Congo

admin — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:49:56 +0000

An African mountain gorilla who’s been taught sign language by a young primatologist is returned to the jungles of the Congo in this adaptation of Michael Crichton’s 1980 sci-fi adventure novel. During their journey they cross paths with greedy corporate scavengers searching for a hidden cache of diamonds.

Mighty Joe Young

admin — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:40:36 +0000

An enormous gorilla exhibits endless compassion and courage. In his native jungle he cares for and protects an orphaned girl who later brings him to Los Angeles to save him from ruthless poachers. However, once there, the man-made confines and threats from a new set of cruel and greedy trophy-hunters cause the otherwise gentle, but misunderstood, beast to totally flip out. Remake of the black and white classic.

King Kong

admin — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:27:35 +0000

It is 1933, and vaudeville actress Ann Darrow (Oscar® nominee for 21 Grams, NAOMI WATTS) has found herself—like so many other New Yorkers during the Great Depression—without the means to earn a living. Unwilling to compromise and allow herself to sink into a career in burlesque, she considers her limited options while aimlessly wandering the streets of Manhattan. When her hunger drives her to unsuccessfully try to steal an apple from a fruit vendor’s stall, she is rescued—literally— by filmmaker and multiple hyphenate Carl Denham (JACK BLACK of The School of Rock). It seems that the entrepreneur-raconteur-adventurer is no stranger to theft, having that day lifted the only existing print of his most recent and unfinished film from under his studio executives’ noses when they threatened to pull his completion funds. Carl has until the end of the day to get his crew onboard the Singapore-bound tramp steamer, the S.S. Venture, in hopes of completing his travelogue/action film. With that, the showman is certain he will finally achieve the personal greatness he knows awaits him around the corner…and although the crew believe that corner to be Singapore, Denham actually hopes to find and capture on film the mysterious place of legend: Skull Island. Unfortunately for Carl, his headlining actress has pulled out of his project, but his search for a size-four leading lady (the costumes have all been made) has, fatefully, led him to Ann. The struggling actress is reluctant to sign on with Denham, until she learns that the up-and-coming, socially relevant playwright Jack Driscoll (Oscar® winner for The Pianist, ADRIEN BRODY) is penning the screenplay—the fees his friend Carl pays for potboiling adventure are a welcome supplement to Driscoll’s nominal income from his stage plays. With his newly discovered star and coerced screenwriter reluctantly onboard, Denham’s “moving picture ship” heads out of New York Harbor…and toward a destiny that none aboard could possibly foresee. Joining Watts, Black and Brody is an accomplished ensemble cast from around the globe. German star THOMAS KRETSCHMANN (U-571) portrays Captain Englehorn, commander of the Venture, who allows Denham and his ever-increasing bribes to persuade him to endanger the lives of his crew by searching for Skull Island. COLIN HANKS (Orange County) is Preston, Denham’s put-upon assistant and unwitting moral compass, who attempts to keep his boss in check and the production from spiraling out of control. Young actor JAMIE BELL (Billy Elliot) plays Jimmy, the youngest crew member, whose experiences onboard the Venture prove more fantastical than any old salt’s seafaring yarn. EVAN PARKE lends his talents to the role of first mate Hayes, keeping a watchful eye on young Jimmy and serving as Englehorn’s conscience. KYLE CHANDLER takes on the character of Bruce Baxter, a “B”-movie-level leading man cast opposite Ann Darrow in Denham’s adventure movie. ANDY SERKIS (who performed the role of the CGI character Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy) provides both on-set performance reference and motion-capture performance for the “Eighth Wonder of the World”…the title character of King Kong; he also appears onscreen as the eccentric sailor in charge of the Venture’s galley, Lumpy the Cook. To create the widely diverging worlds of two disparate settings—the urban jungle of 1930s Manhattan and the primordial environs of Skull Island, home to a lost race and a myriad of formidable, not-extinct creatures—Peter Jackson gathers an unparalleled team of film artisans, the majority with whom he enjoys longstanding collaborative relationships. These include: director of photography ANDREW LESNIE, who received the Academy Award® for his cinematography in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; production designer GRANT MAJOR, Oscar® winner for the third in the trilogy, The Return of the King; and film editor JAMIE SELKIRK, who likewise collected an Academy Award® for his artistry on the final installment of Jackson’s epic. Visual effects are again accomplished by New Zealand-based companies Weta Digital Ltd., under the direction of Oscar® winner JOE LETTERI (The Return of the King), and Weta Workshop Ltd., under the direction of Oscar® winner RICHARD TAYLOR (The Return of the King). The film is scored by six-time Academy Award® nominee JAMES NEWTON HOWARD (Batman Begins). (Universal Pictures)

Gorillas in the Mist

admin — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:18:12 +0000

Based on anthropologist Dian Fossey’s autobiography, and an article by Harold T. P. Hayes, GORILLAS IN THE MIST is a portrait of the determined woman who will do anything to save the mountain gorillas that she studies, and for whose well-being she has a passionate commitment. In the process, she draws international attention to their declining population, yet her obsessive work to save them also eclipses her personal life and brings her into ruinous confrontation with relentless, impoverished poachers. At times recalling Joseph Conrad’s HEART OF DARKNESS, the film touches on both Fossey’s nobility–and inhumanity. To capture her passion, and the sublime African landscape, director Michael Apted (known for his documentary series 7 UP in Britain) shot on location in Rwanda, where the anthropologist lived and worked. Sigourney Weaver, playing Fossey, gives an intense portrayal (garnering an Academy Award nomination) of the woman who almost singlehandedly reversed the extinction of the mountain gorillas in Africa.

PetMoviestars » Primate Movies

Congo

Mighty Joe Young

King Kong

Gorillas in the Mist