By Clint Clausing

Staff Writer

    In light of it being a New Year and since I actually got out and saw multiple films this holiday season, I thought I would do something a little different this time around and review three movies for the price of one. I know, you all appreciate the additional input. You can send your thanks in writing on the back of your favorite denomination of U.S. currency to Jared at the magazine’s headquarters. At any rate, here’s a roundup of the movies I got to see this Christmas season. Thank God none of them actually has any great deal to do with Christmas

    King Kong: 5 out of 5 stars. Go see King Kong. Find the kids a sitter and get ready for the most incredible three hours and twenty minutes since you saw, well, The Return of the King. Peter Jackson’s film is an absolute masterpiece. It is, I imagine, what the director of the 1933 original, Merian C. Cooper, had running through his head when he gazed upon his own, woefully inadequate, clay model of Kong. This movie provides one of those rare group movie going experiences where the film touches everyone in the theater the same way at all times. We cringe when we are meant to, laugh when we are meant to and cry when we are meant to as a group. The film is universal in that respect, cashing in on a powerful story, casting with exactly the right talent (yes even Jack Black in a dramatic role), and then adding magnificent and exciting spectacles. The film builds slowly, developing every character just enough for us to understand them and either sympathize with them or loathe them for their thoughtless motivations. It is one of the best movies of the year, and this King Kong is why CGI was invented. Go check it out.

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