was a fun flick! Johnny Depp was bouncing off the walls and chewing up the scenery as pirate Captain Jack Sparrow. It was all pretty silly and cliched, but it somehow turned out to be wonderful.

Keira Knightly, as the pirate obsessed, not-particularly helpless chick in the flick, was very solid. Her enthusiasm and leadership seemed somehow organic, rather than some taped-on, silly plot device. All in all, barring the incredably weak last five minutes, this was an awesomely fun little film. Check it out!