Tuesday, January 31, 2006

King Kong Strikes Again!

In December I watched the 1976 King Kong because that was the one I remember watching as a child. As I watched I realized I remembered little of the story and simply had images of Jessica Lange tied up as an offering locked in my brain. I recalled too, the final scene... on the Empire State Building.... only in '76 the final scene was on the Twin Towers.... that's when I realized that final scene was from a different version. One that had escaped my attention for most of my life. After borrowing the special edition DVD of the 1933 version I was completely won over and seriously looking forward to the 2005 version. Not only did I watch the '33 version of King Kong but I watched all the extras and was completely impressed by the biographical info on directors, Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. It was a spendid intro to Peter Jackson's 2005 efforts.

One might ask which version I liked best and I would have to say "parts from all of them." I loved the way the Depression era was captured in the 1933 version and I thought that one also had the best Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot). Not only was he very good looking but I loved the part on the ship when he and Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) fall in love.


Kong was increasingly impressive in each version. Still even that first one had such personality. In 1933, there seemed to be a number of prehistoric beasts and after watching the documentary it made a lot of sense since they used creatures from a different film that was tabled (Creation). I thought that the 2005 version had almost too many other creatures, though in some ways they explained the rationale behind Ann's connection to Kong. He saved her life again and again. So that at one point she actually ran to Kong and climbed up into the safety of his arms.

I liked the performance of Jessica Lange quite a bit and I have to say the scene when Kong bathes her in the waterfall will likely stick with me. I thought that the Naomi Watts portrayal of Ann was a little TOO chummy with Kong and while I appreciated her little vaudeville schtick, I wasn't sure that it was all that necessary. I was rather surprised by Jackson's complete disregard for the way Cooper and Schoedsack portrayed the relationship between Darrow and the "Beast." It seemed that Fay Wray was terrified of Kong right up to the end. In the 1976 version Lange's Ann seems to have the best balance of awe and terror and sorrow. She is empathetic to his plight. She knows he's saved her and she realizes they are doing a terrible thing by bringing him to America. In the scene in which she falls in the hold on the ship it is very clear that she is pretty sure he is not going to hurt her, but not certain and so it is with fear and trembling she approaches and departs. Naomi Watts appears so cozy with Kong that she cuddles up and goes to sleep in his hand, watches romantic sunsets, and frolics with him on the ice in New York. Some of that is nice, but it doesn't seem to capture the sentiment present in the original and in other respects it seems that Jackson is very precise in his efforts to honor the original.



There is so much more I could say but I fear I've already written more than anyone wants to read. See the films. Soak up some film history. I loved each film and every one of them had me crying by the end.

Friday, January 27, 2006

She's ALIVE.... ALIVE....


Here's to Heather.... (wish you were here so we could share a marg together...) Thanks for caring, man. I have about four blog posts that I plan to do sometime this weekend. They are in various stages of construction... Keep checking...

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Back to Bond --


Daniel Craig, the 6th actor to play James Bond, will make his appearance later this year in Casino Royale (2006). As I am trying to watch the Bond films in order, I find it a bit ironic that the one I am ready to see is the spoof version from 1967 by the same name. This was the first of the Ian Fleming novels but was extensively rewritten as a comedy starring Peter Sellers and David Niven. I trust that the 2006 version will be "no laughing matter."

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Best of 2005 -- My Favorites ............................ (not to be confused with the official best as determined by folks who know better)

First off, let me explain.... I am not the Academy determining the deserved 2005 winners of anything... instead I am merely reviewing all the things I've watched in 2005 (some of those are 2004 films ... I know, I know) and many of the things released in 2005 have not made their way into my life yet. Therefore they will likely be contenders for the "best of 2006" a year from now... it's just the way it is. Since you are only privvy to the summary of things seen since July you'll have to forgive me that. One could take the number of films seem between July and December and multiply it times two and imagine that from that number emerges these greats... However that would be flawed because in January of 2005, alone, I watched 34 movies. I have a sickness. I realize this. The total number of films viewed by me in 2005 is 163 (give or take a few, sometimes I forget to write them down). Of that number....

These are my two ABSOLUTE Favorites:





Crash
Me and You and Everyone We Know ..... Read more here





My OTHER Favorites (in no particular order):

RENT ......... Read more here and here
The Life Aquatic
Finding Neverland

Garden State
Million Dollar Baby ........ Read more here
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Kinsey ...... Read more here
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ........ Read more here
Napoleon Dynamite








Saturday, January 07, 2006

Read, Watch, Listen..... December in Review

What I Was Reading in December

Expletive Deleted a good look at bad language by Ruth Wajnryb
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Stitch 'N Bitch by Debbie Stoller
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathon Safron Foer
The Resilient Self by Steven J. Wolin, M.D., and Sybil Wolin, Ph.D
The Joy of Knitting by Lisa R. Myers
Zen and the Art of Knitting by Bernadette Murphy
Lady Chatterly's Lover by D.H. Lawrence

Juvenile/Young Adult books

Crank by Ellen Hopkins
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

What I Actually Read (and completed) in December

The Joy of Knitting by Lisa R. Myers

For December our book club selection was a young adult novel of our choice. I had just read Siberia, so I discussed that one and also told about Touching Spirit Bear. I had good intentions of getting Crank read but a student borrowed it and I didn't get it back in time... Darn kids... always reading.... Ha! I never did manage to finish Gilead. I do like it, but it's slow going and right now I am mostly "stopped." The knitting books were dual-purposed. First I am wanting to learn how to knit... secondly I wrote an article for our local women's magazine on knitting and was loaned two books for that purpose. The book I am enjoying most (and am amazed I haven't finished) is Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I would recommend this one so far!

What I Was Watching in December

On TV
Project Runway
Grey's Anatomy
White Christmas (because it's not Christmas without it!)
Love's Long Journey (Hallmark Movie)

I've managed to get hooked on a reality show! I can't believe it. I watched the first season in one fell swoop last spring or was it summer? I was fascinated by the creations the designers came up with and with all the time deadlines and various limitations placed on them. It isn't so dramatic like other reality shows in which cast members are eliminated. Sure, we all have our favorites, but ultimately it's about the fashion for me. Grey's Anatomy is a show I've only watched a couple times so far because I often "miss it"... though now that I have just obtained a DVR, I suspect I'll be watching more TV than ever.... (probably NOT a good thing!) I have long hated TV dramas and find much more pleasure in the sitcom. I particularly dislike things like ER or other medical or lawyer shows. How I ended up liking this one I am not sure; I think it has something to do with the characters... their relationships.... as I guess it always does.

Rented
King Kong (1976)
The Addams Family

Addams Family Values
The Wedding Date
(again... didn't like it much the 1st time)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Broken Flowers
40 Year Old
Virgin

This month I watched The Addams Family movies for the first time. I thought they were just terrific. The dry humor.... clever puns.... the romantic obsessive connection between Gomez and Morticia.... I can't believe I lived this long without seeing these. Angelica Huston and Christina Ricci's performances in the first one are particularly terrific... but both films are witty, charming, and memorable! I was looking forward to renting the Jim Jarmusch film, Broken Flowers, for the longest time and I have to say that while it had great potential even as I watched it... I was disappointed in the film. My friend Matt summed it up for me... he said that so much rested on the ending... it was a movie that seemed to be building toward something but the ending fell flat. Bill Murray is terrific and there are great characters in the film and a delightful premise, but I wouldn't recommend the film. The 40 Year Old Virgin was a film that was promoted as riotously funny, but I have to say that while some bits were amusing, I really didn't find the show funny at all. Hmmm.... I had seen Mr. and Mrs. Smith in the theatre and I do love a great action/adventure show and this one was a treat. The King Kong (1976) film was in preparation for seeing King Kong (2005).

Theatre
The Family Stone
Memoirs of a Geisha

Rumor Has It

The Family Stone just missed the mark as a favorite film of the year. I liked it quite a lot. It was nothing like I expected and I found myself in tears several times. It reminded me of Home for the Holidays in some ways... perhaps it was just the dysfunctional family at the holidays. If this movie had any flaws (actually I am sure there were plenty of these.. but I mean flaw that "bothered" me) it was that the ending was a little too neat and tidy for me. This is one I will purchase. Memoirs of a Geisha is one that I had high expectations for and this usually proves to be a let down. It was beautiful cinematically and the story was intriguing.... however it felt as if it wasn't as developed as it needed to be. I am not sure what they could have done, but I felt as if I was missing a great deal and not caring as much as I wanted to about the characters. I trust the book by Arthur Golden is much better and since I have it sitting on my shelf, perhaps I will give it a go... though, based on the movie, I am not quite so excited to. Rumor Has It was just crappy.

What I Was Listening to in December

The Monterey International Pop Music Festival (rented the DVD)
Bruce Springsteen
Christmas music

The Monterey Pop Music Festival is one I have wanted to watch since I saw Woodstock last summer. I was not disappointed. This festival was rather different from the one that followed a couple years later. You can read all about it here. The music was delightful and the performances, a treat to see. It was a landmark event for a lot of musical groups (Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and The Who) and there was a lot of footage on The Mamas and the Papas which piqued my interest in them as a group as well. Bruce Sprinsteen is one artist I have kind of missed overe the years and at the request of a dear friend I decided to give him a listen. Of course, being December, most of my music was of the Christmas variety and given a chance I might listen to this stuff all year round. I love new and old cds and have started amassing my own "favorites collection." It wouldn't be Christmas without Brenda Lee and Bing Crosby.

Monday, January 02, 2006

Ice, Ice, Baby

As part of the New Year's Celebration in my town they do ice carving... This year I got to see some of it in progress... Here are pics of the before and after. Cool, eh?

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