KONG: Skull Island movie

[Tambora]

Kong: Skull Island

Movie takes place in 1973 during Vietnam war.
And like a lot of Vietnam movies, it has a lot of the same 1970's music.
The cinematography is excellent.
All the creatures are really cool looking.
Kong is over 100 feet tall.

The story line seemed a little rushed, but it's really the creatures that make the movie anyway.

Here is a clip of when they first see Kong when arriving to the island in military copters.
For some reason, this line of the movie is most memorable to me ------ "Is that a monkey?"

 

[steko]

Tam, I'm anxious to see it.
I always liked the guy and felt like he was largely misunderstood.

I remember in the fifties as a kid, finding out that King Kong was going to be on TV on Saturday and the herald would go out all over the neighborhood.

We'd wait in anticipation as the RKO Broadcasting thing would come on and we were glued.
The ending always broke my heart, but I'd hear the echo of my parents, "It's just a movie!"

As you know, back then we couldn't rewind, see it again and as often as we wanted, but had to wait til the next time we could spot it in the newspaper TV listing, probably in another year.

 

[Tambora]

Tam, I'm anxious to see it.
I always liked the guy and felt like he was largely misunderstood.

I remember in the fifties as a kid, finding out that King Kong was going to be on TV on Saturday and the herald would go out all over the neighborhood.

We'd wait in anticipation as the RKO Broadcasting thing would come on and we were glued.
The ending always broke my heart, but I'd hear the echo of my parents, "It's just a movie!"

As you know, back then we couldn't rewind, see it again and as often as we wanted, but had to wait til the next time we could spot it in the newspaper TV listing, probably in another year.

Kong and Godzilla have been my favorite creatures since a child in the 50's.

So I pretty much liked all the movies about both.


One thing about this movie is that a classified corporation called the Marathon Project in this new Kong movie was also mentioned in the last Godzilla movie (2014).
Don't know for sure if those two movies are related.

As far as the story line in this movie, it leaves out a lot of explanation.
If it were the only Kong movie you had seen, it would leave a lot of unanswered questions.
But since I already know the Kong story, that didn't bother me much about this movie.

The look and movements of Kong in this movie is the best so far, in my opinion.

And the Kong story usually has a female that he develops a protective attraction for and carries her off with him.
This movie only has a hint of that where he does save the girl from drowning. It's the same girl he helped earlier that was trying to lift a piece of heavy equipment off a trapped huge water buffalo looking creature. Kong helps lift it off to set the big ox free.
But he never carries her off with him or tries to keep her.


And Samuel L. Jackson's character (a military soldier) is compared with Captain Ahab of Moby Dick.
Makes it his personal mission to destroy a beast that thinks it can best man, at any cost.

 

[Nick M]

I also like King Kong. The first one I saw was 1978, which was also the worst with their political garbage inserted into the movie. I'll be seeing it.

 

[The Berean]

Kong and Godzilla have been my favorite creatures since a child in the 50's.

So I pretty much liked all the movies about both.


One thing about this movie is that a classified corporation called the Marathon Project in this new Kong movie was also mentioned in the last Godzilla movie (2014).
Don't know for sure if those two movies are related.

As far as the story line in this movie, it leaves out a lot of explanation.
If it were the only Kong movie you had seen, it would leave a lot of unanswered questions.
But since I already know the Kong story, that didn't bother me much about this movie.

The look and movements of Kong in this movie is the best so far, in my opinion.

And the Kong story usually has a female that he develops a protective attraction for and carries her off with him.
This movie only has a hint of that where he does save the girl from drowning. It's the same girl he helped earlier that was trying to lift a piece of heavy equipment off a trapped huge water buffalo looking creature. Kong helps lift it off to set the big ox free.
But he never carries her off with him or tries to keep her.


And Samuel L. Jackson's character (a military soldier) is compared with Captain Ahab of Moby Dick.
Makes it his personal mission to destroy a beast that thinks it can best man, at any cost.

King Kong will meet Godzilla in an upcoming 2020 film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5034838/

 

[Tambora]

Kong Kong will meet Godzilla in an upcoming 2020 film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5034838/

Thanks!

I figured this movie would be one of continuance.

In this KONG Skull Island movie, it is not only mentioned that Kong is still growing, but it is also mentioned that there are 'other' monsters besides Kong.
One might think that comment was meant for the other creatures Kong fights in this move.
But the ending of the movie shows (while the credits are rolling) two scenes:
1. Riley unites with his family.
Riley is one of the more entertaining characters of the movie.
His fighter plane goes down in 1944 on the island during WWII, and he's been stuck there as the only white man living with the natives.
He doesn't even know who won the war!
His last letter from his wife, that he married just before going on duty, informed him that their son was born, but he has never seen his son all those years.

2. The jungle survivor expert and the documentary photographer (the female) are shown other cave drawings that the secret project 'Monarch' organization has.
It showed cave pics of Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah, and even Godzilla.

I'll put the pics in a spoiler tag in case someone thinks it is something that will spoil the movie for them.
(It wouldn't spoil it for me if I had seen them before I watched the movie, but I'm not as picky about that as some.)

Spoiler

View attachment 25508

So it is looking like it could be a series of all these monsters coming into play at some time for future movies.

Not sure who I would root for if Kong and Godzilla fought.
But it could be that they might join forces to fight the others.
However it comes to be, I'll probably watch them all!

 

[Tambora]

There were several scenes in the movie that I just thought were so cool!

There is a scene in the movie that only lasts a few seconds.
Kong breaks off a huge tree from it's roots, holds it up horizontally with one hand at one end, then places his other hand on the end and zips his hand down the truck of the tree stripping it of it's branches to use as a club to fight another monster.
It was just one of those many quick views that made the corner of my mouth curl up as a smile while silently thinking, "That was so cool looking!"

Here is another trailer that has that short scene in it (Kong stripping the tree for a club) at around 2:13 of the video trailer.
https://www.facebook.com/twhiddleston/videos/vb.418706804839777/1345085798868535/?type=2&theater

 

[The Berean]

Oh wow! I had no idea! Sweet Tambora! Can't wait to see all those other monsters~

This is from the famous 1962 Japanese Kong Kong vs Godzilla film.

 

[Nick M]

Did Godzilla shrink or did Kong grow instantly to 400 feet?

 

[Sherman]

​It looks like a good movie.

 

[The Berean]

Did Godzilla shrink or did Kong grow instantly to 400 feet?

In the 1962 film Godzilla was only 50 meters tall which is 164 feet. Kong was 154 ft. The 2014 Godzilla is 355 ft. So the current 100 ft Kong will have to grow significantly.

 

[ClimateSanity]

Hello

Sent from my XT1254 using TheologyOnline mobile app

 

[Tambora]

Did Godzilla shrink or did Kong grow instantly to 400 feet?

There is a lot of buz about that going around.
I don't know how much is rumor, but it has been said that since it was stated in this movie that Kong was still growing .... that leaves it open enough to make him larger.
It has also been said that Kong will develop some sort of primordial superpowers as part of his growth spurt. It was even compared to a teen going through puberty and their testosterone level rises.

I really don't even like the idea of pitting these two together.
I love the story of both of them, and this just seems like they are going to have to change too much about both of them for it to look even remotely like a match fight.


Oh, and I did find out that the 2014 Godzilla movie is by some of the same folks that produced this Kong movie, and that it will be the 2014 Godzilla creature that will be in the Kong vs. Godzilla 2020 movie.

 

[Nick M]

You know what I thought of when reminded of a man in a monkey suit in 1962? Besides the fact that the costume looks like it was reused in Trading Places. The Patterson film of Bigfoot that seems too good to be true. Why is that? Like Oak Island, more questions than answers.

 

[Tambora]

I added the cave pic of Rodan in the spoiler in post #6.

 

[musterion]

Just got back. I'm a true '70s monster kid so I know all the mythology all the way back to 1933 but...it was okay. Excellent in spots, but just didn't have the drive of the 2014 Godzilla. No memorable theme music either (Godzilla's was superb; I own the DVD mainly for the opening credits). The characterization of Kong was very well done, though...not as sappy sentimental as Peter Jackson did 10 years ago. Well done.

SPOILAGE:

The scene of the old pilot going home at the credits was my favorite part, I teared up a bit. The big spider was freaky. Loki looked bored with the whole deal. Other than that, I could have waited for Redbox.

The after credits scene ends with the new Godzilla's roar, so you know they'll meet up eventually.

The one Japanese monster flick I'd like to see redone? WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS. The movie is still downright creepy/spooky/scary in spots, cheesy in others, but to redo THAT final fight scene would be something to see (it's also where they got Kong's octopus fight from).

 

[Tambora]

Just got back. I'm a true '70s monster kid so I know all the mythology all the way back to 1933 but...it was okay. Excellent in spots, but just didn't have the drive of the 2014 Godzilla.

See, I actually liked this Kong movie better than the 2014 Godzilla movie.
I loved the movement of this Kong. They made him more bipedal instead of the knuckle walking movement of a silverback gorilla as most of the Kong movies have done.
But the 2014 Godzilla movie is the best one of all Godzilla movies in my opinion.

Spoiler

SPOILAGE:

The scene of the old pilot going home at the credits was my favorite part, I teared up a bit.

I cried! (happy tears)
He was one of my favorite characters in the movie.
I don't know if you noticed, but that baseball he had on his plane was signed by Babe Ruth.

The after credits scene ends with the new Godzilla's roar, so you know they'll meet up eventually.

ATTENTION for anyone going to watch the movie ....

The final scene of the movie is at the very end of the credits, and the credits are long.
So stay seated until the bitter end.

 

[musterion]

The Godzilla movie wasn't perfect. The male lead was a zombie (should have let Malcolm's dad live and carry the movie), and too many of the fight scenes were in the dark.

I'm waiting for some nerd genius on youtube to put the 2014 Godzilla theme over the Kong credits. Much more fitting music to this film; mysterious, primal, pounding. It would have worked great for Skull Island.

Something like that is what Skull Island needed, badly.