Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/800760
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 19 MARCH 2017 38 This Week DEEMED crackpots by the main- stream scientific community, Bill Randa (John Goodman) and his young partner Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins) are determined to get funding for an expedition to an island in the South Pacific – dubbed 'Skull Island' – which is an uncharted piece of territory that they believe contains unique flora and fauna. Though the tail-end of the Vietnam War may not be the best time to go to the American government with begging bowl in hand, the powers-to-be finally re- lent, even accepting to give them military escort as led by the for- midable Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson). Completing the team are expert British tracker James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) and conscientious "anti-war" photog- rapher Mason Weaver (Brie Lar- son)... who soon realise they may not have joined the most ethically wholesome bunch after the team comes face to face with the true flora and fauna of Skull Island. Chief of this not-so-merry-band of indigenous island dwellers is Kong, a giant ape who is just about keeping a cap on the island's in- vasive species, and its ecosystem alive. When Packard's men suffer the wrath of Kong's defensive at- tack – he vows revenge; a fact that puts the entire team into jeopardy. Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts' film announces itself as a re- freshingly childish piece of pulp, as an American WWII fighter pilot – whom we later learn is a younger version of a key character – is shown plummeting down to Skull Island while issuing forth a comical wail, framed perfectly in his descent by the scorching sun. A rival Japanese pilot also lands with him – both are sole survivors of their respective missions – and the fact that he sports an inexpli- cable samurai sword as part of his usual military getup tells you all you need to know about the kind of film Roberts is determined to make. Though there is a basic message about exploitative military jingo- ism vs the sublime beauty of 'un- touched' lands – made obvious by the Vietnam War milieu and em- bodied with gusto by the incor- rigible Samuel L. Jackson, whose raw commitment to the trashiest material never fails to disappoint – at its core, Skull Island is a pulp adventure first and foremost, whose thematic underbelly is only there to crank up the tension among its diverse band of explor- ers as they cut their way through a monster-ridden paradise. Of course, you've come here for the monster fights more than anything else, and I'm happy to report that Skull Island is not only generously populated with impressive-cum-terrifying beast- ies, but also that they're rendered with a grimy, lived-in sense for character design which, while clearly being done entirely in CGI, displays none of the wonky laziness that the style implies. Kong himself succeeds in looking both imposing and agile; a warri- or-king (indeed, god) who is often called upon to pounce around and get his hands dirty in the interest of keeping his island safe from threats both from within and without. But our rag-tag band doesn't just have Kong to contend with, and thankfully each monster they're assailed by on the treach- erous terrain they've decided to encroach upon (with exploratory bombs as well as their own itchy feet) comes with its own pecu- liar set of skills and/or gross-out hook. The big kahunas here are the 'Skullcrawlers' which emerge from the volcanic depths sport- ing scraped-off lizard heads and forked tongues, but a giant spider attack is also memorable, as is an early sequence of Kong skimming the riverbed for lunch... Kong: Skull Island is a film that wears its influences on its sleeve but then just gets on with telling a rollicking and ludicrous story full of sound and fury, and apolo- gising for very little. It may not have the elegiac undercurrents of the original, but as a piece of adventure pulp it gleefully chan- nels both the perennial tales of H. Rider Haggard and Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World, and delivers an escapist pre-sum- mer blockbuster treat that's low on pretentiousness but high on guilty pleasures. IN CINEMAS TODAY Embassy Cinemas Valletta Tel. 21 227436, 21 245818 Beauty and the Beast (PG) 10:00, 13:00, 15:40, 18:20, 21:00 Kong: Skull Island (12A) 10:20, 13:30, 16:05, 18:40, 21:15 Viceroy's House (12A) 16:05, 18:25, 20:45 Logan (15) 10:30, 14:30, 17:30, 20:30 Moonlight (15) 10:30, 13:40, 16:05, 18:30, 20:55 Fifty Shades Darker (18) 10:25, 13:30, 16:00, 18:30, 21:00 Valletta Living History (U) 10:00, 10:45, 11:30, 12:15, 13:00, 13:45, 14:30, 15:15 Eden Cinemas St Julian's Tel. 23 710400 Logan (15) 13:00, 15:40, 18:25, 21:10, 23:50 Get Out (15) 13:10, 15:50, 18:30, 21:10, 23:50 Kong: Skull Island (12A) 13:30, 16:05, 18:40, 21:15, 23:15 John Wick: Chapter 2 (15) 14:00, 16:25, 18:50, 21:15, 23:45 Fifty Shades Darker (18) 14:00, 16:20, 18:40, 21:00 Beauty and the Beast (PG) 14:00, 15:00, 17:00, 18:00, 20:00, 21:00, 22:50 Viceroy's House (12A) 14:05, 16:20, 18:35, 20:50 The Great Wall (12A) 14:05, 16:15, 18:30, 20:40 The LEGO Batman Movie (U) 14:05, 16:15, 18:30 Moonlight (15) 14:05, 16:20, 18:40, 21:00 A Cure for Wellness (18) 14:30, 18:00, 20:55 Sweet Dreams (15) 14:30, 18:00, 20:50 Lion (PG) 20:45 Empire Cinemas Bugibba Tel. 21 581787, 21 581909 Fifty Shades Darker (18) 11:00, 13:45, 16:10, 18:35, 21:00 Logan (15) 11:00, 14:00, 18:00, 21:00 Kong: Skull Island (12A) 10:45, 13:35, 16:05, 18:35, 21:05 Beauty and the Beast (PG) 10:30, 13:15, 15:55, 18:35, 21:15 The LEGO Batman Movie (U) 11:10, 14:00, 18:35 The Great Wall (12A) 16:15, 20:45 Viceroy's House (12A) 11:15, 14:00, 16:15, 18:30, 20:45 John Wick: Chapter 2 (15) 10:45, 13:30, 16:05, 18:35, 21:05 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ BARREL OF MONKEYS ★ ★ ★ ★ MOKEYING AROUND ★ ★ ★ MONKEY BUSINESS ★ ★ MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO ★ MONKEY-DOO FILM By Teodor Reljic SKULL ISLAND ★ ★ ★ ★ Hear him roar: Kong is back and he's having none of you pesky humans trample on his territory Having beastly fun on a monster paradise Revenge: Samuel L. Jackson