This concept video was apparently leaked from Peter Jackson’s production of The Hobbit. It’s an exciting early look at the controversial direction Jackson may take, thematically:
Equally puzzling is this video, which is not confirmed to be connected to Jackson’s production:
How either of these videos saw the light of day is a mystery. Those responsible should be tracked and punished.
There were good and bad points to this movie.
First the good: the special effects were really top-notch. Excellent work. And in the end, they were somewhat successful in getting me to empathize with Kong - so I give some credit to the directing, too.
And the bad: everything else.
Seriously, this was a really pretty movie. Great visuals. And like I said, I kinda was rooting for Kong despite knowing he buys it in the end (and if you think that’s a spoiler, you’ve been living under a rock for 60 years or so). But other than that… can’t say I thought it was time well spent.
The length: way too long. I could have cut out about a third of that movie and not lost anything important. This movie was Peter Jackson using the clout he got from the Lord of the Rings films to make a big film just because he could. It was all spectacle and no substance.
Ironically, Jackson did exactly what the “bad guy” of the film, played by Jack Black, did: he took what he loved and killed it. It was obvious that Jackson meant to take the superb original film and create a loving, but even more visually exciting, epic film. What he did was create an unwieldy, and eventually tiresome, creature. I was actually bored during the dinosaur sequences. After the first few minutes, I was thinking, “okay, that was nice - good fighting, I can see he wants to save her, now let’s get back to the plot.” But then it just kept going! Same thing with the bugs… “ooo, creepy — yikes! A couple guys got killed. Nasty. Cool. Okay, get ‘em outta there so we can get along with the plot!” But it just kept going!
Suspension of disbelief? Rarely, if ever. I’m usually pretty forgiving in this department, but come on… from the moment Ann was grabbed by Kong, she’d have been dead purely by accident. Her arms would have pulled off when he took her from the bridge, her bones would have been shattered by the pounding she took while he was running, her neck would have snapped every time he threw her from hand to hand, or over his shoulder - and that’s assuming he would know how to hold her without crushing her to begin with. Then “Jimmy” - who has never, apparently, shot a gun in his life - picks up and loads a machine gun and sharpshoots a bunch of bugs off of Driscoll without even grazing him. (I think that last one was supposed to be for comic effect, but it didn’t work for me at all.)
The plot: not bad, but not great. Certainly not enough to sustain a 3-hour time slot.
I could go on, but it comes down to this: this is one of the few blockbusters (especially one built on visuals) that I can honestly say I’m glad I didn’t spend money or time on in the theaters.
Sadly, despite the promise it held and the great effects, I can only give this one 2 stars.
Technorati Tags: movie, special effects, Peter Jackson, Lord of the Rings, Jack Black, blockbusters, King Kong
SCI FI Wire | The News Service of the SCI FI Channel
As previously reported, Fox and Universal Studios have backed out of their deal to finance Halo. While not ideal, Wingnut Studios were going ahead with their part of the production anyway. Well, now they’ve quit too. Here’s their statement:
“As was previously confirmed, we deeply regret that both Universal and Fox did not choose to move forward with financing the Halo film under the original terms of the agreement. At this time Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, along with their partner, Microsoft, have mutually agreed to postpone making a feature film based on the Halo video-game universe until we can fulfill the promise we made to millions of Halo fans throughout the world that we would settle for no less than bringing a first-class film to the big screen. We are fully supportive of director Neill Blomkamp’s vision of the film. Neill is a tremendously gifted filmmaker and his preliminary work on Halo is truly awe-inspiring. While it will undoubtedly take a little longer for Halo to reach the big screen, we are confident that the final feature film will be well worth the wait.”
So it’s not quite Game Over, officially, but the screen seems to be frozen.
Technorati Tags: Wingnut Studios, Halo film, Peter Jackson, Microsoft, video-game
Variety.com - ‘Halo’ pic loses its studios
Fox Studios and Universal Studios have backed out of their deal to finance the Halo movie, based on the popular video game by Bungie and Microsoft.
The studios exercised their option to back out right before a deadline that would require an advance payment to Microsoft, who also would receive 10% of the movies profits.
While the exit of two studios would seem to imperil “Halo,” Kamins said Microsoft is already in talks with other distribution partners. Prep work on the film continues, he said. One advantage is having [Peter] Jackson and [Fran] Walsh as exec producers: Most of the pre-production is being done at their visual effects studios in New Zealand, Weta Digital and Weta Workshop, so there will be no stoppage.
So while it might seem that the studios’ exit might put an end to the anticipated movie, there is still time for Jackson (of “Lord of the Rings” fame) and team to find new partners.
Technorati Tags: Fox Studios, Universal Studios, Halo movie, video game, Bungie, Microsoft
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