Cinepals - KONG: SKULL ISLAND (2017) Movie Reaction & Review!

Episode Date: February 29, 2024

With the latest Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire coming soon, we wanted to catch up on any Kong movies we have missed to watch throughout the years, with Jaby and Kristen continuing with Kong: Skull Island, about a group of scientists that come across the mighty Kong. Join our Patreon www.Patreon.com/JabyKoay for the full length reaction to this show and many others ans subscribe to our YouTube channel for the cutdowns www.youtube.com/@cinepals   SOCIAL MEDIA ~CinePals~ Twitter, Instagram, & TikTok: @TheCinePals ~Jaby Koay~ Twitter & Instagram: @JabyKoay ~KRISTEN STEPHENSONPINO~ Instagram: @Kris10Kesp

Sena. Pals. What is going on, everybody? I'm Jabby Koei, joined by Kristen Steffin Zimbino. Hello. And we are watching Kong Skull Island. By the by, in the interest of full transparency, I saw part of this movie, the beginning. I never finished it. You haven't seen really any... No, I'm assuming it was like King Kong. Yes, it is. But have you seen any King Kong at all? Nothing. Nor Godzilla. No, I think I just know that they're like King Kong's on top of the thing with a girl. Okay. You know too much already. Okay, you guys, let's jump into this.

Here we go. I really enjoyed that. I thought that was really good. I did too. You know, normally, I know you haven't seen too many of these modern Kong films, but, you know, oftentimes with these Kong and Godzilla movies, the weakest part of the film is the human element. And recently there was Godzilla minus 1 from Japan, and I loved it because of the human element.

So from their perspective, I watched that with you, right? We saw Shin' Godzilla. Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah. And so, yeah, it's in a similar vein. And so I just thought they actually did a fantastic job with the development of most of the human characters to the point that like, I connected with them, I understood

them, I understood their personalities. They didn't feel like, just like a half-baked development for the most part. Like, I feel like I experienced with the more recent Kong Godzilla films, right? Especially Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson, Sam Jackson and John C. Riley, like, all of them. The Asian lady was just like, who is that lady? Yeah, they didn't, she was the only one that wasn't developed. Yeah. Out of all of them.

I forgot the actor's name, but he played P. Diddy in Strait of Compton. Oh, I think it's Corey Hawkins. I want to know from you guys how you felt about Cory Hawkins. How did you feel about Cory Hawkins? Okay, I liked him. Even though he wasn't really a main character, I still think they added him in well to get to know him. And I think it was just because I feel like they needed. What was the other guys?

Go back to IMDB real quick. Sorry. Samuel. For Samuel, I feel like they needed a team. they needed it you don't know sam jackson's name by heart come on i know i'm horrible with names you're like anyways i feel like he needed a group of people that we could relate to and kind of liked and in some shape of form because the others were so developed we needed to have something for when we went back and forth okay that's how i saw it was he the strongest no but he was still like he was still

likable yeah yeah you know it include even though they were kind of like fluff you still had they had a purpose Sure. Where the Japanese girl or... Chinese. Chinese. I'm pretty sure she's Chinese. Yeah, I'm fairly... Because I felt like she was representing the Japanese in the film.

She might have been, but her character is definitely Chinese. I mean, the actress is definitely Chinese. And the company is 10 cent. So that's why I was like... Anyway, go ahead. Oh, no, no. Where, like, hers, there wasn't really a purpose for her in the film I felt. Because she was the only one we didn't...

We did not really develop or get to know very well. Right. So it was kind of weird. But she also kind of didn't fit. into me in general. So here's the thing. There's often an inclusion of like a clearly Chinese character that stands apart because it'll play better overseas. Like Iron Man 3 in China, it's like a 45 minute longer version of Iron Man 3 than we got that has this whole other subplot that deals with Chinese actors. And it's just to help sell better in China. And Anthony Mackie, who played

Falcon, he was at a press conference once who said, these movies are for 16-year-old. and China because of that PG-13 rating and what you see in the film and everything like they is like that's who we're selling to I'm like he's very honest and so her inclusion was just for that

like if you watch any of the Meg movies with Jason Statham that's like very clear what the markets are off of that film anyway she was just she just felt random like they could have done a better job with her but I'm wondering if there's like a longer version that's specifically for China

with her in it yeah okay okay that would make sense but the effect I'd say for like 80% of the time, 80, 85% of the time, they looked fantastic. There was like a solid 15% in there where I'm like, helicopter looks CGI, some of this looks CGI. Overall, it was fantastic. The makeup was great, wardrobe was great. You just like Tom Hiddleston.

Oh, man. Yeah. I think that's what this comes down to. But with regards to the thing we were talking about a second ago, it wasn't just her, but like anyone Asian didn't get a heck of a lot to say in the movie. And that's what was standing out to me. It's like you had a whole. group of people who didn't say shit because that's just their language is nothing. And then Eugene Cordero, he says a lot more in Loki than he does here, which, to be fair, it's a

film, so whatever, but like, he barely had a couple lines here. And then the Asian lady was just like, oh, oh, she really didn't say much. That aside, I really enjoyed the film. I thought they actually had a pretty good cast here. The shots that were chosen by director Jordan Vaught Roberts. I thought he did a great job. The camera angles. and the choices of how to have the characters interact, the suspense, the rhythm of the film overall. So good writing from the writing team. A little bit.

Because, okay. A little bit. I was starting at some points, I was like, I feel like I'm watching kind of Jurassic Park, but I'm on here for it. I think that was by design to kind of elicit that sort of nostalgia a little bit. So I thought that, yeah, the writing was, for the most part, pretty strong. The effects, for the most part, strong, directing, like, his choices, right?

acting, great. I liked it across the board. I really like the people who lived on this island, who were silent and just very simple and content. I really, really enjoyed them and like what they stood for. I really, really liked that one. That was cool. Yeah.

I'm glad that I got to have this experience with you guys, but I am still like a little bit, it's a little bit bittersweet because I do wish I had like properly watched this in theaters at the time that it came out. But at the same time, I don't know if I would have been able to appreciate it quite as well. There's just like, I'm just focused really hard on, like, how he's placing the camera, how he's doing the edits, all the sound design, how everything fits together, and it's just very thoughtful in a way that I don't feel like we get as often as we should get with the more recent installments of Kong and Godzilla. And it's like, it's a little frustrating, especially highlighted by the dichotomy or the difference between Godzilla minus one and everything else. Like, the American stuff, the American counterparts, they're fun, but they're sort of just popcorn. Whereas this, I feel like, is beyond popcorn.

Yeah. You know, I feel like there's actual characters here that I can enjoy. But the storyline to me was very strong, too. Yeah, exactly. It wasn't just, like, thrown together, like you were saying. Yeah. It was, I'm done. I have nothing more I can add.

Sometimes I get so nervous, like, or, like, I get overly excited and stimulated. And then I'm like, and I can't speak. Yeah, yeah, I get you. And then I'm like, just fill in the blanks because I know you know what I'm thinking. No, I understand. You ever see as me more than anybody. I thought it was just really, really well done, you know. The suspense in the story was pretty thrilling as well.

I think that there was this video essay I saw a while ago comparing Stephen Spielberg's Jurassic Park with the more recent Jurassic World films. And one of the things that this essay highlighted, I don't remember the name of it, and I apologize. But one of the things they highlighted was the format in which it's presented. Jurassic World is presented in a 239, the widescreen aspect ratio. You know, you see the black bars. Whereas Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park The Lost World are presented in the regular 16-9 format and that allows you to appreciate the scale of it better

and that was the one thing I was wondering about only because of that video I say while watching this It's just like I really liking this But I do wonder if it would have been helped Yeah if it would have been helped by the taller format Just to give you a better sense of scale Like one of the moments that highlight is highlighted in a flawed way for me Is when the big monster shows up

And it's like if John C. Riley hadn't said that's the big one I wouldn't have known that's the big one it looked just like the regular ones to me that's a good point yeah actually I just I think for my brain was already prepared for it yeah that it was like I was like all right I'm assuming yeah you know but you that that's a really solid point yeah you're not wrong on that yeah and it's just like it's just it just lacked a sense of scale for that moment but the fight that followed between Kong and that monster was pretty strong like it looked vicious and that was the thing it's like they pushed that PG-13 to the with the violence in this movie and I am happy about how they went about it because like the

scene with the spider in the forest was yeah quite upsetting it was like with the with the thing through the dude's mouth and then just like they did they did have some very creative ways of killing yes and yeah I'm like you guys are twisted yeah it was quite enjoyable so the I just yeah it was twisted quite enjoyable no but like I think that a lot of it stems from the fact that my expectations weren't that high in going into this. I was just like, this will be all right. And I came away going, oh, wow, this is actually like much

stronger than I anticipated. I'm very, very much appreciate this movie more than I thought I would. And I actually really, really love it. Yeah. Like, I liked it. And so, I'm functioning on zero food at the moment and just caffeine. So, you guys, thanks so much for hanging. Um, I hope

protein balls. Yeah. They're really called protein balls. Oh, I know what you're talking about. I know what you're talking about. Yeah. Thanks so much for hanging. Hopefully you enjoyed that reaction. I very much enjoyed this film and I'm looking forward to putting Kristen on a train

of successive Kong and Godzilla films after this. Thanks again. I'm Jabby Kauai. This is Kristen's up to speedo. Peace out.