Yarr! Avast, mateys! And other assorted pirate things! The latest giant film in this summer of giant films is “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.” I think it’s the best film in the series — much less chaotic and much more coherent than the last one, in particular.

You know, I pride myself on being a fairly non-snooty movie critic. I like plenty of “popcorn movies” as well as the kinds of movies that film critics stereotypically like. And yet the whole “Pirates” things escapes me. I was surprised when the first one was a huge hit, and downright mystified when the second one became the 6th highest-grossing film of all time. It’s not that I don’t enjoy high-flying swashbuckling adventures; it’s that these particular high-flying swashbuckling adventures struck me as overlong, overcomplicated, and overproduced. And not in a fun way.

Anyway, I think the new one is better, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Adding to my enjoyment was the fact

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I found myself in Provo, Utah, on Monday, and I went to see a performance by the Thrillionaires, an improv group started last year by some of my friends. It was the second show of theirs I’d seen, and I continue to be astounded at their level of talent.

It’s not just improv comedy, you see. Most of the performers are ComedySportz veterans, or alumni of other comic organizations, and they’ve mastered the improvisation skills. With the Thrillionaires, they take it to another level.

Usually the first half of the show is a 40-minute improvised play in a particular style. Past themes have included Oscar Wilde, Tennessee Williams, and film noir. This week it was John Steinbeck: dusty, impoverished people working on ranches in the 1930s, that sort of thing. The Thrillionaires’ on-the-spot creation was hilarious, multi-layered, and even a little touching.

In the second half of the show, they often do a musical. Improvising a musical is hard enough, and they tend to make it even more rigorous

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I was in Utah for a few days last week, visiting friends and family in my old stomping grounds. It’s always nice to see my bros and hos in the Beehive State.

On Monday, a couple of fun things happened. I had a few minutes before I was supposed to be somewhere, so I stopped at the Barnes & Noble in Orem to browse. There was an exceptionally large crowd of people milling around, many of them youngsters, so I wondered if I’d happened upon a field trip of some kind. Then I saw that an autograph-signing was in progress, featuring Brandon Mull, author of the “Fablehaven” books.

Brandon and I are both BYU alumni, and we’ve occasionally crossed paths over the years. He was part of Divine Comedy, the sketch troupe that was inspired by my Garrens Comedy Troupe, and now of course we’re both writers. Except he writes fiction, and he has fabulously well-attended book-signings.

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