I've Seen King Kong.

[JSA]

I just got home from seeing King Kong!

Verdict: Very, very, very good.

The action sequences and cg work were both totally amazing.

I didn't even come close to crying, but it was well acted all around.

I'll be taking the family to see it soon, as it is more than worth the admission price.

JS

 

[mlarsen]

I just got back from seeing King Kong. I had HIGH expectations for this movie. I was not disappointed. It was much better than I could ever imagined!
I might even see it a couple more times while it's in the theater.

 

[prophecygirl]

Just got back from seeing KK, and me and my Dad both thought it was amazing

 

[Lynxje]

I've seen it 2 days ago (advance screening in belgium) and I agree it's amazing. The scenes with the dinosaurs in it are truly some of the best FX ever on film and at times it's pretty funny too. Haven't seen Narnia yet (isn't running anywhere around before the 21st) but I think this one is my movie of the year.

I'm going to have to get the V-rex vs Kong piece now though, which kinda sucks.....

 

[Beruthiel]

My dad went with me and he liked it as well. He said he would probably go see it again and would for sure want to own it on DVD. Now, my dad is in no way a major LOTR fan he likes the story/films but is nothing like me for example so it was funny when on the way home he goes, "Kong was very good but it's no LOTR." He felt it was maybe 30 mins too long but hey it's late and the guy is 52 years old it's past his bedtime. :lmao Just kidding to all those around that age. Like I said we both really enjoyed the flick and have no real complaints about it.

ok, I saw it yesterday. And, I have to agree with Josh's dad, 30 minutes too long. I saw it during the day, so it did not interfere with my bedtime, but a couple of the fight scenes were just too long and got boring IMO. Overall, it was a very good movie, but sorry to say, I enjoyed Narnia more. oh well, what can I say. It just dragged in too many parts to keep me interested.

 

[LOTRFan]

I saw Kong last night and wanted to post my own thoughts on the film:

SPOILERS

1) Tidbits - did anyone else catch PJ's daughter in the opening minute of the film, she walks quickly past the camera. Which likely means his son is there too, I will look the second time.

2) Homage to the Original - I enjoyed the RKO, Cooper and Fay lines. The score during the unveiling was from the original (or parts were). Of course the log scene too, and the line about "beauty." I loved the moment when Kong is playing with the T-Rex's mouth, that was straight out of the original. Also when Kong sees his wounds on top of the Empire State Building.

3) Things I didn't care for - The Central Park scene, that was just too much. It was forced and almost campy, making the audience feel for Kong and Ann. I really got tired of the SLOW MOTION, why oh why was there so much of that? I also didn't care for the moment when Andy Serkis' character is being eaten by the sphincter-thing, I am pretty sure there was a deliberate Gollum voice that came out, "get it off." Also the Bronto scene did go about 2 mins too long, and the end in which you have the 405 (CA members get this) at 6 pm was a bit over the top.

All in all, I enjoyed the film a lot, it wasn't perfect; but the enhancement of Denham's character was a plus as was the change with Ann once she returns to NY.

 

[prophecygirl]

I may be in the minority, but the Central Park scene was one of my favourites

Oh, and I highly recommend the score CD - brilliant music!

 

[Lookin4Precious]

Agreed, central park scene was beautiful. very nicely done.

As for my thoughts.. saw it last night, seeing it again tonight. If that doesn't tell you how i felt about it... well... absolutely amazing. PJ did an unfathomably good job with this. All around. It literally had EVERYTHING you could ask for.

The one thing i'll add is (CAMEO SPOILER....).. did anyone else notice Howard Shore conducting the orchestra at the Broadway show of "King Kong: Eigth Wonder of the World"? At first I thought "WOW! How cool! I love that things are still good between them so much so that PJ would put him in the movie to make up for not usuing his score!" THEN, after the movie, reality dawned on me and i realized, "Oh, when they filmed that, Howard was still attached to the project. So really, its just kinda luch that has him there and it says nothing about PJ and his current relationship :-( ". THEN, i came to my final conclusion... "YES, The scene was filmed before Howard departed from the project BUT, the decision was still made in the editing room to keep that shot in, so therefore, it is like PJ was honoring him with a cameo. So very cool!"

I did not notice PJ anywhere though. Any of you guys? I'll keep a closer eye tonight! hehe

 

[LOTRFan]

I did not notice PJ anywhere though. Any of you guys? I'll keep a closer eye tonight! hehe

I did notice Shore, and thought it was a good thing to keep him in - my conclusion was much the same as yours. As for PJ, I am sure he is there somewhere, probably one of the pilots.

 

[Lookin4Precious]

Saw it again. JUST as amazing. Save the family next to me that LITERALLY never shut-up. And the bonehead who brought her toddler to an 11pm showing!!!! WTF?!?!

STILL did not notice PJ. Perhaps he isn't in this. I would find that odd though.

 

[Kookie]

L4P

PJ made us really work to find him. He's actually the pilot who looks at Ann when she climbs to the top of the ESB. He shaved off his beard. He's the pilot that makes an almost sad or ashamed face as Ann jumps up and down saying NOOOOOOO!!!!

That took a little research

 

[oxbeard]

We saw it last night at 11:15. Turned out to be an almost semi-private screening, only about 15 of us in the theatre. Absolutely amazing film!!!!

I must admit it did start much slower than I expected, but all of the content I feel was vital to the character development. This is in huge contrast to the original which was all action oriented and very fast paced. The character development definitely added a lot to the overall story and film and I am amazed at the job PJ did on this.

I loved all of the tie-ins with the original film too. It was cool to see Burns's and his wife's cameo. Figured I would have to look harder for it but it turned out to jump out at you. Felt certain that was Howard Shore as well, glad I'm not the only one that caught that. Did however miss PJ.

I had concerns going in about the run time, but was absolutely amazed had how quick it passed, with the only exception being the beginning. Once the story got rolling things seems to fly by. And it goes without saying that I was simply stunned by the CG quality of Kong. I could be nit-picky with the dinos, but Kong was simply amazing. Of course, I couldn't help but imagine Andy's acting out these scenes as I saw them unfold on the screen. Really like his other character as well, he really does an amazing job.

All in all, very pleased with the film. Now I can't wait to save up the dough for the production diaries, soundtrack, and eventual DVD release.

 

[pitchin]

Last production diary is up now @ kongisking. PJ hints at extended dvd & a message at the end states "farewell (for now)" It was kinda sad but I'm a HUGE fan a production diaries & hope all Blockbuster films do this from now on as I have followed the PD's since it started and kinda film part of it

 

[Darklord Dave]

Just saw it and it was as impressive as I expected. Kong himself was extremely well done, although some of the blue screen work in other scenes seemed to suffer. I also thought PJ lingered on close-ups a bit too long at times. Naomi Watts is gorgeous, but the long lingering closeups weren't always necessary to get the emotion of the scene.

I also liked the ice scene, excellent character piece. And for cameos - I saw that Rick Baker was one of the pilots - I assume that's the gorilla make-up expert Rick Baker.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

did anyone else think the dino-chase scene through the gorge was tad too long??? and how did none of the dinosaurs trip on adrian brodie's nose???

---i thought it was a great movie, awesome directing, acting, Kong was great. my only gripes were some of the CGI with the human / animal interaction (my brother is going to school for computer animation so he kept telling me what to look for) ---- but KONG was so great looking. i love the battle scars they gave him to show how he's been around the block. my favorite scene is of course the T-Rex / Kong fight.

 

[elwood49]

did anyone else think the dino-chase scene through the gorge was tad too long???

YES! WTF was up with that? It felt like some stupid Jurassic Park ripoff with the raptors running around.

Also, when the actors first saw all the brontosaurs, they acted like it was no big deal. These are animals that have been extinct for 65 million years, at least act somewhat suprised to see them. There was no sense of wonder at all the incredible creatures on Skull Island. They were just things to scream at and run away from.

I'll repost what I did in the other forum about cool things I noticed.

I did notice a few "Easter Eggs" to look out for whenever you watch the film (I thought these were great):

1. Carl Denham refers to Merian Cooper making a film for RKO near the beginning of the film...clever.

2. The main bugs that attack in the Spider Pit sequence are weta crickets.

3. King Kong plays with the T-Rex's jaw after he kills him exactly as he does in the '33 film. I thought that was a nice nod to O'Brien's animation.

4. The costumes of the natives on the Kong stage during the reinactment are EXACTLY as they appear in the '33 film. I really liked that.


It was above average, but seemed like a typical Hollywood "blockbuster."

PJ made us really work to find him. He's actually the pilot who looks at Ann when she climbs to the top of the ESB. He shaved off his beard. He's the pilot that makes an almost sad or ashamed face as Ann jumps up and down saying NOOOOOOO!!!!

That took a little research

I was going to post that I saw him in one of the planes above, but I wasn't sure if it was him or not. That's another nice nod to the '33 film, since Cooper and Schoedsack had cameos in the planes in the original.

Oh well, I can just try and enjoy the new version as a separate film since it is just so different. I'll view it as a fun popcorn film, but it is nowhere close to the original, IMO. That's disappointing only because I was so thoroughly entertained by the new Spider Pit scene Weta worked on for the DVD.

 

[Viking28]

My thoughts on the movie after seeing it last night:

Stunning it totally wowed me I give it a 10/10
Drag time? There was nothing that dragged for me I loved the start of the movie how he captured the feel of the era. And the rest just flowed for me.

I will be seeing this again! One of my top movies on my list


And final thoughts I think it did the original justice, I've loved that movie since being a kid. Just a great flick

 

[Darklord Dave]

I'm completely surprised at how the original is venerated. It is monumentally significant in film history and I can appreciate it as an archaelogical artifact, but for pure enjoyment the current film is as far superior to the '33 Kong as ANH is to a Flash Gordon serial.

But that said - the characters in the original also weren't surprised by the giant extinct beasts. And when Denham gets a few of Kong he is sufficiently stunned I think.

 

[Viking28]

Very good points Dave and I agree with you, I cant wait to see it again this week!

 

[elwood49]

I'm completely surprised at how the original is venerated. It is monumentally significant in film history and I can appreciate it as an archaelogical artifact, but for pure enjoyment the current film is as far superior to the '33 Kong as ANH is to a Flash Gordon serial.

I disagree, I just watched the '33 version last week, and LOVED it. There are so many elements to it that are great to me.

1. The ethereal look of the jungle. PJ himself spoke about how the original is sort of the benchmark for the way certain films look. The background is bathed in a sort of white light that spills out over the jungle. It's beautiful.

Watching the DVD and seeing the different layers of scenery painted on glass, the stop-motion, rear-projection, etc. is the way I like my movies. To me it's sort of like the original SW vs. the special editions. Sure one is technically better, but I prefer models and rubber masks. I guess I'm just old fashioned (and I'm only 26. ).

2. There are just so many moments in the original that I love. When the head tribesman comes down the steps upon first introduction, the music is timed perfectly to his footsteps. I didn't really find much in the new version that impressed me. Actually, as you can see above, the things I liked were the references to the original.

There are so many subtle animations on Kong that no doubt took O'Brien days upon days to do. I love how he smells a flower in his cave just before he grabs Ann.

3. If I had to choose my 5 favorite black and white older films, King Kong would no doubt be one of them. To me, it's easily one of the 100 best films ever made (the AFI happens to agree with me on that subject, however bad that list may be). I only go to the movies these days for the big effects pictures and the art house stuff. I've seen 5 "big films" this year- ROTS, Batman Begins, War of the Worlds, Harry Potter, and King Kong. I loved the first 4 and only liked Kong. I just wasn't impressed.

The New York bookends at the beginning and end are miles ahead of the original, IMO, due their portrayal of the city at the time. I loved seeing Broadway circa 1933. I thought it was beautiful.

Really, my opinion doesn't matter much. What do I know? I wanted to like this movie SO badly.

Maybe I just need to see it again with a different view of it. PJ followed Tolkien's work so well that I was disappointed with how little of the original '33 Kong remains in this film. I'll try and go again sometime over Christmas.

Now that I think about it, this film is pretty comparable to Revenge of the Sith. Some people love it, and some people hate it. Both have nearly identical scores on Rotten Tomatoes (the best site for analysis of what the critics think). I loved ROTS and I know people that hated it, so I really need to give Kong another try.