BigHardcoreRed

Let me just say that with all of the remakes that have been coming out, King Kong may have been the most deserving and the most in need of being remade. I could not think of a better director for this type of film than Peter Jackson.

King Kong stays pretty true to the original. Naomi Watts plays Fay Wray's Ann Darrow perfectly. Right down to her emotional connection with Kong, which is helped by the fact that Kong is pretty darn lovable when he is not ripping apart dinosaurs.

Adrien Brody plays a great Jack Driscoll as well. Brody is truly a gifted actor and plays a good hero.

Even Jack Black did a good job as the rebellious director Carl Denham. Usually I am annoyed by Black's performances, even though they are mostly in comedies. Surprisingly, Black kept his character serious and the movie is better for it. I though for sure he would be the one to ruin this movie for me but, again, I stand corrected. The comedy seemed to be reserved for Kong, himself, and did a wonderful job.

I can not express how much more I enjoyed this movie without the "guy in the suit" special effects. Kong was very appealing visually, as well as the other dinosaurs. I do not say this too much in reviews. In fact, I doubt I have ever said it but King Kong has turned out to be a masterpiece which will raise the bar for many years to come. 10/10

Aeon Flux takes place in the last city on Earth, Bregna, 400 years after a deadly virus wipes out 99% of the population. Dr. Trevor Goodchild (Marton Csokas) eventually found a cure and treated those that were left. Along with his brother, Oren (Jonny Lee Miller), the Goodchilds ruled over Bregna the entire 400 years in what had become a dictatorship.

A rebel group named the Monicans soon rose up and challenged the Goodchilds authority. Their goal is to assassinate the Goodchild family and win back their freedom. Their top assassin, Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron), is assigned to assassinate Trevor Goodchild and after making her way through a booby trapped field, makes her way to Goodchild. She gets him in her sights and has every intention of going through with it until Trevor notices her and gives her a look like he knows her.

I can not go much further without spoiling the story for some but needless to say, I think this movie has some nice surprises and twists and ties together nicely in the end.

The movie begins in a very weird manner, similar to The Fifth Element in regards to the special effects and overall feel of the movie. I also have to say that I love the fact that Aeon had to wear tight spandex throughout the entire movie. They could not have chosen a sexier woman than Charlize Theron to play this part and she does not disappoint, not even in the action scenes.

Some of the action scenes show a large amount of creativity while others seem to have been somewhat influenced by The Matrix trilogy. There is nothing wrong with that and Flux ends up with a style that is pretty much it's own.

Overall, I thought this was going to be a confusing and possibly boring movie. However, once sitting through it and giving it a chance, the story turned out to be just as good as the action. I never watched the cartoon series so I am walking into this movie cold and furthermore, I can not tell you whether the movie retains the same story but I can state that I did enjoy this movie. If you liked Elektra (and I know many of you did), then you should enjoy Aeon Flux as well. 7.5/10

Santa's Slay is a horror/holiday movie. I do not think I have heard of a horror movie starring Santa Claus and, while it is not necessarily a bad idea, there is a reason it is straight-to-video. With that in mind, this was better than I would have thought.

It seems as if Santa Claus (Bill Goldberg) is actually a demon who lost a bet to an angel. Because of the bet, Santa now had to be nice and deliver gifts to the children of the world for 1000 years. It turns out that last year was year one thousand and now Santa is pretty upset and taking it out on innocent families.

Nicholas (Douglas Smith) is a teenager who has taken after his grandfather and is not particularly fond of the Christmas holidays. Soon, it is revealed to Nicholas how Santa came about by his grandfather. Since Santa has, for some reason, targeted Nicholas, he and his girlfriend, Mary (Emilie de Ravin), take it upon themselves to destroy the Christmas demon.

Goldberg was a unique choice to play Santa Claus. He is not exactly what I would expect in a Santa Claus but it turns out to be a great decision. Turns out Santa is buff and resembles a biker. Also, his "reindeer" is played by a buffalo and looks pretty bad ass. It matches Goldberg perfectly.

Some of the special effects were pretty cool and just as many were pretty hokey. I wish directors would not even consider the blue/green screen as an option if you plan on making a decent movie.

Basically, you already know if this is the type of movie for you. If you liked movies such as Uncle Sam, Frost or any other B-Movie that is similarly cheesy, then you will most likely enjoy Santa's Slay, too. If you are the type of person that finds faults in any movie and are hard to please, then skip it. It won't be worth your time. 6.5/10