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King Kong (2005) --> Peter Jackson's follow-up to the award winning Lord of the Rings trilogy is a remake of the 1933 classic giant gorilla flick. The first thing to say is that this version outshines the '76 remake by a long shot even if you don't see a glimpse of Naomi Watts chest as you did Jessica Lange's. If you are so inclined then Watts makes a naked appearance in David Lynch's Mulholland Dr. (2001) for all you boob lovers out there. The first thing you notice about this film is that Jackson keeps faithful to the original. The time period and characters remain the same as well as the story itself. There are only minor irritants to this film which include Jack Black (a better actor could have played Carl Denham), the length (3 hours is a bit long to sit in a theatre) and Jackson's use of dinosaurs (why set yourself up to be criticised for ripping off Jurrasic Park?). But these are minor as stated previously and the fight scenes with Kong and the T-Rex were awesome anyway.

The biggest problem I had with this movie is that it belongs in the past. I found that the capturing, displaying, and killing of such an amazing creature (if it really existed of course) was an attitude that belongs in a different century. Would it have been a cop out to change the ending to allow Kong to live? The answer is yes and therefore such a script needed to stay in 1933.


Full Spectrum Staff

Doom (2005) --> For what it was, an adaptation of a video game, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Not as good as Tomb Raider but better than Mortal Kombat. Doom stars the Rock (Dwayne Johnson) as the 'Sarge' of a special forces unit sent to Mars to rescue some scientists and bring back the research data they were working on. Although Johnson can't act, his co-star Karl Urban did a great job with what he had for script and character. Seeing Johnson turn on his mates was enjoyable since you always see him as the hero of his films. But what was the most fun about this film, especially if you played the computer game, was when Urban, after being injected with the 'super-human' serum, recovers and the camera angle turns into a first-person shooter video game screen ripped off from the game. It shows Urban shooting the monsters on the way to rescuing his sister.


Full Spectrum Staff

Bad News Bears (2005) --> I usually enjoy Billy Bob Thorton's lackadaisical acting style. It worked for movies such as Monster's Ball (2001) and The Man Who Wasn't There (2001). But he seemed to really take a vacation in this movie. It was disappointing because I could envision Thorton rivalling Walter Matthau, the original Coach Buttermaker, in talent brought to the character. The movie itself was just the retelling of the original from 1976 with a few changes. Therefore, you quickly came to the conclusion after the credits arrived that it would have been more enjoyable just staying at home and renting the original. What was Richard Linklater, one of the notable indie directors of the '90s who brought us movies like Slacker (1991), Dazed and Confused (1993), and more recently The School of Rock (2003) doing when he agreed to direct this stinker?


Full Spectrum Staff

Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild (2005) --> This direct to video cartoon shows the Little's on summer vacation in the woods. Both Stuart and his brother join a wilderness club (an equivalent of the Boy Scouts) and Stuart befriends a skunk (voiced by Wayne Brady). Both Geena Davis and Michael J. Fox return to voice Mrs. Little and Stuart respectively. The story gets interesting when the skunk tricks Snowbell (the family cat, voiced by Nathan Lane) into entering the forest to be captured by the 'beast' (a mountain lion). Stuart puts on his hero face and goes to save Snowbell. The skunk realizes Stuart is his only real friend and uses his guilt as a motivating force to rally the forest creatures to come to Stuart's aid. And as most cartoons for kids wrap-up, Stuart Little 3 ends with a lesson being taught and everyone living happily ever after.


Full Spectrum Staff

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