Okay, so as many people have pointed out ... my last post, which was at this point created a long while back, was abruptly cut off. Was it blogger.com's fault? Nope, just my own, as I began writing that post at work thinking that I had a large chunk of time, when in fact I would soon be called away to do who knows what - at this point I can't say I remember, exactly, but what I do know is that my last week in CA before heading home for a little winter break was, to put it mildly, ridiculously crazy. Not only was it a, literally, back-breaking week at work (okay, not LITERALLY literally), but I also tried to make the most of my small amount of free time. On a few hours' worth of sleep each night I went out for Secret Santa celebrations, appointments wit da' Chronic ... (... les of Narnia, that is! bwahahaha), King Kong, and more jam-packed excitement than you can shake a stick at. Then, when I had pushed myself to the brink, driven to near catatonic exhaustion from days of heavy lifting, manual labor, and more over the top workplace shenanigans even than USUAL, I was leaving on a jetplane for frosty C-T, where I have been since, and will be until Monday, when I'm back in the other big B - Burbank, CA, just in time for (wait for it ...) work on Tuesday! Luckily, it'll be (or SHOULD be) an easy rest of the week, as I'll basically be alone in the offices doing phone duty. We'll see though, we shall see.
What has my time in CT brought? Well to be honest I think I need a vacation from this vacation, as right now is about the first relaxing moment I've had since being back in this winter wonderland. Okay, that's not entirely true. For the first few days my brother Matt and I were reunited (and it felt so good ...) and were able to beat the crap out of each other virtually for old time's sake ... over and over again. And that, that was cool. We of course did the mandatory run to Luna's Pizza in Simbsbury, and took in some DVDs, some Monday night wrestling, and even a little basketball. Sadly though, the cold weather prevented us from ACTUALLY hitting the driveway for some one on one hoops, but surely, if it had come to that, I would have once again reestablished my dominance in the field of B-Ball. I also got together with my BU friend Stephanie P, as we hit up Hartford for some good times. In between there was lots of family stuff, a visit to my Grandmother in Newton, MA with a quick stop at BU to see the old stomping grounds and check out the new state of the art Hillel building. And then there were the doctor appointments. SO many doctor appointments. And all WAY too early in the morning, of course, courtesy of my Dad who as some of you know is a stickler for starting one's day EARLY. So yeah, my internal clock is somewhere in Switzerland right about now, and I don't know if I should be eating dinner or sitting down for some cereal and OJ. Luckily, my various health issues seem to be in pretty good order, and don't ask me how but my various test results were much improved over before. Must be all those frozen Lean Cousine meals ...
I'm also typing this from a brand spankin' new computer, which the Baram residence in Bloomfield was DESPERATELY in need of, as the old one was about ready to implode. I'm talking barely operational and sputtering towards an ugly death. Luckily it was retired and a shiny new model was purchased with my help at Circuit City. Only problem is I won't be around to use it much, but man using this one makes me long for my own computer upgrade in CA, as I've had my current Dell since freshman year of college and it too has survived the brink of the technological abyss more than once, and could stand to be replaced. Well, once I get a job that pays more that $9.50 an hour, have health insurance, and can afford to pay my rent ... then the new computer, digital camera, newfangled Ipod, and plasma screen TV will follow. Booyah.
Anyways ...
If I remember correctly my last blog entry caused a stir because it SEEMED like I was about to delve into some long-awaited MOVIE REVIEWS, and even went so far as to get cut off right as I was about to go into the ins and outs of Syriana. So, looks like I have some time right now ... let's see what I can do, but in the interest of time management I may be briefer than I'd usually be:
DANNY'S WINTER MOVIE WRAP-UP:
KING KONG Review:
Let's start with the 800 lb gorilla. Literally and figuratively. This is one of those movies that in the week or so since I've seen it, I must admit, that my opinion has soured A LITTLE since I first saw it, after some reflection. See, this is one of those movies that, when you've digested it, when you actually analyze the logistics behind certain scenes, it turns out that, well ... that frankly they make no sense. Some of the characters reveal themselves to be somewhat flat. Some of the continuity (like, how DID they get Kong off that island?) begins to fall apart upon scrutiny, and some of the cheese factor (yes, we get it, it's called SKULL island, you don't have to TYPE IT IN SLOW MOTION to make it sound scary) begins to become more obvious. But, all that is after the fact, after its been digested. But, as far as this being a theater-going event, an experience, and a thrill ride, make no mistake about it ...
THIS FILM HANDILY KICKED MY ASS.
Now I enjoyed the beginning of the film, enjoyed the building of tension and the mounting anticipation for all that is SKULL ISLAND. I enjoyed the end of the film, marveled at Kong in NYC, and loved the Empire State building finale. But I'm not going to be some pretentious idiot who says that the NYC scenes were the best. Nope, for me the movie came down to one thing -- Skull freakin' Island. Because for that hour, when Jack Black and Adrian Brody were running from stampeding dinos and fighting off mutant spiders, when Naomi Watts was being strung up by crazy-ass island savages and being tossed around by Kong in mid-battle - man, that hour was just pure fanboy ecstasy. And basically, as I sat watching the marvel of Kong vs. T-Rex, and then Kong vs. multiple T-Rex's, the thought did indeed cross my mind that maybe, just maybe, this was the coolest thing I had ever seen.
Peter Jackson directs with such energy, such passion, such pure geek love for the material - he basically is the barnone best action-adventure director there is right now. He is Spielberg circa Raiders of the Lost Ark, only better and with cooler technology at his disposal. Like Spielberg, Jackson always emphasizes character, but never sacrifices action and always delivers something new, something cool, something breathtaking. I mean, the pure visual spectacle of Naomi Watts getting strung up to be sacrificed by Kong - that scene was just incredible visually. Jackson just has that innate sense of what works - not of what is commercial, per se, not of what is cute or easy or marketable - but what is cool - what makes that inner 12 year old inside you want to jump up and down and go buy King Kong toys just because.
Acting-wise, Naomi Watts as always is great, doing a Mulholland Drive-like mixture of old Hollywood innocence and naivete with a dash of modern wit and action heroine chops. Jack Black is suitably energetic and comedic, and Adrian Brody is pretty good as well - my one problem is that neither of the male leads ever bcome very likable. Jack Black is less adventurer and more con artist, and Adrien Brody never feels like a leading man who you really care to root for. No, the real star of the movie is Kong - given life by Andy Serkis and the wonders of CGI, Kong bursts with personality, coming across like a bigger and meaner version of your pet dog, or something. The scenes between Kong and Watts are pretty damn good - even the ones with no action whatsoever.
Overall, this movie is maybe a little too ambitious for its own good. So much is being thrown at the screen that some of the CGI stuff is bound to look a little fake at times. And some of the action is so over all over the place the realism is obviously thrown out the window, and the laws of physics and gravity seem to suddenly appear and then disappear just as quickly, lending an inconsistency to some of the action.
But still ... this is state of the art. This is KING KONG FIGHT ING DINOSAURS like you've only imagined or doodled in your notebook in fourth grade. So yeah, this is Peter Jackson at his unrestrained best. Sure it's 3 hours, sure there's crazy logic holes. But it's a big budget blockbuster DONE RIGHT, done out of passion by a director and crew that obviously gave a damn. There's action, adventure, romance, and giant friggin' monkeys. What more do you want for your 10 bucks?
My grade: A
THIS POST IS NOT OVER - MORE COMING SOON.
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