THE RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2011 - Cert 12A)

I’m not a Planet of the Apes aficionado, not by any stretch of the imagination. I saw the first one years ago, so long ago that I can’t remember anything about it, least of all the ‘twist’ at the end. So, with this in mind I didn’t approach The Rise of the Planet of the Apes (or ROTPOTA as it’s now become known) with any preconceptions or any of the usual reservations about a modern day butchering of a vintage franchise.  I’m not really sure what I was expecting, but I definitely wasn’t expecting what I got.

Rupert Wyatt, who’s only achievements of note to date are small British flick The Escapist and a few episodes of Hollyoaks, has crafted a thoughtful and at times upsetting summer blockbuster. Rather than simply adopting a prequel approach, Wyatt’s ROTPOTA is more of an origins story, charting the development of Caesar, from pet chimpanzee to leader of a revolution. Set in the present day, or extremely near future, James Franco’ s scientist is determined to find the cure to Alzheimer’s. Testing on apes takes place and through a slightly iffy plot point Franco ends up taking a baby chimp home. He names it Caesar and as he grows up it becomes clear that the experiments have had an effect on the monkey, giving him advanced intelligence to the point where Caesar behaves more like a child rather than a pet.  As Caesar reaches the equivalent of adulthood he starts to get exposure to all that is wrong with the world. His pure innocence and naivety is taken for granted and abused resulting in flashes of anger and aggression. He meets maltreatment in captivity with other monkeys, all the while using his advanced stuff between the ears to plot escape and revenge. Some of the scenes where Caesar gets hurt are genuinely upsetting and even at times harrowing. Much of this has a lot to do with the incredible special effects. Weta, the company behind Gollum and the updated King Kong, have raised the bar even further. Andy Serkis is again on mo-cap duty and this is easily the most impressive CG character I have ever seen. You never feel that you are watching a computer-generated ape, it seamlessly combines with the physical environment and feels totally realistic. The real achievement though is the emotion and depth that comes across through the technology. This isn’t Jar Jar Binks, it’s miles ahead of Paul (who I was relatively complimentary about), this is a proper living and breathing character. There were a number of tear-inducing moments as the camera gets up close to Caesar and you can see the pain, frustration, anger and unhappiness. All of this without any dialogue (he might be smart but he can’t speak). If it were a live actor (in the flesh) everyone would be calling this one of the performances of the year and calling for a statuette.

The development of Caesar reminded me of Batman Begins and X-Men: First Class. Caesar is Batman and Magneto, the film taking the blank canvas of the character and showing all of the brush strokes as the picture forms fully, all the hurt and mistreatment transforming the central figure into the monster that drives the film to it’s conclusion. It really took me by surprise (in a very good way), for what looks on the face of it a popcorn-fodder action flick the reality is something very different – a state of the art character piece. And a brave one at that, to put a CG ape as the centrepiece was a bold move but Wyatt does it with such confidence that he seems like the most obvious and natural idea in the world.

The ironic thing with the film is that despite the amazing characterization and acting of the lead character, the supporting cast of humans never get close to the same level and suffer from cliché. Franco is decent, but that is only because he’s watchable all the time, Freida Pinto is the epitome of filler and exposition as the love interest/some scientist or something, she has virtually nothing to do, David Oyelowo is the corporate bloke and good old Brian Cox is wasted in a bit part as the keeper of the monkey enclosure. Only John Lithgow as Franco’s Alzheimer suffering father (forming an interesting extra emotional motivation for Franco’s character) and Tom Felton (nasty piece of work) manage to do anything interesting with their roles. It’s a massive shame because if the actors managed to up their game and the writers took a bit of time to create something with more depth, we could have been talking about something in the same league as Inception and The Dark Knight. As it stands it’s probably just on the rung below, but definitely part of the new breed of intelligent blockbuster.

The final part of the film really does satisfy, the ape revolution culminating in a thrilling scene on The Golden Gate Bridge, visually spectacular and a rare treat these days to see action of that nature not in colour-drained 3D. After all of the mayhem, Wyatt impressively still takes the time to fit the last piece of the jigsaw into Caesar, the straw that breaks the monkey’s back, and then give the events of the film a wider context and suggest the possibility of the story continuing into other movies. All of this and it still weighs in at under 2 hours. A remarkably concise film with a minimal fuss approach.

Out at the same time as the much hyped Super 8 and heavily marketed Cowboys and Aliens, ROTPOTA could be seen as a bit of a stealth hit, creeping up on the competition. It’s done very well in the States and has made a very good start over here. It’s well worth checking out, not only for the technical genius of it, but also as a film about someone good turning bad as well as good old fashioned Friday night entertainment.

SUPER 8 (2011 - Cert 12A)

I've been on the receiving end of the Super 8 hype more than most people. In fact I think I've had double the dose for I was in New York earlier this year just before the film was released there at the beginning of June, then over the last couple of weeks I've been witness to Blighty's very own, and it has to be said slightly more subtle, version of the marketing Juggernaut. Whether here or on the other side of the pond the message has essentially been the same - 'This is the best Spielberg film that Spielberg didn't make'. Yes the great man was on production duties and may of course had some input into the creative process but this was very much the work of the new kid on the block, J J Abrams. As both writer and director, this, we are told, is the most personal project that he has yet undertaken and a result of the success he had enjoyed through Lost and the Star Trek reboot, he had now been given the opportunity to really make something that was important to him. The big draw for everyone though was how 'Spielbergian' it was all meant to be, a word that was coming up in every article, review to TV spot.



Now that I have seen it, it truly is Spielbergian. The small town setting is there, in this case Lillian, Ohio (Spielberg was brought up in Ohio), which is where we meet our standard issue Spielberg hero, 13 year old Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) and his friends (Kyle Chandler, Ryan Lee, Gabriel Masso and Zach Mills) shooting their very own zombie film, using a Super 8 camera (ahhhhh I hear you say - it's the same type of camera that both Spielberg and Abrams used to make their early films). It's taken back to 1979, to a time when small town America was real suburbia (See The Goonies, Close Encounters, ET and Poltergeist) and it also has the effect of giving everyone straggly haircuts and flares that are instantly related to old-Spielberg. As the plot progresses, with the kids 'on set' witnessing a massive train crash and 'something' escaping from the train wreck and terrorising the town, you know you really are in Spielberg country. Then by the time the army turns up and gets involved (a la ET and Close Encounters) you have moved away from referencing and nods and shifted into the world of the homage or the cinematic love letter. It went much further than that as well though. If you look at all of those early Spielberg films, not just those that he directed but others he hand a hand in writing, ET, Close Encounters, Jaws, The Goonies and Poltergeist, and even later ones such as Jurassic Park and Empire of the Sun, at the centre of it all is a family relationship, often that of a father figure and a son. Super 8 explores the same themes and does it superbly, opening with the death of Joe Lamb's mother and the strained relationship that is left between him and his father. Youthful love is also there through Elle Fanning's love interest Alice Dainard in a nicely crafted relationship that blossoms throughout. It gives the film a real heart.

Super 8 is clearly is meant to echo the films of Abrams' mentor and he succeeds in that aim, making something that feels instantly familiar, like bumping into a good mate who you haven't seen in while, you both just slip into the groove despite the time elapsed since your last shared bag of pork snacks. Just making a nerdy love letter to one of Cinema's greats doesn't just make a great summer blockbuster though, as we keep being told this is, it needs to entertain as well and be a film in it's own right.

And to be fair to Abrams he does manage this as well. It's brilliantly paced, it rips along with the right level of set-up before chucking us in and then keeping us interested with humour, intrigue, tear-inducing characterisation, action and peril. The train crash in particular is a real stand out set piece. It looks fantastic and is rare example of a modern action sequence taking the breath away, arguably as good as anything I've seen this year.  The initial 'something' scenes where the carnage starts to take shape have the jumpiness you would expect without being gory or remotely violent. The tension builds nicely as the town realises it is in danger and the usual army vs local police (Joe's father as the deputy sheriff) conflict plays out. What is most impressive though is how touching the film is. There are some hairline moments that you might miss with a blink that really do make the characters what they are. A sharp intake of breath here, a prolonged look there, less is definitely more, very much reminiscent of my favourite scene in Jaws where Brody's son mimics his movements. Abrams deserves credit for not over explaining things when it comes to characterisation, but the young cast in particular should also be praised as their performances create so much depth and go beyond kids running away from 'something'.

I just wish Abrams showed the same reluctance with spelling out character's feelings as he did with plot exposition. There is one horribly clumsy moment where an important element of the story is explained to us, practically like a teacher with a blackboard. It sticks out like a sore thumb among a film of otherwise high quality, unfortunately it's one of the distinct memories that I have taken from the viewing and has tainted it. This extends into a rather unsatisfying ten minutes as the film builds to the climax and we are introduced to the slightly underwhelming 'something' and a bit of an ET moment. It's a shame that there is this 15 minute spell where things don't work, because everything before is so good, and it recovers in time for a beautiful, touching and yes, very Spielbergian, final scene that is a very fitting way to sign off.

It ticked all of the boxes of a summer blockbuster, and then went beyond, I laughed (including an end credits sequence that you should stick around for), I cried (at least three times) and I jumped (the girlfriend jumped out of her skin throughout). It's just a real pity that there is a small part of the film that is so mis-judged and feels so out of place.

My only other reservation is that this is a film made by a film geek, and if there is a generation of cinema-goers that aren't as familiar as I am with what Abrams is trying to emulate, they may not have the same appreciation of that attempt and it's result as I do. It also only really looks back, unlike Attack the Block that felt familiar but at the same time fresh. I'm confident that this won't really be a problem though when it comes to putting bums on seats, and among a summer line up of reboots, robots, superheroes and sequels, I really hope it does well. It's a film that has it's heart firmly in the right place and Abrams sentiment can probably be best summed up by one of my favourite scenes in the film, with the young boys watching on in admiration at Elle Fanning's character, as she acts out a scene in their zombie movie. It's that moment of wonder that motivates Abrams to do what he does.

THE A-TEAM (2010 - Cert 12A)

Another 80's throwback and another attempt at tapping into the nostalgia that we all feel for something we grew up with. From when I first heard that this was in production I was never for one second confident that it was going to be able to emulate the joy that I felt with Hannibal, Face, Murdoch and BA on Saturday afternoons, just like if they said they were going to make McGuyver or Airwolf into a film, if I want to revisit those days I may as well just buy the box set for next to nothing and chill out on the sofa. Why go to all the trouble of trying to get others to fill those well worn shoes and dart about in that familiar van?



Having now seen it (on TV as I was never excited enough to watch it at the Flicks) I was right in my assumption, it just didn't live up to or recreate that excitement I felt when I was younger. Whether that was due to my headstrong nostalgia or my unrealistic expectations doesn't really matter, it just didn't do the job.

That isn't to say that it isn't without any merit whatsoever though.

Rather than assume we all know what they are, the film is an origins story, telling us how The A-Team became soldiers of fortune, heroes in Iraq in covert operations, double-crossed and turned into fugitives fighting to clear their name. Hannibal (Liam Neeson), BA (Rampage Jackson), Face (Bradley Cooper) and Murdoch (Sharlto Copley) are introduced, no, thrown at us in an action sequence that transported me straight back in time, not to Saturday tea time, but to the 80's when action entertained, when it surprised and when it exhilarated. Nowadays we've seen everything, dinosaurs once impossible are now on BBC and ITV primetime, aliens destroying cities used to be made from tiny models, after Independence Day it can be done with a couple of clicks of a mouse (over-exageration I know, I'm not belittling the talent in CGI). It's hard to do something that we haven't seen before, but Joe Carnahan (Narc and Smokin' Aces), combines over the top action (helicopter looping the loop), humour (Bradley Cooper rolling down a hill entombed in a roll of tyres) and a touch of the familiar (the black van and 'I pity the fool' references) to get us on the edge of our seat. As an opening to the film, it really does work. It thrilled and amused in equal measure, and there is a definite joy in seeing Hannibal chomp down on a cigar and Face flash a smile at a woman. However, much in the same way that there is pleasure in eating Arctic Roll, it's short lived as you realise that taste is just a flash of the familiar and that you'd much rather be tucking into a Magnum double caramel or a cornetto enigma.

As the film progresses it all wears thin rather quickly. The nods to the TV series fade into inconsequence, the amusing quips from Murdoch become less frequent (and less funny), the humour and charm fade and all you are left with is action sequences (outrageously blasé action sequences) that are hurled at you by Carnahan. They are still enjoyable scenes but by the time we've seen a tank falling out of the sky on a parachute firing at fighter drones (halfway through the film) there is a feeling that we've peaked and it's gradually downhill from here.

There is a plot that thinks it's akin to the double crossing and second guessing of Bourne or the Craig-era Bond, but doesn't really make sense and lacks any real depth which means that not understanding doesn't really matter and you don't really give a hoot as to who the bad guy is. A love-story strand is introduced as well as a strange and worrying thread where BA finds peace with himself only to discover by the end that violence does indeed solve problems that feels sinister and off-tone with the rest of the film.

Essentially when the film reaches the second half, the action dries up and plot takes over (ineffectually) with (failed) attempts at characterisation, all coming together for a totally outrageous and overly unrealistic (yes, even compared to the tank bit) finale that tries to be a lot cleverer than it actually is. Despite 50% of the film falling away there are times when it does work. The main cast are all decent and entertaining enough, particularly Copley, and the first two or three set pieces make this the film that The Expendables desperately wanted, and ultimately failed, to be.

Just about worth a watch but you'd be better off watch any of the Die Hard films or any early Arnie to Sly films.

CHASING AMY (1997 - Cert 18)

I was a very late arrival to the Kevin Smith party. I saw Dogma when I was a lot younger and can remember very little of it, in fact I'm sure I didn't really get it, I was just a teenage boy who liked Salma Hayek. By the time I got around to actually seeing Clerks (only a couple of months ago) it was getting embarrassing telling people that I thought of myself as a film buff but hadn't seen that so-called seminal classic. Once I had seen it I knew immediately what people had been banging on about all these years. I went into work the next day preaching it's virtues and quoting lines from it. One of my work mates mentioned that it is one of fiancé's favourite films, only bettered by one of Smith's other films, Chasing Amy. Next thing I know I've got the a copy of Chasing Amy on DVD passed on to me in exactly the same way that I force people to watch Shaun of the Dead. 'You have to see this'. and so it sat on one of my shelves for a couple of months, never being touched, rarely being considered. The truth is the front cover put me off.

It smacked of rom-com. The colour of the writing, all the characters on the cover, the woman taking up the majority of the space. The title combined with the imagery made it seem like There's Something About Mary, everyone after the same girl. It just didn't scream 'watch me'.

One lazy Sunday afternoon, the girlfriend and I needed something easy to watch to keep Monday morning at bay. She (a purveyor of the rom-com) reached for Chasing Amy and after a moment's pause, where I decided that if I had to watch a rom-com it may as well be one by Kevin Smith, I gave in.



Now that I've watched it, I'm disappointed by myself. Angry even. For allowing it to sit on a shelf, unwatched, for judging a book by it's cover. Due to my stupid film snob tendencies I was put off by an assumption, a rash one, and this meant that there was a delay in seeing one of the best films about relationships I have ever seen.

Clerks is good, very good, it's the one that everyone talks about and the film that saw Smith burst on to the scene, but Chasing Amy is better, it's braver, it's about something that not many people have tried to explore - The modern relationship, and the insecurities that come with it.

Ben Affleck is Holden, comic book artist, living and working with his best mate Banky (Jason Lee). All is good as their comic Bluntman and Chronic (based on Jay and Silent Bob of course) is a success. The only thing that is missing is the girl. Then he meets her, Alyssa, played by Joey Lauren Adams. She has it all, beautiful, smart, funny with an attitude. The only problem is she's a lesbian. Yes she likes girls. Don't be fooled into thinking it's a stupid, immature comedy about 'conversion' though, it's more about how sexual liberation and the modern obsession with openness has opened a whole can of worms, issues and insecurities. Ego's are dented, feelings are hurt, all because the people care and worry.

It's drenched in typical Kevin Smith dialogue. People speak how we all want to speak. I would love to bounce off other people with instant dry wit plucking an amusing simile out of thin air from my endless supply. It doesn't scream realism but it is great to watch. Highlights include a great exchange as to why women are to blame for men being bad at cunnilingus and why one character can't travel without taking an exhaustive porn collection. I know what you're thinking, it's a sex comedy. And to some extent it is, but not in an American Pie/Porkys guise. It's not a gross out comedy, more observational, like how you might imagine Jerry Seinfeld to be if he discovered sex all over again. And developed a potty mouth.

The quality in Smith's writing goes much further than just jokes and good speeches. Chasing Amy is a film that relies on, ok uses the well worn rom-com formula (i.e. guy meets girl, guy likes girl, guy get's girl, guy upsets girl, guy gets girl back, or does he?) but still manages to feel new and fresh. Part of that will be down to the irreverent humour, the unfamiliar behaviour of the characters for this genre, but a great deal of credit should go to Smith for creating a film with characters and situations that you really feel for. We aren't siding with the characters because convention tells us to do so, we are with them every step of the way because their insecurities are those that nag away at you when you first start seeing someone you really like. We have all been there. Amongst all the rough (and there is a lot of sweary sex banter) there are some gems, where you feel like you are getting an insight into the film maker's heart, none more so than when Silent Bob simply becomes Bob and the film get's it's title. It's a segment that all at the same time creates real emotional sympathy but also cuts straight to what the film is about and is trying to say. Smith's genius, acting and writing, making it all seem so easy.

It then digs deeper, much deeper than a couple trying to love each other against the odds, it addresses sexual tendencies and the prejudices that they create, the assumptions that we make everyday. The film constantly challenges what we believe and whether we could be accused of being homophobic or judging a book by it's cover. I consider myself to be very open-minded and accepting but I had to question myself a number of times as thoughts quickly jumped into my head. It's a remarkable achievement to have made something that has so many layers and says so much but on the face of it seems to be something quite simple and juvenile. Just like when Alyssa falls for Holden.

The screenplay also manages to stop Joey Lauren Adams' squeaky, whiny voice from grating by giving her enough interesting things to say that I didn't notice. That's unfair on Lauren Adams actually because she is very good in this. She has to be the loveable love interest at some points, a spunky independent lesbian at others and a bit of a bitch the rest of the time. It's a challenging role that she pulls off very well, despite that voice. The whole cast is very good to be fair, Ben Affleck before he went big on good form and proving that he can be engaging, we like him but we know he is making a pig's ear out of everything, Jason Lee as the best mate gets all the best lines, the along with Dwight Ewell camping it up as the gay representative, both there as comic relief but ultimately, as you quickly realise, there for much more than fluff round the edges, their superbly delivered dialogue makes you laugh immediately, then you have to stop to wonder whether you should really be laughing.

When I finished watching it, I said I thought it was one of the most important films I have ever seen. Although that might be over egging it slightly, it's the best example I have seen of a film exploring sexuality, questioning what society really thinks of homosexuality, the assumptions that we make everyday and, most importantly, what has happened to modern relationships through a generation of experimentation. Essentially it asks, and is reassuringly not arrogant enough to answer, whether we are ready for and actually better off because of sexual liberation.

See it.