Monkey Business - King Kong ain't no donkey (all the good lines are taken)

Quick review of King Kong:

Beautifully made. You can tell Peter Jackson's love for this project. The camera just moves well, balancing kinetic and flow. The special effects are well done and there is a decent flick built out of the original King King plot. This movie makes me want to check out the original, just released in a restored by Peter Jackson DVD set.

Naomi Watts is astounding in this, really connecting with Kong to create genuine emotion. Andy Serkis is fantastic in the way he brings Kong to life without any real dialogue, relying on posturing and his eyes. A real accomplishment in acting.

It feels like 3 hours, but it held my attention for the whole thing. It was almost relentless in ratcheting up the tension with no release until the sad, inevitable finale. Once the first 2 hours are spent indulging in all the creatures, brawls, and action, we kind of rush to the premiere of Kong in New York, just like the original. The fights and chase scenes are fantastic, with some serious smackdown between Kong vs The Dinosaurs. With all the perils faced by the cast, I just had to think "Wow, Skull Island just really wants to kills these people." Does a pretty good job of it too.

Adrien Brody just runs around and tries not to die, while Jack Black tries, well, to not be Jack Black. And he ain't bad really. He is the manic huckster Carl Denham, trying to get famous, no matter who gets hurt. A good effort from Colin Hanks as Denham's assistant made me forget that he and Black co-starred in the goofy but light comedy Orange County a couple of years ago. Evan Parke as the first mate is also impressive, giving gravity to his part.

The only nagging bits were a couple "OH COME ON! You should be dead by now!!!!" moments, especially the way that Naomi Watts's character of Ann Darrow came out of her ride-along with Kong without a broken neck. The lady is an actress, not a trapeze artist, and Kong was tossing her around without the greatest of ease. And the fact that she runs around New York in winter in a flimsy white dress, and then dashes about the top of the Empire State building in stilettos without getting blown off just bugged me. Just a little thing but it pulled me out of the belief a little. But the scale of Kong on top of the Empire State building is well done, a very iconic image.

It's a fun popcorn movie, that really benefits from seeing it in a theatre. And wow, did I get my fix of giant ape vs. dinosaur action! But watch the bladder buster drinks, it is a 3 hour movie.

Film geek bit: the crate in the hold marked "Sumatran Rat Monkey". That was the creepy little bastard that caused all the havoc in Jackson's first flick Dead Alive (the one with the zombie vs. lawnmower).

Interesting bit from Entertainment Weekly: the way that Carl portrays the natives in his cheesy Broadway production of the capture of Kong is a recreation of the stereotyped portayal of natives in the original King King, down to the choreography, costumes, and white actors in make-up.