King Kong (2005)

Posted on March 12, 2006 by Felix Vasquez

Peter Jackson takes “King Kong” a timeless classic from 1933 and remakes it bigger, larger, and louder. And he’s very faithful to the original story (98 percent). Jackson goes back to the roots of the story, and what made it so damn good, and brings it to modern audiences. Though nothing can ever top the original film, and all of its novelty, Jackson’s remake is pretty damn good. What always intrigued me about the Kong story, is that Ann Darrow, whether she knew it or not, was the beginning of the end of King Kong. In the climax, as he falls from the Empire State Building, you have to wonder that perhaps he was better off being alone. As with all noir the female is always the end for the male.

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KatieBird *Certifiable Crazy Person (2005)

Posted on February 25, 2006 by Felix Vasquez

The road from troubled girl, to certifiable insane psychotic killer is not an easy one, and it’s a declaration Katie Bird can attest to. “Katie Bird” is not particularly a perfect film, but when it hits the mark it’s quite possibly one of the more steadily disturbing horror entries that really did entertain and fascinate me. After her father’s funeral, she and her psychiatrist, lovers and all, have a fight and eventually make up, but Bird then suddenly goes over the edge and ties him up. Through small interludes of torture, Bird finally gives her therapist the brunt of her love for killing and sadomasochism. Many times, a film can basically come off as contrived when exploring what leads to the inevitable birth of a serial killer, and Bird is not a sympathetic character who was pushed in to this.

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Kinsey (2004)

Posted on February 2, 2006 by Felix Vasquez

Alfred Charles Kinsey was a true pioneer of his time. Back then in the fifties conservatism and religion were all powerful and the mere mention of or exploration in to the world of sex was shocking and considered almost criminal. Kinsey gave the religious right a good scare and shook up the foundation of conservative America exposing it as anything but. He helped to bring down the mythological “American Values”, and “Nuclear family” by exposing us as human. Cleverly though, “Kinsey” is not approached with a dramatic angle, which is difficult when tackling a biographical account of a man whose father was disciplinary, and who challenged modern conventions.

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Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

Posted on August 7, 2005 by Felix Vasquez

After Stephen Chow’s hilarious “Shaolin Soccer”, he comes back with yet another very funny action-comedy that is part Chuck Jones, part Bruce Lee. The marriage of tense, engrossing martial arts action, and off the wall screwball antics that would make Tex Avery gleam with pride, is a task that wouldn’t be an easy one by any means, but director Stephen Chow balances the two accordingly, and as the climax becomes more action than comedy, there is still a sense of the goofy to it, a goofiness that some will love for its sheer originality, and some won’t for that same fact. Chow manages to create some of the most screwy comedy I’ve seen in a long time, while he manages to spoof much of his influences such as “The Shining” and “Thriller” as do all the directors whom have been impacted by pop culture.

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King Arthur (2004)

Posted on July 21, 2005 by Felix Vasquez

I’m a fantasy nut. You couldn’t really tell but I am a real fantasy nut and am especially fond of the King Arthur legend. Whether or not King Arthur did or did not exist, it’s obvious that the fantasy of his legend never happened, but it is a lot of fun to think so and it’s a lot of fun to study and learn about the Excalibur, the lady in the lake, or the sword in the stone (which ever happened first), and the wizard Merlin cast spells to aid his king in battle or whatnot. Director Antoine Fuqua score yet again with an entertaining and beautiful looking epic that will basically entertain audiences with a riveting action adventure. The film, which is mostly appealing for its production values, really does manage to make for an engrossing two hours that will really involve the audience in what it has to offer. Fuqua creates a very grim and stylish mood that fits what the concept is attempting to accomplish very well.

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Kaena: The Prophecy (2003)

Posted on April 17, 2005 by Felix Vasquez

Ultimately, I wanted to like this movie. I really, really wanted to love it, on the contrary, but damn it, I just couldn’t, because Within twenty minutes of the movie I had this very grim sour look on my face and I was just so disappointed. Judging by the trailer and pictures from Entertainment Weekly I thought this would be great, I love fantasy, I love the genre of it, but this just wasn’t anything good. Forgettable, and just plain bleak, too bleak for a child’s cartoon. Not even teenage boys are going to like this, and the reason is it’s just so damn confusing.

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Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (2003)

Posted on October 10, 2004 by Felix Vasquez

This is Tarantino’s fourth film after a self imposed hiatus in filmmaking. Originally set to be one whole film, the studios made him split his long story into two films, possibly for franchising opportunities, but who knows? I watched “Kill Bill” with the wide-eyed enthusiasm of a child looking onto his first action film, and Tarantino’s first attempt at the action genre, and I was stunned. The “Kill Bill” franchise has become a hit, commercially, critically, and with Tarantino’s fiercely devoted fan base, who have stuck by the prolific director. Tarantino manages to set yet another precedent with “Kill Bill” which is simply a brilliant movie. I admit, I’m not a fan of Tarantino’s, he makes brilliant work and “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction” are excellent, but I wouldn’t call myself a fan. “Kill Bill Vol. 1” has me re-considering my thoughts, though.

This is the same old revenge flick we’ve seen in every Japanese martial arts film, and western, and Tarantino knows that, and that’s his mission, to make a film of his very own, his very own revenge flick paying tribute to his favorite films, his very own film that resembles a Japanese exploitation saga right down to the theme music, which is beautiful from funkadelic soul, to Japanese pop, to the theme song of “The Green Hornet” that really had me high. This movie is not only a thrill to watch but is also a good game you can play called “spot the reference”. There are dozens of movie references here, and hell, it could make a good drinking game. For every movie reference you spot you take a shot.

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