tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post1732759856660575511..comments2024-03-27T10:27:59.266-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: The Films of 2017: Kong: Skull IslandJohn Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-16628810293582500012017-03-16T01:57:23.854-04:002017-03-16T01:57:23.854-04:00I knew you would have something interesting to say...I knew you would have something interesting to say about this film! Good review. I wonder about the choice of time period: did they choose 1973 from the start to work in the Vietnam elements or did they choose 1973 as just about the latest date where an uncharted island could still be remotely credible and had that lead to the Apocalypse Kong theme? I also wonder about the choice of helicopters as the vehicle for the expedition: because they are so strongly associated with Vietnam and Apocalypse now or because of the first Kong's unforgettable dislike of aircraft?:-) (I'm a pilot and I can tell you that flying into a storm anything like the one surrounding the island is tantamount to suicide - going in a submarine would have made a lot more sense. But also would have made a much less interesting movie)<br /><br />Have to say that Samuel Jackson makes a great Captain Ahab and John C. Reilly absolutely steals the show. I'm not likely to ever forget his line about the ants. nowherehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12125582590094636085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-44462299422595643882017-03-14T11:36:07.545-04:002017-03-14T11:36:07.545-04:00John, great review, I am glad too that this King K...John, great review, I am glad too that this King Kong is a revised interesting version. There will be sequels probably to fill the years between the 1973 setting and the present. <br /><br />SGBSGBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07137406272001346149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-38590372244285235882017-03-14T11:24:31.473-04:002017-03-14T11:24:31.473-04:00I agree, John, that this rethink of the King Kong ...I agree, John, that this rethink of the King Kong legend comes off better, and is a better idea, than yet another retelling of the same King Kong original story with nothing but updated special effects. I would add that my immediate reaction on seeing it was that, besides calling to mind Heart of Darkness, the Vietnam allusions and the way the setting is filmed were also meant to recall the *imagery* of Apocalypse Now in a very direct way! I have always thought the major flaw in Apocalypse Now as a telling of Heart of Darkness is that Brando's Kurtz, is not ambiguous enough: although his reaction to his environment and circumstances may *feel* right given the situation, he is clearly by no means sane, which I think hurts the ability to draw any parallels. Here, Marlow is sane, which makes the parallel with Heart of Darkness more readily apparent. <br /><br />It makes me wish all the more that Orson Welles had been able to complete his vision of Heart of Darkness. Sherinoreply@blogger.com