10. Our Own King Kong
Odds are, if you've got a major interest in this article, your parents weren't kids when they saw
King Kong rampage through the jungle and city in 1933. Maybe they saw the Jeff Bridges-led endeavor in 1976, but that's most definitely the version long forgotten. When Peter Jackson's
Kong debuted at the end of 2005, he unleashed a behemoth of a film. To new-age audiences, this
King Kong was fundamentally the same scope as the beast's original outing in the 30s. Now, obviously, while the special effects were fantastic, at this point, we were somewhat immune to the powers of computer generated images, so it wasn't expected that a revamp of the classic would leave an indelible mark on the industry. However, it was an epic of a film and was the finest introduction to kids my age to the lost art of old school, big-time movie-monster-bashing. Even noted critic Roger Ebert saw its importance over that of the original in terms of its use of special effects:
"King Kong" is a magnificent entertainment. It is like the flowering of all the possibilities in the original classic film. Computers are used not merely to create special effects, but also to create style and beauty, to find a look for the film that fits its story. And the characters are not cardboard heroes or villains seen in stark outline, but quirky individuals with personalities. - Roger Ebert
Maybe we didn't get to take a high school sweetheart to
Sixteen Candles, but we did get to revel in the childhood glory of watching a legendary cinematic figure return to his prime and fist-fight some dinosaurs.