December Movies: King Kong, Narnia, Producers, &

[Mark Vader]

The final month of 2005 is here and the holiday season wraps up with lots of big name box office titles and Oscar contenders.

 

Nothing will be bigger than the big ape adventure remake, "King Kong". A much trimmed down Peter Jackson is back, this time remaking the movie that got himself into making movies. Keeping loyal with the original film, the story takes place circa 1933. Naomi Watts plays scream queen actress Ann Darrow, Adrien Brody is Jack Driscoll, and Jack Black is film director Carl Denham. Jamie Bell & Colin Hanks(Tom's son) co-star. Trailers have been exciting, and the look of New York City in the 30's is amazing. Too all of those who unfortunately grew up with the 1970's King Kong, yes there were dinosaurs in the original film, this is not a ripoff of Jurassic Park. The one obstacle that stands in the way of this movie could be it's running time of 3 hours. That could be too much Kong for the casual viewer.

 

Following in the footsteps of Lord of the Rings & Harry Potter comes another famous fantasy story. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe", bsed on the one of seven novels by C.S. Lewis. Disney & Walden Media had a surprise hit before with "Holes", however this will be a larger task.

Even though Lion is not the first book of the series it is by far the most recognizable title. Disney is banking on this one becoming a huge hit before they greenlight the remaining stories. The look of the movie has an epic feel to it, and there will be lots of cgi effects with plenty of talking animals and creatures. Liam Neeson voices the Lion "Aslan" & Tilda Swinton plays the White Witch. Unlike Lord of the Rings, Disney is keeping the running time at a modest 2 hours & 15 minutes, which could be a wise move.

 

Jumping from the broadway theatre and back to the big screen is "The Producers". Matthew Broderick & Nathan Lane reprise their roles as two producers, who try a get rich quick scheme by making the worst play ever on broadway. Uma Thurman & Will Ferrell co-star.

 

Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, & Geoffrey Rush star in the Steven Spielberg directed movie "Munich". Following the aftermath of the 1972 Oympics, a Mossad agent tracks down the Palestinian terrorists who assassinated Israeli athletes.

 

Rob Marshall directs "Memoirs of a Geisha". Based on the famous novel, the movie stars Ziyi Zhang, Ken Watanabe, & Michelle Yeoh, in the story of a 9 year old girl who grows up to become one of the most desireable geishas in Japan before the start of World War II.

 

"The New World" is director Terrence Malick's latest,film based on the story of Pocahontas. Colin Farell, Christian Bale, Christopher Plummer, & David Thewlis star.

 

"Fun With Dick & Jane" stars Jim Carrey & Tea Leoni as a married couple who turns to robbery in order to pay their bills.

 

"The Family Stone" stars Dermot Mulroney as he brings his uptight girlfriend(Sarah Jessica Parker) back to his families home for Christmas. Hijinx ensue. Diane Keaton, Claire Danes, Luke Wilson, Rachel McAdams, & Craig T.Nelson co-star.

 

"Aeon Flux" stars Charlize Theron in this action film based on the cartoon of the same name from MTV.

 

"Rumor Has It' stars Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine, & Mark Ruffalo, in this comedy directed by Rob Reiner. The story focuses on Sarah(Aniston) who discovers that her family may have been the inspiration for the book and movie "The Graduate".

 

"Cheaper By the Dozen 2" has the baker family going on vacation. What more do you need to know?

 

Johnny Knoxville is "The Ringer", a person who tries to fix the special olympics by entering as a contestant.

 

Ang Lee directs "Brokeback Mountain", the story of two cowboys lives as they head in different directions. Heath Ledger & Jake Gyllenhall star.

 

Glenn Close, James Belushi, Anne Hathaway, & Patrick Warburton lend their voices to "Hoodwinked". A story about the aftermath of Little Red Riding Hood.

 

3 travelers fall into danger as they get lost in the Australian outback in "Wolf Creek".

 

Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins star in "Mrs. Henderson Presents". Set in the 1930's, Laura Henderson purchases and old London theatre and reopens it as "The Windmill", which would become famous for it's all-nude reviews.

 

"Match Point" is Woody Allen's latest is, of all things, a romantic-thriller which takes place in London. Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, and Brian Cox star.

 

 

There you have it everyone. A very long list. Many of these films open in limited release this month and expand in the coming weeks. Here's the calendar along with trailers.

 

12/2 Aeon Flux: http://www.aeonflux.com/

 

12/9 The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe: http://adisney.go.com/disneypictures/narnia/index.html

 

Brokeback Mountain(limited): http://www.brokebackmountain.com/splash.html

 

Memoirs of a Geisha(limited): http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/memoirs...isha/index.html

 

12/14 King Kong: http://www.kingkong.com/

 

12/16 The Family Stone: http://www.thefamilystonemovie.com/

 

12/21 Cheaper by the Dozen 2: http://www.cheaperbythedozen2movie.com/

 

Fun With Dick And Jane: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/funwith...jane/index.html

 

12/23 Hoodwinked: http://www.hoodwinkedthemovie.com/

 

Munich(limited): http://www.munichmovie.com/

 

The Ringer: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808405653/trailer

 

12/25 The Producers: http://www.theproducersmovie.com/

 

Rumor Has It: http://rumorhasitmovie.warnerbros.com/?fro...maintouts_rumor

 

Mrs. Henderson Presents: http://www.mrshendersonthemovie.com/

 

Wolf Creek: http://www.wolfcreekthemovie.com/

 

Match Point(limited): http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808680281/trailer

 

The New World(limited): http://www.thenewworldmovie.com/

 

Whew!! There it all is. Sorry for the long post. See you at the movies....

[R. Rich]

The final month of 2005 is here and the holiday season wraps up with lots of big name box office titles and Oscar contenders.

 

Nothing will be bigger than the big ape adventure remake, "King Kong". A much trimmed down Peter Jackson is back, this time remaking the movie that got himself into making movies. Keeping loyal with the original film, the story takes place circa 1933. Naomi Watts plays scream queen actress Ann Darrow, Adrien Brody is Jack Driscoll, and Jack Black is film director Carl Denham. Jamie Bell & Colin Hanks(Tom's son) co-star. Trailers have been exciting, and the look of New York City in the 30's is amazing. Too all of those who unfortunately grew up with the 1970's King Kong, yes there were dinosaurs in the original film, this is not a ripoff of Jurassic Park. The one obstacle that stands in the way of this movie could be it's running time of 3 hours. That could be too much Kong for the casual viewer.

 

 

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I grew up w/ the 70s Kong, but I also love the '33 original, as does my brother. We're getting together that weekend to watch the movie (we remember being @ the Strand Theater in Erie Pa to watch the 76 Kong remake when there were actually people sitting in the aisles-fire hazard be damned) and he's going w/ me to the Bills-Broncos game the next day.

 

I think this Kong is going to be great. My brother told me that he read a story on the wire about the studio blowing a gasket when they found out how long the movie was. Jackson just invited them down to view the film. They took him up on his offer, then promptly left and, more importantly, left him alone. They know it's going to be a huge hit, but the advance word is that this movie is awesome. Jackson is being so anal about this that when he heard the film score (first done by his buddy who also scored the LOTR trilogy), he fired the guy on the spot, as it wasn't up to his expectations.

 

One movie I just saw today that I didn't see mentioned by you is "Rent", the film adaptation of the award-winning musical. I thought this movie was pretty good. They have all but 2 of the original Broadway cast members from the musical in this movie (including Taye Diggs and Law & Order star Jessie L. Martin), but the 2 cast members who weren't in the Broadway production, Rosario Dawson and Tracie Thoms, had the two best performances in the movie.

[CosmicBills]

I think this Kong is going to be great.  My brother told me that he read a story on the wire about the studio blowing a gasket when they found out how long the movie was.  Jackson just invited them down to view the film.  They took him up on his offer, then promptly left and, more importantly, left him alone.  They know it's going to be a huge hit, but the advance word is that this movie is awesome.  Jackson is being so anal about this that when he heard the film score (first done by his buddy who also scored the LOTR trilogy), he fired the guy on the spot, as it wasn't up to his expectations.

 

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The movie has also exceeded the 250 million dollar mark. Making it on of, if not the, most expensive feature. Of course, that title will only last until the 260 million dollar Superman comes out in the summer.

 

Jackson apparently financed a large portion of the movie himself. Must be nice!

[Wacka]

 

One movie I just saw today that I didn't see mentioned by you is "Rent", the film adaptation of the award-winning musical.  I thought this movie was pretty good.  They have all but 2 of the original Broadway cast members from the musical in this movie (including Taye Diggs and Law & Order star Jessie L. Martin), but the 2 cast members who weren't in the Broadway production, Rosario Dawson and Tracie Thoms, had the two best performances in the movie.

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I'd rather see 'Lease" which was spotlighted in the Team America movie with the big hit "Everybody's got AIDS"

[Mark Vader]

R. Rich Posted Today, 09:46 PM

  I grew up w/ the 70s Kong, but I also love the '33 original, as does my brother. We're getting together that weekend to watch the movie (we remember being @ the Strand Theater in Erie Pa to watch the 76 Kong remake when there were actually people sitting in the aisles-fire hazard be damned) and he's going w/ me to the Bills-Broncos game the next day.

 

I think this Kong is going to be great. My brother told me that he read a story on the wire about the studio blowing a gasket when they found out how long the movie was. Jackson just invited them down to view the film. They took him up on his offer, then promptly left and, more importantly, left him alone. They know it's going to be a huge hit, but the advance word is that this movie is awesome. Jackson is being so anal about this that when he heard the film score (first done by his buddy who also scored the LOTR trilogy), he fired the guy on the spot, as it wasn't up to his expectations.

 

One movie I just saw today that I didn't see mentioned by you is "Rent", the film adaptation of the award-winning musical. I thought this movie was pretty good. They have all but 2 of the original Broadway cast members from the musical in this movie (including Taye Diggs and Law & Order star Jessie L. Martin), but the 2 cast members who weren't in the Broadway production, Rosario Dawson and Tracie Thoms, had the two best performances in the movie.

I agree with you about King Kong, I think it will be fantastic. I told people that there were 2 movies I absolutely had to see on the big screen, Star Wars Episode III & King Kong.

 

I did mention "Rent" in my post on November movies. I have not seen it, I may wait for it. The only November movie I have seen so far is Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire. There just has not been that much that I have wanted to see this past month. Although I do want to see "Walk The Line".

[rockpile]

I first read Chronicles of Narnia 30 years ago in a paperback boxed set: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the first book in the series unless I am greatly confused.

 

Thanks for the monthly preview.

 

Following in the footsteps of Lord of the Rings & Harry Potter comes another famous fantasy story. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe", based on the one of seven novels by C.S. Lewis. Disney & Walden Media had a surprise hit before with "Holes", however this will be a larger task.

Even though Lion is not the first book of the series it is by far the most recognizable title. Disney is banking on this one becoming a huge hit before they greenlight the remaining stories. The look of the movie has an epic feel to it, and there will be lots of cgi effects with plenty of talking animals and creatures. Liam Neeson voices the Lion "Aslan" & Tilda Swinton plays the White Witch. Unlike Lord of the Rings, Disney is keeping the running time at a modest 2 hours & 15 minutes, which could be a wise move.

517293[/snapback]

[R. Rich]

I agree with you about King Kong, I think it will be fantastic. I told people that there were 2 movies I absolutely had to see on the big screen, Star Wars Episode III & King Kong.

 

I did mention "Rent" in my post on November movies. I have not seen it, I may wait for it. The only November movie I have seen so far is Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire. There just has not been that much that I have wanted to see this past month. Although I do want to see "Walk The Line".

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Yeah, there's plenty of movies that look interesting, but we just don't go out to watch movies that often anymore. We usually catch the annual "dusk to dawn" showing @ our local drive in; that way, we get to see a bunch of movies (4-5, usually) for one price. We went to see "Rent" yesterday because it was my wife's birthday and she really wanted to see that movie. I tend to wait for things to be shown on Starz.

[Mark Vader]

I first read Chronicles of Narnia 30 years ago in a paperback boxed set: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the first book in the series unless I am greatly confused. 

 

Thanks for the monthly preview.

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I checked a website regarding the Chronicles of Narnia, and according to the site, the first book of the Narnia series is "The Magician's Nephew". "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" is the second book.

Here's a link to the website: http://books.narnia.com/movielanding.html

 

You're welcome for the monthly previews. It is something to help take your mind off of a bad Bills season.

[Pete]

I look forward to Munich. I have very high expectations for this film

[Rico]

We usually catch the annual "dusk to dawn" showing @ our local drive in;

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Bengie's?

[rockpile]

My perception was based on the books publication dates; that is the order they are usually presented in. I knew there was some time jumping going on in the order I read them, but thought it was intentional. Thanks for adding to my trivia base.

 

CS Lewis SF / fantasy fans should also check out the Perelandra trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength).

 

I checked a website regarding the Chronicles of Narnia, and according to the site, the first book of the Narnia series is "The Magician's Nephew". "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" is the second book.

Here's a link to the website:  http://books.narnia.com/movielanding.html

 

You're welcome for the monthly previews. It is something to help take your mind off of a bad Bills season. 

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[billsfanmiami(oh)]

I'd rather see 'Lease" which was spotlighted in the Team America movie with the big hit "Everybody's got AIDS"

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"So this is the end of our story, and everyone is dead from AIDS...."

 

Freakin hilarious movie. For me I'd say its the funniest one that has come out somewhat recently.

[CosmicBills]

I got to see a screening of Narnia this morning.

 

I came away greatly dissappointed. I can't help but wonder if Walden and Disney had hired a different director, it would have been better. Adamson's blending of live action with CGI animals came off kind of wonky.

 

It never made up its mind if it wanted to be a straight children's story, or a darker take on the material (which, is actually quite dark material to begin with). The CGI animals did not look right to me.

 

Mind you, it's just my opinion. The audience was generally pleased with the film. But it also was a production screening (lots of family of people involved in the production).

[RuntheDamnBall]

I caught "Syriana" last night. A real thought-provoking film from the writer of "Traffic" -- I believe it's his directorial debut. The whole cast was excellent in this one. It was by no means perfect, but some good risks were taken and the subject (the western relationship with the Middle East / oil) is a pretty tough one to try and tackle. In much the same way as "Traffic," it paints the zero-sum game that this situation has become in a way that's pretty rare for American film these days. I recommend it and I think it'd make for some interesting discussion around here and elsewhere.

[Mark Vader]

Pete Posted Dec 3 2005, 04:13 PM

  I look forward to Munich. I have very high expectations for this film

As do I, Munich looks like a powerful film.

[R. Rich]

Bengie's?

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Yep. Bengie's is one of two drive ins left in the entire state. The other one is in Bel Air, and it's a dive for drunken idiot teenagers.

[The Dean]

I checked a website regarding the Chronicles of Narnia, and according to the site, the first book of the Narnia series is "The Magician's Nephew". "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" is the second book.

Here's a link to the website:  http://books.narnia.com/movielanding.html

 

You're welcome for the monthly previews. It is something to help take your mind off of a bad Bills season. 

518518[/snapback]

 

 

Here's a good discussion of the correct order of the Chronicles:

 

http://www.aslan.demon.co.uk/narnia.htm