Of all the snippets from soon-to-be-released/still-shooting megamovies that I caught at Comic-Con, the only one that looked as if it were heralding a roof raiser was Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It was the only rouser of those I sampled that had an emotional momentum, even though the actors playing the scientists in the film seemed to be ghostwalking as if they thought they were doing a Chekhov play, but no matter--Andy Serkis clearly had his role tucked under his arm like a football and was going to deliver this baby home.
And the fact that I had a lovely chat with Serkis didn?t prejudice me in the slightest in the film?s favor, because that is the critical detachment I learned at the feet of Lionel Trilling, or at least I would have if he had let me anywhere near him.
So I am pleased to see that critics I enjoy and trust--as opposed to the ones that I gaily refer to in passing conversation as ?those idiots?--have ratified my positive tremors about this heroic primate prison break. Take it away, Tom Shone:
What a stunner. Rise of the Planet Of the Apes arrives in cinemas with zero expectations ? yet another franchise reboot, starring a listless James Franco, from an English director nobody has heard of ? and yet, against all odds, it's the best film of the year so far: majestically-imagined science fiction of genuine moral force. Franco appears not to have any idea of the quality of the film taking shape around him (he appears to be doing his homework in his head) and Frida Pinto registers like melted ice-cream, but the apes ? and Andy Serkis's Caeser in particular ? are wonderfully realised presences: heavy, mangy, calloused, soulful.
I understand that in the sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Caesar and his ape army invade New Hampshire and go door to door canvassing votes for Tim Pawlenty, a rather improbable scenario, though I assume the script is still in the "rough draft" stage.
Update: Dennis Perrin applies the lessons of the movie to today's perpetual impasse of political impotence:
Some reviewers compare the new Apes film to Spartacus, both of which feature slave revolts. Apes is more radical because it's contemporary. It targets Big Pharma, animal abuse and human arrogance, inviting viewers to cheer on their own destruction. This is particularly refreshing given the endless alien invasion movies where humans always fight for survival. In Apes, we're the violent aliens. Our occupation starts to crumble as greed and cruelty consume us. We have it coming. At present we're getting mauled by our own kind. Species-wise, that is. Our attackers may as well be aliens, their wealth and power far beyond our timid reach. The rich have not only won, they are rubbing our noses in their shit. Nowhere else in the developed world does this go unanswered, except in the United States. A few friends believe that the debt deal will stir people to action. Our owners pushed too far. Again, I'm all for it. The Arab uprisings are a guide (Israelis clog the streets, too, moved more by real estate values than the occupation), and they have fewer openings in which to act. We have no excuse.
Of all the snippets from soon-to-be-released/still-shooting megamovies that I caught at Comic-Con, the only one that looked as if it were heralding a roof raiser was Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It was the only rouser of those I sampled that had an emotional momentum, even though the actors playing the scientists in the film seemed to be ghostwalking as if they thought they were doing a Chekhov play, but no matter--Andy Serkis clearly had his role tucked under his arm like a football and was going to deliver this baby home.
And the fact that I had a lovely chat with Serkis didn?t prejudice me in the slightest in the film?s favor, because that is the critical detachment I learned at the feet of Lionel Trilling, or at least I would have if he had let me anywhere near him.
So I am pleased to see that critics I enjoy and trust--as opposed to the ones that I gaily refer to in passing conversation as ?those idiots?--have ratified my positive tremors about this heroic primate prison break. Take it away, Tom Shone:
What a stunner. Rise of the Planet Of the Apes arrives in cinemas with zero expectations ? yet another franchise reboot, starring a listless James Franco, from an English director nobody has heard of ? and yet, against all odds, it's the best film of the year so far: majestically-imagined science fiction of genuine moral force. Franco appears not to have any idea of the quality of the film taking shape around him (he appears to be doing his homework in his head) and Frida Pinto registers like melted ice-cream, but the apes ? and Andy Serkis's Caeser in particular ? are wonderfully realised presences: heavy, mangy, calloused, soulful.
I understand that in the sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Caesar and his ape army invade New Hampshire and go door to door canvassing votes for Tim Pawlenty, a rather improbable scenario, though I assume the script is still in the "rough draft" stage.
Update: Dennis Perrin applies the lessons of the movie to today's perpetual impasse of political impotence:
Some reviewers compare the new Apes film to Spartacus, both of which feature slave revolts. Apes is more radical because it's contemporary. It targets Big Pharma, animal abuse and human arrogance, inviting viewers to cheer on their own destruction. This is particularly refreshing given the endless alien invasion movies where humans always fight for survival. In Apes, we're the violent aliens. Our occupation starts to crumble as greed and cruelty consume us. We have it coming. At present we're getting mauled by our own kind. Species-wise, that is. Our attackers may as well be aliens, their wealth and power far beyond our timid reach. The rich have not only won, they are rubbing our noses in their shit. Nowhere else in the developed world does this go unanswered, except in the United States. A few friends believe that the debt deal will stir people to action. Our owners pushed too far. Again, I'm all for it. The Arab uprisings are a guide (Israelis clog the streets, too, moved more by real estate values than the occupation), and they have fewer openings in which to act. We have no excuse.
Source: http://www.vanityfair.com/content/vanityfair/online/wolcott/2011/08/of-all-the-snippets-from
Dianne Feinstein Bill Frist Newt Gingrich Rudolph Giuliani Al Gore
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