Oscar Observations - Part 2
Continuing on the subject of Oscar, a few people expected Peter Jackson to follow up his LORD OF THE RINGS success with nominations for KING KONG. I wasn't sure, until I saw the film.
A bloated mess that squandered enough money to make ten half-decent movies, KONG was a spectacle too far. The film was Jackson's playground but the problem with playgrounds is that they tend to get out of control without teachers to rein in the kids. With nobody to restrain Jackson's urges, we were treated to a three hour showcase of Weta's digital effects and Jackson's unnecessary flourishes (the slow motion reveal of Skull Island was, to be honest, a bit silly).
My concern before the film was that the padding before the action would ruin what KONG was all about (i.e. apes fighting dinosaurs) but sadly the opposite was true. The opening was actually one of the more interesting parts of the film, in particular the striking job that was made of recreating 30s New York. The action on the island, on the other hand, just seemed to be an endless string of set pieces showering us with blow after blow of computer-generated flights of fancy. In the original movie, one feels sorry for Kong when he's killed; in the remake, they couldn't get to the Empire State fast enough as far as my ever-numbing rear end was concerned.
Unsurprisingly, KONG was nominated only in the technical categories and not for any of the "big" awards. If the film achieved anything, it was to prove once and for all just how pointless remakes can be.
Sam Mendes also had his hopes dashed when Gulf War movie JARHEAD was completely ignored. It would be easy to suggest that maybe it was too politically sensitive - for me, it's easier to suggest that the film just isn't that good. Someone mentioned to me that it was like FULL METAL JACKET but not as good - I wouldn't know, as I've never seen that film (no, seriously).
However, in its desert location, admittedly lovely cinematography and its study of the effects of war on soldiers who never even get to fight, I was thinking more of Valerio Zurlini's 1976 epic IL DESERTO DEI TARTARI. This film dealt with a group of soldiers awaiting an enemy that never arrives and also boasted gorgeous desert photography, but had the added bonus of a haunting score by Ennio Morricone and a top-notch multi-national cast including the likes of Max Von Sydow, Jean-Louis Trintignant and one of my personal favourites, Giuliano Gemma.
More Oscar observations to come!
A bloated mess that squandered enough money to make ten half-decent movies, KONG was a spectacle too far. The film was Jackson's playground but the problem with playgrounds is that they tend to get out of control without teachers to rein in the kids. With nobody to restrain Jackson's urges, we were treated to a three hour showcase of Weta's digital effects and Jackson's unnecessary flourishes (the slow motion reveal of Skull Island was, to be honest, a bit silly).
My concern before the film was that the padding before the action would ruin what KONG was all about (i.e. apes fighting dinosaurs) but sadly the opposite was true. The opening was actually one of the more interesting parts of the film, in particular the striking job that was made of recreating 30s New York. The action on the island, on the other hand, just seemed to be an endless string of set pieces showering us with blow after blow of computer-generated flights of fancy. In the original movie, one feels sorry for Kong when he's killed; in the remake, they couldn't get to the Empire State fast enough as far as my ever-numbing rear end was concerned.
Unsurprisingly, KONG was nominated only in the technical categories and not for any of the "big" awards. If the film achieved anything, it was to prove once and for all just how pointless remakes can be.
Sam Mendes also had his hopes dashed when Gulf War movie JARHEAD was completely ignored. It would be easy to suggest that maybe it was too politically sensitive - for me, it's easier to suggest that the film just isn't that good. Someone mentioned to me that it was like FULL METAL JACKET but not as good - I wouldn't know, as I've never seen that film (no, seriously).
However, in its desert location, admittedly lovely cinematography and its study of the effects of war on soldiers who never even get to fight, I was thinking more of Valerio Zurlini's 1976 epic IL DESERTO DEI TARTARI. This film dealt with a group of soldiers awaiting an enemy that never arrives and also boasted gorgeous desert photography, but had the added bonus of a haunting score by Ennio Morricone and a top-notch multi-national cast including the likes of Max Von Sydow, Jean-Louis Trintignant and one of my personal favourites, Giuliano Gemma.
More Oscar observations to come!
Labels: oscars
posted by Alan at 8:20 pm
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