Kong: Skull Island

 
1933's King Kong isn't just one of the great movies of the 1930's, but it's also become one of the all-time classics. So, is this new Kong movie as good as the original? No, not even close but, I wasn't expecting it to be. There have been numerous films over the years featuring the fictional giant ape and this one isn't the worst. As with my previous review; Logan (which you can check out by clicking here), I'm going to avoid giving a lot of plot details since this is a new movie. Instead, this will be my overall reaction to the film and some of the thoughts I had while in the theater.

First off, if you like giant monster movies then you probably don't need to bother with the rest of this review. Just go see the movie because there are tons of giant creatures, most are pretty threatening, and most of the CGI looks pretty good. In addition to Kong, there is a giant octopus, giant spiders, lizard-like creatures they call "Skull Crawlers", and more. Kong fights a few of theses other beasts and some people get eaten, mostly what you'd expect but done in an entertaining way.

The basic plot of Kong: Skull Island is just that, Basic. People go to Skull Island, immediately encounter Kong, and the rest of the film is them trying to get off the island. That's the whole movie in a nutshell. Now, this film does have a pretty solid cast including Tom Hiddleston, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, and  John C. Riley among others. Some of theses actors where put to good use in the film; I thought John Goodman was solid and, John C. Riley was good for a few laughs even though the introduction of his character drastically changed the tone of the movie. Tom Hiddleston's character was pretty bland which was a shame, and unfortunately Brie Larson who plays a photographer does pretty much nothing except snap pictures. I thought while the film was going on that a connection between Hiddleston's character and Larson's would develop but it never really did. Maybe because they were both pretty dull and one-dimensional. 

The most interesting human character by far is Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard (played by Samuel L. Jackson). After Kong kills some of his men, Packard takes it personally, and he goes on an insane hunt for revenge. At one point in the movie I thought to myself 'They could've titled this Samuel L. Jackson vs. King Kong'. It was an over-the-top performance but it was also fun to watch.

Overall, it's the big, dumb, fun, monster movie I sort of expected it to be. I was hoping for something a bit better but, I was still entertained. I'm glad I saw it but, I don't foresee myself ever really feeling the need to rewatch it.
I give it a 2.5 out of 5.


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A Look Back At: The Big Lebowski (1998)

The Big Lebowski is one of those movies that, depending on who you talk to, is either a masterpiece or just dumb. That's kind of the beauty of this 1998 comedy, it seems like everyone gets something else out of it.

The setup seems simple enough; An unemployed, slacker, and avid bowler named Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski (played by Jeff Bridges) is mistaken for a millionaire also named Jeffrey Lebowski. The millionaire Lebowski's wife is kidnapped, and he hires The Dude to deliver the ransom money to the kidnappers. However, things don't go as planned and from there the film is off to the races.

The movie is filled with a great and memorable cast of characters, especially the Dude's friend Walter Sobchak (played by John Goodman), funny dialogue, and creative dream sequences. But, one of the unique things about the film is that from Sam Elliot's opening narration all the way through until the end of the movie nothing ever seems to get resolved. The film is compelling and you want to know what this series of events is all leading up to. By the time you reach the end credits you realize that,  any number of scenes and characters could've been cut from the film entirely without it changing the final result, and plot threads that were started never really lead to an end. The only necessary element is The Dude and even he has no real character arc. The Dude is the same guy at the end of the film as he was at the beginning, he's not better for the experience, and he doesn't learn any sort of lesson. In the end "The Dude abides".

I give this one a 4 out of 5.
 If you've never seen it, go check it out. You'll definitely be entertained.


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