I'm happy to report that the new ape movie RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is a superior blend of action thriller and science fiction. The film is unofficially a prequel to the popular films from the 1970's (which include PLANET OF THE APES 1968, BENEATH THE...1970, ESCAPE FROM...1971, CONQUEST OF...1972 and BATTLE FOR...1976) and it is far better to all but the first one which remains an intriguing icon. This new APES movie benefits from having excellent CGI effects that don't distract from the action (I was always trying to figure out which actor was behind that hairy plastic mask in the 1970's.) This is the first movie in a long while in which EVERY CONSECUTIVE SCENE builds to the next scene, and is so compelling in action and plot and suspense that you don't dare even THINK of leaving for a bathroom break. My one complaint is that the last 20 minutes progresses so quickly that you don't get to savor the action and irony that develops like you do in the first 90 minutes. James Franco and John Lithgow are terrific in low key performances as a scientist and his father suffering from Alzheimer, who both become personally involved (emotionally and chemically) with the young ape who triggers the action. See PROJECT NIM below. GRADE--------- A-
An excellent film to see if you liked the APES movies above, and even if you don't, is the fine documentary PROJECT NIM, the true story of a chimp who, in the early 1970's was raised from infancy by a family, then passed on to a university study program when he became to big for them to handle. He was taught to sign and became very domesticated, and became very close to many of the people who came in contact with him, and most of the people are interviewed here, as well as some astounding home movies and photos that document the actions. The film becomes a fascinating and heartbreaking warning about the pleasures and pain of trying to raise "wild" animals in your home. The makers of the new RISE OF PLANET OF THE APES film (see above) must have really done their research--perhaps by watching this footage of PROJECT NIM-- because they really were accurate in the portrayal of apes interacting with humans. These two films would make an EXCELLENT double bill. PROJECT NIM has been haunting me since I first saw it on May 2nd at a SIFF screening. GRADE------ A-
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER is the first in what may be a series of films based on the Marvel Comics story of THE AVENGERS. Set during the WWII in America and later the European theatre, this science fiction tale carefully sets up the story of a patriotic but scrawny weakling who is refused entrance into the military due to a long list of ailments. His persistence at enlisting catches the eye of a doctor who is experimenting on a drug to give humans super strength, and the youth volunteers, becoming a super fast, muscled super-hero. Of course he eventually gets to battle a maniac who breaks off from Hitler (?!?) and wants to destroy the world. The plot is fairly logical for this genre, care is spent to develop the characters, and the action is well calibrated to sustain suspense and our interest. I look forward to the next installment. This is probably the best "Super-hero" movie of the summer. GRADE------ B+
Based on a true story about Saddam Hussein's sadistic son Uday and set in the early 1990's, this film called THE DEVIS'S DOUBLE is an engrossing, violent, intense, and at times lurid film of the times. When an acquaintance of Uday is forcibly recruited to act as his look-alike double, the unfortunate man becomes embroiled in the violence, drugs, sex and murder that controls the Hussein palace. Fortunately for the viewer, the actor playing BOTH Uday and the double is the amazing Dominic Cooper, and he does a cracker jack job. Nothing I've seen Cooper in before has really impressed me---he had parts in AN EDUCATION (2009), the boy-toy in MAMMA MIA (2008) and a supporting role in the current CAPTAIN AMERICA, but this part shoots him to the top of the heap for year end awards recognition. He gives TWO eye opening performances. GRADE -------- B
The breezy, glib French comedy THE NAMES OF LOVE has a lot of supporters, but I found the premise, in which a carefree, sexually liberated young liberal woman going from (conservative) man to man and seducing them to her side of the political spectrum to be too far fetched to be believable. When she finally finds the ONE only to have to deal with the ramifications of his family who lost loved ones to death camps during WWII--the mood turns rather distasteful. Perhaps if this had been re imagined as an out and out drama, it might have had a better impact. The two leads are charming at times and attractive in and out of their clothes. GRADE----------C+
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DVD choices this week include one of my all time favorite comedies, and it holds up very well. WHAT'S UP DOC? (1972) is Peter Bagdonovitch's tribute to screwball comedies of the 1930's, and he fills it with truly wacky, original characters and many splendid sight gags which work nearly 95% of the time--a great average. The snappy, clever screen play was written by Buck Henry (GRADUATE, CATCH 22) and Robert Benton (KRAMER VS KRAMER, BONNIE and CLYDE, PLACES IN THE HEART). Barbara Striesand, looking lovely, and Ryan O'Neal, studly and obtuse, are the leads that would normally be played by Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant (much like BRING UP BABY)or perhaps Carole Lombard and William Powell. They are fine, but the movie is really stolen by some of the best character actors around at the time. Watch for scene stealers Sorrell Booke as a dim witted hotel detective, John Hillerman as the hotel manager, a young Randy Quaid, Mabel Albertson as the gaudily dressed rich lady, Liam Dunn as the hilarious judge in the final scene, Kenneth Mars with his improbable eastern European dialect, Austin Pendleton who's just plain wonderful, and especially the fabulous Madeline Kahn in her first big role. This part won her big acclaim, numerous awards and nominations, and was the beginning of a great comic career in such films as PAPER MOON (1973),BLAZNG SADDLES and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (both 1974), CLUE(1985), MIXED NUTS (1994) and a reoccurring character in the COSBY TV show, as well as other TV roles. Sadly she died of cancer in 1999.
GRADE---------A-
Well acted if predictable tale of a man in a severe mid-life crisis, SOLITARY MAN (2009) has Micheal Douglas's life in a tailspin when he gets some bad, inconclusive medical information. He divorces a patient wife (Susan Sarandon) and alienates his friends, family and girlfriend, played well by Danny DeVito, Jenna Fischer, Mary Louise Parker, and others. He becomes incredibly desparate, and it is to Michael Douglas's credit that in spite of his despicable actions that we still care a wit about him. GRADE------B-
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