Last night was the opening night (as far as Baltimore’s historic Senator Theatre was concerned) of Pirates of the Caribbean III: At World’s End, and it did not disappoint. True, the endless plotting and counterplotting got a tad convoluted. And yes, Orlando Bloom is human celery no matter how you dress him up. And yes, the audience was, on average, five or six years younger than me, making me feel sketchy and old. But none of that got in the way of the fun (and a good thing, too, since the second movie was basically an extended preview for this one). Also notable was the response to the Harry Potter trailer, which means I’ll have to make an appearance when that opens just to see the crazy shit that’s bound to happen when that many squealing fangirls are pent up in one building. If I don’t make it back alive, assume I was killed in the stampede that will ensue when Harry actually kisses a girl. Plus: Movie Marketing Madness has a nice review of the Pirates marketing efforts here.

—Posted by David Kiefaber