serinde

Led a minor horde to see King Kong last night. I'm not sure why, exactly, I was so very eager--I've never seen any of the earlier versions, and what I did know (to wit, giant ape + screaming blonde + Empire State Building + biplanes) might incline me to a matinee but not Opening Night Mania. But, there it was, and in the event it proved a deserving vessel for the excitement.

Must check out more Adrien Brody. 150% Swoon-Worthy Or Your Money Back. Not classically handsome (not with that beak on him!) but somehow...oh yes, I'll take three. It helped, I'm sure, that the character he was playing was very close to that mythical perfect man: sensitive, intelligent, witty, and yet capable of being Dashingly Heroic in the clinch--but just enough nerd quotient that he doesn't seem like a plastic icon. Anyways, steamy-hot from all directions.

Naomi Watts: the word that kept coming to mind was "luminous". She's come a long way since Jet Girl, baby. (Not that I didn't love her as Jet, but it's not exactly what you call a career-building role.) Nice attention to detail: note that her hair has started to grow out on the trip from NYC to Kong's island, and then when they're back in the States it's short again, per the fashion.

And, that really was the role Jack Black was born to play. He plays up the selfish sleaziness to the point where you're ready to root for him to get eaten by a passing monster, and then he'll turn around and be human at you. And then switch back before you get all sentimental. Perfect.

It's amazing how far Peter Jackson has pushed the special-effects envelope. You would swear on a stack of Bibles there was an actual giant fucking ape hopping around in front of the camera, and there's none of that fake-feeling you usually get from CGI. Warning: he just can't bloody well let go of the creepy-crawlies, so people who share my issues should look away when Our Heroes wake up in the deep dark chasm. He apparently had a checklist of all the critters that I can't cope with and was determined to hit them all, as the only one he missed was octopuses.

I could have wished for fewer Huns and Neanderthals in the audience. It wasn't too bad, not like some I've seen, but we had a dweeb pack immediately to the left who failed to Get It and kept snorking at inappropriate moments, and a few more like them scattered throughout. Feh.

Anyways, go see it. On the big screen, duh.

ObMusic: the creation of this post occasioned a roundtable discussion about the proper plural of "octopus". And then that song got stuck in my head. Hmph.