Whenever I get a long break (in this case, a 3-day weekend), I try to catch up on all the movies I haven't seen during the year. I love watching movies, but I only go to the theater about once a year. Then, I do a movie marathon all at once.
This weekend I watched "King Kong", "The Chronicles of Narnia", "The 40 Year Old Virgin", and "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children".
Kong
"King Kong"David's Ratings: Both thumbs up, A, 91.
I thought this was a great movie. The movie was visually stunning. It was a remake of the classic 1933 movie. It was also similar to the one made in 1976 starring Jessica Lange. Thanks to modern technology, this version is the most fun to watch. We all know how the movie ends. Naomi Watts' character, "Ann", does not end up marrying the big monkey.
It started off slow, but the story grew in suspense perfectly. The middle of the movie was a nonstop rollercoaster ride. There were several great chase scenes all linked together very well.
There were a lot of unanswered questions in the movie though. What was King Kong going to do with Naomi Watts if she wasn't pretty? Was he going to play with her like a doll until she died? It didn't look like he was going to eat her. I think he just ate bamboo trees. I don't think he liked people at all, except for Naomi Watts. He probably shook all the previous virgin sacrifices to death. I don't think anyone could survive that kind of shaking. I can't believe she wasn't crushed when Kong had to catch her several times during the T-rex fight scenes.
When they finally captured Kong, how the heck did they carry him back to New York? There were only about half a dozen of them left when they got off the island. There was no way five or six guys can lift Kong up on the boat and take him all the way to N.Y. It would have been fun to see them transport him back on the boat.
I felt bad for the blonde girl who was tied up at Kong's show in NY. He just threw her across the theater when he found out she wasn't Naomi Watts.
All in all, it was a great action movie filled with great special effects.
Narnia: Aslan about to eat Edmund
"The Chronicles of Narnia"David Kim's rating: C, 75.
This movie was based upon my favorite novel series as an elementary school kid. This was based upon the first of seven books in the Narnia series, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". I was more fond of the memories of the book than this movie. Maybe it's because I'm an adult now, but I just don't like movies where kids are the heroes. I think this would be a great movie for kids though. It is a fun movie, but it does appeal to children more than adults. The special effects were good. The computer generated animation was better than those found in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, but not by much.
C.S. Lewis, the author of the series, was the preeminent Christian apologist. Christian symbolism can be found in all of his fictional works, including his "Space Trilogy". He was good friends with "The Lord of the Rings" author, J.R.R. Tolkien, another Christian author.
It is obvious to see that Aslan, the great lion, symbolized Jesus. Aslan sacrificed himself in the mischievous boy, Edmund's, place. The White Witch represented Satan. Aslan was resurrected soon after his death.
I don't know what was so special about the wardrobe. It just happened to be a gateway to Narnia. In Narnia, time moves differently than in our world. The kids were there for about ten years and when they went back home, only seconds had passed.
I thought the animation was well done. I just think that when the girls were riding on top of the lion, they should have been bouncing a lot more than they were. It looked like the girls were hardly moving at all and they were talking effortlessly. I thought that looked so fake.
Kids will absolutely love this movie. Unfortunately for adults, the talking animals and stuff will keep them from relating. Adults can relate to Shrek 2 better than this, because Shrek has a lot more inside jokes. This movie leans more towards the Winnie the Pooh side than Shrek.
Virgin
"The Forty Year Old Virgin"David Kim's rating: B, 82.
This was a nice little comedy about Andy, a man who was a 40-year old virgin. It had its funny moments. It had its awkward and uncomfortable moments. It would even be a good comedy for the whole family if not for the subject matter. It had its laughs, but it just didn't have the guffaw-inducing funniness as in American Pie.
Andy was a nice guy, but just didn't have a way with women. He just wasn't comfortable with having sex. His co-worker friends at Smart Tech, kinda like Circuit City, tries to help him get laid. Later on, he meets a hot young grandma and falls in love. He realizes that all this time, he was just saving himself for her.
Andy looks like Brian Dowdy's brother to me.
If I didn't marry my wife Sarah. I might have ended up being like Andy.
Final Fantasy 7
"Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children"David Kim's rating: A, 93.
Okay, first off, you have to have played the original Final Fantasy VII game on the Playstation I. The original was made in 1997. This movie is actually a sequel to the game. If you played and finished the game, then you will absolutely go bonkers over this movie. You will appreciate the movie so much more if you played this. I think people who love anime and action movies will also like this movie.
Final Fantasy is probably the most well known and most well respected role playing game (RPG) in video games today. At the time of writing of this review, Final Fantasy XII is the next game to be released sometime towards the end of this year. Out of this greatly beloved series, Final Fantasy VII is arguably the most revered. It can even be argued that FFVII is the most important game in recent times. In 1997, the whole world was blown away by the way this game brought story telling and animation together in a video game. This game took me about 80+ hours to finish. People who finished this game, spent quite a significant chunk of their lives playing this. They were really emotionally invested in the characters. I cried when Aeris died and when Tifa was stabbed by the evil Sephiroth during the CG cutscenes in the game.
This movie totally brings all the characters back and brings joy to all the FFVII fans.
The graphics and animation in this game is superb. The format of this movie is in Sony's Playstation Portable UMD (Universal Media Disk). Don't ask me why it's called "Universal" when it can only be played on the PSP.
The fighting and action sequences are one of the most stylish you will ever see. FFVII is heavily influenced by movies like the Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I'm not sure why or how they can fly like that in the movie. The characters must have leveled up significantly since the original game, 'cuz they couldn't fly like that before. Oh well. It is cool to watch even though it is unbelievable.
The main character, Cloud Strife, is so cool. He rides a bad ass motorcycle and carries enormous kick ass swords. He's a reluctant hero that is haunted by the past. He keeps having flashbacks of the friends he lost, Aeris (Aerith Gainsborough) and Zack.
This movie is just pure eye candy. The story is okay. It's interesting, but kinda confusing in the way most Japanimation sci fi is.
The movie takes place two years after the end of the game. These mysterious silver haired dudes try to bring back Jenova, an alien life form, that they call "Mother". People are being affected by a strange disease, called Geostigma. The Shinra Corporation had found a way to use the planet's energy source, called the Lifestream. However, in doing so, they have been killing the planet. When someone dies, his spirit gets sucked up into the Lifestream. When Cloud and his buddies defeated Jenova, Jenova effected the Lifestream like a virus.
The silver haired dudes try to bring back Jenova, in what they call "Reunion". They think that people are viruses that are destroying the planet. They want to destroy all the humans on earth. They get children, who are most vulnerable to Geostigma, to become their helpers in time for the great arrival. Cloud and the gang try to stop them. When Zadaj, the main bad buy, gets Jenova's DNA, he turns into the wicked Sephiroth. Sephiroth is back! Cloud and Sephiroth get into an awesome sword fight. You'll just have to see what happens next.
