King of the Box Office

It may seem odd, but when I am listening to the soundtracks for the Lord of the Rings, I feel like I am listening to Christmas music. Why is this? For three years, my Christmas Breaks were inextricably linked with a new installment of the series as I would see them three to four times in the theatres. These films dominated the movies at Christmas and were all directed by Peter Jackson. This year he has done it again. Like King Kong and the Empire State Building, he has climbed with ease to the top of the Christmas-season box office for the fourth time in five years. And I must admit that last year did not feel quite the same without a new Lord of the Rings to see.

In The Lord of the Rings, Jackson took the timeless texts of J.R.R. Tolkien and brought them to life on the big screen. While some scenes had to be cut and the movies strayed in some places from the books, Jackson remained remarkably true to the spirit of these stories. Like the books, the films grow from a peaceful depiction of hobbits and the Shire to an awesome depiction of a war covering all of Middle-Earth. Jackson masterfully captured both the growth of the characters as well as the battles of an epic war. Like Tolkien, Jackson created a timeless work of his own.

This Christmas, Jackson decided to try and give life to a classic film, King Kong. Along with many of the key behind-the-scenes people from Lord of the Rings, Jackson again topped the holiday box office. With amazing visual effects, Jackson captivates the audience as he tells the story of the biggest ape ever to hit the screen. Unlike many movies that give away all their big surprises in the previews, Jackson saves his for the first viewing of the movie. You were amazed when you thought that King Kong fought a T-Rex, but what you did not know is that he fights three of them--and he dominates them. However, although the visuals of Kong were impressive, other aspects of the film were not as captivating as The Lord of the Rings. The material Jackson was working with was not as good and the character development did not possess the same depth. Part of this problem was caused by the fact the main character is a mute ape, and although I thought is was cool how he could toy with three T-Rexes, I had little sympathy for him. And while he spends much time wowing audiences with visual effects, he spends less time developing his characters, especially at the end of the film. While these elements may have been lacking, Jackson still delivered with an amazing film that contains things you never thought you would see on the big screen.

Although it seems that his new minimum length for a movie is three hours, Jackson has proven that he can do remarkable things. He made the world of middle-earth real and brought a ginormous ape to life. He has also shown that the better the story he has to work with, the better film he will make. So what should he do next? The Hobbit...perhaps?