Hehe,
before I get anymore corny :), this is a review of Peter Jackson's newly - released King Kong, the third tribute from Hollywood to the 25 - foot ape :).
To start with, after LOTR Jackson had to choose between two projects - do a Godzilla or a King Kong remake, and I am thankful, he did what he did, from a person who has seen all three versions at some point of his small life (the 1933 and the 1976 versions), I don't think anyone can better what Jackson did.
After LOTR, Jackson's special effects, direction blah blah capabilities are anyways beyond doubt, but there is another parameter, which probably gives Jackson's movies that Xtra advantage over others, his portrayal of emotions and the capability of capturing the minutest of them without a word being said [remember the scene in LOTR where Boromir dies at the hands of the Orcs while defending hobbits, just plain music and some slo-mo camera-work, mind-blowing effect !]. And this is the defining contribution of Jackson to King Kong, he has made a monster movie into a humane drama which has emotions and drama beyond the obvious special effects.
The premise of the movie is pretty simple, a movie crew lands on a mythical island named Skull Island inhabited by pre-historic creatures, untouched by human intervention and enterprise [Infact, it heavily borrows from the 1912 book The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
where a group of explorers discover a similar island, but there its more about dinosaurs than giant apes and since I dont want to give away the climax, I won't talk of another startling similarity :)]. There besides meeting T-rex's and Brontosaurs, they meet King Kong, a 25-foot ape who gets enchanted with the only femme in the group [Uff ! not again :))] and the story unfolds from therein. As most of you would know, Gollum in LOTR was a CGI character but the reason he was so real was that his emotions and expressions were transmorphed from an actor named Andy Serkis, and this guy once again lends his emotions to King Kong, and believe me, you can't get anymore life-like than this. Naomi Watts as Kong's lady interest is more than adequate with her Nicole Kidmanish charms and natural acting skills. Adrian Brody [The Pianist oscar winner] is primarily wasted, because even if you put Stallone in his place, you wouldn't miss a wink, so you know what me is talking about :).
where a group of explorers discover a similar island, but there its more about dinosaurs than giant apes and since I dont want to give away the climax, I won't talk of another startling similarity :)]. There besides meeting T-rex's and Brontosaurs, they meet King Kong, a 25-foot ape who gets enchanted with the only femme in the group [Uff ! not again :))] and the story unfolds from therein. As most of you would know, Gollum in LOTR was a CGI character but the reason he was so real was that his emotions and expressions were transmorphed from an actor named Andy Serkis, and this guy once again lends his emotions to King Kong, and believe me, you can't get anymore life-like than this. Naomi Watts as Kong's lady interest is more than adequate with her Nicole Kidmanish charms and natural acting skills. Adrian Brody [The Pianist oscar winner] is primarily wasted, because even if you put Stallone in his place, you wouldn't miss a wink, so you know what me is talking about :).As I was saying, Jackson really portrays the chemistry between Watts and the King Kong brilliantly, and at times you are really moved. One of the major differences in today's and yesteyear's acting techniques is that today the actors have to acquire the nous of acting with 
what is just not there, but will be later morphed into the movie using digital techniques. Its easier to say, but imagine emoting to empty space, trying to imagine a giant dinosaur hell-bent upon eating you, tough call, eh :). Also, there is one galling flaw, which Jackson could have easily avoided. When apna Watts is attacked by three T-rexes, then King Kong in true Akshay Kumar style swoops in and fights all three in the most chivalrous manner possible :). What happens is that all of them fall in a rift, and are only stopped by dangling creepers from going to impending death. And, even then, all the T-rex wants is to eat the grrl. Now, cummon, T-rex and Velociraptors are supposedly the most intelligent species of the Dinosaur tribe. They could hunt in packs and make strategies to attack game. And, you portray them as morons. Not fair, I say. A mistake, which a certain Michael Crichton would nevver do :).
what is just not there, but will be later morphed into the movie using digital techniques. Its easier to say, but imagine emoting to empty space, trying to imagine a giant dinosaur hell-bent upon eating you, tough call, eh :). Also, there is one galling flaw, which Jackson could have easily avoided. When apna Watts is attacked by three T-rexes, then King Kong in true Akshay Kumar style swoops in and fights all three in the most chivalrous manner possible :). What happens is that all of them fall in a rift, and are only stopped by dangling creepers from going to impending death. And, even then, all the T-rex wants is to eat the grrl. Now, cummon, T-rex and Velociraptors are supposedly the most intelligent species of the Dinosaur tribe. They could hunt in packs and make strategies to attack game. And, you portray them as morons. Not fair, I say. A mistake, which a certain Michael Crichton would nevver do :).So, go ahead and watch this eminently watchable film. But, yeah don't expect too much realism, oh please, did we forget the 25-foot ape :)) ?.
Ranjan
baap re!!!! three consecutive posts about movies..!!!! I wonder if u shud try for the Limca buk of records!! :))
ReplyDeleteU are biggest movie buff i have eva cum across!!! :)
To Ruchi : If only you could read between words :)), expressing your true feelings via totally unrelated stuff is an art, ruchi :P
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