Yo ho ho

I lunched yesterday with Zoe, her other half and a shadowy dealer who was feeding Z's current DVD addiction. We went to Il Buongustaio, her favourite little Italian trattoria. And very nice it was too. I said I’d give them a mention. I had pasta. I think. Can’t remember much, Quarsan kept filling up my wineglass.

As the weather had broken temporarily and it was too damp and grey to visit Brussels-les-Bains, the artificial beachfront along the canal modelled on Paris-Plages (apparently Amsterdam are doing it too -- are there no new ideas left in the world?) I decided to get Z away from the telly for a few hours and dragged her off to the cinema to see Pirates of the Caribbean II: Dead Man's Chest (her kids had made their own arrangements to see it, before anyone accuses me of leading a Good Mother - ha! - astray). There are some quirky little art-house cinemas in Brussels, as well as a number of thumping great multiplexes. The UGC cinema at Place Brouckère, in the centre of Brussels, has several screens, but one is spectacularly huge with great ornate golden Egyptian-themed frescos and mouldings, reminding me of the ground floor of Harrods. One almost expected a man playing a Wurlitzer to rise out of the orchestra pit. Seats are comfy with loads of leg room. Food and drink is allowed (which I disapprove of) but as it thankfully wasn’t heaving with kids (the advantage of waiting a few weeks after a film is released) the smell of a few bags of chips didn’t pervade the whole cinema. I am a bit of a Film Bough (geddit?) and love the experience of going to the pictures, or the Bioscoop, as our Flemish friends call it. Big screen, complete darkness, I can completely lose myself in a film. A couple of hours in the cinema watching a good movie and I am refreshed as if after a week’s holiday. Don’t tell my employers that, though.

Anyway, back to the film. It was a Jolly Good Romp, although not as good as Pirates no.1. They’d gone overboard (geddit?) on the special effects, which were a bit overdeveloped, in any case the Johnny Depp scenes are best. Something about a man in eyeshadow. “Captain Jack” obviously got the best lines and hairdresser, but there were a few clever little throwaway comments, including a fleeting poke at the National Rifle Association which made me smile. Apparently Bill Nighy is in it, not that you’d know. I don’t think it is suitable for small children, there is a significant amount of gratuitousness scariness. I jumped out of my seat once or twice myself. The musical soundtrack was wonderful, great swashbuckling stuff composed by Hans Zimmer (a German! must tell Bert), and you can listen to extracts on the film's website

The film finishes on a cliffhanger, leaving you panting for Pirates III (which has already been filmed, I gather, and may or may not feature a cameo appearance by Keith Richards, fag-end and coconuts optional). On a tip-off from one of Z's readers, we sat through about 20 minutes of credits (how many best boys does one film need for heaven’s sake?) for the little scene at the end, which is worth waiting for.

I give Pirates II a a DWB Ten out of Ten. Nothing like a bit of total escapism to sweeten the bitter pill which is the end of the holidays.