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| Movie Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes Alternate Title: Render to Caesar
Story: This cautionary tale
is loaded with fun, fine acting, pathos, action, and perhaps the return
of a successful franchise. Set in a contemporary framework, genetic
scientist Will Rodman has been working on a drug that could repair brain
cells and become the cure for Alzheimer's. His test subjects are apes.
Not surprisingly, things go awry in the lab. His test subjects are destroyed
and Will sneaks a baby chimpanzee out of the lab, goes home and his
testing continues in secret. What can go wrong, you say? There were a number of visual and audio references
to the original 1968 Planet of the Apes. A few other people
in the audience laughed out loud as I did. Is this a movie that will
change your life? Gads, no - but I would say it is a 'B' movie with
an 'A' heart. I was rooting for the apes the entire film. It
seemed as if the apes were growing in leaps and bounds and the humans
were learning nothing. Score: Apes, 10, humans, 0. Don't leave the theater until the credits start
to roll or you will miss a key ingredient of the film. I would say that
90% of this audience missed it. The film was directed by Rupert
Wyatt and written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda
Silver. It is based on the novel, Planet of the Apes
by Pierre Boulle.
Watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbCoDf44oCE From the original 1968 film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVo7O349BFk Acting: James Franco
as Will Rodman was sincere without getting campy. Freida
Pinto as Caroline had an unnecessary part. John Lithgow
as Charles Rodman was fine as was Brian Cox as mean
old John Landon. A huge shout out to Andy Serkis as
Caesar and Terry Notary as Bright Eyes/Rocket.. Predilection: I like the franchise.
Trivia: In 1999, Andy Serkis landed the prize role
of Gollum in Peter Jackson's epic film trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien's
saga 'The Lord of the Rings'. He spent four years on the part and received
awards and nominations for his performance as Gollum, a computer generated
character in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) which
won 11 Oscars. He was ruled ineligible for a Best Supporting
Actor nomination at the 2003 Academy Awards because his character Gollum
in Lord of the Rings onscreen was computer generated.
Critters: Lots and lots of chimpanzees, an orangutan,
a gorilla and a German Shepard.
Blatant Product Placement: Apple
Soundtrack: Loud
Opening Titles: A horrifying opening sequence of
the chimps being stolen out of the wild.
Visual Art: Great visuals throughout.
Theater Audience: Pretty crowded for an 11 AM Saturday
showing.
Squirm Scale: Animal testing is very squirmy.
Drift Factor: I was attentive throughout.
Predictability Level: High
Tissue Usage: I admit to tearing up in a few scenes.
I know, I know - I am a sucker for a sad animal tale.
Oscar Worthy: Maybe for the visual effects.
Big Screen or Rental: Big screen for sure.
Length: Under two hours.
LOBO HOWLS: 7.5
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