Hail to the Chimp
(Have been rather negligent of late with my blogging, due to personal upheavals of a decidedly pleasant nature, so I beg forgiveness from my tiny cadre of devoted readers.)
As the original King Kong is one of my all-time favourite monster movies, I have been keeping a fairly close eye on Peter Jackson's new opus (due for theatrical release on Dec. 14). The news that Jackson's remake has a runtime of 187 minutes is rather alarming, as I'm firmly of the opinion that most contemporary films are far too long (as it is) at 2 hours plus. The experience of watching an intriguing/exciting first hour (or so), followed by a bloated, messy 'second half', is one that should be all too familiar to audiences accustomed to the usual fare served up at omni/multiplexes.
Of greater significance (than this apparently unnecessary length) was the announcement that Kong (himself) was to be completely computer generated. Though one, of course, understands the reasons behind this decision, there have been so many examples of utterly charmless (and crude) CGI creatures in recent years, that it's hard not to fear the worst. I still shudder when I think of Spielberg's brutal (and artless) CGI rape of E.T. in the recent (reprehensible) E.T.: Special Edition. We're talking 'Emperor's New Clothes' syndrome here folks…has nobody the balls to stand up and say, "Em…sorry Mr. S, but that looks fucking shit!"?
Though I'm not seriously suggesting that Jackson should have used something as anachronistic as stop-motion animation, the original Kong (gloriously brought to life by Willis O Brien) was a completely captivating (and charming) creation that felt 'solid', textured, and real. The major weakness of CGI (at least at its current stage of 'evolution') is that it's all too easy to end up creating creatures that seem little more than shimmering blobs of light and colour. When done badly (as they often are), these creations lack the kind of convincing texture and solidity that helps the audience make the imaginative leap necessary to establish a genuine connection to the character they see on screen.
A quick browse through some early reviews, however, seems to suggest that such fears may turn out to be groundless…with today's Guardian piece being a fairly typical example of the kind of laudatory press the film has been receiving. There were, however, a few words of warning from Variety regarding the runtime and Jackson's predilection for expanded DVD cuts of his films: "As richly rendered as all of this is, not all of it is necessary; Jackson's "Kong" plays more like a Director's Cut, with scenes that could easily be dispensed with or tightened. One cringes a bit at the thought of a DVD expansion of this version."
We'll wait and see…but for now I remain excited…but tentative…
December 9, 2005
11 responses to Hail to the Chimp
[LINK - BBC News]
Any particular reason for that link?
Methinks copernicus has gone ape.
scary christmas monster. thought it of interest…
It should have opened on picture 10.
The URL is the same for all ten pics, hence the confusion. Anyway, here’s the pic and the blurb:
“Krampus, a terrifying companion to St Nicholas, is seen in an age-old Austrian procession to mark the start of Advent.”
Those wacky Austrians! Scare the bejaysus out of kids to get them to behave…that’s the way.
A good post would be horrifying Christmas traditions from Northern Europe. According to David Sedaris, the Dutch St. Nick is accompanied by six black slaves who are not averse to a bit of roughing up and kidnapping. Tim Burton didn’t pull the idea of mingling halloween and christmas out of thin air.
Twould indeed be a good post. You write it up and I’ll post it!
Have heard about the slaves…from a Dutch source…so, alarmingly, it seems to be true.
On of the best things about Hollywood remakes is that TV channels use it as an excuse to drag out the originals for yet another airing. in this case, not such a bad thing. However, If we’re really lucky there may be a screening of ‘Queen Kong’ starring Robin Askwith and that bloke from ‘on the buses’.
Nice bag. Prada?
Yes it is. Hmmm, perhaps upon further inspection the poster has been somewhat doctored. However, this in no way diminshes the appeal of ‘Queen Kong’ which is a real movie, and does star Robin Askwith. So it will no doubt feature much sexist and rascist innuendo of the ‘carry on’ type. ‘Carry on Kong’, now there’s an franchise comeback. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075113/
Ahem, I take it Queen Kong wears comfortable shoes. That’s no dude she’s a clutchin’. But her handbag is soooo pink! Gah! Queen Kong the Motion Picture undermines my bourgeois notions of sexual identity and like totally upsets my narrow weltanshauung.
Once again, the Other bursts in on my cosy existence but this time it’s a giant gorrilla carrying a pink prada handbag.