AUGUST:
August is usually a dumping ground for end of summer movies and surprisingly I saw two unnecessary reboots/remakes of classic genre films that actually were entertaining and true to their sources.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes:
Directed by: Rupert Wyatt
Starring: James Franco, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton
Rated: PG-13
If you have read this blog before, when the first trailer appeared I couldn’t believe that someone greenlit a planet of the apes prequel which starred James Franco and looked completely unnecessary. Well, I retract my comment in saying that the movie is actually surprisingly good. The film stays loyal to the original film, a pinnacle sci-fi film, and doesn’t poke fun or undermine the original but pays tribute and stays true to it. James Franco, plays Will Rodman, a scientist testing a drug to cure Alzheimer’s, on chimp subjects. After his mother is killed, Franco raises Cesar, her child who genetically carries the drug tested on his mother, making him super intelligent. After a altercation, Cesar is locked in an animal sanctuary where he embraces his true self. The smartest move the filmmakers made was to put it from Cesar’s point-of-view whose motion captured by Andy Serkis, acting breathes life into Cesar that makes it one of the best performances of the year. His eyes, movements, and emotions are all perfectly acted without saying a word. The motion capture work to bring the apes to life is truly stunning. So, the Cesar story becomes a prison escape film and a revolution against tyranny film. Think “Shawshsnk Redemption” and “Braveheart” with apes. While the human side becomes less interesting including a completely useless/throwaway romance with “Slumdog Millionaire’s” Freida Pinto. Their relationship feels completely false and goes nowhere, while Franco‘s and Cesar’s friendship is more enduring. Small roles by John Lithgow and Brian Cox are nice additions but are too small of roles to leave an impact. The third act is no doubt what people will be interested in. The action and initial ape uprising is satisfying and is a nice pay-off to the first two-thirds, but ends surprisingly upbeat for a film that is a prequel to a film about a planet run by Apes with human slaves.
Rating: 7/10
Fright Night:
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, David Tennant, Toni Collette, Imogen Poots,
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Rated: R
Having just seen the original “Fright Night” this year, and knowing how renowned it is in the horror world, dare I say that I enjoyed this remake more? Blasphemy I know. The film takes the same character’s names and adds a modern spin to it. Charley (Anton Yelchin) lives with his mom and has turned his back on his friends like “Evil” Ed since meeting his new girlfriend, but when more people start to go missing, Ed suggests that Charley’s neighbor Jerry (Colin Farrell) is a vampire. The film makes excellent use of it’s Las Vegas location, not often seen in a horror film. The lighting, scenery, dark roads are tailored made for this type of film, and makes more sense for Jerry’s living arrangements than the original (lots of nighttime workers, high foreclosures). The movie is essentially a cat-and-mouse game between Charley and Jerry. A particularly tense scene is a scene where Jerry verbally pushes Charley’s buttons to get him to accidentally invite him in his house. I, like many second-guessed Farrell as the lead vampire but were proven wrong with his enigmatic presence in scenes like that. Director Craig Gillespie milks all the tension he can out of multiple sequences including a sequence escaping out of Jerry’s house while he’s in it, and a 30 min stalk and chase scene that goes from an exploding house to a desert freeway chase, all shot with top-notch cinematography and direction that make these sequences nail-biters. While, the original had subtext of a teenager coming of age, and losing his virginity, this film discards that banking on Yelchin‘s personality. The character of Ed was much larger in the original and while Christopher Mintz-Plasse does his best with the role, he disappears for too long of stretches to really care about him. The Peter Vincent character (David Tennant) is also a Vegas magician/Vampire expert (?!?) who looks like a breed of Criss Angel and Russell Brand. He is comedically entertaining in the role, but lacks the redemptive quality of the original washed up B-movie character. Imogen Poots and Toni Collette are also serviceable in the roles of girlfriend and mom but they are gone for too long of stretches while focusing on the main plot. The film is extremely fun, often funny, surprisingly suspenseful, and nicely acted by it’s A-list cast. The original has merits, but this remake was a breathe of fresh air for the horror remake genre, respectful of the source material while still creating it’s own niche. I wouldn’t mind having Colin Farrell as my neighbor.
Rating: 7/10
prodigalfilmstudent 