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Director Peter Jackson earned his stripes when he took on the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, where he won an Oscar for his efforts bringing the beloved Tolkien novel to life. Not a fantasy buff myself, and never having read the books, I was not as enthralled by it all as my fanboy husband - so I'm not really sure what motivated me to see the remake of the 1930s classic "King Kong" in his eager hands.

If things had not gone very well I could have blamed my husband. That's typically how it works.

But fortunately for Steven, Peter and myself - I was totally captivated by this movie.

And I think I can attribute it to the same thing that made his LOTR movies so successful: his respect for the source material.

Unlike the 1970s remake, which changed even the final NYC showdown, this movie showed Peter's love and admiration for the original with a brand new take on 1930s New York. The scope of this movie is incredible when you realize how much work went into recreating that atmosphere, especially to make it seem as effortless as it was.

My only gripe with Peter would be his sense of pacing. A common complaint for this movie was how long it took to actually get to the larger than life gorilla, and star of the show. Though I was prepared for it, I hardly noticed it as I got caught up in the amazing world he had created for us.

Plus there is the strength of the acting in this movie; Naomi Watts in particular. When you consider that most of her role was played off of nothing at all, you begin to realize just how underrated her performance was.

The story is quite familiar. Ann Darrow is an actress who ends up going to a tropical island where a large ape becomes quite taken with her. In the '76 version, there was always the sense that while she had a connection with Kong, she ultimately feared him.

What I loved most about this movie is Naomi's affection and concern for him. This is especially poignant once Kong becomes a victim of Carl Denham's greed, played quite uncharacteristically subtly by Jack Black.

Even Jack Driscoll (Adrian Brody) seemed to understand how wrong it was to take the majestic King from his jungle just to parade him for the masses. But Jack indeed feared for Ann's safety as it was clear the giant beast was obsessed with her.

By the time Ann and Kong reunite in New York City, we see that Ann does not fear Kong. She fears instead what will happen to him. And it's that gentle relationship of mutual respect that really stands out in this version of the film.

In fact,

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