King Kong (2005) - * * * *

King Kong is one of those movies that is an out-of-body experience. There were times when my jaw dropped and stayed dropped for minutes at a stretch. Most of this was due to a roller coaster ride of a story, supported by top-notch acting and special effects. Peter Jackson has created something I have never seen on the screen before.

The last time I felt this way in a movie was probably Raiders of the Lost Ark, and I certainly remember it in Star Wars. And like George Lucas's latest installment of the Star Wars saga, Kong is a flawed masterpiece. The flaws include:

• A running length of over 3 hours
• A slow start to the story
• Jack Black's last line in the movie
• Not enough peaks and valleys at the right time (it's either all peaks or all valleys)

But all of the positive aspects of the movie far outweigh the flaws; it's just that it could have been something really extraordinary.

At the heart of the film is Naomi Watts, the bright-eyed Australian actress whose face can project a thousand feelings. And Peter Jackson uses her face every chance he gets, with extreme close ups that reveal an outward and inward beauty that could beguile an ape like Kong.

Jack Black was actually a good choice for the filmmaker/huckster. Anyone who is familiar with Black's previous work in music group Tenacious D and movies like School of Rock and High Fidelity know he can project intensity and comedy. But he dials it down a notch or two in this movie, which actually helps you forget he's Jack Black.

I also greatly enjoyed the craftsmanship of this film. Never have I seen New York in the Thirties like I have in this movie (it felt like a time machine). Never have I seen a CGI character (Kong) look so damn real. Never have I seen a chase scene like the one I saw here. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith definitely has some competition for Special Effects.

Peter Jackson has definitely created an impressive film with King Kong. If you're looking for one movie to see during the Holiday Season (or on a rainy night when the film is on DVD), this would be a good choice.

Metacritic score for King Kong: 81/100

Syriana - * * * *

Syriana is the movie I've been waiting for to help explain the problems in the Middle East. The plot is complicated and difficult to follow much of the time. But, as I've read in other reviews, following the plot isn't really the point. The point is where everything leads, which is pessimistic.

I haven't seen a film in a while that shows the face of power and big money as well as Syriana. You realize that you're in the middle of something extremely important, something on a scale that is difficult to imagine (which is really the point of the overwhelming plot).

Then there are the actors in Syriana. Most of us know from the previews that George Clooney is in this film. But then others start to show up, actors you didn't necessarily know were in the film: Matt Damon, Chris Cooper, William Hurt, Christopher Plummer, Amanda Peet, and an amazing performance by Jeffrey Wright. All of these characters are important to the story, even if they're on the screen for a few minutes.

This is an extraordinary movie--and one that will get many nominations and awards.

Metacritic score for Syriana: 76/100 (approximately three stars)

Cheaper by the Dozen 2 - * *

You're probably wondering why I spent money to go see Cheaper by the Dozen 2, right? I can tell you in two words: "Family Entertainment."

I took my five-year-old to see this film, and he loved it. I think the film should be reviewed with a five-year-old mind first.

So, what did my son like?

• The dog going after the meat under the chair (see Cheaper 1 for a hilarious scene with Ashton Kusher, whose pants have been soaked in meat).
• The mouse that steals things.
• Steve Martin on a wakeboard.
• The fireworks going off at a party because one of the kids put them next to the food warmers.
• The canoe race.

What did I like?

• The coming-of-age story about Sarah, who has her first crush. (Most critics seem to have picked this up as their favorite moment, too.)
• The birth of the baby at the end.
• The two older kids who follow their dreams at the end, not their parents' dreams.
• The two parents (Steve Martin and Eugene Levey) who compete about everything--and who are more alike than they know. (alright, it's a cliche, but I liked it.)
• The dog humping Carmen Elektra's leg (Cam liked this, too, but didn't know why).
• Carmen Elektra in a bikini (hey, I'm human! At least it wasn't totally gratuitous, since she was out driving a powerboat).

This film isn't trying to be a Best Picture. It's just trying to entertain families who have fewer and fewer options without violence and innuendoes.

Metacritic score for Cheaper by the Dozen 2: 37/100

Backdraft - * 1/2

Backdraft really is a bad movie. It's a good example of how Ron Howard's sentimentality can overwhelm a film. Just seeing Alec Baldwin's brother's shit-eating grin is enough to prompt me to turn it off. He's symbolic of everything that's wrong with the film: style over substance. The sibling rivalry conflict is boring, the firefighting is unrealistic (my neighbor, who used to be a firefighter, told me so), and the opening of the film tells us in 5 minutes what kind of film this is going to be (write by numbers).

You would think Ron Howard would have learned his lesson on Backdraft, but his next film, "Far and Away," had just as many problems as "Backdraft." It wasn't until "Apollo 13" that he came up with something really special--one of my favorite films.

I'm hoping that "The DaVinci Code" is as good as Howard's best, including Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, and Cinderella Man.

Jerry Maguire - * * * *

Jerry Maguire has become one of my favorite movies to watch. First of all, there's a great writer/director behind the film, Cameron Crowe. Crowe is the type of writer who lets his scripts ferment for years before filming them. And while not all his films are at the level of, say, a Jerry Maguire or Say Anything, they are all deeply felt.

Jerry Maguire is full of details that don't hit you on a first viewing. Here are some of my favorites:

• Bob Sugar (Jay Mohr) asking Jerry "if they're still on for lunch" where Jerry will be fired several times. When Jerry is talking to Rod Tidwell's wife, Sugar interrupts them and then she asks, "Didn't you call our house?"
• When Jerry goes over to Dorothy's house to go out on a date, there's a point when all the women from the divorce support group come into the kitchen. Suddenly, Jerry and Dorothy are separated, and Jerry almost seems lost in a sea of women.
• Jerry shows his "tense" look several times before his wedding to Dorothy, when Rod catches it on video and understands that Jerry may not be getting married for the right reasons. The first time we see him give this look is on their first date, when the mariachi band serenades a lone Jerry.

In many ways, Jerry Maguire's symbolism and details remind me of The Graduate. If you haven't seen Jerry Maguire in a while, check it out.

Charlie Brown Christmas Specials - * * *

I bought Cam the "Charlie Brown" Christmas special DVD, which contains two 25-minute shows. These are the same ones I used to watch when I was a kid. It's amazing how well they hold up.

I heard a story recently on NPR recently about how Charlie Brown has an existential philosophy, but I never realized how true this was until I watched it again. When you're five years old watching Charlie Brown, all you care about is Snoopy and how cool the music is. But there are some pretty intense things going on in these stories, like Charlie Brown wondering why he can't get into the Christmas spirit.

After watching these two shows a few times, Cameron said, "No one likes Charlie Brown." And he's actually right. All the other characters are usually saying something like, "Now that Charlie Brown is directing the play, it's really going to be screwed up!"

Where else can you see a cartoon character masquerading as a psychologist, and going through several phobias with Charlie Brown (including "the fear of everything").

Are these shows too serious for kids? Or has the fare on Cartoon Network desensitized us to good writing, good characters, and flash over substance?

War of the Worlds - * * * 1/2 (DVD)

"War of the Worlds" is a scary movie. I saw this one for the first time in the Ruby Theater in Chelan, but for some reason it seemed much more frightening this time around. Part of it has to do with the special effects--everything looks so real. And part of it has to do with the story of a father trying to protect his family in the worst possible situation.

Say what you want about Tom Cruise, the guy delivers in this movie. An actor's job is to bring you into the story, to believe the story. I believed what he was going through. I believed that he'd screwed up his marriage and now his kids don't like him. And I felt bad for him after he took another person's life to protect his daughter.

As for Spielberg and his crew: They also deliver in a big way. But that's what everyone has come to expect from him.

Yours, Mine, and Ours - * * 1/2

I took Cameron to see this film because I knew it would make him laugh. And I was right.

This should have been named "Cheaper By the Dozen 2," but that sequel is coming soon. Dennis Quaid plays a Coast Guard Admiral and widower (I never quite bought it for some reason) who is searching for love, and just happens to have a lot of kids. Rene Russo plays a widow and just happens to have even more kids. Back in the day, they were the King and Queen of the Prom. Now they rekindle their lost love, and throw all the kids together. Of course the kids don't like each other and fight every chance they get.

The one thing I just could not get over was the house they moved into. It was an old lighthouse right on the water. But every time I saw it in a shot, it looked like it had been digitally altered to death. For example, sunsets become "the-most-gorgeous-sunset-you-have-ever-seen."

A good kids' movie, but I wouldn't pay theater prices to go see this film.