The Million-Dollar Monkey

Fifty point one million, to be precise — that's how much our furry friend snatched up from moviegoers this weekend. It's a respectable opening; not a bust, but also certainly not a bonzanza. (Take a look at this weekend's movie numbers here.) Everybody seems to have liked "King Kong," or, at least, not very many people seemed to loathe it. It even moved this blogger to tears: "I liked it. I cried a little at the end, because it's sad. Not sobbing or anything, but in that kind of 'can't stop a few tears from slipping out' way. Mostly, I thought it was way too long. Most of the stuff in the middle felt gratuitous to me. It's possible I'm biased because I loathe giant bugs, and I did in fact run to the ladies' room the time the men were attacked. I also felt horrible for the brontosaurs, who were just trying to get the hell away from predators and ended up in a fifteen brontosaur pile up." We should mention here that the American Dinosaur Family Council has denounced the flick for its "gratuitous anti-dinosaur rhetoric;" one of the strongest condemnations they've made since the "Jurassic Park" movies. This Physics Geek also enjoyed the movie, particularly Kong's performance, leading us to ask whether actor Andy Serkis — who was nominated for an Oscar for his Lord of the Rings role as Gollum — could expect another chance at an Academy Award?

Posted by Philip Ewing at December 19, 2005 11:55 AM

Category: Moving Pictures