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Kong: Skull Island Comic Con Trailer

The King is back…and he’s bigger and badder than EVER!

Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers) stars as a tracker who is joined by a photojournalist – played by Brie Larson (Room) – and a group of soldiers led by Samuel L Jackson (any film you can think of), who explore and uncover the secrets of the mysterious Skull Island. One of those mysteries…a giant-sized monstrous gorilla named King Kong!

The film also stars John Goodman (10 Cloverfield Lane), John C Reilly (Step Brothers), Corey Hawkins and Jason Mitchell (both from Straight Outta Compton).

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DieHard’s Reaction:
What can I say, it’s King F’N Kong!

While I wasn’t a big fan of the rebooted Godzilla franchise, I gave a ton of credit to the unique approach in modernizing the monstrous legend, by utilizing the U.S. military point-of-view. The same approach is being used here in Skull Island, as it is set in the 1970’s shortly after the Vietnam war.

The difference is the stunning visuals and cinematography which vividly makes Skull Island look more like Apocalypse Now. It’s an effective and unique use of the horrific beauty of war tied-in as the backdrop to a legendary monster icon. The landscape of this film is as enormous as its beast.

We’ve seen numerous iterations of the iconic King Kong. From his introduction in the 1930’s atop the Empire State Building to his reincarnation in the 1970’s atop the World Trade Center. In 2005, Peter Jackson took us back to the 1930’s, and gave us the most cinematic experience romanticizing the original beauty and the beast love story. This time, we go back and discover the true beast of Kong- before the love and the ruckus on the streets of New York.

I’m interested in seeing what direction they take Kong franchise considering the timeline that this origin story is set. With this tale set in the 70’s, I’d be curious to see if Hollywood would attempt to re-tell the legendary tale where Kong met his fate. As of now, I don’t see that story being necessary, at least for another 10 years. Again, Jackson’s 2005 version was masterful, but set in the 30’s – so it can’t serve as canon to the timeline of this new story. Now, considering that Warner Brothers is the studio for both Kong and Godzilla, the smart money would say to build up to a battle of the behemoths!

Regardless, let’s focus on the here and now! Skull Island is going to be a monster success! It’s big in every way imaginable – including it’s all-star cast. Mark you calendars!

KONG: SKULL ISLAND breaks into theaters on March 10, 2017.

SDCC 2016: King Arthur:Legend of the Sword Comic Con Trailer

Director Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Sherlock Holmes) brings his artistic visual style and swagger to spin the tale of young King Arthur – played by Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy, Pacific Rim) – who claims his royal lineage after pulling the sword Excalibur from the stone and forming a rebellion to avenge the dictator who killed his parents and stole his crown to become king.

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DieHard’s Reaction:
Admittedly, I had ZERO interest in this film. But after seeing the trailer, I ‘m really digging Ritchie’s style and humor in his take of telling this tale. King Arthur…The Sword in the Stone…Excalibur…it’s all been overdone a million times over. Most times, it’s a literary bore. It’ll be interesting to see how this film is promoted and how moviegoers react.

Hunnam has yet to prove his big screen drawing power and it’s very doubtful that this will be the film to catapult him to the top of the A-list. With Ritchie at the helm, audiences should have confidence considering his track record with the Sherlock Holmes films. The only difference between Holmes and Arthur, is that Ritchie had megastar Robert Downey Jr as his lead for Holmes. In this case, he has the opportunity to make a star out of Hunnam.

KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD opens in theaters on March 24, 2017.

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