I thought the big ape was killed when he fell off the Empire State Building. It turned out, he was resurrected in this movie Kong: Skull Island.
Unlike King Kong, set in the 1930s and where Jack Black brought a complete team of film crew to the Skull Island, this time, in the Kong: Skull Island, Samuel L. Jackson brought a military team, instead of The Avengers.
And that team just didn't include ordinary actors, Jackson brought along Brie Larson, Academy Award winner for Room, and Tom Hiddleston, Loki himself!
Although the whole film revolved around Jackson's resolve to avenge the death of his dead soldiers on the big ape, I just kept on wondering why both the Russians and Americans weren't able to discover this island, when at that time, before the 1970s, both countries had already sent men into outer space.
Although the action scenes between ape and humans, and between ape and other big creatures kept me entertained, it was the costumes and make-up of these ethnic tribes living in the island that impressed me. Very creative. And you should see the graffiti art inside their hallowed ground inside an old ship. The tribesmen's acting though was just sad. The big insects in the film were better actors.
As expected, Brie Larson and Tom Hiddleston were credible even as they shared the billing with a furry primate in costume, and even as they hadn't bathed nor brushed their teeth in days while in the island.
I preferred that 2005 King Kong film over this 2017 Kong: Skull Island. That was more enchanting and suspenseful, and made more sense.
In this one, Samuel L. Jackson was like Donald Trump, unreasonable and always thought about himself, when, in fact, there was something bigger (or bigly!) than himself.
Go watch if you have nothing else to do.
(From across the street,
Benedict Cumberbatch and
Tom Hiddleston's posters)
When I was in Grade 6, Miss Maroma, our English teacher, introduced my classmates and me to the works of William Shakespeare, including Merchant of Venice, where Portia successfully defended Antonio from being butchered by Shylock.
(Cumberbatch fans ascending
the steps of the National Theater)
But during the other weekend, I was no longer in a classroom; I was at the National Theater of Korea. And it wasn't Merchant of Venice; I was watching NTLive's Hamlet! With Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role, no less!
Just like Coriolanus, the National Theater Live was also featuring Hamlet. NTLive is a live performance filmed and then later shown to audiences around the world. And this time, the lucky audiences were in the National Theater of Korea in Seoul!
Although it was chilly that day, the audience braved freezing temperatures. Why? Everyone didn't want to miss Benedict Cumberbatch's performance!
I watched him on TV as Sherlock Holmes, and a couple of years back, he was impressive as Alan Turing in Imitation Game. Definitely, nobody wanted to miss this award-winning actor's performance as Hamlet!
(My Hamlet ticket)
Even though it was freezing and snowing outside, the intensity of the cast's performance was sizzling inside the theater, especially with Benedict's signature deep voice that resonated across the hall and his emotions that were commanding from all angles. Since most audience members were non-English speaking, there were subtitles at the bottom of the screen.
Benedict Cumberbatch was the voice of Smaug in The Hobbit, and he was emotionless and superhuman as Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness. Here was an actor with a special kind of presence, and that day, I was a witness to his amazing gift of acting: voice, emotions and all!
Although the play lasted three hours, there was nary a dull moment. After all, instead of flying to London to watch Shakespeare, we were all lucky that NTLive brought Shakespeare and Benedict over to Seoul! And even though it was all a videoed performance, the local audience still showed their appreciation and applauded like the whole cast was just right there within hearing distance.
(Huge posters at the lobby of
the National Theater)
After the performance, everyone headed home to a snowed Seoul with paths a little bit slippery, but nobody complained. We were treated, not just to this unique NTLive's staging of William Shakespeare's longest play, but also to Benedict Cumberbatch's sublime performance.
(Giant Benedict Cumberbatch and
Tom Hiddleston's posters at the
National Theater of Korea entrance)
Last month, as my bus was passing by the National Theater of Korea in Seoul, a huge poster caught my eye. The two men in the poster looked familiar!
It was Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hiddleston! Benedict Cumberbatch was Sherlock Holmes on TV's Sherlock and was brilliant as Alan Turing on Imitation Game, while Tom Hiddleston was, well, bossy as Loki of Asgard in The Avengers. From my bus window, I took a photo of the poster to see what it was all about. Because with two big names and recognizable faces on the huge posters, who wouldn't want to pass up the chance to see them?
The poster was for the performances of Coriolanus and Hamlet for the National Theater Live, or NTLive, which is a filmed live performance at a London stage and shown at other theaters around the world. And this time, in Seoul, NTLive was showing Shakespeare's Coriolanus and Hamlet!
When I got home that day, I immediately logged on to the website of the National Theater of Korea and just got lucky that, over the play dates, there were a few seats left for Coriolanus and one, yes, one-unexplainable-mysteriously-available-seat for Hamlet! Whew! Of course, I bought the available seats immediately! It's Shakespeare!
And on the play date for Coriolanus, the main theater was packed!
Coriolanus is a tragedy, and I didn't expect Tom to show up as a god from Asgard complete with horns and cape. Here, Tom Hiddleston was a successful Roman general and was spilling out Shakespeare's words like they were meant to be his. Since NTLive had close-ups, Tom's intensity was magnified all over the big screen. His words and emotions jumped out of the screen and reached even those sitting at the farthest corner of the theater (perhaps they also bought their tickets late!). Tom, as an angry Coriolanus, still pierced them on their seats with his emotions as if they were sitting up front. I even told myself, I liked this NTLive! I didn't have to fly to London to watch Shakespeare! Ha-ha-ha!
A familiar face in the cast caught my attention: Alfred Enoch, who played a student at Viola Davis's How To Get Away With Murder drama series. I didn't know he was English. I thought he was an African-American who happened to attend Viola Davis's law class at a Philadelphia university and later got involved in a murder plot in that drama. Here, in Coriolanus, Alfred plays Titus Lartius, another Roman general.
(Brochures for Hamlet and Coriolanus)
Although Tom Hiddleston plays the main character, his mom, Volumnia, played by Deborah Findlay matched his performance word-for-word. Miss Findlay stole the scene from Tom a few times, and for a very good reason: she was very good! And in each of her scene, she made sure the audience knew who she was: an ambitious mother to Coriolanus and a very good stage actress.
After the play, I realized I was lucky to have looked out the window that day and spotted the poster, or I wouldn't have had the opportunity to experience and enjoy NTLive's Coriolanus.
(My tickets for NTLive performances)
I started reading Shakespeare at 12 during my grade school years. Our English teacher, Miss Maroma, would read with us the plays during class and made us understand those centuries-old Shakespearian words. But that night, among the audience made up of Koreans and a few foreigners, I watched and enjoyed not just another Shakespeare work, but performances and a production of the highest quality even William Shakespeare would have been proud of.
* * * * *
Next play, Benedict Cumberbatch as Hamlet!
