Yeah, yeah, I know all the debate. Some love it. Some hate it. And for
various reasons that all seem to culminate in unoriginality. In truth,
it must be confessed that when I was sitting in the theater watching it
unfold, I immediately began to pick at it because of their very
decision to copy the Salkinds. Thinking on it now I'm sure this is in
no small part to my utter disgust of the Batman series demise (thanks
Mr. Clooney), and overwhelming joy at its victorious resurrection (thank
you Chris Nolan). Because of this, my hope was to have a fresh view of
Clark and Co. As all know who have seen it, that was not to be had.
However....
Somewhere between my disappointment and the first third of the movie I
realized I was really having a lot of fun. And hey, that can turn the
tables on any amount of preconceived notions, opinions or feelings.
Even when they are legitimate.
It was refreshing to see the villains more real to life in their
hostile abuse of their victims. And I beleive it was Nolan who
mentioned being glad their was no "Otis" characterization or
facsimile thereof; and I share that appreciation. Altho I loved Ned
Beatty in the original, having someone like that here would have killed
the more earthy tone of the bad guys.
By the time the credits started to roll I was sorry to see it end. Not
sure if I would put it up there with Batman Begins (which completely
blew me away-again; thanks chris nolan) or even Spiderman, but that has
more to do with the copycat mentality of the film than anything else.
OPRAH RUNS THE GOP
Thanks go out to Oprah Winfrey, for doing in one afternoon what an
entire nation of citizens weren't able to do for several years: get
Congress to raise the minimum wage.
We all know how difficult it is to get anything passed in Congress,
don't we? Unless it's money for their buddies or themselves, that seems
to be the cure-all for all of their discontent. And as I hope most of
you know, the Congress has wiped its collective GOP ass with the
prospect of helping lower and middle-class America, instead giving
themselves raises, which they desperately need in order to supplement
the bribes they accept by the bribers on hand (lobbyists)! Good for
them.
So good ol' Oprah has had enough stupidity, and called these bozos (no
offense, Bozo) out to the carpet for their greed, arrogance, and
ambivalence to American citizens (you and me). Yes, Oprah told the
TRUTH. And as any citizen paying attention the last 6 years can tell
you, the GOP doesn't understand the concept of truth and is therefore
afraid of it. This propelled the lying deceivers into safe mode, where
they actually feel they have to do something good for us. Not because
they care, but because they've been shown to be the scum of the earth
they really are.
PJ's KING KONG DIRECTOR'S CUT
Comging November '06 will be Peter Jackson's King Kong Extended Edition.
After Lord of the Rings, if you didn't know this was coming, you're not
paying attention to how this dude does things. And THAT is the sole
reason I have held off getting the Special Edition, knowing full well
this was going to happen.
Packed with extras and an addition 18 minutes of bugs, monsters, and
victims, this extended edition will also be available with a King Kong
figurine (see photo). $34.98 without/$79.98 with. While I didn't consider
this to be the best movie of the year, or even fanboy movie, I did
enjoy it immensely and am really looking forward to this extended
version.
DVD details are listed below:
Disc One
o Commentary with Director Peter Jackson & Producer Phillipa
Boyens (Part One)
o 16 Deleted Scenes
Disc Two
o Commentary with Director Peter Jackson & Producer Phillipa
Boyens (Part Two)
o The Eighth Blunder of the World Featurette
o The Present Featurette
o A Night in Vaudeville Featurette
o King Kong Homage
o Weta Collectables
o Multiple Trailers
Disc Three
o The King Kong Archives
o Introduction by director Peter Jackson
o The Origins of King Kong Documentary
o Pre-Production Part 1: The Return of Kong
o Pre-Production Part 2: Countdown to Filming
o The Venture Journey Featurette
o Return to Skull Island Featurette
o New York, New Zealand Featurette
o Bringing Kong to Life Part 1: Design and Research
o Bringing Kong to Life Part 2: Performance and Animation
o The 1996 King Kong Video Gallery
o The Venture Video Gallery
o Skull Island Video Gallery
o New York Video Gallery
o Kong Video Gallery
o Arrival at Skull Island Pre-Viz Animatic
o Bronto Stampede Pre-Viz Animatic
o T-Rex Fight Pre-Viz Animatic
o Kong's Capture Pre-Viz Animatic
o Empire State Building Battle Pre-Viz Animatic
o Ann Disarms Kong Motion-Capture/Animation Comparison
o Kong's Capture Motion-Capture/Animation Comparison
o Kong in New York Motion-Capture/Animation Comparison
o 1996 and 2005 Scripts (DVD-ROM)
Talk about packed with features. This PJ dude has really discovered
what DVDs are all about. Or should be. Now if only he were in charge of
Universal DVD and could convince them to produce a Jaws Box Set for the
Americas......
Take care everyone, and God bless,
Matthew
