Reviews

The latest Star Wars episode 8 was entertaining enough, plenty of violence, explosions. But doesn't have the impact like in 1977 with the first one when all this was rather new.

Instead, Lucas sold his rights to Disney, and Disney's choice of director J.J. Abrams chose to retelling or rehashing a story from before, not of a storyline of substance, the ethics behind the story.

The special effects have matured since 1977, but the storyline isn't really all that strong, and frankly it's like eating popcorn, expensive concession that's good for the cinema, but leaves you looking for something of substance elsewhere.

Daisy Ridley provides a fresh face, new blood, engaging the audience, gives a nice screen performance. The top three billing of Ford, Hamill, Fisher resembles something more of a high school reunion, a reminder of how much we all aged, on screen.

King Kong is an intelligent, well written script, wonderfully acted by Naomi Watts and it's supporting cast, brings it home for me emotionally as her lead character role develops and grows throughout this deep and enriching film. King Kong is truly King on the island as the story unfolds, but is no match for man with it's military arsenal, fear, and lack of control, ignorance and misunderstanding over the Kong is eventually doomed when transported to New York City.

She is penniless, hungry, is pulled into a movie, falls in love with the writer Jack Driscoll played by Adrien Brody, lands on an island, captured and made as a food offering by it's local inhabitants to King Kong. Initially afraid, fearful and tries to escape the giant gorilla Kong, then resorts to her vaudeville skills to entertain the beast but tires quickly of being repeatedly pushed down for falls to make the Kong laugh and decides to stand up for herself.

Communications and understanding are quickly established and her feelings and emotions are quickly transformed to one of love, empathy, sympathy, compassion by the gorilla's display of feelings, protection, love, jealousy for her and each of their facial expressions towards one another are felt by the audience viewer. She realizes Carl Denham's plot to capture the giant gorilla but is powerless to stop it and feels responsible for it's capture.

Another scene when in New York City, Kong escapes and attempts to find the blonde met on the island, they meet up again for a few precious moments of joy and laughter on ice as when they were back on the island. They develop a love bond for each other and she towards the end displays courage in trying to protect the doomed gorilla from a run of airplanes attacking.

Rachel McAdams playing the young Allie Hamilton character does an outstanding, passionate performance as a young girl falling in love for Ryan Gosling performing as the young Noah Calhoun gives the right chemistry for the audience for us to share in this experience. Their performances pulls us into their passion, their love.

This is balanced out with Gena Rowlands and James Garner playing the roles of the older couple as the older Allie and the Duke later on in years of their relationship. As the story is told about their life, seeing their love for one another develop, seeing their passionate love grow for one another is wonderful to share in this cinematic experience, more than once.

Another film comes to mind is "The Family Man" where Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni are great together with their love for each other but in a different context.

This is a story in a contemporary setting in Taipei involving a small group of young Chinese adult friends and their relationships forming and breaking up, mixed into the story with some drugs and sex. It's fairly well done for this class of film.