King Kong

I had the chance to see King Kong this weekend. The movie is great. My experience was not so great. To preface this I will say that this is the first time in over a year that my wife and I went to the theaters to see a movie with just the two of us. A date, if you will. We go get some ice cream and proceed into the theater. We sat down when "The Twenty" was playing so we watched that and talked about what they were showing. Before the movie they showed, as usual, movie trailers. The most exciting of which was Miami Vice which is directed by Michael Mann, who is one of my favorite directors. The movie then started.

As the story is starting to unfold and I am beginning to get into the movie I hear the guy behind me say, "Yeah? Oh hey how's it going?! Yeah we're at the movies." The guy is talking on his cell-phone! Not even attempting to whisper or get up and leave the theater. He proceeds, " yeah we are watching King Kong. .... Yeah .... Oh it's about 30 minutes into it... Yeah its pretty good so far...." The guy is giving a review to the person on the other end of the phone WHILE WE ARE WATCHING THE MOVIE!! I was so frustrated. I didn't want to start a fight so I tried to ignore it and fortunately the movie was loud enough for me to tune him out slightly. But he was on the phone for almost five minutes! Then the girl two seats away from me had a cell-phone that beeped every ten minutes. EVERY TEN MINUTES! The movie is three hours long! She didn't attempt to silence it either. Honestly it's no wonder that the Box Office totals are lower than it has been in years past. The theater experience is terrible. And why run out and pay twenty bucks to see a movie when it will be out on DVD in three to four months and you can watch at home with out the annoying people and distractions. Don't get me wrong I am a person who loves the "Theater" experience, no not the one just described but seeing a movie on "The Big Screen" in a big darkened theater with the sound rumbling through your body. That's the movie experience I remember and the one I want to pay for. Alas there may be some hope after all. Theater owners are petitioning the FCC for the ability to block cell phone signals within the confines of the theater. The French are already doing it and I hope we do as well. You can read more about it in an article from the NY Times here. I realize that people will be people and not every theater going experience is going to be perfect for everybody, but hopefully this will help.

Anyway enough with the rude people, what about the movie you ask? I loved it. It was fantastic. Kong is so real by the end of the film. And by that I not only mean that he looked real but he felt like such a real character. The narrative was such that the audience believes that Kong is a genuine character or being and not just some jazzy special effect. The movie has great heart in its characters and story. The score was awesome as well. I am mightily impress with what James Newton Howard pulled off in such a short period of time. With five weeks left before the premiere of the movie he took over as composer for the film when Howard Shore and Peter Jackson had creative differences late into the project. Regardless of the circumstance the score perfectly compliments the film. The visual effects are astounding. Some of the actions sequences are staged with such flare and skill and it is amazing to watch it unfold before you. Just when you think they're done and things might calm down a bit things pick right back up again. It gives a sense of uneasiness which I expect would be the same emotions if we were to encounter Kong in real life. I can go on and on. I loved the film and I think it will stand the test of time. Peter Jackson has proved that success of Lord of the Rings was not a fluke and he has become one of the great filmmakers of our time.