King Kong (2005)

“It was beauty killed the beast”: A stupid line that botches the promising thematic arc. This character was the one who dragged Kong from home to hellhole for a life of humiliation all for his own gain but sure, let him end the film with this bullshit poetic proclamation that places blame on the fucking sunset and the woman who literally just tried to save Kong’s life. It’s a great film otherwise: the action-adventure is truly breathtaking in spite of dated CGI and cringe-y native portrayals.

7

The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

An incredibly fun film: the treasure-hunt adventure plot is well-crafted without being too complicated, the action is excellent (see the wild goose-I mean falcon chase through Bagghar), the animation makes full use of its creative power (see the delightful transitions and Haddock’s recollection), and there’s just the right amount of great comedy (see Thompson and Thomson of course, but Haddock is hilarious too: “I lit a wee fire” “In a boat?!”) added to the suspense (see the ship escape).

8