Kong Fever
Hey everyone!
Big Hairy Ape who loves munching on bamboo, watching sunsets, and occasionally wrestling dinosaurs seeks damsel in distress who will make him laugh.
Yep, we saw KING KONG this weekend! Thomas and I met Jen and Dave at Dave and Buster's and after Thomas and Dave prepared by bonding over Donkey Kong, we ventured over to the cineplex. As Dave said, we all had Kong fever (him especially - he spent the previous wkend watching the 30s and 70s versions). Thomas, Jen and I had all seen the 30's on the big screen in Telluride, so we got to feel superior about that.
The movie! This is THE event movie of the year. I don't care what other claims are made - this is it. It's not my favorite movie of the year, but it is in the top 10 - maybe 5. I could not rip my eyes away from the screen for the final two hours of it, even tho as Creede predicted, the last 30 minutes were nauseating to anyone who either has a fear of heights or a motion sickness problem (I have a little of the former and a heaping helping of the latter). I was willing to get sick for it - luckily that didn't happen though. The plot to this third Kong follows 1 and 2 fairly closely. There are some character differences, but this remains the story of Beauty and the Beast - Ann Darrow and Kong. Naomi Watts is radiant and utterly fetching as Ann Darrow, a vaudevillian actress with a gift for comedy trying to make it big. She gets her shot when director Carl Denham, played by the always funny Jack Black, casts her in his latest film, written by her dream playwright, Jack Tisdale (Adrien Brody). The first hour is all set up, but it's worth it just for the shots of 30s era New York. The skyline at night glimmers beautifully and all day long the streets are bustling with cabs and commuters. Director Peter Jackson proves once again his eye for detail. But the real action begins when the cast and crew set off on a boat to find the as yet undiscovered (and unfortunately aptly named) Skull Island.
Once they arrive on the island, all hell breaks loose. The natives aren't just restless, they're full on unhinged. Rarely is an eye seen that it's not rolled back in it's socket. Being female, blond and beautiful, Ann is naturally offered up for sacrifice to the mighty Kong. Ann's survival instincts kick in and she decides to try her comedy skills on Kong in hopes of entertaining him enough that he'll decide to keep her around rather than have her for dinner. This results in a charming and funny scene and sets up one of the more surprising friendships in movie history. Watts' skills as an actress are brought out in full force, but the scene (and of course the movie itself) would never have worked had the special effects designed by Jackson's Weta Workshop not been so jaw-droppingly good. Kong was 100% real to me. Not a facial movement, snaggle tooth or roar were questionable. It was that good. And Kong wasn't the only special effect. There were dinosaurs up the wazoo. There were so many dinosaurs, that there was an actual dinosaur stampede. You don't see that every day. We all agreed Jackson did go a bit overboard with a giant insect-riddled swamp scene that will likely haunt me for years to come. I guess he just threw that one in for his own amusement. I have no idea how they do it at Weta, but they do it well. Kong made Gollum look totally fake - and everyone remembers how people raved over Gollum. The other actors all deliver fine performances - particularly Black and Brody - but this isn't their story. The movie rests on the shoulders of Watts and Kong and they pulled it off completely. Back in New York City, where Kong was captured, displayed and then hunted down, I really felt for the big ape. My disbelief was fully suspended.
-sunday
Big Hairy Ape who loves munching on bamboo, watching sunsets, and occasionally wrestling dinosaurs seeks damsel in distress who will make him laugh.
Yep, we saw KING KONG this weekend! Thomas and I met Jen and Dave at Dave and Buster's and after Thomas and Dave prepared by bonding over Donkey Kong, we ventured over to the cineplex. As Dave said, we all had Kong fever (him especially - he spent the previous wkend watching the 30s and 70s versions). Thomas, Jen and I had all seen the 30's on the big screen in Telluride, so we got to feel superior about that.
The movie! This is THE event movie of the year. I don't care what other claims are made - this is it. It's not my favorite movie of the year, but it is in the top 10 - maybe 5. I could not rip my eyes away from the screen for the final two hours of it, even tho as Creede predicted, the last 30 minutes were nauseating to anyone who either has a fear of heights or a motion sickness problem (I have a little of the former and a heaping helping of the latter). I was willing to get sick for it - luckily that didn't happen though. The plot to this third Kong follows 1 and 2 fairly closely. There are some character differences, but this remains the story of Beauty and the Beast - Ann Darrow and Kong. Naomi Watts is radiant and utterly fetching as Ann Darrow, a vaudevillian actress with a gift for comedy trying to make it big. She gets her shot when director Carl Denham, played by the always funny Jack Black, casts her in his latest film, written by her dream playwright, Jack Tisdale (Adrien Brody). The first hour is all set up, but it's worth it just for the shots of 30s era New York. The skyline at night glimmers beautifully and all day long the streets are bustling with cabs and commuters. Director Peter Jackson proves once again his eye for detail. But the real action begins when the cast and crew set off on a boat to find the as yet undiscovered (and unfortunately aptly named) Skull Island.
Once they arrive on the island, all hell breaks loose. The natives aren't just restless, they're full on unhinged. Rarely is an eye seen that it's not rolled back in it's socket. Being female, blond and beautiful, Ann is naturally offered up for sacrifice to the mighty Kong. Ann's survival instincts kick in and she decides to try her comedy skills on Kong in hopes of entertaining him enough that he'll decide to keep her around rather than have her for dinner. This results in a charming and funny scene and sets up one of the more surprising friendships in movie history. Watts' skills as an actress are brought out in full force, but the scene (and of course the movie itself) would never have worked had the special effects designed by Jackson's Weta Workshop not been so jaw-droppingly good. Kong was 100% real to me. Not a facial movement, snaggle tooth or roar were questionable. It was that good. And Kong wasn't the only special effect. There were dinosaurs up the wazoo. There were so many dinosaurs, that there was an actual dinosaur stampede. You don't see that every day. We all agreed Jackson did go a bit overboard with a giant insect-riddled swamp scene that will likely haunt me for years to come. I guess he just threw that one in for his own amusement. I have no idea how they do it at Weta, but they do it well. Kong made Gollum look totally fake - and everyone remembers how people raved over Gollum. The other actors all deliver fine performances - particularly Black and Brody - but this isn't their story. The movie rests on the shoulders of Watts and Kong and they pulled it off completely. Back in New York City, where Kong was captured, displayed and then hunted down, I really felt for the big ape. My disbelief was fully suspended.
-sunday
posted by Sunday at
3:10 PM
1 Comments:
kong is good. niels dragged me to this movie kicking and screaming (haven't seen any of the kongs, and didnt plan on seeing this one), but i have to say it was very, very well done. loved the new york scenes, loved kong, loved naomi. could have done without the nasty swamp creatures (esp the head eating one). good flick.
-cyd
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Anonymous, at 12/27/2005 3:48 AM
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