After being taken from his home in Africa, Gorilla “Joe” is an instant hit in a Hollywood nightclub. This fun and wonderfully entertaining slant on “King Kong” is much better than Kong’s 1934 sequel, “Son of Kong”. This all ages adventure has superb special effects from Willis O’Brien and his protege, Ray Harryhausen.

As a child living in Africa, Jill Young saw her mother killed while protecting wild gorillas from poachers led by Andrei Strasser. Now an adult, Jill cares for an orphaned gorilla named Joe — who, due to a genetic anomaly, is 15 feet tall. When Gregg O’Hara arrives from California and sees the animal, he convinces Jill that Joe would be safest at his wildlife refuge. But Strasser follows them to the U.S., intent on capturing Joe for himself.

Set in the 1970’s, MIGHTY FINE is the story of Joe Fine (Chazz Palminteri) a charismatic, high-spirited man, who relocates his family–wife Stella (Andie MacDowell), a Holocaust survivor, daughters Nathalie (Jodelle Ferland) and Maddie (Rainey Qualley)–from Brooklyn to New Orleans, in search of a better life. Unfortunately, Joe’s spending spree is wildly out of touch with reality, as his apparel business is teetering on the brink of collapse, a fact he refuses to accept. Written and directed by Debbie Goodstein, MIGHTY FINE is told from the perspective of an adult Nathalie remembering the events of her youth, and is inspired by Goodstein’s memories of her own father. MIGHTY FINE ultimately shows how coming to terms with the past without judgment is the most fruitful way to move toward the future.