Galway Advertiser 2005/2005_12_22/GA_2212_E1_066.pdf 

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December 22 2005

Th W e e ek QUICK FLICS
A weekly guide to what's on at the cinema compiled by UNA SINNOTT
THE PRODUCERS: Why must producers -- Mel Brooks in this case -- insist on remaking perfectly good films? This homage to Brooks' 1967 smash is enjoyable enough but it's not a patch on the original. A down and out producer (Nathan Lane) and his nervy accountant (Matthew Broderick) contrive to produce the worst musical Broadway has ever seen -- an homage to the fuhrer entitled Springtime for Hitler -- in a bid to cash in on a crooked investment scam. The pair inhabit the roles well enough but pale in comparison to Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, while the many changes to the plot will annoy fans of the original. CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN 2: The Bakers and their large brood take on competitive neighbours while trying to enjoy a final family holiday in this passable sequel. Tom (Steve Martin) and Kate Baker (Bonnie Hunt) take their children off for a lakeside getaway, only to find themselves up against Tom's long time rival Jimmy Muraugh (Eugene Levy) and his eight offspring. Their rivalry spills into slapstick as the pair take their competitive urges out on each other at a variety of events. KING KONG: Peter Jackson's ambitious remake of the 1933 classic is packed with action, if a little overlong at more than three hours. A film crew travel to an uncharted island to film scenes for a new film, only to discover the island is home to a bizarre and frightening array of oversized creatures. Not least of these is Kong (Andy Serkis), a giant gorilla who falls for the lead actress (Naomi Watts). After a slow start the CGI effects are relentless and breathtaking. There are good performances all round, notably Watts, Adrien Brody, and Jack Black in the uncharacteristically serious role of movie mogul Carl Denham. THE FAMILY STONE: A free-spirited but dysfunctional family take a strong dislike to one member's uptight girlfriend when she comes to spend Christmas in this seasonal comedy. Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker) finds herself out of her depth when the Stones gang up on her, though she earns their dislike through her accidental pronouncements on the lifestyles of some of her guests. This is essentially a film which draws much of its humour from social embarrassments. Parker plays against type as Meredith, while Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, and Dermot Mulroney also put in good performances.

CINEMA REVIEWS

A glorious returfor King Kong

Peter Jackson brings back the angry but love-sick giant gorilla in King Kong.

BY KATIE MOYLAN

F

OLLOWING HIS beautifully filmed and immensely successful Lord Of The Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson has turned his attention to a cinema classic. The original King Kong was first released in 1933, followed by a dire remake in 1976 starring Jessica Lange. Jackson's version of King Kong is ambitious, not least because at just over three hours it is almost twice the length of the original. However Jackson's greatest triumph here is that he has taken a preposterous premise and made it convincing, creating an action movie and a tearjerker all in one. Audiences thrilled to King Kong in 1933, awed by the special effects and seemingly accepting a giant gorilla's love for a blonde

woman without blinking too much. If such a scenario were introduced today there might be more widespread disbelief. It is to Jackson's credit that he makes this unlikely bond the emotional centrepiece of his film, without losing any of the suspense and excitement generated by the many action sequences. The story is faithful to that of the original film, taking far fewer liberties than the 1976 version. Desperate, unprincipled, filmmaker Carl Denham (Jack Black) plans to film on a hidden, apparently undiscovered, island in the South Pacific while simultaneously fleeing his creditors. He hires equally desperate actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) and gullible screenwriter Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) and sets off to sea with a camera crew. On arrival at the fog-shrouded island, Denham and crew set off to explore, only to be met by extremely hostile locals who carry Ann away as a sacrifice to a monster they refer to as `Kong'. The next hour or so is set on this beautiful but fearsome island, which is home to various gigantic creatures, Kong the gorilla among them. Dinosaurs, enormous iguanas, and disgustingly huge insects attack Denham, Driscoll, and crew as they attempt to find and rescue Ann. Ann, meanwhile, has been plucked from certain and messy death by Kong, who continues to protect her against the island's multiple dangers. Finally Ann is rescued by her shipmates and returns to

the ship, along with the captured Kong. It is the following scenes set in New York which have traditionally captured the public's imagination, especially those of King Kong and Ann atop the Empire State building. Jackson gives those iconic images pride of place, his camera lingering on Ann's face as well as the Computer Genereated Images countenance of the monstrous gorilla. While Kong is fully CGI, his movements are those of Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in Lord Of The Rings, and hence he is more believable than would be expected. As the Orson Welles-esque Carl Denham, Jack Black is nearly a revelation, stepping smoothly from cinema's comic sidekick to solid leading man, delivering a strong performance as cynical opportunist Denham. The always excellent Watts is superb here is Ann, making the most of a potentially thin role, particularly at the film's drawn out and emotional ending. Adrien Brody as the sensitive writer Driscoll gives a typically complex and absorbing performance. Ultimately it is clear that the director has passionately studied the original and used his knowledge to make a vastly superior film to the first King Kong. The problematic subtexts of the 1933 film, leading to abundant stereotyping throughout, aren't removed as much as challenged here, albeit subtly. The result is a labour of love that is also a hugely entertaining movie.

Romantic comedy with little to offer
Meredith Morton ( Sarah Jessica Parker) is meeting boyfriend Everret's (Dermot Mulroney) family for the first time, as a guest in their home for Christmas. Her up-tight nature and prim outlook doesn't quite fit in the liberal Stone household, and by insisting on certain sleeping arrangements, and referring to Everret's deaf brother as less than `normal', she quickly makes herself unpopular - with nearly everyone, including Everret. The hilarious, carefree brother Ben (Luke Wilson) takes her under his wing and Meredith's sister Julie (Claire Danes), who has flown in to come to her unpopular sister's aid, grows quite close to Everret. The two matches, Things get sticky with Amy Stone (Rachel McAdams), Sybil Stone whichever way you put them (Diane Keaton), and Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker) in The together, are less than Family Stone. convincing, and with marriage dancing. performances when news of a proposals being talked of, and But there's nothing special on family sickness is revealed, and then dismissed, the notion of offer unfortunately. Unlike love seems quite a transient one Sybil (Diane Keaton) shines other feel-good American films through the many moments of in the Stone household. like Father of The Bride, or mundaneness with a quirky Apart, that is, from the love Three Men and a Little Lady, maternal nature, holding the shared by the family members. there's nothing here to suggest strings of the family together. The youngest sister Amy that we will be watching this There are a few funny (Rachel McAdams) plays the film for years to come. It has moments through the film role of the spoilt off-spring, that gloss to it, the sheen of the typical scenes involving people doing the least to hide her traditional American romantic waking up in the wrong beds disapproval of Meredith. Older comedy. But to its detriment, it with little memory of the sister Susannah (Elizabeth is overloaded with issues, and Reaser) and father Kelly (Craig previous nights, door openings cast members. sending food flying, and drunk T Nelson) give touching

DVD REVIEW
BY SINEAD MCGOVERN THE WEDDING CRASHERS: Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are a pair of womanising best buddies who crash weddings in order to pick up loved-up female guests in this raucous comedy. The pair enjoy every minute of the wedding season and contrive elaborate set ups and cover stories in order to blag their way into the festivities, and into the undergarments of unsuspecting female guests. Their plans go awry when John (Wilson) falls for the daughter of the Treasury Secretary (Christopher Walken) and whisks Jeremy (Vaughn) off for a weekend break with her family. Meanwhile Jeremy has caught the eye of bubbly bunny boiler Gloria (Isla Fisher) and her psychotic gay brother Todd (Keir O'Donnell), while John is gutted to discover Clare (Rachel McAdams) is due to be hitched to the overbearing Zach (Bradley Cooper). While the film falters in parts -- a sub-plot involving Clare's frightening femme fatale of a mother (Jane Seymour) simply fizzles out after an awkward encounter -- the pair have lots of fun in a story which is as mu ch about friendship as anything else. romantic comedy with a festive twist, The Family Stone looked to be just the Christmas, feel-good, film that everyone enjoys watching around this time of year. In the mix is an all-star cast including Sex and The City starlet Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Keaton, and Claire Danes. And added for flavour are a few issues such as gay partnerships, deafness, breast cancer, and drug use. In what looks from the outside like a female version of the Meet The Parents, there is so much going on, so many girlfriend swops and additional family members showing up all the time, that the occasional funny moments are lost amid all the fuss.

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