Movieliscious

Last Friday, I was released from The Velvet Prison™ early, and rather than throw myself into packing and moving, as I should have since the transit strike had finally come to an end, I decided to do something infinitely more frivolous:

I spent the afternoon and evening going to the movies.

And, my friends, when I get it in my head to waste time going to the movies, I don't mess around. I saw both King Kong and Brokeback Mountain in one day.

I give a qualified thumbs-up to Kong. Though it's three hours long, I didn't really feel it (except, maybe for the extended bug sequence... coulda lived without that), and for the most part, the CGI stuff is amazing. Kong himself is kick-ass amazing. But, and here's where my review goes south, I swear I could see the outline where they put the humans into some of the CGI shots that didn't involve Kong. When Jack Black and Adrian Brody were running away from the stampeding dinosaurs (sorry, kids... that was a bit of a spoiler, I guess), it looked like nothing so much as two guys running in place in front of a screen. Maybe ol' Peter Jackson had to deliver the movie before he was really finished touching it up.

The real hero of the movie is Naomi Watts. Well, Naomi Watts and Andy Serkis. She's absolutely amazing, even when you know she's acting to a green screen. And Andy Serkis -- as the physical model for Kong -- was just a hoot. At least they didn't skimp on the CGI there. Kong's ultimate fall (the literal one, I mean) seemed a little hokey for me. I know it's a fantasy, but I wasn'tnecessarilyy able to suspend my disbelief -- knowing, as I do, that from the height of the top of the Empire State Building, Kong woulda hit the pavement like a Hefty Bag full of vegetable soup.

Still, its faults notwithstanding, I'm happy to recommend it. Just make sure you pee before it starts.

I have to admit to being very wary of Brokeback Mountain. I didn't see how it was possible for me to be any more affected than I was by Annie Proulx's short story. That story left me a on a two-day intermittent crying jag.

Well, there's no way the movie was gonna do that, though I've heard people who were still trying to come to terms with what they'd seen four days later. I wasn't that affected, but I sure did enjoy the film.

Heath Ledger absolutely deserves all the accolades he's getting for this one, and I even liked Jake Gyllenhaal, though some friends didn't. But I find him an engaging and interesting performer generally, so there's that. Of course, you know Jake's waiting with bated breath for my opinion. Heath, too.

In any case, I thought the cast was great. The real treat, though, is Ang Lee's direction, and particularly the astoundingly beautiful way he shoots the Western landscape. Watching this film made me want to go on a nice long trip through the Heartland with my camera. Wonderful.

So for what it's worth, that's my take. Feel free to toss your excess coins in the tip jar.