Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/804501
MARCH 29 - APRIL 4, 2017 UCW 19 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM I am not opposed to extended movie universes. I think they're generally pretty cool, even if some (*cough* DC Extended University *cough*) fall short of their potential. But trying to create a "Legendary Monsterverse" out of Godzilla, King Kong, Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah — well, color me skeptical. Kong: Skull Island (118 minutes) was better than I expected, but that doesn't change the fact that it was clumsily executed, and the connection to the recent Godzilla movie was forced, at best. The film begins in 1944, during World War II. An American named Hank Marlow (John C. Reilly) lands on a beach and fights with a Japanese pilot named Gunpei Ikari (Miyavi). I'm sure that in modern Hollywood, a blockbuster movie will be sure to incorporate Gunpei into the remaining plot and … wait, nope. That dude dies off screen, leaving Hank as the only moderately likeable character. Fast forward to the 1970s. Bill Randa (John Goodman, apparently still alive) is a scientist performing science for the United States government in the closing days of the Vietnam War. The conflict that starts off this segment is that Bill wants to do science but the government doesn't want to pay for it. Bill convinces somebody to let him tag along with a different, better funded, group of scientists doing science, and somehow manages to get everything else he wanted, including a military escort and low-rent James Bond named James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston). An anti-war photographer named Mason Weaver (Brie Larson) is also included on the assignment, because (reason to be decided later). The cast is huge at this point, but that doesn't mean there's not room for one more female character, and I'm sure that in modern Hollywood both women will have an interesting, dynamic … wait, nope. The plot splits them up as soon as possible, so they never have the chance to accidently talk to each other or play a significant role in the film. You know, I was paying careful attention, and I'm not sure the other female character even got a name, much less a back story. I'll admit, it was entirely possible she got both and I missed it due to not being able to care about any of the people except Hank. The group flies over Skull Island, blow some stuff up, and Kong understandably attackes them. After the first encounter with King Kong, the cast is still pretty big, with Lt. Col. Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) leading a group of survivors to kill King Kong and Conrad leading a slightly smaller group to a rendezvous point on the other side of the island. Along the way, Packard's group is steadily whittled away, their determination to kill Kong increasingly resembling Ahab chasing the white whale. When the two groups finally share the screen again, it is clear that the military are the bad guys — unable to recognize that their true enemy isn't King Kong, but another kind of M.U.T.O. (yes, they resurrected the Massive Unidentified Terrestial Organism acronym from Godzilla), the skullcrawlers. Overall, if you've seen Apocalypse Now and thought, "gosh, what this movie needs is a giant ape and a pokemon-inspired antagonist" you're in for a treat. Everyone else, feel free to place bets on who gets wiped out in their first encounter with King Kong, stuff you face with popcorn, and then take a pleasant nap for the last hour of the film. Now playing at Patriot 14 + IMAX. Legendary Monsterverse, Take Two Kong: Skull Island (Rated PG-13) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910 484-6200. Fayetteville's CONCERT CONNECTION ANSTEAD'S TOBACCO CO. 320 N McPherson Church Rd 864-5705 • ansteads.com April 1 Paul Sanders Trio April 15 JD and Bill HUSKE HARDWARE HOUSE 405 Hay Street • 437-9905 www.huskehardware.com March 30 PJ March 31 PJ KICK BACK JACKS 5081 Morganton Rd. • 223-7676 Friday Live Music LUIGI'S 528 N McPherson Church Rd. 864-1810 • www.luigisnc. com March 30 Live Entertainment March 31 Live Entertainment PAUL'S PLACE 719 Starling St. • 910 779-2898 Live Music THE CROWN COMPLEX 1960 Coliseum Dr. • 438-4100 www.crowncomplexnc.com March 31 Rhythm in the Night Irish Dance Spec - tacular April 11 Rain: A Beatles Tribute April 22 Mann's World Family Tour April 26 Lauryn Hill May 13 Mother's Day Soul Jam ROCK SHOP 128 S. King St. • 321-ROCK www.therockshoplive.com Live Music Christian Albums • WCLN 107.3 Christian Listening Network • Visit us online at www.christian107.com 1 TOBYMAC Love Broke Thru 2 DANNY GOKEY Rise 3 MERCYME Even If 4 MICAH TYLER Never Been A Moment 5 HILLSONG WORSHIP What A Beautiful Name 6 TENTH AVENUE NORTH I Have This Hope 7 FRANCESCA BATTISTELLI Giants Fall 8 WE ARE MESSENGERS Magnify 9 LAUREN DAIGLE Come Alive (Dry Bones) 10 KUTLESS King Of My Heart GET OUT LEGO BATMAN $i. 50 Drinks. $i. 50 Drinks. $i. 50 Drinks. $2.00 before 6:00 p.m. $3.00 after 6:00 p.m. $1.00 extra for 3D MOVIES Movie Monday: $1.50 All Day(Holiday or 3D movies excluded) Coming Soon! Coming Soon!