Kong: Skull Island

What is up with all the monster movies lately? There are plenty upcoming flicks and sequels that have just come out.

I am glad that some of the originals are throwing their hats in the ring as from what I gather there is a reboot of the Toho Kaiju films and naturally the "King of the Monsters" our favorite giant Lizard is in the mix. 

But there is another giant in this equation the one that I personally consider to be the real King aka "The Eighth Wonder of the World" and his name is Kong. 

This explains the release of Kong on Skull Island that came out this past week and naturally I was at the Alamo Drafthouse for the opening festivities. 

From the photo op where you are with King's giant Hand to the fact that they are playing Donkey Kong in the lobby. Not to mention the Kong themed food specials. 

The preshow alone was a celebration of Monkeys that would make Eric Rhoades Happy. 

Now on to the flick. 

Kong's last cinematic outing was in 2005 and utilized the basic formula of Kong on the island and then he is captured and taken to New York where...well it does not end well for this giant gorilla. 

The only exceptions to this is the 1962 flick where King Kong faces off against Godzilla where Kong is in fact taken off the island to fight Godzilla in Japan.  

 Also 1967's King Kong Escapes also produced by Toho.  As well as King Kong lives but there are many who are trying to forget that flick. 

That brings us to Kong on Skull Island, The fact of the matter is that Kong never leaves the island in this flick. 

Now this is intended to be the first in a series of Toho flicks bringing in American versions of Godzilla, Rodan, Ghidorah, and Mothra among others. 

I'm happy to see Kong in the mix. 

Taking place in 1973 the flick follows an expedition led by John Goodman and a military unit led by Samuel L Jackson where Kong is quickly encountered along with a new species known as Skullcrawlers are also discovered. 

Needless to say our heroes must find a way off the island all while avoiding Kong, Skullcrawlers as well as all of the other giant animals on the island...and that is all that I am going to give you in regards to plot. 

Well anyway the movie definitely kept me entertained and the visual effects were great. I again wondered why Kong is walking upright for most of the flick but does that really matter at this point? 

I agree with The Alamo's view that this flick is far more Apocalypse Now than Beauty and the Beast. 

12 Dead Bodies 

  0 Breasts

  5 Beasts

23 Explosions 

Military Fu

Skullcrawler Fu

Gorilla Fu

3 Stars 

Check it out 

At the Alamo: GI:Joe The Movie

I love The Alamo Drafthouse's programming. Sometimes it is just fun. This past Saturday Morning I attended a screening where we had a buffet of Cereals with milk where we watched a iconic kids film from he 1980s. 

Yes the 80s! I remember that time. One thing I love about the Drafthouse is they aren't afraid to acknowledge that era in cinema history. 

And I love the fact that there are folks that aren't alive during that time that confuse the icons of hat era with the Reboots and counterparts today.

Here are the facts, back in the 80s a new trend began with the creation of cartoon shows with the intention of selling the toys. As a result we received some great programming...including none other than GI JOE: A Real American Hero.

"GI Joe is the Code name for America's daring highly trained Special Mission Force. It's purpose, to defend Human freedom against Cobra, A ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule he world." 

This was the quote from the television series which every episode featured the focus on a particular character ranging from the sailor Shipwreck, the martial artist QuickKick, and even wrestler turned Drill Instructor Sgt Slaughter. 

With Slaughter being an actual living person in reality often served as host during wraparound segments on the program. 

I recently showed the show to a young chap the toys and all he wanted to ask was why does Roadblock and Duke look nothing like The Rock or Channing Tatum...I responded "long story".

The original program produced by Sunbrow was all the rage in the 80s and brought much patriotism in the youth of America at the time. 

Inevitably a movie was produced which was intended as a finale to the sunbrow era...and also to sell a new line-up of figures. 

Featuring the voices of Don Johnson and Burgis Meredith, GI Joe the movie explains the origins of Cobra and Cobra Comander as well as it introduces the audience to Duke's brother Lt Falcoln. 

Now there are some facts about this flick that are far interesting.

First off the film was produced at the same time as Transformers: The Movie and the My Little Pony film and due to the poor performance of the latter film which was released theatrically, the decision was made to release the film Direct to Video and eventually it was cut into five segments and aired in syndication. 

This brings us to the next interesting fact of the film...Duke. 

Though produced first production problems caused delays for GI:Joe and Transformers was released first. 

Now as many of you will know Optimus Prime is killed off early in the film. A fact that was not well received by the fans. 

What many don't realize is that in the original cut   of GI:Joe is that Duke is killed 3/4ths into the flick while taking a spear to the chest to save his brother and having the dramatic death with one last "Yo Joe".

After the backlash from Transformers film dialogue was added to the film where it is said "He's Gone into a Coma". However if you watch the film you will see that the way all characters are reacting to his death. 

In the end of the film you again hear dialogue stating that Duke has come out of his coma and that hi is going to be "A-Okay". 

This is not the last time that this happens to the character. Those of you that have seen Retaliation know what I mean. 

Now while this was intended to be the finale of the series it was the last to be produced by Sunbrow as production was taken over by DIC studios. The reason for this remains unknown and those of us that remained for the transition could definitely tell the difference between the shows. 

I am happy that The Alamo included this flick in their line up for the Saturday Cereal but then again why not? This is in fact a classic with a strong nostalgia and the toy give away from Lost Toys was a nice touch. 

Check it out.