Jarhead

Jarhead is based on a book by Anthony Swofford (the main character) and his experiences as a Marine leading up to and including Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Swofford, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is a Marine legacy. His father, uncle, and grandfather all served so that's what he does. But he's very ambivalent about it until getting into a sniper school finally gives him some direction.
Then Iraq invades Kuwait and the movie gives us a view of life for soldiers during Desert Shield. The hydration drills, chemical/bio suits, incredible boredom, and fracturing relationships with girlfriends and wives back home) all take their toll. This seems especially acute among the Marines whose training gears them toward being killing machines, not garrison troops. As a result, all of the men are on edge.
Once the Coalition invasion actually starts up, the confusion and unreality of the environment doesn't get any better. It becomes clear the Iraqis have no stomach for fighting as Swofford's unit find burned out vehicles littering the retreat path back to Iraq, all destroyed by Coalition air power. The net effect after being bored in the desert for 6 months, taking experimental drugs to stave of chemical weapons, and then being exposed to burning oil wells is a short, four day campaign with no real baptism of fire to validate the experience.
I have not read Swofford's book so I can't really speak for the accuracy of the movie's adaptation, but it was still a fairly interesting look at the relationships and psychologies of the men we sent over for Gulf War I. I was definitely impressed with the acting. Gyllenhaal seems absolutely fearless in his choice of roles and is definitely a name worth watching.
Overall, I give the movie a B+.

King Kong (2005)

Peter Jackson's version of the venerable classic follows the original movie reasonably closely, including the nasty giant bug scene after the men are shaken off the fallen tree. The special effects and other movie trappings are, of course, much more complex, realistic, and spectacular, but that's to be expected given the 72 years of movie technology development.
Kong is portrayed with much more emotion in this version, but I think also his relationship with Vaudeville actress Ann Darrow (played by Naomi Watts... who is a little older than me but sure doesn't look it) is also played up with a lot more emotion on her part as well. A considerable amount of anthropomorphism is done with Kong, but I think that helps heighten the emotional appeal of the movie.
There are a few action scenes that start to trip the "aw, c'mon" reflex (particularly Ann's escape from Kong with the help of Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody)) but overall the movie is a pretty fun romp.
I believe the end of the movie, which parallels the original again, is done a bit more ironically than the original. When Carl Denham (Jack Black in the 2005 version) says that "Beauty killed the beast", you get the impression that he believes it, sure. But you also had the impression that was an unironic statement in the 1933 version. I think the way the movie unfolds in the 2005 version indicates that this is, indeed, a very ironic statement.
Overall, I give King Kong an A-.

The Island

As it turns out, The Island is a remake of a movie that once appeared on Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Clonus Horror. A lot of people thought that boded poorly for the quality of this movie. Well, they had a point, but that's getting ahead of myself. In The Island, humanity is limited to a tightly controlled environment due to some form of environmental contamination on the surface. Survivors are occasionally still found but most people go about their daily lives with their caloric intake and health tightly monitored. Everyone also participates in a lottery to go to the Island, the last uncontaminated place on earth, for the rest of their days. But for the most part, life is reasonably OK if somewhat dreary.
Enter our protagonist, Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor). He's vaguely dissatisfied, has dreams of an outside world, and is a bit of a maverick. He manages to actually get out of the environment to learn that the surface isn't contaminated at all and that people who go to the Island are actually harvested for body parts. The whole complex and everyone in it are part of an insurance-type firm that grows replacement body parts for the rich and powerful people who can afford them.
Lincoln Six Echo grabs a friend, Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson) and makes a break for it shortly before she too is hauled off to the Island. With the help of a friend of Lincoln Six Echo's, one of the technicians from the outside, they learn exactly who and what they are. And they end up on the run to avoid the company's hired goons and recruit the help of their "owners" who were fed a line that their replacement parts were grown humanely (and mindlessly).
The acting by McGregor and Johansson, and by other cast members, is quite decent and the story isn't a bad one. Where this movie starts to break down is in the action sequences. They become kind of repetitive and silly and, ultimately, dispensible.
Overall, I give the movie a C. Good actors doing a good job with a decent story idea, but with supporting action that just doesn't cut it.