turn on | tune in | strung out

King Kong was an awesome film. If your love is for High Fantasy, Jungle folklore, sociocultural commentary, tart satirical thrust, or a tragic romance of lost souls, Peter Jacksons KING KONG is a whopper of a great tale. A telling narrative of desperate lives caught up in the desperate times of The Great Depression, this KING KONG showcases what desperation will drive one to do, and the price to be paid for such ventures. Those who thrilled to what Jackson, his co-writers, and his SFX team at WETA achieved in bring THE LORD OF THE RINGS to cinematic life will not be let down here. Those who swear by that classic RKO original starring Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong will have much reason to cheer. The basic innocence of that original has been enhanced by Jackson astutely depicting the corruptive period from which it sprang. The Depression -a cheery Al Jolson at the start of the film notwithstanding- was anything but a good time. Special notice must be paid to Jack Black (whose Carl Denham is less the film warrior of Robert Armstrong , and more the okeydoke peddler), Evan Parke (whose Hayes is a wary figure of tragic wisdom), Adrien Brody (whose Jack Driscoll is a brilliant commentary on the struggle of creative artists amidst commercial booshwah) and Naomi Watts (whose Ann Darrow does the renowned ingénue played by Fay Wray proud, while adding layers of wit and depth all her own) Too, Andy Serkis (who stunned us as Gollum in the RING trilogy) delivers a Chaplin-worthy tour de force of thespian body language as the Great Ape. Between the insightful pantomime of Serkis, and the equally inspired Broadway trouping of Watts, the story is centered not on lust misplaced, but haunted travelers striking a deep, ill-fated bond. Get the 2 disc special edition if you want a deeper look into the art of filmmaking. Whatever you choose, pick up this film, and enjoy its absorbing, enchanted tale.

I agree. The mentor-mentee relationship had potential. However, once you get Kong to NY, how are you going to get the crew involved at all? If I remember correctly, the canyon scene with the critters was not in the original. I remember reading there was a rumor that it was filmed for the original, but then cut -- aparently Jackson wanted to put it back.

The on-screen chemistry between Kong and Ann rivals Gollum and Frodo/Sam for actors interacting witha pure CG character. I thought it was truely impressive. For two consecutave movies (or 4 depending on how you count), Jackson has made the audience really "feel" for the CG characters, which is really incredible when you think about it.

My parents saw Brokeback Mountain and said it was an incredible movie. I'm not sure I want to pay theater prices for it... I hope it gets to DVD before the Oscars.

Has anyone seen Narnia yet?

I liked the movie, except for the nastastic creepy crawlers, the suckers seemed right out of Starship Troopers, but what happened to Jamie Bell's character - they were setting him to be a metaphor for the movie, he was always reading Conrad and was found drifting in the water, but then he DISAPPEARED! Jackson dropped the ball on a very important point...the kid was even goign to be lonely after his mentor died...i was sad.

And John Stewart - Im pysched - might even stay awake past the monologue.