King Kong [1933] (DVD)

Following any movie that has achieved “classic” status is always fraught with danger; especially so for one as much loved as the Cooper/Schoedsack directed 1933 version of King Kong. For many like me, the iconic scenes of the Empire State Building towering over an equally iconic New York as a backdrop to one of the most dramatic finales in movie history was a defining moment in my celluloid gazing childhood. Peter Jackson says that King Kong was one of his favourite movies as he was growing up. In 2005 he attempted to re-create near perfection with some startling results. The story itself generally treads the path of its predecessor of 72 years earlier. Ann ...  Read the complete review

Background I recently went to see Peter Jackson’s King Kong and shared my disappointment at the film with Dooyoo. I had really fond memories of King Kong from my childhood (I was obsessed with dinosaurs), so decided to go back and re-watch the 1933 original to see whether it was really as good as I remembered… The Plot Movie producer Carl Denham is setting off a journey to an unexplored island which is rumoured to have something on it which terrifies the natives. Desperate for a leading lady for his film, he spots starving actress Ann Darrow stealing an apple and persuades her to come along. Once there, they find an island inhabited by dinosaurs and ...  Read the complete review

Peter Jackson has always been proud of his love for the original King Kong movie. Rewarded with the remarkable success of the Lord of The Rings trilogy, he's been a coveted man in Hollywood for a good few years now. Opting against newer projects once again, Jackson stated his intent to remake the 1933 classic and here it is at last. Restored amidst a new generation of eye-scorching special effects, Kong is brought back to life as the mythical beast of Skull Island. Carl Denham, played by an underpar Jack Black, is a ambitious film maker. Low on morals but high on expectation, he loads the ranks and sets sail to the mysterious waters of the deep south, ...  Read the complete review

Ann Darrow has been let down all her life, a hardworking actress, made to perform in mediocre comedy shows, she seems to have very little future and when her mentor is forced to leave New York and her theatre is closed down she has to seriously contemplate working in a strip club. Carl Denham is an ambitious movie director who's latest offering fails to impress movie executives, he tells them of a treasure map he has acquired that leads to a mysterious island - the perfect setting for his new epic, but they laugh him off and refuse to fund the expensive project. Without a leading lady he is forced to scour the streets for a young attractive blonde, which he finds in ...  Read the complete review

KING KONG (2005) This is my first movie review, if you have never seen a version of King Kong before, I will apologise now if I have given too much away. Wish me luck and I hope you enjoy the review. This is a review on the 2005 version. As you may all be aware by now this is a remake of the 1933 classic movie, I cried at the original, and I cried buckets at this version. The Characters: It started off I felt, a little slow, but then I realised it is just setting the scene, for you to get know the characters. Ann Darrow, an out of work vaudeville actress, blonde slim and pretty (gosh I hate her, only joking), ...  Read the complete review