Released: 11/11/05

Viewed: 2:15pm 11/12/05

Starring: Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Jack Black, Andy Serkis, Jamie Bell

Directed by: Peter Jackson

If I just won an Oscar and was going to do my dream project, it would have been a remake of King Kong. Or Point Break. Either way Peter Jackson totally ripped me off, and in the process made an outlandishly entertaining masterpiece that is easily the most complete and entertaining work of his career.

Remake or no this is the definitive work that will put him on the map permanently as one of the greatest directors of his time. And this is the guy that made the freaking Lord of the Rings trilogy. It's his E.T. Or his Goodfellas. He's not messing around anymore.

As much as I loved the Rings films, they take a back seat to Kong because of complexity. The layers and dimensions of LotR are completely captivating, as well as necessary. To whittle them down would be disrespectful to the source, but the simplicity of Kong's story allows a more emotional connection.

Themes of beauty and love are universal and the heartbreak in the finale of this film will destroy you. It's powerful like no other movie this year. I wasn't this moved when they buried Wash.

The effects are near perfect. Ok, there are a few green screen shots where you can practically hear some AD yelling "And you're running? still running? AND THE T-REX IS RIGHT NEXT TO YOU! AND HE WANTS TO EAT YOU! GRAAAAA!" There's a "running of the bulls" sequence that is a green screen fiesta. You're constantly just pointing out the shots, or questioning how what they're doing is even possible.

The thing is, it's not like the background or creatures in these CGI-combined-with-actual-footage shots look bad. They're amazing. But the struggle to combine the two worlds has questionable moments. There are definitely some places where it's not quite right, but these scenes are so entertaining that it hardly even matters. I mean if you're not cringing as Jamie Bell teeters across a cliff with dinosaurs tumbling all around him, then ? this just in: you don't like action movies! Go watch Memories of a Geisha. Regardless, there are definitely more moments where the combination of worlds works. This could possibly be the best looking movie (of this scale) ever. Seriously.

Admittedly it does work much better when actual footage is not used. When CGI creatures are fighting CGI creatures in digitally created background. Also know as cartoons! I'm just playing. In all seriousness though, some of these creature on creature action scenes are cool beyond description. And brutal to no end! I don't think Kong could have done any more damage to that T-rex unless he had actually man raped him right there on screen.

Everyone question the choice of Jack Black as the capturer of Kong, but it worked out perfectly. Because he's a showman! This is what he does! His character lies and persuades, and charms his way to get every little thing he wants, eventually coming full circle as he "gets it" at the end. That is Jack Black. The excitable performer that will do anything to entertain, and even though it may look otherwise he always has a grasp on what's working.

But his acting is superb. You feel him dangerously treading the line, ready to fall over into "crazy Jack black land" at any second. But he keeps it together pushing where needed just enough, and pulling back when it's appropriate. Good going Jack!

Naomi Watts is a gem. Remember when she was just Nicole Kidman's friend, or the cute blonde from "the Mullholland movie"? She's really spent the last 5 years making a presence, to the point where I don't want to know a Hollywood without her.

She's brilliant and beautiful. It's easy to see why Kong fell so hard. So perfect on screen, which is just heightened because you know, she's acting to a giant green ball. She has lots of emotional scenes in this movie and she's especially strong on the top of the Empire State building. I think her only lines in that scene were "No" and "IIIEEEEEE", but she made it work.

My favorite scene of hers is in her escape from Kong. As she gets to safety and looks on the faces of the men she thought helped to save her, and realizes they could care less about her. They want the beast. Great scene that shows human nature at it's worst.

I don't care what you're doing. Stop reading this, fake sick, get out of work, and go see King Kong. Even if you hate love stories it's so worth it for the battle in the jungle. I've never seen a monster movie done this well. If King Kong was your favorite movie and you always thought that ? if you ever won an Oscar you would remake King Kong. Don't bother. It's never going to get better. And keep your hands off Point Break. That one's mine. 10 out of 10! Yeah, a freakin' 10! I could nit pick some of those green screen shots, or poke fun at some plot elements that seemed shaky, (Did they hang glide on a bat? Since when do primates like shtick? The way he was man handling her, there's no way she would have two operational legs.) but the movie rocks! So much fun. The way they were able to combine such explosive action with genuine heart, and at least a dozen laugh-out-loud moments, is a thing a beauty. Go see it.

DVD worthy?: I'm hesitant to buy these 3 hour epics on DVD because who has time to watch them? I have Fellowship of the Ring (my favorite of the LotR set) but I've only watched it through once. It's just too damn long. Still, it might be worth it for the extras. We'll have to see how it's set up.

If you liked this movie check out: King Kong

Go to the source, baby. Jackson has said how inspired he was by the original, how it was one of the reasons he wanted to make films. I would imagine his version would have a similar effect on the youngins of today.

Trailer Hitch: The Da Vinci Code

This trailer was weird. I've not read the book. I leaned over to Yeo and asked her if it was good and she had a pretty enthusiastic "Yes" waiting for me. Is it good that a trailer works well for people that know it's source, but has no effect on someone unfamiliar with it? Normally I'd say no, but when 95% of the world has read the damn book, I'd say the movie's gonna do fine.

It's Ron Howard directing which I like, and Tom Hanks playing detective, so that's enough to make me interested. But we'll see what that crazy Albino is all about?

There were a pant load of teasers with this movie. One I was excited to see was Miami Vice. Love love love Michael Mann, and I have similar feelings for stars Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx. The combination of the three should be interesting, but the teaser was only ok. I need more. MORE!

The incentive image is something that came to me while I was thinking about the comic and what different ways Kong could actually communicate with humans. Sign language immediately jumped to mind and for some reason when I think of sign language I think of a particular scene in a particular movie. I've replaced the people in that scene with Kong and myself, so if you vote you'll se us acting it out. Plus 10 cool points if you know what movie it's from. It is a little random.

That's it for Kong. Thanks for reading. Be sure to check out The Coffee Achievers (the strip I draw for Mitch Clem) which has been back strong for the past week. It's going in a cool direction. Check it out. If you're a CA fan and this is old news then get yourself a T-shirt which can be found in the Boxcar Store.

It's been a long and I'm ready for bed. Good night!