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ladyofleithianMostly because my horseback riding instructor recommended it, and I heard it got really damn good reviews. I didn't really see any of the previous ones (including Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which came out in 2011), which I really should have (it seems to be a recurring theme here, ladyhadhafang going into sequels without having seen the first one. I should really amend this). That said, how was it? Really goddamn good, deserving of all the praise it gets, but...holy shit was it sad. I mean, it is a war film, and it's guaranteed to be pretty heavy (I saw from the trailers it was going to be pretty damn heavy), but still...damn.
Trailers I Got:
-The Judge: Robert Downey Jr. basically has to try and acquit his father of murder. Pretty interesting trailer there.
-Unbroken: Looks really good. Seriously.
-The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part One: Okay, this teaser was awesome. It starts out with President Snow giving a broadcast, only for it to go staticky and a member of District 13 to show up and say, basically, that the Mockingjay lives. (Recounting from memory) A really chilling, effective and fucking awesome teaser.
-The Maze Runner: I haven't read the book that this movie's based on, but a friend of mine at horseback riding has (I may get my hands on it when I can. That and when I finish reading what I'm currently on, Hannibal by Thomas Harris. Pretty decent so far; not as good as Red Dragon or Silence of the Lambs, but still pretty decent). And the trailer looks really cool -- it definitely has that sort of mystery about it, sort of like what's in that maze, why are these people here, etc. So yeah, could be a pretty interesting movie.
-Exodus: Gods and Kings: Looks amazing. A bit uncertain about the casting (I don't know; I just have a bad feeling that they're whitewashing the cast), but the trailer looks epic.
The theater experience:
Not very packed, and not many annoyances. There was one girl, I think in front of me, that occasionally started chatting during the movie, but I don't think it was that often. The audience was otherwise really well-behaved. In fact, I think it's definitely good that most of my audience experiences (except for Godzilla, mostly because of the one woman and her baby, and the two guys trying to be Joel -- or Mike, depending on which era of MST3K you watch -- and the bots during the movie) have been, on the whole, pretty decent.
The movie experience:
It was really good. It was a pretty dark movie; it was pretty much shown from the outset with the rather chilling news report of how far the virus had spread, as well as the hatred between humans and apes. I know some of the scenes that really got to me included Carver ranting about how it was the apes' fault that the virus had spread and basically killed off almost all of humanity (at least from what the news report said) and brought up Ellie (Keri Russell's character) and her daughter who had died (seriously, I just wanted to punch that guy. I mean, you just don't rub the death of someone's child in their face. I know when one of the soldiers -- I think his name was Foster? -- threatened to basically kick his ass, I was on his side basically one hundred percent) as well as Malcolm's own loved one -- I believe his wife. It did lead to Ellie and Alexander, Malcolm's son, talking about her daughter, though, which was a lovely scene. I really liked Alexander; he, Ellie, Malcolm, Caesar and Dreyfus were among my favorite characters. Especially considering that even though he may be a bit difficult (thanks to his mother's death, no doubt), he has a good heart. I know the scene with him reading with one of the apes, Maurice, was a great example of this -- it was a really sweet scene.
In terms of other scenes that got to me, Koba...a lot of scenes with Koba were really effective; I mean, he is a terrifying son of a bitch. I know him shooting Caesar, then lighting the village on fire and making it look like Malcolm and company did it just to start a war between the apes and humans (never mind that as Caesar said, many apes will die. Koba's basically more than willing to sacrifice ape lives needlessly just for the sake of vengeance towards the humans. He has his reasons for revenge, of course -- mostly because he was a lab subject, as mentioned in the film, but at the same time, he took it too far) was frightening, as well as dropping Ash to his death when he refuses to kill innocent humans (that was another thing that got me; he was more than justified in hating those who basically tortured him, but he also needlessly killed other humans who no doubt hadn't done anything to him. And some he just kills horrifically, like Foster. I mean, that was one of the scariest scenes in the movie), and rounding up humans and putting them in cages (and imprisoning those still loyal to Caesar because he believed they were weak). Koba's an interesting character, someplace between being a tragic character (considering the abuse he suffered. He wasn't born a monster; he was made one) and a monstrous character (because what he did is still horrible). I know that when Caesar chose to drop him off that ledge...yeah, there was a part of me that wanted Caesar to pull him up, but at the same time, I understood his actions perfectly.
Another scene that got to me was seeing Koba and his apes riding into battle (on horses, which I thought was a pretty cool part about this movie -- apes on horses. It's pretty fucking epic) and the city being lit on fire, and apes falling down shot, or shooting at humans, etc. It's one of those scenes that's very effective because it feels like a war -- all the chaos and hellishness a battle would really have. And it was really heartbreaking and disturbing to watch. I know Dreyfus blowing up the complex with him inside, all for the good of the human race, was also something that got to me. Gary Oldman really blew me away with his performance as Dreyfus; I think it was personally one of his absolute best performances. Stuff like him crying over pictures of his son on his iPad...that was a really effective scene to watch. And he definitely brought a sort of presence and warmth to Dreyfus (which I guess sounds weird, but he genuinely does care about his soldiers, and he has the best of humanity in mind. I like that detail; he isn't just someone opposing the apes because he's evil; he's doing it with the best of intentions) that made him more than just a cliche character.
There were also some genuinely poignant, lovely moments, like the aforementioned scene of Dreyfus looking at pictures of his son on his iPad and crying (it's also really effective because up until then, Dreyfus has been very stoic and in control), Caesar watching an old video of Will and him and when Malcolm asks him who Will is, Caesar says, "A good man. Like you." (I haven't seen Rise -- and I should -- but that was a very effective, poignant moment) Not to mention the scene with Caesar and his ape colony, which is strange considering it came after the horrific news report, but it was a lovely scene, what with Caesar raising his family, Maurice teaching that group of little apes, and Koba prior to basically going crazy. There was such a sort of innocence to it that I couldn't help but be drawn in and start caring about them. And Caesar's newborn son -- who is ridiculously cute, he really is. I know one scene with him playing with Ellie was adorable -- well, before Carver nearly hurt him. Thankfully it was "nearly". Not to mention the ending, with Malcolm and Caesar parting ways, and Caesar doing the forehead-touch with him -- it was incredibly poignant, and showed how much their friendship had developed. Honestly, it was a great film. An amazing film, really. Great acting, great story, great themes, great characters -- it was perfect. I know my only gripe was the ending, because it ended on a major cliffhanger, with the knowledge that the war between the apes and the humans was far from over. It's definitely a set-up for a sequel, but I still felt like, "What? You can't leave it here!" Still a great movie though, and heavily recommended.
So yeah, overall? Go and see it! Seriously. It's definitely worth it.
Trailers I Got:
-The Judge: Robert Downey Jr. basically has to try and acquit his father of murder. Pretty interesting trailer there.
-Unbroken: Looks really good. Seriously.
-The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part One: Okay, this teaser was awesome. It starts out with President Snow giving a broadcast, only for it to go staticky and a member of District 13 to show up and say, basically, that the Mockingjay lives. (Recounting from memory) A really chilling, effective and fucking awesome teaser.
-The Maze Runner: I haven't read the book that this movie's based on, but a friend of mine at horseback riding has (I may get my hands on it when I can. That and when I finish reading what I'm currently on, Hannibal by Thomas Harris. Pretty decent so far; not as good as Red Dragon or Silence of the Lambs, but still pretty decent). And the trailer looks really cool -- it definitely has that sort of mystery about it, sort of like what's in that maze, why are these people here, etc. So yeah, could be a pretty interesting movie.
-Exodus: Gods and Kings: Looks amazing. A bit uncertain about the casting (I don't know; I just have a bad feeling that they're whitewashing the cast), but the trailer looks epic.
The theater experience:
Not very packed, and not many annoyances. There was one girl, I think in front of me, that occasionally started chatting during the movie, but I don't think it was that often. The audience was otherwise really well-behaved. In fact, I think it's definitely good that most of my audience experiences (except for Godzilla, mostly because of the one woman and her baby, and the two guys trying to be Joel -- or Mike, depending on which era of MST3K you watch -- and the bots during the movie) have been, on the whole, pretty decent.
The movie experience:
It was really good. It was a pretty dark movie; it was pretty much shown from the outset with the rather chilling news report of how far the virus had spread, as well as the hatred between humans and apes. I know some of the scenes that really got to me included Carver ranting about how it was the apes' fault that the virus had spread and basically killed off almost all of humanity (at least from what the news report said) and brought up Ellie (Keri Russell's character) and her daughter who had died (seriously, I just wanted to punch that guy. I mean, you just don't rub the death of someone's child in their face. I know when one of the soldiers -- I think his name was Foster? -- threatened to basically kick his ass, I was on his side basically one hundred percent) as well as Malcolm's own loved one -- I believe his wife. It did lead to Ellie and Alexander, Malcolm's son, talking about her daughter, though, which was a lovely scene. I really liked Alexander; he, Ellie, Malcolm, Caesar and Dreyfus were among my favorite characters. Especially considering that even though he may be a bit difficult (thanks to his mother's death, no doubt), he has a good heart. I know the scene with him reading with one of the apes, Maurice, was a great example of this -- it was a really sweet scene.
In terms of other scenes that got to me, Koba...a lot of scenes with Koba were really effective; I mean, he is a terrifying son of a bitch. I know him shooting Caesar, then lighting the village on fire and making it look like Malcolm and company did it just to start a war between the apes and humans (never mind that as Caesar said, many apes will die. Koba's basically more than willing to sacrifice ape lives needlessly just for the sake of vengeance towards the humans. He has his reasons for revenge, of course -- mostly because he was a lab subject, as mentioned in the film, but at the same time, he took it too far) was frightening, as well as dropping Ash to his death when he refuses to kill innocent humans (that was another thing that got me; he was more than justified in hating those who basically tortured him, but he also needlessly killed other humans who no doubt hadn't done anything to him. And some he just kills horrifically, like Foster. I mean, that was one of the scariest scenes in the movie), and rounding up humans and putting them in cages (and imprisoning those still loyal to Caesar because he believed they were weak). Koba's an interesting character, someplace between being a tragic character (considering the abuse he suffered. He wasn't born a monster; he was made one) and a monstrous character (because what he did is still horrible). I know that when Caesar chose to drop him off that ledge...yeah, there was a part of me that wanted Caesar to pull him up, but at the same time, I understood his actions perfectly.
Another scene that got to me was seeing Koba and his apes riding into battle (on horses, which I thought was a pretty cool part about this movie -- apes on horses. It's pretty fucking epic) and the city being lit on fire, and apes falling down shot, or shooting at humans, etc. It's one of those scenes that's very effective because it feels like a war -- all the chaos and hellishness a battle would really have. And it was really heartbreaking and disturbing to watch. I know Dreyfus blowing up the complex with him inside, all for the good of the human race, was also something that got to me. Gary Oldman really blew me away with his performance as Dreyfus; I think it was personally one of his absolute best performances. Stuff like him crying over pictures of his son on his iPad...that was a really effective scene to watch. And he definitely brought a sort of presence and warmth to Dreyfus (which I guess sounds weird, but he genuinely does care about his soldiers, and he has the best of humanity in mind. I like that detail; he isn't just someone opposing the apes because he's evil; he's doing it with the best of intentions) that made him more than just a cliche character.
There were also some genuinely poignant, lovely moments, like the aforementioned scene of Dreyfus looking at pictures of his son on his iPad and crying (it's also really effective because up until then, Dreyfus has been very stoic and in control), Caesar watching an old video of Will and him and when Malcolm asks him who Will is, Caesar says, "A good man. Like you." (I haven't seen Rise -- and I should -- but that was a very effective, poignant moment) Not to mention the scene with Caesar and his ape colony, which is strange considering it came after the horrific news report, but it was a lovely scene, what with Caesar raising his family, Maurice teaching that group of little apes, and Koba prior to basically going crazy. There was such a sort of innocence to it that I couldn't help but be drawn in and start caring about them. And Caesar's newborn son -- who is ridiculously cute, he really is. I know one scene with him playing with Ellie was adorable -- well, before Carver nearly hurt him. Thankfully it was "nearly". Not to mention the ending, with Malcolm and Caesar parting ways, and Caesar doing the forehead-touch with him -- it was incredibly poignant, and showed how much their friendship had developed. Honestly, it was a great film. An amazing film, really. Great acting, great story, great themes, great characters -- it was perfect. I know my only gripe was the ending, because it ended on a major cliffhanger, with the knowledge that the war between the apes and the humans was far from over. It's definitely a set-up for a sequel, but I still felt like, "What? You can't leave it here!" Still a great movie though, and heavily recommended.
So yeah, overall? Go and see it! Seriously. It's definitely worth it.
