KING KONG

[Harold_Z]

.........although Fay Wray's performance stands the test of time. Maybe Robert Armstrong (Carl Denham) does too. Naomi Watts is just as terrific in the Ann Darrow role as Fay was and a comparison here is futile.

Jack Black in the Carl Denham role plays it like Denham is Orson Welles. Nice touch. He came off to me as a less likeable character than in the original, which is odd since I like and admire Orson Welles. Somehow Robert Armstrong was just as ambitious and a publicity seeking showman archetype, but for some reason he brought it off and was more likeable. Maybe he played it lighter. That Jack Black is less likeable is intentional............. I think.

KONG is the real star though. For once he looks pretty realistic. That and other great special effects and three hours went by really quickly.

BTW - The 1930s Manhattan look seemed very credible. Anachronisms really bug me and I didn't catch any here. And that applies to the music as well..it all fit the time very nicely. At least my understanding of it from a MUCH later date of course. Seems to be a positive trend in some movies...I thought ROAD TO PERDITION did a good job in this regard also. Again, both visually and audibly.

Edited December 30, 2005 by Harold_Z

[Alexander]

I agree that it's a great film, but it has been discussed elsewhere...

[PHILLYQ]

BTW - The 1930s Manhattan look seemed very credible. Anachronisms really bug me and I didn't catch any here. And that applies to the music as well..it all fit the time very nicely. At least my understanding of it from a MUCH later date of course. Seems to be a positive trend in some movies...I thought ROAD TO PERDITION did a good job in this regard also. Again, both visually and audibly.

[Dan Gould]

I don't think these count as anachronisms.

Now, you wanna talk anachronisms, how about an upper class girl giving someone the finger in 1912?

[7/4]

I like the Uncle Meat version.

[jazzbo]

That's funny. . . I haven't thought about the Uncle Meat version in ages.

I saw the film today. I thought Jackson NAILED it and sold the story so well. The pacing was excellent. The acting had the right elements of camp and seriousness. The visuals were stunning, and some of the action was different (that falling dinosaur fight was something else for instance) than a lot of the other movies of this nature.

I enjoyed this more than any one of the LOR movies; I liked those but walked away from the theaters hardly thinking of them again. This one I have a different reaction to. Man, one of the best action movies I've seen in a long time. I'm very impressed.

PS: I do think that one of those phrases WOULD be an anachronism (I don't know, even seventy plus years ago "I know the deal" might well roll off American capitalist lips imo). . . but I didn't hear it that way. . . I heard it as "failure is only momentary."

Edited December 30, 2005 by jazzbo

[Harold_Z]

I saw the film today. I thought Jackson NAILED it and sold the story so well. The pacing was excellent. The acting had the right elements of camp and seriousness. The visuals were stunning, and some of the action was differnt (that falling dinosaur fight was something else for instance).

There's a neat link to that fight on the thread that Alexander points to in his post. (Sorry Alexander - I had forgotten about that original thread. )

[Alexander]

PS: I do think that one of those phrases WOULD be an anachronism (I don't know, even seventy plus years ago "I know the deal" might well roll off American capitalist lips imo). . . but I didn't hear it that way. . . I heard it as "failure is only momentary."

I've seen the film twice. "Failure is only momentary" is the line.