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-.