Movie Review Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) 

Directed by Rupert Wyatt

Written by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver

Starring James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Tom Felton, Andy Serkis 

Release Date August 5th, 2011

Published August 4th, 2011 

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is the surprise movie of 2011. What you think is going to be a goofy action adventure about apes and James Franco evolves into this shockingly thoughtful examination of what it is to be sentient. The performance of Andy Serkis as the lead ape Caesar easily rivals his extraordinary Gollum in the Lord of the Rings series and deserves honest awards consideration.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes acts as something of a prequel to the 1968 Planet of the Apes; even making reference to the Mars mission of the original film as having been lost in space. James Franco stars as Will Rodman, a scientist working for a drug company and hopeful that he has created a cure for Alzheimer's.

Unfortunately, as Will is seeking final permission to begin human trials following successes with a very special, now super intelligent ape, Will’s ape test subject flips out and has to be put down after a violent rampage. Naturally, everyone believes the rage was a side effect but in fact the ape believed that her newborn was being taken from her.

Though he is supposed to put down all of the apes, Will takes the newborn ape home with him. At home, where Will lives with his Alzheimer's afflicted father (John Lithgow), Will names the ape Caesar and soon discovers that Caesar displays the same extraordinary intelligence his mother had.

Years pass and Caesar grows smarter and stronger. A slight injury to Caesar leads Will to meet Caroline, an ape expert, and soon a small family has begun to form. Also during this time Will has begun work on a new version of his previously successful drug that he begins testing on his own father with stunning success.

The scenes of familial bliss, Caesar’s growing up and Will’s dad’s recovery are observed with great care as if director Rupert Wyatt honestly believed these scenes were as important as the obligatory violent siege that is promised by the film’s title and marketing campaign.

Many directors would not take as much care as Wyatt does to make these scenes resonate. Most directors would signal their impatience about getting to the violence and the exciting rampage; Wyatt takes care to deliver characters who will make the siege late in the film really mean something.

The best work in the film comes from Andy Serkis who brings a stunning level of sentience and poignancy to Caesar. Serkis’s careful movements, his remarkable eyes, give this ape character a reality, a soulfulness that is entirely unexpected. Considering his previous work as Gollum it shouldn’t be surprising but the level of humanity that Serkis brings to Caesar is shocking.

The human characters are good; James Franco brings a very important sincerity to Will. His earnest affection and loving protection of Caesar are necessary elements needed to sell the surprises of the third act. Freida Pinto is a slightly more functional character as is John Lithgow as Will’s dad but each character is decent and caring and most importantly, they have our sympathy.

Through these characters and their affection for Caesar we feel okay caring about him. If Franco were winking about being in a movie with an ape and how inherently goofy that idea is we’d drop out of the movie and be unable to care the way we do. Instead, Franco plays it surprisingly straight, honest and earnest.

The villains are cardboard, stock characters with little to no subtlety. There is the corporate magnate (David Oyelowo) who is willing to risk ending the world in pursuit of a buck and then there is Draco Malfoy aka actor Tom Felton as the caveman ape handler who tortures Caesar into leading an ape revolution.

If Rise of the Planet brought a scintilla of subtlety or complexity to these villains the movie could be a District 9 level quality blockbuster. That film humanized aliens in a most unique and affecting manner just as Rise of the Planet of the Apes humanizes apes in the most unexpected and compelling manner.

I wasn’t sure if I even liked Rise of the Planet of the Apes immediately after I watched it. Sitting with the film for a few days I was struck by what stayed with me about the movie and the reservations that fell away. At first I was wondering if I could really take seriously a movie about Apes and a few days later I couldn't escape the complex and thoughtful performance of Andy Serkis.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes may not be the Summer Popcorn Blockbuster you are expecting but see it and I am sure you will find as I did that this is both a compelling character piece and a thrilling bit of action adventure. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a Summer blockbuster with a brain.

Movie Review Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire (2009) 

Directed by Danny Boyle 

Written by Simon Beaufoy

Starring Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Irrfan Khan

Release Date December 25th, 2008 

Published December 24th, 2008 

Danny Boyle has never appealed to me as a director. His Trainspotting and 28 Days Later are such bleak and ugly examinations of humanity that each made me want to vomit. To date, Boyle's work has been little more than flashy, overwrought ugliness set to electronica and punk soundtracks intended to pound you into submission.

Then there was Millions, one of the oddest and most delightful little movies of the last decade. A sweet, sorrowful, hopeful little movie where director Boyle abandoned most of his worst habits in favor of telling a loving compelling story populated by wonderful characters. That film should have gotten the attention that is now being heaped upon Boyle's latest effort Slumdog Millionaire. In essence, Slumdog is the marriage of the sad, ugly kinetic-ism of Boyle's early work and the sweet, smart, thoughtful Millions. The combination yields mixed results.

Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of Jamal who is being assaulted by the police when we meet him. Jamal is accused of cheating on the TV show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire where he is one question away from winning 20 million rupees. His status as a so-called Slumdog, a boy from the slums of Mumbai, has the host of the show and the police wondering if he is cheating.

He isn't. What is happening for Jamal is that the questions somehow all seem to relate back to memories from his life growing up. Whether it's stumbling on a Hindu god after watching his mother brutally murdered or knowing the inventor of the revolver because his brother began carrying one for their protection, each question leads Jamal on a journey through his past, a journey he takes his interrogators on in order to convince them he is legit.

Jamal's motivation for going on the show, surviving the cops, and winning the money, is a girl named Latika (Freida Pinto). He and his older brother Samir took Latika in when they were young orphans. They were separated several times but Jamal would always find her. He found her again just before going on the show and hopes she will be watching and finally come find him.

That is the story of Slumdog Millionaire and it is compelling and romantic. Unfortunately, director Danny Boyle's over-caffeinated, highly stylized handheld camera and propulsive score distract and keep the story at an untenable emotional distance. The images whir by at such a frenetic pace that you are at once bedazzled and bewildered.

It's a neat trick to make a movie with such an astonishing pace. Sadly, the sacrifice is the emotional connection between the audience and these characters. While I was dazzled and propelled and moved to the edge of my seat by the intensity of Slumdog Millionaire, I couldn't find the time to really connect with the characters emotionally.

The style and even the flashback heavy structure of Slumdog Millionaire prevent the characters from standing out amongst the flurry. Things happen so fast that scenes fail to have the impact that I am certain they were intended to have. When the film does slow down for a moment at the end; I was too exhausted to be invested in the moment.

Slumdog Millionaire is a furiously paced, artfully crafted movie that well displays the talents of director Danny Boyle behind the camera. Sadly, those gifts give short shrift to what should be an emotional as well as visceral connection. That means that Slumdog Millionaire is a good movie that should've been, could've been a great movie.