"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" Review

One of my absolute favorite movies of all time is 1968's Planet of the Apes. I was always fascinated by the allegory that the simian society created, the social commentary on the evolution debate, and the magnificent performance by Charlton Heston. Back when I was a theater major, I used to try emulating Heston's role as the astronaut Taylor. I even used his scene with Landon about glory, fear, and search for truth as an audition piece. Since then, there has been a number of sequels, a remake by Tim Burton (yuck) and now a reboot series. Rise of the Planet of the Apes thoroughly exceeded my expectations, and now we have a sequel. 

Set 10 years after the previous movie ended, Caesar and his followers have developed a society in the jungle which lives in harmony. Suddenly, the human survivors of the ALZ-113 virus make contact whilst looking for a new power source. They reach a fragile peace, but forces on both sides threaten to break that peace. 

One could point out the similarities between this film and the 5th: Battle for the Planet of the Apes, but one could also remember how painfully awful that movie was. In this film, we see a magnificent display of emotion, action, drama and visual effects to restore faith in moviemaking. 

People often ask me why this works and Transformers doesn't. The distinction between these two science fiction action franchises is that Apes has a story with a complex narrative and thoroughly engaged acting. But mainly the difference is when we explore the personality of the apes which is more than one note and stereotypical. The apes are well rounded with fully developed characteristics, whilst the Transformers are nothing more than cars with catchphrases. 

The tensions in both societies is chaotic and fragile which creates for a strong story and bold characters which never let go of the tight grasp they have on your interest. The action is undeniably awesome with moving sequences and thrills to dazzle. I mean, there are apes on horses with machine guns. How much cooler can that be? 

But the true majesty of the film is Andy Serkis as Caesar. It takes nothing short of pure commitment to believable embody a chimpanzee, but Serkis not only does so, he reels you into his character with his charm and his strength. It's one of the most nuance performances you will ever see, and you never even see the actor himself. I think he has a very real chance at the Oscar. The Academy will have to accept motion capture as performance art sooner or later. I choose to think of it as wearing an advanced costume, and Serkis uses his in the best motion capture work to date. 

Even with Serkis, we have an extremely talented and capable cast. I enjoyed Jason Clarke in Zero Dark Thirty, and I was happy to see him cast in this movie. He is adventurous but also passionate in a way that you can justifiably call him a "good man." 

Gary Oldman doesn't get too much to do, but for what he is in, he shines in all his scenes. There is one particular scene involving him and an iPad which moves me to tears without so much as a word. 

The visual effects are astoundingly real, creating the most realistic apes I have ever seen. If this does not take the Best Visuals Oscar this year, I will have lost much of my faith in the academy which chose to give it to Hugo as opposed to this film's predecessor. 

This is the best blockbuster so far this year, possibly the best movie of 2014. (It's neck and neck with Cheap Thrills). You should see this movie. Then see it again. I know I am. 

A+ 

ADVANCED "Guardians of the Galaxy" Review

Last night I was lucky enough to be invited to an advanced screening of footage from Guardians of the Galaxy. It was the first time i've gone to a pre-screener, and the whole process was surreal to me. I look forward to doing it again soon, but for now, i'm just enormously grateful for this opportunity.

Guardians of the Galaxy revolves around a band of criminal misfits in outer space who are on the run from the law with a mysterious artifact. They compose of Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, and Groot.

(There won't be any spoilers, that goes against my beliefs). The footage I was presented involved the police line-up that we've seen in most of the trailers in which we are introduced to each of the Guardians, and then we witness their daring escape from prison which involves the Guardians initial interactions. Lastly, we saw the extended trailer that was released online this morning.

The aesthetic that director James Gunn has created is an all around thrill ride. It's funny, daring, and adventurous. It has the same feel as Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark with a cosmic MacGuffin search that really focuses on the relationships between the characters and not being all about the spectacle. You can tell that this band of rebels has absolutely no business being together, but that's half the fun. You can also see how having them work together will be enormously entertaining.

Chris Pratt fully embodies what we see of Star-Lord with a quick-wit, wise-ass charm, and he's a lot of fun. I can see how he's shedding his comedy background, and he could become a full fledged action star.

I was skeptical about the casting of Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon. I wasn't totally against it, but I would have preferred Jason Statham. But having seen what I have of Rocket, Cooper has what it takes to make the character more than just a side gag like the chimpanzee in Speed Racer. This was my primary concern. But I'm glad to see that they are taking Rocket in the right direction.

The visuals, the tone, the music all feels spectacular, and it merges together so perfectly to create something unlike anything we've really seen in a comic book movie before.

I'm very positive about this movie, I absolutely love what I saw. It could be one the best from Marvel.  But I still need to see the rest to judge.

A (For now).