TheRetroCritic

I talk relatively briefly about new FX show Feud .

Long before Peter Jackson took on the iconic beast, John Guillermin tried his hand at a King Kong movie and, although it didn't exactly shake the world upon its release, how does it hold up looking back? Can man-in-King Kong-costume outdo CGI Kong? Actually... In terms of the King Kong character and how bad you feel for him come the inevitable downer ending, I'd probably give the point to this movie. Where Jackson's mega budget motion-captured Kong was given far too many moments to be cute and likeable, this admittedly faker-looking Kong is more akin to the 1933 classic's depiction: very much monstrous but also subtly innocent. Which means that, by the time the surprisingly violent and bloody end scene happens, it should hit you pretty hard. It's refreshing to re-watch this one post-the 2005 version as it makes the latter's flaws stand out a little better. The recent film just tried too hard to get to that dramatic ending (see the random ice-skating sc