ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

I really have nothing but good things to say about this movie! :mrgreenN:

It took all the puzzling gaps in the whole Planet of the Apes mythology and filled them with great concepts — unlike the Tim Burton version, which made a mess of the whole thing.

This movie's premise spoke to me personally by having James Franco working to develop a cure for Alzheimer's because his father (John Lithgow) was dying from it. That damned disease took my own father, which means I'm at risk for it to.

So, the movie had my admiration, right off the bat!

Then they linked the cure for Alzheimer to the rise of the apes and the fall of mankind. Neat and tidy. It made good sci-fi sense.

More praise still goes to the motion capture of the fine actors who provided performances as the apes. No rubber masks worn by actors who walked funny while trying to show expressions through the slab of stuff glued to their faces.

This movie showed a certain amount of respect for the original, tying in elements without overdoing it. The only thing I would change about the film is the fact that Caesar delivers an angry "No!" a few too many times. It's a trivial point, but by the time we get near the end of the movie, the word seems a bit over used.

And they rarely allowed Caesar to portray anything but anger. I think we would have admired the character and identified with him more if they'd tempered his mannerisms with moments when he felt something other than rage.

Anybody else get that impression?

No?

(Okay, but please don't shout that word at me! )
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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This is a splendid trailer for an excellent science fiction film. Even though it uses some of the dreaded "slide show" fading in and out that I hate, there's less of it than in other trailers I've seen. And it does what a trailer is supposed to do: reveal the concepts on which the story is based, and tease us with the great visuals.

Watch this and put yourself in the mood to see the movie again.


__ Rise of the Planet of the Apes Official Trailer #2


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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IMDB has 108 trivia items for this movie. Here’s a few of the ones I found the most interesting, in the blue text.
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~ The jigsaw puzzle that Caesar has nearly completed is a depiction of Taylor and Nova from Planet of the Apes (1968), riding on a horse down the beach, just before coming upon the Statue of Liberty.

Note from me: "I almost finished this puzzle! Damn you all to hell!"

~ One of the first movies to use motion-capture in an on-location setting. Previously, motion-capture was limited to special studio set-up with special motion-capture cameras in very clearly defined surroundings.

Note from me: It works so well, It doesn't really look like CGI. Amazing.

~ Caesar's speaking voice was mixed by Sound Designer Chuck Michael, who mixed the sounds of fully grown male chimps' vocalizations they recorded at Chimp Haven and with Andy Serkis' voice.

Note from me: The voice of Caesar has a unique quality that seems perfectly right for the character. I never realized it was created in such a elegant manner.

~ This is the second film in which Andy Serkis played an ape, having previously portrayed the title character in King Kong (2005). He was also the motion-capture actor for Gollum in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings film franchises, where he bit another character's hand. His ape character Caesar bites the neighbor's finger in this role, too. Weta Workshop worked on all of these movies.

Note from me: I'd love to see the behind-the-scene footage of Mr. Serkis performing the motion capture scenes.

~ A dramatic irony is that Koba, the most evil ape in this franchise, is a bonobo, the most mellow and pacifistic great ape species in reality.

Note from me: Interesting. But introducing a dramatic change in the simians' basic physiology with the drug that boosted their intelligence means we can't assume their previous nature will remain the same.

~ Will (James Franco) is desperately looking for a cure for Alzheimer's disease. Charlton Heston, star of Planet of the Apes (1968), tragically passed away in 2008 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Note from me: So did my own father in 2000.

~ Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver admitted that they had the help of their kids to write the screenplay, especially their son Joe for the submissive gesture.

Note from me: I love this item. A family that works as a team to write a screenplay! Sounds like heaven to me!

~ The first script by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver originated in 2006 as a completely unrelated project, Genesis, centered around an evil genetically-engineered chimpanzee that was raised at a human home and was very smart, but spoke only in sign language.

Note from me: This explains why Caesar doesn't speak until well into the movie. I wondered about that.

~ It is unknown how Will managed to make Casear not appear too intelligent when in public

Note from me: I realize we're talking about a simian with artificially enhanced intelligence who was still developing, but generally speaking it's possible for an intelligent person to look dumb, and it's impossible for a dumb person to look smart. (Generally speaking . . . )
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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I watched this movie again today after making a DVR recording from the FX channel of the 2nd and 3rd movies. But I wanted to see the complete trilogy in the proper order, so I rented the first movie from Amazon Prime for $3.99.

Watching the early scenes of John Lithgow portraying a man suffering from Alzheimer's was a highly emotional experience for me, because my father suffered from this condition . . . until his death in 2000.

The story elements of the first movie which portray a cure for this disease are also moving — because if I too eventually suffer from it the way my father did, I desperately hope a cure will be available.

In other words, this science fiction story inspires mankind to make the dream of a cure for this terrible condition evetually become a reality! I just hope this happens in time for me.

As for the rest of the movie, it does a fine job of telling an intelligent story by presenting stunning visual images which were created by ground-breaking special effects.

The subject matter of the plot is dealt with in a very intelligent manner. The movie is the perfect blend of both a smart concept and an entertaining story.

Frankly, I'm a bit surprised that I haven't bought this trilogy on Blu-ray, in view of the fact that I respect and enjoy it so much.

Have any of you guys bought it!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)