King Kong
Thursday, December 15th, 2005
This sign was put up on our door today when the whole company went out to watch King Kong.

This sign was put up on our door today when the whole company went out to watch King Kong.
Just got back from watching SWEIII:ROTS! Thanks to Fandango, the wife and I were able to get tickets for the 9:10 a.m. show at the local cineplex. We breezed right in at 9:00 a.m. and got some decent seats. I had the misfortune, however, of sitting beside one of the loudest guys in the theater (he was even humming along to John Williams’ score!). It’s good he quieted down eventually.
Did I like Revenge of the Sith? Let me just say this: don’t believe the hype! This way, with lowered expectations, you may actually be floored by the film.
Pre-movie bonus: the trailer for The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was shown. It can be seen here (it’s not up on Quicktime.com yet). Our sons will surely love the movie adaptation which is set to start showing on December 9. I read the book to them - a chapter a night - just last month (with a fake British accent and all, heh).

Stone carving of Queen Suriyothai in battle. Kinnaree Restaurant, Fremont, CA.
Armored elephants appear in battle in the movie Alexander, which starts today. In last year’s Return of the King, we saw charging oliphants trample men on Pelennor Fields. In the 2001 Thai epic film The Legend of Suriyothai, the Siamese army goes tusk to tusk against Burmese invaders.
What would be the next movie to feature battling behemoths? Could it be this?
My kids and I have already watched the Finding Nemo DVD several times since we got it on Wednesday. While watching the ‘bonus features’ part of the DVD, I counted three Pinoy-American Pixar employees who were featured in the Making Of segment. There’s art director Ricky Nierva whose previous work appears in Monsters, Inc.. There’s also production artist Nelson Bohol who, along with Nierva, had his likeness permanently etched onto the Tiki dolls found in the dentist’s aquarium. Then there’s story supervisor Ronnie del Carmen who, as far as I can tell (by his intonation), is Philippine-born. Oh yeah, he’s got a blog as well! Gini Cruz is a Pinay artist from Pasay City who animated the Ellen DeGeneres character, Dory, but who didn’t appear in the DVD.
Now onto Matrix Revolutions. I saw it yesterday with the crew from work. I don’t have much to say about the film. Like Robert, I lowered my expectations before seeing it (Mark here has some right-on observations about the movie). Revolutions delivered as an action film. In that regard, I’m satisfied. Beyond that, I don’t care about the schizoid philosophical mess the trilogy has become. The Wachowskis did their best to tie the loose ends together, albeit unsatisfactorily.
(spoilers next)
OK, I better go. The boss is shutting down the company early this afternoon so all of us can watch Matrix Revolutions together at the local theater. Yippee, way to go boss (thanks to Fandango, too)!
Must…resist…reading…any…reviews…until…then…