JayDee's Movie Musings

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]And lastly just as with Captain America: The Winter Soldier I was spoiled for choice when it came to the posters.
When are you going to post the good ones.
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5-time MoFo Award winner.



Wow I just noticed this has actually fallen out of the top 9 members' reviews threads. Can't have that!
Your still getting all the noms for best reviewer. Meanwhile I was told I had to post more to get a nom, what is up with that. Glad to see you around buddy, we miss you.
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Letterboxd



Miss Vicky's Loyal and Willing Slave
Hey, JayDee. How's your health?
Not too bad actually, thanks for asking. I've been trying a new medication of late which has taken the edge off some of my symptoms. As a result it's also helped my overall mood. Under normal circumstances I'd describe myself as still feeling fairly crappy, but compared to how I have been it's actually been a bit of a relief.

Your still getting all the noms for best reviewer. Meanwhile I was told I had to post more to get a nom, what is up with that. Glad to see you around buddy, we miss you.
What are you talking about? Are we doing the Mofies again? And it's like the old saying tells us, 'quality over quantity.'

And thanks.


I would ask what I've been missing but last time it turned out we'd lost Deadite so I'm kind of afraid to.



I would ask what I've been missing but last time
Mofie noms and the end of the 70's list have been the main thing. There was another Survivor as well. Put in your picks for the next Box Office challenge if you feel up to it. No deaths in the family thankfully.



We've gone on holiday by mistake
I echo this sentiment ^^^^.
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Miss Vicky's Loyal and Willing Slave
Just want to say thank you to everyone again for all the well wishes and kind words. It's very appreciated. You guys rock. Oh and I know I've got lots of top film lists to catch up on reading and linking to and a number of PMs to reply to, I'll try and get to them soon.

As for my health it's a bit up and down. As I said I had been feeling a bit better for a short while there (was even able to drag myself out to the cinema), however the last few days I've kind of slipped back again.

Just a couple of things to pick up on -

Keep getting better! And then come back and write more awesome reviews.
I've actually got dozens of reviews already written just waiting to be posted. I just need to find the time/energy for organising, formatting and posting them.

Great review--tagged, and it's the top reviewon the Reviews page.
Thanks Yoda. I'm honoured to see it's still there. Out of interest how is it decided what is the top review? Do you just pick it or does the site automatically select it based on views/reps/awesomeness or whatever?


So what else have I been missing? How many squabbles has Sexy been responsible for? Any hot new threads I should check out? Any new members that have made a big impact? Any new would-be reviewers after my crown?



That was meant for JayDee, but it can be meant for Honeykid, too.



Thanks Yoda. I'm honoured to see it's still there. Out of interest how is it decided what is the top review? Do you just pick it or does the site automatically select it based on views/reps/awesomeness or whatever?
I flag certain major releases, and the most recent one (in terms of release date) gets priority. And if there are multiple reviews (and for major releases there usually are), yeah, the one with the most rep goes up in the main spot.

I might mix things up a little soon, but I'll probably keep similar criteria, or mostly just change the row of posters below the featured review.



Miss Vicky's Loyal and Willing Slave
I mentioned how I had managed to drag myself out to the cinema last week. It was to finally see the new entry in the Planet of the Apes series, and here's the result of that trip



mirror
mirror

Year of release
2014

Directed by
Matt Reeves

Written by
Mark Bomback
Rick Jaffa
Amanda Silver

Starring
Andy Serkis
Jason Clarke
Gary Oldman
Toby Kebbell
Keri Russell

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

+

Plot - 2026. Ten years after the ALZ-113 virus (now commonly known as Simian Flu) was unleashed upon the world and mankind is on the verge of extinction, with just a small band of survivors holed up in the ruins of San Francisco. Up in the woods outside the city however, the colony of apes led by Caesar (Serkis) is thriving. They now number in the thousands, have built their own community and live self-sufficiently. These two communities are brought crashing together however when the humans go into the woods in search of an old hydro-electric dam which they hope will be able to restore power to the city. After an initial confrontation that results in the death of an ape, Caesar and the the leader of the human group, Malcolm (Clarke), are able to agree to a fragile peace. With simmering tensions on both sides it seems like it will be a short-lived peace however, and this proves to be the case, largely down to Caesar's embittered lieutenant Koba (Kebbel) who has a deep hatred for humanity following his time in experimentation labs. Attempting to usurp Caesar's rule Koba desires to launch a full-scale attack on the remaining human inhabitants on the city. It seems like the only chance for any kind of peace is if Caesar and Malcolm can somehow calm the tensions and find some kind of neutral ground.

When it comes to blockbusters and their approach to story there are two main pitfalls they can stumble into. They can either go down the route of having barely any story at all so that you have a really quick pace but you don't really care about what's going on. Or they can pack the story and slow down the action to the point where the film loses what is the essence of a blockbuster. Personally I felt that Dawn just had a tendency to fall foul of the latter approach every so often. It's admirable to want to try and give your story and characters a slow build and time to breathe but I just feel it goes too far on occasion, resulting in some pacing issues throughout its first two acts. There is not a lot of development in the grand scheme of the Planet of the Apes mythology and yet the film runs for over two hours, and unlike some films I would say that at times it does feel like it. Rise ended with the apes and mankind on the verge of war, and Dawn ends...well with apes and mankind on the verge of war actually. I do have to credit the filmmakers however for having the confidence that its audience would be able to accept not just such a bleak undertaking, but that it would accept the apes as characters in their own right and their extensive use of sign language and subtitles.

This film really does do its best to subvert your expectations of a summer blockbuster. It's a really bleak enterprise, both thematically and aesthetically, with almost nothing in the way of relief. For much of its running time this is more akin to a Greek or Shakespearian tragedy than a big summer tentpole film; a film about war, betrayal, fear and the tragic nature of conflict. It's only really in its third act that the film reverts to something more resembling a traditional blockbuster as the action ramps up towards the climactic scrap atop that old film favourite - scaffolding. Koba in particular is a spectacularly tragic character, one who has been left terrifically scarred both physically and emotionally by the horrific treatment he suffered at the hands of humans in labs. While through the human characters portrayed by Gary Oldman and Kirk Acevedo we see the power that fear can have upon an individual and what humans are capable of when the survival instinct kicks in. The film spends a lot more time than you'd perhaps expect on the apes themselves, looking at the family drama and group dynamic aspects within the ape community.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes was all about the follies of man and how they would result in the near destruction of the human race. Now ironically this sequel continues to shine a spotlight on the frailties of man, this time it just happens to be through the guise of the apes. Through the character of Koba we can recognise man's prevalence towards anger, bitterness and vengeance; something also witnessed through the characters of Dreyfus and Carver on the human side of things. The film shows how difficult it is to achieve any sort of lasting peace between two rival factions. To achieve peace requires the efforts of everyone to succeed. However it only takes one or two individuals with negative aspirations to ensure that all those good intentions are lost. The two communities act very much as a reflection of each other. In the form of Caesar and Malcolm respectively each group has a strong, compassionate leader doing their best to keep the peace in difficult circumstances; attempting to keep disruptive comrades in check and trying to connect with troubled sons.

Replacing the departing Rupert Wyatt in the director's chair is the Cloverfield helmer Matt Reeves, and I feel that he does a pretty good job of carrying on the momentum that Wyatt was able to generate with Rise. He does a particularly impressive job at building the tense and oppressive atmosphere. And while the film may lack a sequence capable of matching the terrific Golden Gate Bridge battle of its predecessor, Reeves is able to employ those superlative visual effects from Weta to create some bursts of action that are strong and thrilling on their own merits. Now as an overall film I wasn't a massive fan of Clovefield but I did feel that Reeves displayed an eye for a great shot and it's something that's in evidence again here. There is one touch of visual flair in particular that stands out. It's a bravura moment that occurs during the large scale skirmish between the apes and humans when Koba has commandeered a tank and sits atop it, in charge of its gun turret. As he begins to rain bullets upon the human defences the turret does a 360° revolution, revealing scenes of chaos all around as the apes rampage towards the human base, taking heavy fire in the process. It's an incredible visual assault of apes, explosions and gunfire.

Film Trivia Snippets - The director of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Rupert Wyatt, declined the opportunity to return for this sequel because he was uncomfortable with the original locked release date of May 23rd. He did not believe it would allow him enough time to work on the film so he dropped out. Following his departure the release date was pushed back two months. /// Following his departure a number of directors were considered to take his place including Guillermo del Toro, Jeff Nichols, Juan Carlos Freshnadillo, J.A. Bayona and J Blakeson. In the end it was Matt Reeves who would replace him, putting aside his plans for a new Twilight Zone film. /// Gary Oldman makes his first appearance in the Apes franchise as the leader of the remaining humans, Dreyfus. However he had previously been considered for the role of General Thade in Tim Burton's 2001 version. /// With her performance as Cornelia, Judy Greer fulfilled her husband's dream of appearing in an Apes film. She revealed in interviews that she and her husband, a massive fan of the films, had a chimp husband-and-wife cake topper at their wedding, while the original 1968 film and Rise of the Planet of the Apes played on two seperate televisions in the bar area at the reception. /// The name Koba was actually the nickname of Joseph Stalin. Quite fitting given that their personalities are somewhat similar, and that Koba's ascent to power bears a resemblance to Stalin's. /// This film does not end with the original ending. After a lukewarm reception from preview audiences Matt Reeves re-shot a new ending just several weeks before release, directing the scene with Jason Clarke and Andy Serkis via Skype conference call.
In the lead-up to the film's release I had seen a lot of talk about how this was going to be a ground-breaking film in regards to its motion capture and visual effects. For the first time ever the filmmakers would actually be able to utilise motion capture technology out in the real world on location, as opposed to a studio decked out in green screen. To be honest it's not something that you're likely to instantly recognise and appreciate as it's happening but it certainly does help to create the ever increasing sense of immersion in this world. What you can't fail to appreciate and what is truly astonishing however are the visual effects and the incredible level of detail they are able to bring to the creation of the apes. You feel that you can see every single hair on their bodies, even more impressive given the fact that the apes are constantly being lashed by rain, an element that notoriously and historically has always proven to be a problem for computer effects to deal with. And the level of expression and emotion they are able to bring to the faces and eyes of the apes is just extraordinary. The apes truly would have to rank as one of the greatest CGI creations cinema audiences have ever seen; the level of realism they bring is just remarkable. At this moment in time I would certainly put this down as the clear leader in the race for this year's Oscar for Best Visual Effects. This is the film to beat, laying down a substantial gauntlet to the likes of Interstellar and The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies.

Even up against the superlative visual effects, what is arguably the most impressive aspect of Dawn is just how much depth they are able to give the character of the apes and how distinctive they are able to make them from each other; after a while you forget that you are watching apes as opposed to humans, never mind that you're watching computer generated apes. And once again the visual effects do help in this respect, making them so real that you forget their computer origins and just become completely immersed with them. As the head of the simian community is Andy Serkis' Caesar who I continue to find to be a fascinating and compelling character, one worthy of being in ownership of such a historically evocative name. In a way he feels like an unwilling leader; he perhaps doesn't want to lead but realises that he has to. He strives for peace with humanity but has the strength to defend and fight for his home and his family if required. In addition to Caesar we also have the angry and vicious Koba whose emotions are consistently ruled by the awful treatment he suffered at the hands of humans and his inability to forget. Now a monstrous, psychopathic warmonger he is a truly frightening character; arguably up there alongside the likes of The Joker and Loki as one of the best movie villains of the 21st century so far. There is also a welcome return for the wise and intelligent orangutan Maurice.

After a number of astonishing mo-cap turns it is with this film that Andy Serkis finally achieves top billing and it is well deserved. And with another excellent performance to add to his growing motion capture resume it really does raise the question of when exactly we're going to get our first Oscar acting nomination awarded to a motion performance. Whenever it does happen the odds must be pretty good on it being Serkis on the receiving end. He really has perfected the craft of this specialist skill. For just about the first time however Serkis does have to share some of the motion capture spotlight; the reason for that being Toby Kebbell. Taking on the role of Koba he is terrific and absolutely chilling. There's one real standout moment from Kebbel where he finds himself at the barrel end of two guns. To ensure his survival he begins to clown around like a dumb circus ape for the entertainment of the humans. They allow him to go and as soon as his back is to them the furious scowl that comes across his face chills you to the bone. It's a look of sheer disgust, both at the humans and at himself for how he just had to demean himself. You just know that sooner or later those two are going to pay a heavy price for that. As Caesar's human counterpart is Jason Clarke in the role of Malcolm. An actor I'm not particularly familiar with him but I was impressed with his very natural performance of quiet strength. The other big addition to the cast is Gary Oldman who delivers pretty much the performance you'd expect him to give. So he stares intensely and shouts a lot. There's not a great deal more to it than that, although to be fair the character doesn't really require anything else. Prior to casting, the filmmakers would likely have described the character/performance they needed as being a 'Gary Oldman type'....so why not just get Gary Oldman.

Oh and just as one final little tidbit I have to praise the excellent production design. The creation of both the apes' refuge and mankind's sanctuary amongst its overgrown, wild city streets are terrifically realised.

Conclusion - In many ways Dawn is perhaps just as good as, if not even better than the excellent Rise, but on first viewing I feel like I certainly liked the first film more. A lot of that is just down to the fact it was a more fun film than this darker sequel which I feel lacks the heart and warmth of Rise, as well as having issues with slow pace. On a lot of fronts (visual effects, production design, its confidence in the audience) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a very ambitious movie. It's just a shame the same cannot really be said of its story. It doesn't feel like a massive amount of development has really occurred. We all know where this new series of Apes films is going to end; with Apes running the planet and the Statue of Liberty lying in ruins. And yet I don't feel we're really all that much further along to discovering how exactly we get there.



We've gone on holiday by mistake
Yay Jaydee reviews are back!!


Personally I thought both Planet of Apes are awesome, Dawn slightly better.