hazzacavs

22 May 2012

Amazing. A true entertainer.

This movie was incredible. I was so excited to see it for months beforeit came out as the trailers looked amazing and I love James Franco asan actor.I became so emotionally attached to this movie it wasn't even funny. Ifound myself yelling at the screen during the movie as I was loving itso much. The special effects are truly something special and Caesar thechimpanzee was a character you couldn't possibly not enjoy. The plot was very exciting and there was never a time where I feltbored or lost during the film. The acting was great and the apes inthis film just looked so realistic. The action overall was incredible, the last 30 minutes of the film wasgreat with a blockbuster finish. I highly recommend this film. You will love it, 10/10

siderite

22 May 2012

Don't expect too much, but better than most

As a joke, I wanted to start this review by saying it is about thehorrors of turning real live chimps into CGI, but as I was watching thefilm I started to get into the mood and understand what it was about.Fortunately, it was a rather good story with very good rendering, butunfortunately it doesn't even begin to approach the level of socialcommentary that the original movies had. As such, I would say it's abetter than average sci-fi movie, but a less than average Planet of theApes.To put it bluntly, the apes get smart, they start to resent theirtreatment at the hands of humans and they react. How? Violently! Hulksmash style. Yes, we can now create the level of CGI that shows hordesof apes moving across the Golden Gate bridge, but then we succumb tothe ease of transforming it all into a mindless battle for dominance.If there is something to be taken from this film, it is the wayemotions were conveyed from a purely apish perspective. Even ifsometimes the apes were made to look and act way too human, most of thetime one could expect stuff like that from real animals. I think thisis relevant, I think this shows the level of emotional manipulation inHollywood movies today goes far lower than "the common denominator",down to the ape in us. And we enjoy it.Bottom line: a block buster that tries to cash in on an idea that mostpeople in the audience aren't even familiar with and a far cry fromCarlton Heston's films, but better than most of the crap this year hasto offer. Expect nothing spectacular and you will probably enjoy it.

jdk2006

20 May 2012

Awesome Movie - Very Entertaining- 10 Stars!

James Franco was great in his role. He really sells you on hischaracter, and you forget that he's an actor and rather can just watchhim as his role in the movie. This movie was very entertaining andworth your time. This movie brings a lot of elements out. It has some emotional parts toit. It is actually rather easy to empathize with the main monkey. Youhave to view the ape as the main character of the movie though. It'svery easy to understand why the monkey acts the way he does. He hasthis one pose where he's in between a crouch and standing with his armscrossed and he's either looking down or straight ahead, and it's verysinister and awesome. I couldn't stop laughing throughout the movie asI found monkeys (I am skipping this part of the review as to not givespoilers).If you've made it too my review than your not completely convinced youwant to see the movie but you haven't completely blown it off either.My advice is to see it, you will not be disappointed. I am sorry if Idid not give a great review but I am trying very hard to hold myselffrom giving out SPOILERs but I really wanted to rate it 10 out of 10.I'm ready to pre-order the movie already, I found it so entertaining. This movie is very creative, and the CGI was very well done. Tom Feltonis lucky to be in this film as unlike Harry Potter movies you couldactually watch this more than once.

The Upcoming

19 May 2012

Apes have certainly risen thanks to a superb narrative and Serkis' mesmerising performance

Ten years after the horror that was Tim Burton's remake of Planet ofthe Apes, the world is welcomed to an all-new reboot set in present dayleading to the unforgettable events in the original features. Afterseeing the trailer months ago and being disappointed by it, I enteredthe cinema with low expectations.Will Rodman (James Franco) is a genetic scientist working on thedevelopment of a serum which could become the cure for Alzheimer'sdisease. His company begins to test the new drug on chimpanzees todocument the effects on brain power and stimulation. After a freakaccident, Will is left to care for Caesar (Andy Serkis); a baby chimpwhose mother was exposed to the drug. As he grows, Caesar gainssuperior learning abilities and develops human skills such as drawingand reading. When Caesar is sadly taken from Will's care, he uses hisintelligence to build a chimp and ape army to fight against the humanswho have made their lives a misery.Rise of the Planet of the Apes is yet another film to suffer from itsobviously misleading and mindless trailer. Rather than actuallyhighlighting some narrative focus, the trailer just shows a bunch ofmiscellaneous images of chimps being 'bad' – it completely devalues thepicture, its messages and its genre. Those measly two minutes are whatoriginally put me right off seeing this picture but the truth is, thisfilm is extraordinary.Rather than being dumb box-office fodder, the story is rich in itssocial and political context and grounded by its beautiful andsometimes uncomfortable depiction of ethics. This is not a massivepyrotechnic-laden action flick, this is a picture about nature vsnurture, genetic science vs. animal cruelty and most importantly, manplaying God with innocent lives.Besides the story and premise being fantastic, there is also the CGI(Chimps Get Intelligent) which are quite simply astonishing. Some ofthe primates look almost too uncanny – in a few scenes. CGI is at itsbest when forgotten; one doesn't want to be reminded one's watching adigital image rather than a real character and this is where Rise ofthe Planet of the Apes excels. The wonderful Andy Serkis jumps backinto the motion-capture suit for his performance as Caesar. Caesar is afantastic dimensional and focused character. He incarnates more than aChimpanzee and more than a series of pixels – Caesar is practicallyhuman. Caesar's facial expressions and body movements are so realisticand precise that it makes the revolutionary chimp one of the year'sbest characters.Wyatt's direction is certainly strong. He is able to handle thedramatic weight of the story, as well as the budget. Considering he isa new filmmaker and has only directed one other feature film TheEscapist (2008), he proves his status here by using smart camera anglesand confidence in his execution. The script also contains lots ofreferences to the original films; fans of the franchise will getfrequent treats throughout its duration.Alongside our biological descendants, the humans also add a lot to themixture. Franco gives a well-rounded and honest performance andalthough he is actually in the supporting role, he provides the goodsand makes Will an immensely likable and believable character. FreidaPinto plays Will's girlfriend Caroline but she is far from the mainfocus of the film and gets slightly sidetracked. Tom Felton – HarryPotter Draco Malfoy – plays another horrible character as Dodge Landon;a supposed carer for the apes at the rescue sanctuary. It is hard toshake off his Harry Potter past while playing a cruel person who enjoystormenting and harming the animals. Maybe next time Felton should playa nice guy. However, the star alongside Caesar is Will's long-sufferingfather Charles played by John Lithgow. This is one of his bestperformances for a long time and really captures the essence of livingwith somebody who has Alzheimer's.Apart from Pinto's slight lacking in narrative scope, I can't reallyfind a bad thing to say about this featue. I approached the film withcaution due to being massively misguided by its promotion and left thefilm having been thought-provoked, emotionally engaged and above allelse, greatly entertained. ROTPOTA is a raw and powerful drama thatmeddles with a risqué subject with dignity and understanding – ROTPOTAis worthy to be considered alongside the marvellous Charlton Hestonoriginal.Verdict: ●●●●● Apes have certainly risen thanks to a superb narrativeand Serkis' mesmerising performance. Hail Caesar! Read more reviews onwww.theupcoming.co.uk

19 May 2012

great movie!

This review is from: Rise Of The Planet of the Apes (Amazon Instant Video) Had us glued to our seats the entire time! Will definately be buying this movie! I seriously hope that they end up making a sequel to this movie.

18 May 2012

movie did not work with our blue ray player

This review is from: Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Two-Disc Edition Blu Ray + DVD/Digital Copy Combo) [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) We updated the software and rebooted ect for our Samsung Blue ray player and movie still would not play. Only goes to the first screen then freezes up. Just printed out my return item sticker to ship back and get refund.

SurfaceDetail

13 May 2012

There's more to film making than CGI

Like most people reviewing I have a liking for the original Planet ofthe Apes movies... BUT, I am getting tired of the lack of originalityand reliance on re-inventing past classics with the advent of newmovie-making technology. This is yet another example. A great advertfor CGI, with the apes being so much more believable than their humancounter-parts in the acting department and would probably have done abetter job of a believable screenplay and story given enough time andenough typewriters. For example: Guy who looks like he left college aweek ago finds a cure for Alzheimers, He breaks all the rules andexperiments on father disregarding the obvious negative side effects onhis experimental subjects. Spends the next 5 or 6 years working on afix but then pleads with the guy who runs the research centre not toproduce the stuff. Apes jumping through plate glass windows from 50feet without injury doesn't work. Manhole covers flying 50ft into carwindows and just stopping halfway through the window doesn't work. Apesdropping straight to the ground after a tranquiliser shot doesn't work.Gorillas jumping off bridges, taking scores of bullets, to take down ahelicopter doesn't work. This is just a "let's revive Planet of theApes, stick some juicy CGI in and watch them roll in droves and quicklyrecover our 93 million" movie.2 for the CGI, that's all it merits

Major_Movie_Star

13 May 2012

Good concept, but a waste of a great opportunity

I give a 7/10 to a good movie, but this is not a good movie. Like theCurates Egg; it is good in parts. The CGI was not nearly as good as Iwas expecting from the hype; major disappointment. The technology wasnot quite ready. This is a movie that should have been made a few yearsfrom now, when the CGi will be perfected. The CGi is a crutch for thewhole movie; without it, this film would flop like a jellyfish. Acting;awful. Dialogue; atrocious. Writing; childish. The plot-holes have beenwell documented elsewhere. Wait for this to come up on your TVschedule; it is not worth going out of your way to see. The only thingof interest is to see where the sequel goes from here, and how theyknit it into the pre-existing classics.

11 May 2012

Pleasantly surprised! Better than the last "Apes" remake

This review is from: Rise Of The Planet of the Apes (Amazon Instant Video) Rise of The Planet of the Apes turned out to be a fun and at times thrilling film to watch. The visuals are very well done and the acting is on point. It was much better than the last apes remake that made me want to fall asleep 10 minutes into it. The story line is developed smartly in this one, so it appeals to those of us who like to delve a little into what is actually going on. At times, you cant help but side with the apes, and I know for those who are fans of the originals, we don't want to do that. A lot is revealed here, focusing on Caesar, who is supposed to be the son of Cornelius and Zira, who basically is raised by a scientist after his rescue from a "Big Pharma" style drug corporation. He is super intelligent and eventually is locked up in a primate shelter where he gains his following as the leader of the soon to be ape revolution. This is a film that fans may want to consider purchasing instead of renting, it is re-watchable and the visuals are good enough for that Blu-Ray you just got for Christmas. Don't miss out, if Hollywood stays on track with this one, we may see more pleasing sequels.

Sabrina

11 May 2012

A summer block buster worth waiting for

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a fine standalone movie but someknowledge about Planet of the Apes is advisable.Rise tells the origin story of Ceasar, an intelligent ape who growsinto the revolutionary leader of all apes and how he unleashes the warfor supremacy on earth. Rise is a character driven movie, in which Ceasar is obviously the maincharacter. The running time is 1u48 and it takes about 1h15 to see theimpressive action scenes we see in the trailer. The kid sitting next tome certainly thought so,'cause halfway through he started sighing andtoying with his cell phone. He also didn't understand the epiloguewhich refers to a small subplot in the movie.To be honest, I had expected more action as well, but seeing Ceasergrow up is essential to understanding him and in hindsight I muchappreciate the slow pacing of this movie. Ceasar (as well as theaudience) goes through an emotional journey, with ups and downs. Theparts in the primate shelter definitely belong among my favoritescenes. It's where we see Ceasar rise, from the new guy who's beingpicked on by the other apes to a revolutionary leader, uniting allapes. In the shelter we also get to see what type of leader he is:calculated, strategic, patient, just, forgiving, respectful…… in otherwords, everything that humankind (as far as Ceasar and the apes know)is not. Humankind is represented in Rise by some caricaturedcharacters, like Will's neighbor and boss. The neighbor has a shortfuse, a low tolerance level and is a violent type of man. The boss isyour classic money-grubber, not caring about anything of anyone excepthimself, his company and how much money he makes.Rise is also about friends becoming enemies. Will deeply cares forCeasar, and not just because he's such an interestingly intelligentape. He loves Ceasar, and Ceasar loves Will and his father. There areseveral endearing moments in the movie to emphasize this and leave nodoubt about it. At the end of the movie, when Ceasar once more choosesto be with his own kind, his actions and that of the other apes in thescene gave me goose bumps and while I was trying to push back my tearsI also couldn't conceal a smile.BTW, stay seated when the end credits begin, 'cause there is an extrascene (you don't have to wait long, it starts soon after the creditshave started). The extra scene is part of the subplot and it involvesWill's neighbor. I have no idea whether this scene is meant tointroduce a sequel, could be, but it can also be an open end to finisha perfect movie.There are certain key moments in Ceasar's life, like when he gets to goout to the forest with Will and his girlfriend. Walking on a leash theycross a family with a dog (also on a leash) and Ceasar gets anemotional blow. Being an intelligent creature and raised as such, herealizes that to the outside world he is no more than a dumb animalthat needs to be controlled.Another powerful moment is when Will finally manages to take Ceasarhome and out of the shelter. Feeling betrayed by Will Ceasar hasalready given up on him and gained the respect of the ape population inthe shelter. While looking Will directly in the eye he closes the doorto his miserable cage, underlining that he chooses to be with his ownkind and that they can never be together again.There is another beautiful scene in the primate shelter in which Ceasarstands up for himself (and the other apes), against Dodge. It's thefirst time that he openly defies his human captors and the first timethat he speaks, leaving both the apes (and the audience in thescreening room) in awe and shock.Ceasar is brilliantly portrayed by Andy Serkis, the master of motioncapture, in short mo cap. Mocap has become so advanced that Serkis andother filmmakers now prefer to call it performance capture, becauseeven the tiniest facial expressions, movements and actions areregistered. Hands down for Andy Serkis, who has really outdone himselfthis time. His performance is incredibly detailed, intense andemotional. He made sure Ceasar is a complete character, and thatwithout speaking! Well, almost without speaking that is. All apes inthe movie are amazing, it's wonderful to see how their behavior,interaction and communication changes from primal to intelligent.Rise marks the first released post Harry Potter movie for Tom Felton(aka Draco Malfoy). As a fan of the HP books and movies it wasdifficult not to see Draco as Tom's character in Rise is bad ass.Especially in the beginning it was like watching Draco in Muggleclothing! But I'm sure that in time, he'll grow out of his Draco Malfoystigma. The other actors perform fine as well, making Rise a highlyentertaining movie.CONCLUSION Rise is one of the last blockbusters of the summer season,but definitely worth waiting for. It's a high quality movie, with aninteresting storyline, excellent CGI effects, thrilling action scenes(albeit only at the end), good acting and an incredible performance byAndy Serkis as the revolutionary ape Ceasar.

10 May 2012

A step closer to intelligent sci-fi

Remember the old thought-provoking science fiction films of the pre-nineties? While there have been a few since then, in general, Hollywood appears to have been languishing in the originality and thought department. Modern films also tend to treat their audiences like morons, or just be very simplistic in nature. Rest assured, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" has all the greatness of a future classic - the viewer won't walk out of THIS one disappointed."Rise" tells the story of Caesar, who, for those who have seen the other "Apes" films and thus remember this, began the original ape rebellion against humanity. A new drug has been developed by the aptly-named Gen-Sys to cure Alzheimer's disease. Used on the chimpanzees taken specifically for animal testing, it makes them super-intelligent. Caesar, as a baby, is taken in after his mother is killed, kept under the care of Will, whose father has Alzheimer's. The results of this have a domino effect for spoilers: saying much else about the plot will take away much of the enjoyment factor of the film as surprises wait around each corner.Homages and nods to the original films abound throughout, from the name "Bright Eyes" to Charlton Heston making a brief appearance on a TV screen to one of the series' most iconic lines. The film is packed with minute after minute, from beginning to end, of intelligence - there are no unnecessary scenes, little graphic violence, no sensuality, and very little crude language of any sort. Every scene has a purpose, and each one leads off to an ending that is both satisfying and perfect for a sequel hook. The apes, created completely with CGI using Andy Serkis's awesome motion capture work, were incredibly well done - I was particularly impressed with the orangutan! They are believable, living creatures onscreen, although there were some moments where the animation seemed a bit cartoonish, but they were far between. The music was well done, and the performances by all the actors were practically Oscar-worthy by themselves.All in all, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" reminds me very much of old-school, thought-provoking, science fiction epics, updated for the modern day. It barely earned its PG-13 rating, in fact - the film is EXTREMELY tame compared to many others of today. Well-acted, taken seriously, a commentary on the modern world, and a wonderful film!

10 May 2012

Great Movie

This review is from: Rise Of The Planet of the Apes (Amazon Instant Video) It really was a great movie I think that the visual effects were excellent and the plot was very good.

10 May 2012

So... Let Me Get This Straight....

Mankind brought this destruction upon itself because a couple of sadists treated a few research apes badly?And a bleeding heart played by James Franco decided to side with those apes when they went on a destructive rampage against humans?All taking place in that bastion of liberal insanity called San Francisco?Because of that, the apes took rule, killing an untold number of humans -- both nice guys and bad guys -- just so Franco could feel good about himself?This isn't the story about the "rise" of the apes, but about the narcissism of Franco's character.It's preposterous PC BS of the kind that PETA -- I'm sure -- loves.In the original 1968 movie with Charleton Heston, which was released at the height of the Cold War, when Heston's character comes across the Statue of Liberty half buried in the sand it's made pretty clear that mankind managed to destroy itself through warfare, and the apes evolved out of that catastrophe while the humans devolved. That was the dogma throughout the series: that mankind's catastrophic actions caused it to destroy itself as an intelligent species. We blew ourselves up and the intelligent apes evolved out of the ashes.This movie completely tosses all of that into a cocked hat.

Zulu42

09 May 2012

Exceeds expectations

I suspected this movie might be entertaining (it was) but I waspleasantly surprised by the depth of the plot, which as the titlesuggests, begins the very origins of the jump in evolution of thesimian breeds. James Franco continues to amaze me with his broad rangeas and actor because my most recent memory of him is as a completelybaked pothead in the somewhat funny film "Pineapple Express". Here hedoes the part of the sympathetic scientist trying to find a cure forAlzheimer's (which drives his research for personal reasons) with morethan a fair amount of compassion and complete earnestness in the role.Nice to see Freida Pinto expanding her talents beyond her breakout partin "Slumdog Millionaire" as a veterinarian and as Franco's loveinterest. The sharp cast includes the amazing John Lithgow as Franco'scharacter's dad, Tom Felton (proving he has one hell of good careerahead of him playing dark parts), "Stargate: Atlantis" vet DavidHewlett in a well done and convincing turn in a lesser but importantrole as a boorish neighbor, and "MI:5" (Brit TV show "Spooks") DavidOyelowo in an exceptionally good piece of acting as a cold andcalculating corporate type. Excellent cast here but my main praise isfor Andy Serkis who "played" Caesar the ape (or mimed it for CGI orwhatever). Serkis was brilliant and managed to convey a whole range ofthoughts and emotions without dialog and that's one hell of a hugeachievement in and of itself. If he's not at least considered for ornominated for a supporting actor Oscar next year, then the Academyneeds to see this film a couple more times and watch his work. So, in anutshell: good thriller film, engaging storyline, excellent cast. Worthyour hard earned cash to see in the cinemas.

josephmarkdavis

06 May 2012

CGI Does Not Cut It! Tom Felton- AWFUL, Frieda Pinto- Affected

This film was entertaining but not ambitious. CGI is about as realisticas King Kong stop animation in the 1930's- actually it's worse- atleast that was scary. CGI eyes show no soul or true emotion whatsoever.The scenes with the baby chimp coming home in the box wereembarrassingly bad. Seeing John Lithgow pretend to have Alzheimer'swhile pretending to hold a baby chimp that obviously was not there wasjust sad. Tom Felton was AWFUL!!! Completely unbelievable in the partand very distracting. Frieda Pinto's character was undeveloped and heracting falls short. It's a shame that they didn't take this projectmore seriously. With special effects someone needs to knock Hollywoodover the head on this. Maybe it's the cheap way to make a film but itdoes not look real at all.

06 May 2012

Andy Serkis does it again! Go Ape!

Andy Serkis' portrayal of Caesar, the genetically enhanced chimp that leads his fellow primates to revolt, is visually arresting and stunning. The previews for this movie had me so excited, I couldn't wait to see it, and this film does not dissapoint! The film is incredibly well made, and paced. The special effects are amazing and lifelike, especially Caesar. Several themes can be found throughout, from the cautionary warnings of experimentation on animals, to the idea that living things can be considered "property", and that man's hand can act like God subjegating lower forms of life for their own gains. Not only is it a roller coaster ride of a film, but also makes you think just a little bit.Only one thing I took issue with that didn't quite make the grade for me was the last straw that causes Caesar to turn against his human captors and let loose the apes of war. It was just one scene, but disappointiongly predictable, for a movie that really had a lot going on and was otherwise very intruiging from beginning to end. But the reason soon became trivial, and to watch Caesar calculating and premeditating the release of himself and his fellow ape captives was just awesome! Hollywood needs to wake up and recognize motion capture acting as a viable Art in and of itself, and Mr. Serkis has done amazing things bringing characters like Gollum, King Kong, and Caesar to life. As other reviewers have pointed out, several nods and winks to the franchise throughout the film, the filmmakers were well-versed in the lore of the series, which is a good sign. Overall, a great thrill-ride you won't want to miss!I can't wait to see where we go from here. Make no mistake, this is only the Beginning...of the Beginning.

Clark Kent

06 May 2012

A Surprisingly Well Crafted Drama

Rise of the Planet of the Apes follows that timeless, age-old storywe've all seen a thousand times before of a boy with a distant fathergetting his first pet, bonding with his pet, bonding with his father,and then trying to stop his pet from taking over the world.Okay, so that part about the age-oldness and the pet and the dad andstuff is only partly true, and all in jest. The fact of the matter isthat Rise of the Planet of the Apes is, despite being the quadrillionthinstalment in a tired franchise, almost entirely original. True, Ihaven't seen any of the old ones (which I imagine both enables andimpares my ability to enjoy this film), but I can say that this moviecarves interesting territory by effectively portraying the evolution ofa character without using any speech to tell the audience what he isthinking.The movie originally follows Will, a scientist of some kind trying tocure Alzheimers because his father is suffering from the disease.Through a series of hijinks, he ends up the proud owner of ahyperintelligent ape whose mother's exposure to the drug during chimptesting endowed him with a brain capable of as much more then hisfellow apes than a completely mentally stable person's brain iscompared to someone deep in the depths of Alzheimer's. More hijinksoccur, and Caesar (the ape) ends up stuck in a primate shelter run bysadistic animal haters. He develops a distaste for being treated asinferior when he knows he's more than a dumb animal, so he decides tobuild an army and take over the world.Telling more than that would be spoilers, though I'd love to discusssome of the juicier plot points that get introduced later in the film.The movie's plot is complex and solid. The action scenes arerefreshingly necissary, and each one adds to the plot. The acting isall good, though I found myself wondering if James Franco wasn'tactually trying to play the distant chemist who can't connect and wasjust suffering from beign a distant actor who can't connect in reallife. I imagine people will take both sides of the debate, but I'llstay neutral. Caesar is a fascinating character, and his bitterevolution is fascinatingly told even if it's sometimes hard to watchbecause you feel so sorry for him. One thing of very particular note isthat although the main human character is given an eye candygirlfriend, she doesn't wreck the movie like so many eye candygirlfriends tend to because she actually contributes to theconversations and interacts with the other characters well.On the flipside, the movie isn't quite perfect. The first half is alittle too fast paced, and there definitely needed to be more scenes ofCasar in Will's house acting as part of the family, and the last thirddoesn't have quite enough to tell me how the apes are gonna function inthe real world, but in both the first and third acts' defenses, thesecond act where Caesar raises his army is the one the filmmakerspoured their souls into, so it's what matters most. Also, the CGI isvery remarkable, but is not quite real enough for my tastes, and is abit distracting at times. The lead Primate Shelter keeper guy neverreceives enough explanation, and I felt continuously confused as to whysomeone who hates apes that much wouldn't just get a job somewhereelse.That's about all there is to say. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is alovingly crafted film made by someone obviously quite in love with thefranchise who was bent on showing the world just how cool the ratherridiculous concept really is. The last time I saw a movie set up asequel that well was when Harry stood in front of the Goblin's lair atthe end of Spider-Man 2, and I cannot wait to see how this film series(which the screenwriters say is intended to be a trilogy) progresses,though the end of this movie told me enough to left me satisfied thatthe people behind the film actually do have a good explanation for theapes' ultimate conquest awaiting us in future installments.Side Note: Speaking of Spider-Man, this movie reminded me of theSpider-Man films several times. James Franco is the obvious catalyst,but it continues when the people have extended conversations abouthuman trials of a wonder drug designed to enhance performance and issolidified when you see the apes leaping very much like the Web Slingeraround trees and such.

rightwingisevil

05 May 2012

Amazing movie with great special effect

This is a very well developed movie, the only not-so-cool shortcomingis the annoying sound track, an endless non-committing formulaic musicfrom the very beginning to the end.The whole movie also gives me an impression similar to the ugly andcruel human slavery history. The apes are the struggling to surviveinnocent slaves who were caught in Africa by the Christian whites andsold as commercial items to America. The cruel treatment to those apesin this movie is so disgustingly realistic that saddens me a greatdeal.This is a great movie that would cast a deep shadow on my mind and inmy memory.

Jaho Koo

05 May 2012

You end up rooting for the apes.

I've heard people say this is the Dark Knight of the year. Needless tosay this movie was great but this is no Dark Knight. This review willat times make it seem like I didn't like the movie. However Ithoroughly enjoyed it and consider it to be one of the better summerfilms of this crappy film year.I'm not sure where to begin. How do I review this without beingredundant. There are already many things said about this film. Yes,this is a movie where the story gets very personal. The audience canbecome sypmathetic towards Caesar, the ape. The movie feels extremelyshort which has its pros and cons. The exposition, although argued tobe long didn't feel that way. The exposition is the reason why we feelbad for the ape. It's also the reason why this movie feelsanti-climactic. You expect the apes to take over the whole city by theend of this movie through various battles but it's actually a tease.The apes don't do much destruction; it's rather the virus (I'm notspoiling anything by the way) that does the damage.The movie's a fun flick with distinguishable actors...except maybe TomFelton. He's just playing a Muggle version of Malfoy in this movie.Does he really have to be that over-the-top? I guess that allcontributes to the satisfying ending he gets. As for Andy Serkis, he'sgreat at what he does as usual. You can't really call it a performancebecause it's so real. The special effects in this movie are amazinglygood.Personally I don't think the ape should've become *that* smart. Ifyou've seen the movie you know what I'm talking about. He acts morehuman than he should've by the end. It provoked laughter in mytheater...maybe it was too much. But that's a personal thing.The major problem I can think of is James Franco's rash decisions. He'squick to change his mind through various stages of the film withoutmuch explanation. In one scene he's trying to do something thatcontradicts what he wanted to do before. And there's not a lot ofmotivation or logic involved here and I'm just like "why?" Hischaracter feels a little rushed.However these addressed problems are, again, minor. They do notdistract me from being entertained. I don't think this is a landmarkfilm; it's got some memorable scene but this is something I wouldn'tchoose to watch again for some time (although I wouldn't mind watchingit again).Rise of the Planet of the Apes (ugh, I still hate the title though) hasdefinitely brought attention to its franchise and probably gained a newfan base. I can see a sequel in the works with a new trilogy. For whatI've seen, I'm all in for a sequel. Just bring a little more actionnext time that's all.

05 May 2012

Very Realistic

This review is from: Rise Of The Planet of the Apes (Amazon Instant Video) I love this movie, I love all of the scientific research that was put into the making of this movie - extensive studies on apes, in particular, chimpanzees - which apes are NOT monkies, like people stupidly always call them. Monkies aren't as intelligent, or related to humans at all, and they have a long tail! Apes share a common ancestor that spilt from humans about 2-4 million years ago (these facts aren't in the movie, but I figured that anyone who watches this movie would become a huge fan of apes afterwards).Evolution has proven that apes and humans share a common ancestor, and evolution has evolved mankind to be the most intelligent of the animal kingdom - however, apes have proven (not only by DNA) that they possess the same intelligence - even in reality, apes can be taught to sign, to use its fingers, walk upright, laugh, cry, show emotions, pass memory tests, and even build tools (a chimp was the first mammal to the moon, even before humans, when the USA launched a chimp to space in the '60s) - something that humans had only thought they could do. These are FACTS, and I thought the viewer might like to know these facts because if you understand the relations of apes and humans better, it makes the movie that much greater.The scenes are beautiful shots, especially the woodland parts that shows them high up top tress with a pan view of the San Francisco skyline of the bridge and everything. James Franco is very believable as a humane scientist, although I do think he was a bit young to play the part, but still delivered an excellent performance as Caesar's adoptive father. Of course, the best actor of the movie was Caesar, who is played by Andy Serkis - for those of you who don't know who he is, he played that ugly Gollum hobbit in the Lord of the Rings movies. He is wonderful as a motion actor for these computerized characters that he plays, his facial impressions are amazing.I won't tell the plot of the story (you can Wikipedia the movie article for that!) - but this is a great box office hit! I never like sci-fi, I didn't care for any of the Star Wars movies or Star Trek, or Transformers or anything - but this one actually made me cry half-way through the movie.I gave this movie five stars because I loved it so much, but really you should buy the DVD or Blu-ray, because even though I bought the Instant Video of it - it doesn't come with any extras, which I was a bit disappointed about, and you don't get options for subtitles or anything; I mean, I suppose it's okay if you just want to see the movie, seeing as how the Instant Video is less money than the DVD or Blu-ray, even if you buy it.I highly recommend.