What would a new year be without a new blog?

Go here for the new Zombie Monkey Press!

-Otis

Listening To:  Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis - Interesting thoughts by the chronicler of Narnia, even to this agnostic.

Playing:  World of Warcraft.  But soon I'll be playing Halo 2 online again, thanks to Mom (thanks, Mom!).  :D

Reading:  Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You  (thanks, Dad!)

Surfing:  Google Earth Hacks

Watching:   The Island

-Otis

The Producers - I've been dying to see the Broadway musical version of the original Mel Brooks movie.  Now there's a new movie version of the original Broadway musical.  Confused yet? 

The DaVinci Code - The trailer for this film makes it look mind-numbingly bland.  I'm sure the film will be great (entertaining novel + Ron Howard & Tom Hanks = I'm gonna see it), but the trailer does nothing to convince people who don't know the story that they should bother seeing the film.  The trouble is, the fiilmmakers had no other options for their trailer cut . . . to show more of what the film is about would give away the secret of the book and film, the very element that made the novel such a sensation.  Oh well, like I said . . . I'm gonna see it.

The Pink Panther - I adore the original film and Steve Martin in one of my favorite comedians, but this movie looks like it falls into the "wait for DVD category".

Poseidon - Yet another remake.  But Wolfgang Peterson and giant waves have been a good combination in the past, so I'll see this film for sure.

X-Men 3 - Many X-fans have bemoaned the choice of Brett Ratner as director of the third X-film, but I think he was a good choice (I greatly enjoyed Red Dragon).  Hopefully, this railer will quiet some detractors.  Ater waching the first footage from the movie, I think the film is in very good hands.

-Otis

King Kong

The Good:  Thrilling and emotional when it's firing on all cyliders.  A love story with some amazing visuals, this Kong does what previous film versions never accomplished;  it makes you care about the relationship between beauty and the beast.

The Bad:  About 30 minutes too long, with inconsequential sub-plots and supporting characters you simply don't care about.  Peter Jackson should have taken a second pass in the editing room and cut the film down to the amazing 2 and 1/2 hour film that's in there somewhere.

The Ugly:  Lumpy The Cook's demise.  One of the most gruesomely phallic deaths ever presented onscreen.

Bottom Line:  Can a movie bore you and thrill you in equal measure and still be considered good, even great?  Well, if so, this movie does so.  The first hour is a bit snore-inducing, but when Ann begins to perform her Vaudeville routine for the big ape, the movie turns around and you never stop caring about the love affair between Kong and his girl.

A Note About The Score:  For some reason, Howard Shore was replaced by James Newton Howard at the last minute as the film's music composer, and it may have been a big mistake.  J.N. Howard's score for Kong is completely forgettable.  I'd love to hear Shore's score . . his music for Lord of the Rings made even the mind-numbingly boring scenes watchable on some level.

A Note On The Visual Effects:  WETA Digital's work on Gollum for Lord of the Rings was revolutioary, but their Kong is, hands down, the best digital character ever to appear on-screen.  I completely believed that he was a real creature for the entire duration of the film, and their animation work is central to the film's emotional punch.

If Kong himself were the only effect, this film would still have been an amazing feast for the eyes.  But the visuals in Kong are spectacular all-around;  the recreation of 1930s New York City is astonishingly detailed, the T-Rex attack will have you on the edge-of your seat without once thinking about the fx-wizardry involved, the insect attack is the creepiest thing I've seen on film since James Cameron's Aliens and the final aeriel attack is a roller coaster that needs to be seen on the big screen.

This year's Oscar for Visual Effects belongs to Kong.

-Otis