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12-18-2005, 01:27 AM
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#271 of 786 
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Location: Rocky Mountains
Join Date: Jul 2001
Local Time: 10:42 AM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 3,010
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Just saw the 7PM showing, which is usually the 'get there an hour early to get good seats on opening weekend' time. First in the theatre, no line. Ended up being just over half full. Very surprising to me, but we are having extremely cold weather.
Kinda mixed on the movie. One thing I do know is that when I get the DVD I most likely will start it at the 'fog'. I just didn't care for the back story at all. Everything leading up to getting on the ship wasn't too bad but nothing I would miss. But once the action starts, it is a pretty fun ride. Way over the top and while the SFX are top notch, some just didn't look right especially during the dino scenes. And there were quite a few Kong moments that almost looked like stop motion animation. It is hard to explain, but there were some really quick jittery movements by him that looked off. Maybe it was a lack of motion blur? I don't know.
I hate Jackson's use of doubleframe slow motion, or whatever that is. Always have and it is used very poorly here.
I also never really felt connected to Kong. It was sad when he met his fate, but I didn't get choked up. Hell I got more choked up when Godzilla (98) died, now that's saying something. :b
The falling shot was incredible though. That's the slow motion I like.
Never thought I would have not been excited after seeing a 3 hour PJ sfx movie but that's just how it is. Guess I never really cared for the King Kong story.
I'll still be recommending others see it in the theatres, but one time is good enough for me until the DVD arrives.
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12-18-2005, 01:48 AM
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#272 of 786
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Member
Join Date: Apr 2003
Local Time: 05:42 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 169
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I'm sorry but I felt more emotion when Kong died at the end of the '76 edition
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I'm sure people will shoot you down just like Kong but I actually agree with this statement. However, I don't think the reason is because it's more bloody. I just think the new version has a lot of distractions (like dinosaurs running down a hill for 10 minutes straight) leading up to the climax. The 1976 version seems to flow consistantly up to the point that Kong dies with very little focus on the other creatures. The new film had so many tangents along the way that they almost felt like mini movies. I think Jackson's version was effective but could have hit a home run if they trimmed down some of the stuff on the island. I'd give this a 7/10 and an 8/10 to the other two. |
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12-18-2005, 03:31 AM
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#273 of 786
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Member
Join Date: Aug 2002
Local Time: 05:42 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 382
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Finally got to see Kong as i had to wait to go with my girlfriend and she works a lot. I caught a mid afternoon session..and boy will i NEVER do that again! 2 kids sat behind us with their father, and they talked probably half way through the movie constantly...even after constant stare downs. Then we had enough, had to turn around and tell their father to shut them up as they were ruining the movie. WEll actually, it was ruined. Im a huge PJ fan and have been waiting for this moment for so long, and to be distracted like that was just worst thing i couldve imagined. Anyway, so about the movie.
I absolutely still enjoyed it. I actually loved the first hour and the set up of all the characters and moments on the boat. All the quiet character scenes were my favorite. I am one who does love there sfx and action, but to get straight to it didnt interest me. I for one, DEFINATELY made a connection with Kong and dont see how anyone couldnt! I mean, he was everything he couldve been in my mind. I got the teary eyes more than once and the ending killed me. I feel that PJ has a great approach to drama and using quiet moments. Overall, yeah..there were dodgy fx and usage of weird slo mo..but who really cares? If i think of the whole experience, there is nothing i've felt like that since well LOTR, but before that, nothing gave me that thrill that Indiana Jones or Star Wars did. And for me, there are no action flicks like this at moment that has that much emotion or character depth.
Definately seeing this again..and at the latest damn session as possible! Go KONG!!!
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12-18-2005, 05:33 AM
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#274 of 786
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Member
Join Date: Jun 1999
Local Time: 05:42 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 1,355
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Got to view KK yesterday afternoon to an almost full house and while standing in line, I noticed that the movie goers were almost all either older folks, like myself, and pre-teens..... very few young adults...... Being an older person myself, I understood this as I grew up in the 50's/60's with KK/33 being one of the premier "monster" flicks that I always watched whenever possible..... usually on "Shock Theater" or "Fantastic Features".... and I have eagerly awaited this remake.
I typically cat-nap through movies and this was no exception in the first hour although I really wanted to experience how PJ built his characters. My cat naps usually require a second viewing on "good" movies in the hopes that I don't nap through the same parts again...LOL There was definitely NO NAPS after the action started......
After reading a lot of posts about KK, I don't really know what I was expecting but it definitely wasn't what some here and elsewhere had mentioned...... The slo-mo wasn't the least distracting and the implausible, related by some, especially concerning the dino stampede, fit in quite well. Then again, I am firmly rooted in my "live the moment" while viewing spectacles such as KK..... and if anything, I definitely prefer for movies such as KK, NOT to be BELIEVABLE, but rather be a real joy-ride of our imagination. That's exactly what the last two hours was.... and I loved the departure from the "believable" character forming and into the wild imaginative parts. I want to be carried into another place when I watch something like KK and that's exactly what PJ did for me with his interpretation of a real clssic.
I already had KK penciled in for at least two viewings due to more family coming in for the holidays and I look forward to it. It's a real
 ......... |
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12-18-2005, 09:25 AM
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#275 of 786
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Member
Join Date: Aug 2001
Local Time: 12:42 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 7,684
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Took in a second viewing. Not sold out, but full. They liked it (I heard an "Oh my god" in the spider pit). I noticed a few things I had not before, most critically the coolest thing in the world:
Many probably saw that on their viewing...I had not.
The Kong/Ann relationship begins at sunset on Skull Island (beyond pragmatism), and ends at sunrise on the ESB. I also think it was a stroke of genius to use Ann POV shots right after she has been taken by Kong...especially of him. Makes him (rightly) terrifying.
Brian, as I argued with Paul, when a guy walks into a wild lion's cave (or cage, or whatever) and gets mauled...you don't blame the lion. I am interested in the many comments of folks that didn't feel for Kong. That's the heart of the film for me. That the (Ann POV shots) monster became something you could love in such an economical timeframe. PJ puts that together like a puzzle box, piece by piece by piece, each scene building up to it. But we all have our tastes.
I cried pretty hard again on my second viewing, same places as the original. Very few movies make me do that (once isn't nearly as hard...I am always a softie). The opening hour didn't bother me as much (it's still a bit long), and the film itself was just such a treat.
I am going to wait a few weeks and then get another viewing in (still have Narnia and Munich to see, with a desire to see Brokeback Mountain and Syriana thrown in). But Kong'll take priority. None of the others need the big screen as much. |
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12-18-2005, 09:32 AM
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#276 of 786
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Administrator
Join Date: Jul 1999
Local Time: 12:42 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 38,685
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How did you not see KK give the V-Rex the french kiss of its life on the first viewing?
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12-18-2005, 10:09 AM
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#277 of 786
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Member
Join Date: Apr 2000
Local Time: 12:42 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 4,396
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Could the reason be that the story is so well known, and it is essentially a tragedy, and people don't want that this time of year?
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Hmm... well-known story that's a tragedy... sounds like Titanic! Being released the week before Christmas didn't seem to hurt IT...
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12-18-2005, 10:13 AM
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#278 of 786
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Member
Join Date: Aug 2001
Local Time: 12:42 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 7,684
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Pat,
I have no idea  But seeing it made the coolest scene even cooler. |
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12-18-2005, 10:41 AM
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#279 of 786
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Member
Join Date: May 2003
Local Time: 12:42 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 2,565
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Hmm, I missed Kong biting the tonge out too....
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12-18-2005, 11:01 AM
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#280 of 786
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Member
Join Date: Dec 1998
Local Time: 05:42 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 1,821
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Quote:
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How did you not see KK give the V-Rex the french kiss of its life on the first viewing?
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I missed it too, will be paying more attentiont the 2nd time around. Ya gotta admit, there is a lot going on in that sequence.:b
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Hmm... well-known story that's a tragedy... sounds like Titanic! Being released the week before Christmas didn't seem to hurt IT...
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Another theory down the tubes.
This movie totally works for me, but it is more than a small minority here in this thread that finds PJ's KK wanting. I think that is being reflected in the box office. I continue to hope that it will have "legs" and be a huge success.
Should KK have been a summer release?
Regardless, KK is a wonderful movie, far as I'm concerned.
Johnny
www.teamfurr.org
Another cat? Perhaps. For love there is also a season; its seeds must be resown. But a family cat is not replaceable like a wornout coat or a set of tires. Each new kitten becomes its own cat, and none is repeated. I am four cats old, measuring out my life in friends that have succeeded but not replaced one another.--Irving Townsend
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12-18-2005, 11:04 AM
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#281 of 786
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Local Time: 05:42 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 5,834
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just wanted to respond to something that was posted in the review thread
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I am amazed by some of the comments of those about editing this film down and particularly as it relates to the opening hour. My only thoughts are that we as a society have become so numbed to typical Michael Bay filmaking and so impatient in the new technology driven millenium that we cannot even wait for character development and emotional build up. I truly dont get it (maybe its ADD). I for one thought that the initial b | | |
