Like a pulp era adventure-fantasy novel came to life, ‘King Kong’ delivers fast-paced action with a bang — and melodrama by the bucket-full.

• ‘Heart of Darkness’ is referenced in the movie, Jimmy is reading it.  Successful nod to a literary classic.

• Begins with some suspense but quickly course-corrects with silly antics; the hamfisted comedy on-screen harkens back to early era cinema. Is stylistically similar to Disney epics like ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and ‘Jungle Cruise’ — both a positive and a negative, more on that later!

• The homage/tribute to the 1930s version; nice touch, in this movie we are watching the expedition that “filmed” the first King Kong motion picture. The (implied) contrast between the original colourless visuals vs the high-gloss saturated look of the newer film is very pleasing. Breathing new life into iconic imagery isn’t just a gimmick; this movie knows that.

In ‘Dune’ the visual opulence is awe inspiring — innate architectures, panoramic shots of natural beauty; seamless scene transitions, remarkable compositions, and of course expert colour grading. The cinematography is truly unique — unlike any science fiction film that has come before — save maybe ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.

 Denis Villenieuve directed this picture ‘Dune: Part I’ magnificently, managing to undo the stigma caused by the failings of previous adaptations of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi masterpiece. 

Much like the spice melange, ‘Dune’ is now the hottest commodity in the known universe.

He’s charismatic enough to make the role memorable and has the star-power to sell tickets.

Comic book villains often deliver a triumphant final speech – no one else delivers monologues like Robert Downey; no one. He’s top tier!

The characters of Iron Man and Dr. Doom are symmetrical in a thematic sense. Both are billionaire sycophants who seek to control the world around them. And they both wear masks — so there’s that.

Comics are a medium that often rely on “heel turns”, a term borrowed from wrestling that refers to the moment when a heroic figure turns into a “heel” or a villain. In essence this recasting is in keeping with tradition — especially if Doom ends up being a Tony Stark variant. [1]

“Logic points to Downey’s Doctor Doom being from the same world that is home to the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps, which takes place in an alternate version of Earth within the vast multiverse. It is possible, while feeling oddly implausible, for Victor von Doom to look like Tony Stark on that alternate Earth.”