Sophomore Success

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) 131 mins.

"You... are weaker."

If you read my review of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and you've seen Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, then you'll already have guessed that I really liked this movie. Maybe even more than the first movie (I guess it's possible). What I liked most about it was that it didn't drop the ball. It kept the series going. I want to see more.

Another thing that I really liked about it was the continued re-invention of the tropes. From the apes on horses with guns, to the ape compound, to the "big bomb" (and it's vertical orientation), to the "anti-human" apes who Caesar must battle, to the "nobody is really a bad guy/everybody is the hero of their own story" character motivations, all were in/sub/diverted nicely. Of course the primates who take it too far, and cross the line, define themselves as villains and the film deals with them as such.

And of course, "our heroes" must take the mantle of the judge upon themselves (however reluctantly) and attempt to even the scales, meting out such meager justice as they may in the face of such inescapable destiny.

Again, a good disaster movie, a good survival movie, a good action movie, but a good movie as well, advancing the meta-story of Caesar, and providing more moments of character than in many films starring all humans.

Another film from Category 1: 70s Monster Flashback.

I give it Four Stars: Good.

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Tarzan of the Apes Sideways, Sort Of

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) 105 mins.

"Are you getting in?"

The second movie of Watch-a-thon 2015 is another choice from Category 1: 70s Monster Flashback. If you're going to reboot a franchise, how about a multi-film franchise with licensed properties? That screams Seventies, and this is the franchise to do it. Just the idea of another PotA franchise brings back the smell of bubblegum cards and popcorn, memories of Saturday matinees and midnight reruns on the TV.

The thing about this Planet of the Apes movie is that it's a good movie. It's like Up, Harry and the Hendersons, Jungle Book and Tarzan of the Apes all stood on their head, and mixed with an old-fashioned (yes I'll say it, Seventies-style) contagion disaster a la Andromeda Strain or even something newer like Contagion.

It has some very... primal moments. I would've said "human" but that would be insulting, in these circumstances. It really follows Caesar's journey, and I'd say it's a very affecting movie, poignant, even moving, at times.

As it should be, it's also a disaster movie. As expected, it nicely touches on all the tropes. It even shines up a few of them. As a reboot, it's exceptionally promising. One might even hope for good follow-ups, which was not always the case with the original series of films.

I really enjoyed it. Much like Ben was in the 70s, Caesar is my new favorite "good" monster in the Twenty-Teens. I give it Four Stars: Good.

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A Boy and His Monster

Godzilla (2014) 123 mins.

"Echolocation?"

I started the 2015 Watch-a-thon with a movie from Category 1: 70s Monster Flashback. I guess I should have made a kaiju film Category Eleven. But Godzilla is more than just a monster movie, and it's more than just a giant monster movie.

It's a disaster flick, as any good giant monster movie should be. It tries to be a bit of a horror movie, too, by playing some of the scenes really dark. It's a good movie, as a disaster/survival/monster movie, and a nice reboot to the series and the character, and that's what 70s Monster Flashback is all about.

The story of course is told through the eyes of a child, or a man who suffered a tragedy as a child. This film hits all the tropes, and plays them right, from the scientist (who has also lost loved ones due to tragedy) who realizes that there are some things even beyond our power to control, to Godzilla as the "good" monster, to a young couple (family, even) separated amidst a massive catastrophic disaster. I watched it twice.

It has "bad" monsters for Godzilla to vanquish, lots of military hardware thrown around like a kid's toys, even a recurring visual motif of walking into rooms that are torn open to the sky by something that just escaped.

The plot is a bit headlong, and a lot of stuff sure manages to happen to this one guy, but at least his dear old Dad wasn't crazy after all.

Definitely learned lessons from Cloverfield, but why not update the classic giant monster, anyway?

As a Godzilla movie, it was a fine reboot. I give it 3 out of 5 stars: Not Bad.

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Movie Review Template

Title (year) running time

Why do we need new anything?

The review begins on the next line, just like this. I'd give this template 5 stars, except that these are not stars.> *****

Oh, well, Five Asterisks it is, then!

The Movie List

40 Movies/60 Days 2015

 

'70s Monster Flashback
 

+Godzilla*** $

+Rise of the Planet of the Apes**** ~

+Dawn of the Planet of the Apes**** $

~I, Frankenstein

+Jodorowsky's Dune***** ~
 

People Power
 

 +X-Men: Days of Future Past**** $
~Amazing Spider-Man 2

+Guardians of the Galaxy***** $

>The Losers

+Wolverine***** ~

People Power Cartoons

+Justice League: Throne of Atlantis***+ •

~Batman: Dark Knight 1

~Batman: Dark Knight 2
<Planet Hulk 

$Big Hero 6 

Recent Science Fiction

+Live Die Repeat AKA Edge of Tomorrow***** $
~Star Trek Into Darkness

<Radio Free Albemuth

+Europa Report***** $

~9

Wuxia Theater

~Saving General Yang

~Detective Dee: MotPF

~Tai Chi Zero

~Blade of Kings

~Five Shaolin Masters

Recent SF (One-Word Title)
 

 ~Gravity

$Interstellar

~Divergent

~Transcendence

~Oblivion

~Elysium

+Prometheus*** ~

>Primer

~Riddick

~Hancock

The Alternates

~10,000 BC

~Snow White & the Huntsman

~Haywire

>Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

+47 Ronin**** ~

 

Key to Symbols
 

+Watched

-Listed
>Netflix DVD

<Netflix Streaming

~multcolib

$Movie Madness

•Collection
 

Rating System
 
bad*

not good**

not bad***

good****

really good*****

News?

News?

Images

Images

 

 

 

 

 

Lists

Lists

A Word About Ratings

Damned by faint praise.

I have a simple system for rating media, from one to five stars, with five being the best.

They go like this:

* (1 star) Bad [Feh!]
** (2 stars) Not Good [Beh]
*** (3 stars) Not Bad [Meh...]
**** (4 stars) Good [Heh]
***** (5 stars) Really Good [Yeh!]

OK, I know, the stars are asterisks. It works for me.

Attained Perfection!

What the world needs now is blog, sweet blog.

A blog for me to post my thoughts about books, comic books, science fiction, movies, and music.

Maybe some other stuff, too.

I'm going to start with a whole bunch of movies, because I like movies.

This year I'm catching up on "recent" movies, mostly sci-fi.

If I can find all of the movies, and if I have the time, I might watch 40 movies in 60 days.

I'll start with a list of the possible titles, and then post reviews as I watch the films.

More thrilling movie news and reviews to follow.

Stay tuned?