Kim Gentes

Classic Kong becomes King of CGI Movies

In one fell swoop Peter Jackson remade an iconic film, rewrote an iconic story, and reinvented an iconic character in King Kong. How was it- spectacular! Mostly :) The story line became as compelling and obsessive as Jack Black's interpretation of Carl Denham. Naomi Watts was perfect as Ann Darrow. I liked that Jackson stayed close to the original story, though it was troublesome for me as a man to think of a beautiful woman falling in love with an ape.

One thing that was excellent was the set, costume, and character renderings of the World War I era, both in New York and on Skull Island. The natives on the island were positively horrific in their terror, feeling like I was back in the zombie film of 28 Days Later. I suppose if I lived on an island where you had to keep a monster gorilla from consuming your village by offering one of your own as a sacrifice on a regular basis, I might develop a culture of fear too.

Speaking of the island, I wasn't really expecting to run into Steven Speilberg on this adventure, but it was a clear nod to Jurrasic Park as the herione runs from the bite of valoceraptors to T-rex that we feel like we might have taken a detour into another film momentarily. Still, the film really doesn't create the situation from nothing. It provides the "homeland" for our Kong, in which you find out why he is truly the king of his island. Some people have complained that the picture takes too long on Skull Island, but for me, I think it is a great development. I also truly enjoyed the character development of Ann Darrow, showing her plight as a stage performer who loses her job (as the vaudville theatres close down) and considers the possibility of having to dance in a burlesque club (the early 20th century version of peepshow porn houses).

Not much fails in this film, though there are a couple of points that render into the absurd. When Adrien Brody's Jack Driscoll character takes off to single-handedly rescue Ann Darrow, he somehow finds her and Kong instantly. This would be fine if the rest of the movie allowed for time lapses and cut aways and openings in similar fashion. But the rest of the movie leaves no such thing to imagination, so this one abberation seems unrealistic. There is also a literal cliff hanger scene in which Ann Darrow, King Kong and 4 T-rex attackers all re-enact a scene from The Emperor's New Groove in which Kuzco and Kronk swing from entangling vines trying to hit one another. This scene was supposed to be a "cliff hanger" but quickly turned into humor. I kept thinking it was so absurd I wasn't sure if Jackson meant me to laugh or meant it as serious suspense. I laughed anyways.

What makes the film tower above its namesake film of 1933 is the incredible voiceless performance of Andy Serkis as Kong himself. The acting in this film is what makes it the new standard in monster films. Yes the CGI is amazing, the directing is artful, but the acting makes it work and really engage the audience.

You won't be disappointed in the 3 hours plus that it will take to watch this film. For the parents out there-- the fight scenes aren't any more frightning than anything you've scene in films like Jurrasic Park, but the shots and interaction with the Skull Island villagers will scare any child under 12 (even if they don't admit it). Seeing this film will be a waste of time on DVD, unless you have a 60 inch or larger screen-- REALLY! See this in the theatre!

Phoenix & Witherspoon Walk the Line

"Walk the Line" is an Oscar level story with excellent acting and direction, transporting the audience into the world of music legend Johnny Cash. It would be hard to beat the amazing true-life plot line that surrounds the icon, Cash. This is easily the best actual story on film for 2005. The directing is likewise worthy and makes important delineation on not rewriting the real history of the man with some unrealistic vision of Cash. In fact, the director here walks the tightest line of all the contributors. Director James Mangold (who also directed the amazing "Identity") aptly nuances Cashes failures with his amazing strengths. While he never once lets us forget that Cash was a talent that underestimated even himself, he also communicates clearly that Johnny knowingly walked the line into some of his darkest self inflicted pain. What I like about Mangold's handling of the picture is that he paints Cash with a real brush of real life, not some Cinderella who handled success perfectly, not some premadonna who reached out to the little people.

But the best part of this movie is the walk-the-line performance of Reese Witherspoon as June Carter. She eclipses Joaquin Phoenix in this film, through her dead-on portrayal of Cash's love. Scenes that needed emotional insecurity from Witherspoon danced perfectly along the line of thin trepidation. Scenes that needed strong clarity of purpose, show a real June Carter who's internal self assessments kept her need for external comforting (from the adoring public) at a negligible level. She played the role so well, you stopped thinking of this as a movie about someone.. you thought it was the actual people.

The visuals in the film were much less impressive than I expected them to be. With the careers and venues that the performer appeared at, it seemed like the intensity of the movie wasn't what it should be, given the impact of the performer on the culture of his day. It's hard to put your finger on something that wasn't there, but to me, the cinematography just felt like it didn't wake us up any point in the film. This ought not be the case, as we saw from the striking camera work and scenery from desolate locations such as the mining ranges of Minnesota in the recent film, "North Country".

That said, "Walk the Line" gets a strong rating from me (A-), but falls short of being in the most elite films category. This movie is certainly worth your money at the box office, but be aware that it will also take a bit of time. The 2 hours 15 minutes this film consumes seems long enough if you are watching the clock, but if you are as engrossed as the other 95% of the viewers in the theatre, you will wish you had another 30 or 40 minutes with this excellent story telling cast. Definitely go see this film on the big screen.

Stay..... home.

This story is a reasonable plot and does have an acceptable summation. But when it comes right down to it, this film is not nearly as smart as it thinks it is. I enjoy psycho-thrillers and brain-teasers a lot. I loved everything from eclectic "Primer", to very smart "Momento" to personable "the Jacket", and even the relational "Butterfly Effect". So when I hear there is a good new twist coming out in a movie, I am looking forward to it. But the bottom line here is that the movie promises a lot, but delivers pretty light. There is no real shock, no real surprise. And while the concept is acceptable to the viewer, you come away thinking they ran out of thinking too quickly.

Some will argue that the film delivers spot on with the promises, using the thought-free story to justify the thought-free ending. I don't buy it. I understand it, I just don't buy it. What is even more dissappointing is that the acting here is very good. But the story just has nothing for them to live up to, so the movie lives and dies by the plot.

This is one that works for a "I can't think of anything else to watch" video rental night, but not for shelling out $18 a couple at the local theatre, and another $15 for snacks. The movie is no way that good.

Like I say, for this movie "Stay... home!"

Clarity about human struggle & womens issues

North Country is a conscientious picture about workplace sexual harassment. The film is loosely based on the book "Class Action" which documents the landmark 1984 legal case of Lois Jensen. Directory Niki Caro and writer Michael Seitzman graft a story out of various characters in the book and present the composite (along with some of their own story writing) in the character of Josey Aimes (played by Charlize Theron).

The struggle of a single mother, along with a case of ongoing workplace sexual harassment is clearly articulated by the movie. Theron does a good job of holding the character together, piecing the personality together from the script and acting genuine in the emotional interactions. Some of the best dialog, though, is given by other characters, especially Richard Jenkins who plays Theron's father. Along with Frances McDermond, cast as a gruff and tough woman mine worker, the supporting cast is very crisp and convincing.

The setting for this film is the mining country of Minnesota. The real nuances of life in the frozen world of the north are brought out quite well. The film stutters a little in the court room scenes, especially at the conclusion of the movie. This is partly because the fiction the movie is now being weaved with the reality of the actual case. The emotional turnabout in concluding the film seems somewhat contrived, and I doubt the details given here come from actual inspired true story.

Still, as a whole North Country is very clear about its agenda, and frankly it does a good job not exacerbating the stereo typical "men hater" film that has pervaded the likes of Lifetime television and other feminist agenda platforms. Instead, North Country, deals fairly with the people in its story. Some men are bad, others are good. But don't worry, there is plenty of bad guys to go around with this film. The sinister nature of sexual harassment and its shameful hidden supporters is brought to life. Still because the plot doesn't stretch beyond or glorify the abuse into fiction, you feel that the story is real, and it makes you evaluate its premise.

That said, North Country was not as compelling as it might have been. The characters were not developed as deeply as they might have been. The film goes just 2 hours, 6min, which seems long enough, unless you are actually trying to create a great character and tell a detailed story. Some time was taken with the courtroom scene that really could have been condensed into a much shorter segment. In the end, it feels like you got the idea, but not as much of the character grit and life as you would have liked. And as I mentioned before, the court room drama itself, movie the film back to Hollywood, with its courtroom banter and lack of true legal decorum. And Hollywood is a sad place to leave a film that could have been much more real.

This film is definitely worth seeing and powerful, but not enough to make it Oscar material, in my opinion.

Still looking for some proof....

I went to this film with relatively average hopes.. Gwyneth Paltrow has never really impressed me, and this film doesn't help her any. She doesn't do a very good job at convincing anyone of the conflict and tension her character is supposed to be going through (contrast this to Jodie Fosters superb work in the otherwise weak film of Flightplan). Paltrow is mildly emotional, but lacking any realism or intensity in her portrayal of a 20-something daughter of a legendary mathematician, who has died in a state of weakening mental health. The tension is supposed to be that Paltrows character is feared to have inheritted the madness from her father (played by Anthony Hopkins). But Paltrow lacks the ability as an actress to pull off this kind of character sketch with out a superb dialog and script.

The story here is reasonable, an actually enjoyable in its execution, but both Paltrow and her love-interest (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) leave the film adled for real talent in this mind-centered film.

I liked what they did to develop the story, but its too bad the characters couldn't cut the mustard.

See this if you always wanted to be a great mathematician, but instead chose to take up a career in film. Once you see it, go make something better, or go back to the math department.