Cool Hand Luke, Stuart Rosenberg: 2.5 / 4
My first Paul Newman film didn't disappoint. His character is incredibly likable, and immediately establishes his unwillingness to conform. Prisons are built to conform. The inhabitants are conditioned to act a certain way, to be parts of a machine. And most all comply, but Luke immediately rejected what they, his fellow prisoners, considered to be common sense. His individual attempted to transcend the universal. There was a shift in his persona following two failed attempts to escape; he was broken down, physically and emotionally. When he became the animal-like being, serving the overseers, it was undoubtedly the most terrifying part of the movie. It signified the loss of his former identity, which was the source of his likability both to the viewer and his fellow prisoners. He lost any distinctive human characteristics. When he flipped to his former persona, he rejected the idea that the servitude was a planned charade, stating that he'd never planned anything in his life. Some say the ending of this was depressing, but it was certainly less depressing than what his potential return to the road prison would've been, considering the punishment after his second escape attempt. It was merciful, and Luke sort of recognized this in those last moments in the church with Dragline, and embraced his oncoming death.
King Kong, Peter Jackson: 2.5 / 4
I watched this separated over two nights, and didn't regret it. There was some extremely ambitious CGI which didn't totally flop. It looks weird at times, but it's transfixing. Naomi Watts plays Ann well, as one with a simultaneously ambiguous and unambiguous relationship with Kong. (It's certainly cooler to call him that) Everyone else is fine, whatever. Yes, there's the slow Jack Black zoom-in with the slight eyebrow raise. There's also some terrifying (and massive) insects. Probably the scariest insects I've seen. There's cool stuff in this, watch it.
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