Film Review: "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (**)

Well, I guess it was a bit silly to get my hopes up for something that is inherently silly in the first place. I should have stuck to my guns from my initial gut impact of the first trailer, because then this film might have been more of a revelation. As it is, I will say that "Evolution becomes Revolution" is an appropriate tagline for the film. After all, it's only truly world-changing in the fact of how much the technology has changed since its inception. It wasn't quite as awful as I had envisioned it to be previously, but the sudden jolt of positive buzz was very misleading heading into it.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes, whose title is the only one this year that needs to be grossly trimmed (outside Harry Potter perhaps), kicks off by immediately taking you out of the experience. It opens to a shot of the real jungle where the apes live, but the apes are quite obviously fake CG apes. This is perhaps the only moment in the film where you get a complete idea for how fake and silly it is, at least in a literal context. It tends to be less evident in later sequences, but things still remain kind of stupid and obviously fake.

For Your Anticipation: We call it enrichment.

There's a lot in place to make me want to like Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and that's sadly just not going to happen. It could be attributed to the silliness of the plot, the lack of psychological resonance in the execution, or the obviousness of it all. However, that can all be boiled down to the fact that it's a part of this particular series which has never been truly spectacular, even when it was headed by Charles Heston. I'll see the film this weekend, but I don't expect it to be anything special.

Potter-Watch (36-43 of 77): Spoken Like A True Politician

It has been some time hasn't it. It just becomes so damn hard to keep up with the news on the final film in the epic saga of Harry Potter, and we've had so few of these posts in the past two months that it only seems right to cram the many notable events in one post. Of course, this could just be me trying to justify poor planning and neglecting my self-set requirements, but so what? Let's get right into it.

36. David Yates and Tom Felton on Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Very high emphasis on the fact that this is the last film, and I think we're all in agreement that we want them to do it right.

37. Tale of the Three Brothers Concept Art
One of the most visually striking scenes of the film, and probably part of the reason the film was nominated for Art Direction.

38. Notable Death Scene from Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Changed
I feel too shy about giving away whose it is, but if you don't care about spoilers than continue on.

39. Deathly Hallows: Part 1 DVD Releasing April 11th
It always seems a bit soon for them to release the DVD, but the film didn't really stay in theaters too long.

40. 10 Minutes of Deleted Scenes on Part 1 DVD
This should surely satiate a few fans who were so ravenous they weren't even pleased with the scenes that made it into the film.

41. Kelly Macdonald cast as Grey Lady
I can't begin to explain how excited I am about about Yates reuniting with one of his collaborators in the past...

42. Kelly Macdonald Originally Supposed to Play Tonks
...and I can't even start to describe how disappointed I am that she wasn't able to play Tonks instead of the dreadful actress they eventually went with.

43. First Image from Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Eduardo Serra wasn't nominated for his stunning cinematography on Part 1, but he does have another shot with the epic finale of the epic finale. The image can be seen at the top of the page.

Potter-Watch (27 of 77): The Game is Set; The Pieces are Moving

We're now exactly two weeks away from the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, and I'm already a little tired of typing out the entire title. I'm currently on the fence about whether or not I want to head to the midnight showing of the film, because everyone will be gunning for that time slot. I don't want to be heading there alone, which is most likely to happen at this point. I'll probably try to get in to see it at that time, and if I get turned away then I'll see it the next night. It's the main disadvantage of having only one small theater in this town. It very nearly screwed me over for Paranormal Activity 2, but this is much more than that.

As we get closer and closer to it, any line between this film and a Best Picture nomination has been blurred for both sides of the argument. Even I am not quite sure if the film will be able to go that extra mile that I hope it will. Luckily, for me at least, Warner Bros. has come in with a nice dose of footage from the upcoming film to keep anticipation alive. First, we have two featurettes that give a bit of a recap of crucial information from the past installments, as well as some new footage that people who read the book weren't expecting. Small differences have been made to make these films an enhancement of the books, which makes me extremely excited about it. Wouldn't you jump at the prospect of the film being even better than the book?

Hero Complex's Month of Magic is taking things a little slowly at the moment, gathering interviews from many different members of the cast and crew. Tom Felton has talked about how much he admires Daniel Radcliffe and how much work he puts into it. Jason Isaacs, who plays Lucius Malfoy in the series, talked about leaving the franchise and his desperate and failed quest to attain the wig he wore throughout the series. Prop designer Barry Wilkinson was interviewed about the sheer scale of everything that went into the prop department coming up with the thousand of items for the films. The most interesting news we have gotten, however, is our first clip from the film featuring Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. It's a really small and quiet scene where Ron tries to convince Harry to stay at the Burrow, and it shows an intelligence in both the acting and the writing. In a single film, this sort of small moment would've never existed. It's one of the advantages of splitting the book into two films. I'm sorry for the low-quality, but the acting still shines through.

That's the last actual clip from the film that you'll be seeing in this sort of segment. As a matter of fact, next week is the last all-encompassing news-catchup Potter-Watch before the release of the film. In the six days prior to the film's release, we will be releasing our reviews of the first six films in the series. We'll start next Saturday with our review of Sorcerer's Stone, and end on the eve of the midnight release with Half-Blood Prince. You'll get our review of Deathly Hallows: Part 1 in the final hours of November 19th, as I'll probably end up seeing the film on Friday evening, rather than midnight. Finally, thank you all for making our review of the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat the highest viewed page in the history of this site. We'll see you next week!

Potter-Watch (26 of 77): The Next Three Weeks

Three weeks until the release of Deathly Hallows: Part 1, and anticipation is merely bubbling below the surface. It has yet to reach nail-biting, flesh-ripping intensity when we quite literally cannot wait to see this film, but we're definitely close. I'm glad to say that for the rest of the time between now and then, my job is pretty much done for me. The L.A. Times blog Hero Complex is doing their tradition daily countdown until the day of release for the film, and that offers a spectacular outlet for footage, news, interviews, and more. Among my personal favorites at the moment is the interview with costume designer Jany Temime, who has recently been accused, and rightfully so I'm afraid, of fashion plagiarism for one of the costumes more crucial to the plot.

The bulk of the past few days have been short posts where Daniel Radcliffe and Tom Felton express their own anticipation to see the finished product of their work. Toby Jones, who reprises his role as Dobby the house elf, was able to sneak in an intriguing interview. However, one of the most interesting features they've brought us so far is an exclusive featurette of Alexandre Desplat composing the score for the upcoming film. It comes right on the heels of the musical samples that have been recently released, and it certainly gets me excited to buy the soundtrack when it's released on November 16th. Check out the featurette below, and let me know what you think.

In the sector of more ensemble news, the MPAA changed their rating Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, but only slightly. It's still PG-13, but they've added on to their description "brief sensuality". I'm kind of hoping it's for the scene between Hermione and Harry. If you don't know what I mean, read the book. Also, it's recently been announced that the film will be roughly 147 minutes long, making it the third shortest in the series, but still pretty damn long. That's as long as Inception was, so don't try to sugar coat it. Finally, a featurette on the upcoming finale was released on monday, bringing a sympathetic look back on the series so far along with it. It's a nice watch to give you an idea of what's in store for the next film. Check it out.

Capping this week off, we have #6-4 in our countdown of the best moments in the Harry Potter film series. Comment below on what moments of the series you think made it into the top 3.

6. The Cave (Half-Blood Prince)

The next three scenes are all from Half-Blood Prince, and if you don't know why there are so many of these scenes on this list, then you just can't put two and two together. The climax of the penultimate film in the franchise consists of Harry and Dumbledore going on a mission to find a piece of Voldemort's soul, so that they can eventually destroy it. It's a solid ten minute sequence which ranges from their epic arrival at the caves to the terrifying confrontation between Harry and zombies. If ever there were a scene most fit for this time of year, it would be this one. It's the sort of scene that makes us question the MPAA's decision to rate the film PG. It ends on a high note, with the visual feast of Dumbledore conjuring a ring of fire to defeat the creatures and save Harry. It definitely tests the audience on a visceral and emotional level, and that's what the best scenes of this series should do.

5. It Feels Like This (Half-Blood Prince)

Many still criticize the sixth film's emphasis on the romantic sub-plots, but I can't help but admire it for taking one of the most realistic stabs at depicting real teenage relationships, without going into sexual territories. For all the magic and fantastical creatures, some of the best moments of the series are the more intensely personal ones. After Ron's victory in the Quidditch match, he sparks a sudden and rambunctious relationship with Lavender Brown, much to Hermione's dismay. In a sweet moment between her and Harry, we get an idea of the beautiful relationship between the two. They are both strong and loyal friends who are there for each other as a shoulder to cry on, rather than another person to sleep with. Anyone who has had a crush go unnoticed knows what Hermione feels in that moment, and it's one of the most relatable moments of this series.

4. After the Burial (Half-Blood Prince)

As we move towards the exciting climax of the film, Harry finally finds a way to extract an important memory from Professor Horace Slughorn, and that leads us into what is probably the funniest sequence of the series, and well as an emotionally touching one. As a matter of fact, Harry is pretty much high (as in drugs) throughout the course of the scene, due to a luck potion that he acquired early on in the film. It's a pretty hilarious change because we're used to him being somewhat controlled in his emotions, and he's sudden so hyperactive and energetic. It's still hilarious to see simulating an acromantula's pincer's in that pathetic geeky sort of way.

After surprisingly coming across Hagrid burying his dear friend Aragog, the two end up drinking their troubles away while singing an amusing little tune. The tone subtly turns from heartfelt hilarity to heartbreaking and morose as Slughorn recalls a gift Harry's mother gave him. It gets really emotional as Slughorn deals with his worst fear of finally having to own up to what he did years ago, or forever be considered a coward by his favorite student. Jim Broadbent had sold us on character throughout the film, but his work here is really among his best in any film. It's a shame he didn't receive a Supporting Actor nomination for his performance, but he still remains the standout of this episode.