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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