King Kong 2005

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King Kong ★★★½ 2005 (PG-13)

In this remake of the 1933 classic, Depression-era filmmaker Carl Denham (Black) lures starving ingenue Ann Darrow (Watts) and screenwriter Jack Driscoll (Brody) to the uncharted Skull Island to shoot his masterpiece. However, once they arrive, the crew meets angry natives, rampaging dinosaurs, and a massive, menacing monkey named Kong. We all know where the story goes from there, but Jackson enlivens the familiar with thrilling action sequences (Kong vs. T. Rexes equals awesome) and the most expressive simian ever put to film (WETA deserves an acting Oscar for Kong's face alone). Regrettably, the three-hour flick drags whenever Kong isn't on-screen, and Jackson spends way too much time with his so-so supporting cast. But, as always, Kong remains king. 187m/C DVD, HD DVD . Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Colin Hanks, Jamie Bell, Evan Dexter Parke, Kyle Chandler, Andy Serkis, Lobo Chan; D: Peter Jackson; W: Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens; C: Andrew Lesnie; M: James Newton Howard. Oscars ‘05: Sound, Visual FX; British Acad. ‘05: Visual FX.