 A bit of a confession to the masses that a few people know about me is that when it comes to classically epic movies - you know, the kind that are often considered some of the greats, I don't end up watching them that often. I'll view them once or twice just to say I've seen them, but the collection of amazing movies out there I've only seen a handful of times, or even once, is pretty outstanding, and would shock people. 'Gladiator' is one such title, which I saw twice in theatres, twice on DVD, and I've left it alone for over two decades until now.
The great thing about being such a fan of film, yet having that approach to things, is that it allows movies to be "brand new" to me again, and I can enjoy them on that level I enjoyed them once in the past. Sometimes things like early CG can get in the way, but not in the case of something like 'Gladiator,' which overthrows anything bad about it (and there's not much) with a great story, bringing together bits of fact and fiction to create something truly epic, and arguably, one of the greatest films of all time. The whole thing opens up in the year 180 AD, where Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) leads Emperor Marcus Aurelius' Roman army to victory against Germanic tribes. As this puts Maximus in Marcus' favour, Marcus tells him of his crooked son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), whom he deems unfit to take things over. Instead, Marcus tells Maximus how he'd like him to take succession as regent, believing he would be a great leader who will be able to restore the Roman Republic. Upon finding this information out, Commodus gets understandably PO'ed, murders his father in secret, and proclaims himself the new Emperor of Rome. When he requests Maximus' loyalty, however, Maximus refuses, remembering what Marcus told him. That's when things go off the rails. As Maximus fails to pledge his loyalty, in turn, he eventually discovers the murdered bodies of his wife and family, and is eventually sold to gladiator trainer Proximo (Oliver Reed). The thing is, Maximus is not just some guy off the streets of Rome - he's a trained, professional war General, and has some skills. As Maximus keeps fighting through battles, mostly at Rome's Colosseum, his popularity rises, earning him the nickname "The Spaniard." But when Commodus organizes 150 days of gladiatorial games to commemorate his father, Proximo convinces Maximus that if he wants his freedom, he's gonna have to win over the crowd. His popularity may very well be the only thing that keeps him from getting killed, despite Commodus' dislike for him, as Commodus wants the respect of the Roman people. This is a film that still totally holds up, and I'd highly recommend checking it out again if you haven't seen it in a while. It's a friendly reminder that epic movies of the early 2000s could still be pulled off without needing a whole lot of CG, which, at the time, 'Lord of the Rings' was pulling off really well, but 'Star Wars' exemplified CG that hasn't aged very well. It was a mixed bag. But luckily, here, for cool scenes like the tiger brawl, they used real tigers and a teeny-tiny bit of CG and stuffed tigers for their deaths, and it still looks great. I remember this one getting all the accolades of the time, too. Twelve Oscar nominations, for example, winning five, including Best Picture. And if you go to IMDb right now, it is ranked as #34 in the Top 250 Movies of All Time. Any way you slice it, really, this is just one of those legendary titles that has gone down in cinematic history as something truly epic in every sense of the word. So go ahead and check it out if you've never seen it, and after you're done, ask yourself the big question; "are you not entertained?" 5/5
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 As some of my readers know, I loved 'A Quiet Place' well enough to make it one of my favourite movies of 2018. In a time of seemingly repeated horror themes, it did such a great job with building intensity, keeping me on the edge of my seat, and it provided a damn near perfect example of how more often than not, less is more when it came to horror. The scariness didn't lie in the creatures themselves, so much as the overwhelming stress that comes from having to constantly keep quiet in order to survive.
For a brief recap (along with some potential spoilers), the film centred on a family, in the midst of some sort of monstrous invasion. The creatures they have to hide from hunt their prey by sound, so to survive this world, one mustn't make a sound. It doesn't help, however that wife and mother, Evelyn (Emily Blunt) is pregnant and ready to pop, daughter, Regan (Millicent Simmonds) is deaf, and son, Marcus (Noah Jupe) is basically afraid of his own shadow. Sadly, husband and father, Lee (John Krasinski) is eventually killed, and the whole thing ends with Evelyn going through a sort of bad ass transformation, becoming the ultimate protector of her family. This one picks up immediately where the last one left off, but not without an intro, sort of telling us just how this all began. We don't really get any answers other than knowing the creatures came from the sky. The family of three and a half sets out on a journey here, looking for other survivors, now that Evelyn can handle a gun, and more importantly, Regan's discovery. She learns that using her hearing aid at a high frequency is an effective distraction to use against these creatures, especially when amplified. On their mission, however, Marcus ends up critically injured and the family is rescued by their former neighbour and friend, Emmett (Cillian Murphy). Emmett gives them shelter for the night, but insists they leave in the morning. During their stay, they tune a radio into clear music, suggesting there must be survivors out there somewhere. This prompts Regan to head off on her own, despite Marcus' objections, using her hearing aid as her main defence. She believes that if she can reach the radio tower the signal is coming from, she can broadcast her hearing aid's noise so that it can be weaponized by other survivors against these creatures. Ultimately, this leads to the overall intensity of the film in which the family must separate, each finding themselves in their own pickles. Evelyn sends Emmett out after Regan, and Regan convinces him to help her find this tower. Meanwhile, Evelyn has to head out for supplies, leaving Marcus alone with newborn baby, Beau (Dean Woodward). So you pretty much have three survival stories going on at once, and while one can definitely see some of these character pushing through and surviving (namely Evelyn), one will still get tensed up by some of the situations these characters find themselves in. While the first film did a good job with the family sticking together, this one asks how well they fare while they're apart. It all kinda adds up, and the suspense throughout the film is pretty damn solid. Can Regan find survivors with Emmett? Will Evelyn be able to survive on her own in order to help her children survive? Can Marcus take care of Beau despite having a brutal injury, and being afraid of everything? The separation of this family gives the film that extra dose of dread, and this worthy sequel is every bit as atmospheric as the first film. My only real nitpick is that one might get a bit of a 'Walking Dead' vibe from this, especially in that this one is a bit more about the people and whether or not you can trust them. I guess it could also be said that things end on a similar note as the first film, but involving different characters. Having said that, it's also a good way to develop these characters. If I had to pick a favourite thing about the film, it would be somewhere between the consistent intensity of the film, and the perpetually silent acting, which I understand is quite a bit harder than it looks. As far as relatively recent horror/thrillers go, these first two 'Quiet Place' films are definitely a couple of personal favourites, and would make a fine back-to-back for a night of thrills and chills. 4/5  I still recall this coming out at an interesting time. The previous year, we had Jordan Peele of 'Key & Peele' directing an instant classic in horror called 'Get Out', and as time has passed, that movie can kind of speak for itself. Even in ignoring all the Oscar hype behind it, everyone talked about it. Considering 'A Quiet Place' was helmed by comedic actor John Krasinski, I had similar predictions for it. To some degree that came true, considering its sequels. But I may argue that this original film works best as a stand-alone.
This one acts quite a bit similar to something like 'The Matrix' in that regard. The first title is pretty much gold, but the sequels leave more to be desired. More on those with those reviews, but I can remember feeling a certain intensity in the theatre when I caught this that has been pretty hard to match since. It's a film that does very well with keeping the suspense going, and the sheer silence of everything makes it all that much more eerie. And when the jump scares finally do come, they work out pretty well for the most part, not being so cheap in their executions. Sometime in the near future, things have been taken over by strange creatures. Monsters that would give your typical zombies a real run for their money. They are never really explained and wrapped in mystery, but they're nasty as hell. As for their look, they sort of remind me of a miniature 'Cloverfield' Monster. They're closer to human-size, although bigger, and much faster. These creatures hunt by using sound, which means that if you want to stay alive in this world, you can't make any, and I mean ANY of it. The protagonist family of the film even paints marks on the floor that don't creek so they can walk safely. Said family of five are the Abbots, who are trying to survive in this post-apocalyptic creature-run world. While Krasinski portrays the father, Lee, his real-life wife, Emily Blunt portrays his on-screen wife, Evelyn. Along with them is their three children; Beau (Cade Woodward), Marcus (Noah Jupe) and deaf daughter, Regan (Millicent Simmonds). Being deaf in real life, Simmonds also adds some authenticity to her role. Having said that, the character is a little bit of a brat, and not exactly the most likeable character in the family, despite the plot focusing on her a lot. This was one of those great turnaround horror movies for its time, giving us something that wasn't one of four extremely common things; ghosts, demons, found footage or home invasion. We have something nice and original here that, quite frankly surprises me hasn't been done before. I mean, the ultimate way to make your movie suspenseful, in my opinion, would be to make it a very quiet movie with those jump scares just lingering around the corner, but not necessarily happening, or happening when you don't expect it. For the most part, this movie nails that idea, so in many ways, this one is right up my alley. I have to say, the suspense throughout the film works incredibly well when we start to get to know and care about these characters. It kinda reminds me of a good episode of 'Walking Dead' where we focus more on the developing characters, but that threat is always there. What adds to this, though, is the need to be silent at all times, which brings it to another level. I mean, silence is required in 'Walking Dead' as well, but they can at least talk without having to use sign language. Here, well, the movie has it's title for a good reason. This follows in the footsteps of 2017's 'Get Out', and the trend is carried on with 2018's 'Halloween', in that they were created from comedic minds who seem to understand that there's some unexplored territory in horror. In their own rights, all three of these titles boast original horror movie ideas that dare to stray away from the typical (even the first of the new 'Halloween' trilogy had something to it, even though we knew we've seen it all before). The trend seems to have died off a little bit, but I would still be curious to see whose comedic mind could come up with what for horror in the near future. 4/5  In viewing these 'Apes' prequel films again, I can say honestly that my opinion on them has not changed. I may not have explored the original series much (with the exception of the '68 film), but as far as 'Rise,' 'Dawn,' and 'War' go, they formed one of the most solid trilogies I've ever seen, and I can still say that - except now we have a fourth film. Is it still as solid a series after that fourth film? Well, I'll get to that in that review. For now, we'll stick with what wrapped up the trilogy portion with 'War.'
The film opens with a brief timeline that covers what has gone on since 'Rise,' including the spread of the man-made simian flu, which has now killed most of the human race, aside from those with natural immunity. In the meantime, its effect on the ape family has been a gift, offering heightened intelligence, leading to a whole ape society that looks more human as opposed to something Jane Goodall would be observing for her studies. They're all lead by Caesar (Andy Serkis), who has been liberating ape-kind from the humans from day one. In the previous film, however, an ape-gone-vengeful named Koba (Toby Kebbell) ended up starting a war between humans and apes, which leads the "Alpha-Omega" human militia to try to locate Caesar, and perhaps "cut the head off the snake." The apes capture their attackers, but Caesar lets them go, with an offer of peace, essentially drawing a line in the sand. Leave the apes the woods, and they can have the rest. Soon, however, the militia comes back, led by "The Colonel" (Woody Harrelson) and causing tragedy among the ape colony. As it turns out, Caesar's eldest son, Blue Eyes (Max Lloyd-Jones) and friend, Rocket (Terry Notary) found a peaceful oasis while on a scouting mission, and the apes decide it best to move there in order to hide better from the humans. After the human attack, however, Caesar ends up choosing vengeance, drawing some parallels between him and Koba. He kinda just wants to find the Colonel and, again, "cut the head off the snake." He sends his fellow apes to find said oasis, and he heads the other way in search of the Colonel. He's joined on his journey by Rocket, old friend, Maurice (Karin Konoval) and Luca (Michael Adamthwaite), who are not only there to help but to keep Caesar in check, as they don't need another Koba on their hands. What starts out as what could be a cool revenge flick, however, turns into an emotional ride that will gauge every emotion, giving us so much more than what we came to see, initially. It's a film about survival on both the ape and human side, and it's amplified with a pretty great villain speech given by the Colonel that allows the viewer to understand his perspective, which is the best kind of villain. Added to the cast here to help alleviate so much of the tragedy that takes place throughout the film (and there's quite a bit - it's honestly a pretty tear-jerking film) are a couple of characters who carry more positivity with their appearances. Giving us a dose of innocence and hope is a little girl Caesar and the others find, eventually named "Nova" (Amiah Miller), another nod to the '68 film. Giving us some really solid comedy relief is an ape who calls himself simply "Bad Ape" (Steve Zahn). To some, I have to admit, he might feel a little out of place. But speaking personally, I love the little guy. Apart from a solid range of emotions that probably outdoes the previous two, the film manages to stick to the idea of perhaps wondering what side of the fight you might land on. Imagine something you created for good eventually destroying humankind and giving apes a tremendous advantage over us. All of these films have been great for allowing us to route for the apes and nature taking its course so they can live freely, but they do a good job of reminding us that we're the humans, and again, it makes us wonder how we might exist in such a world. 5/5  There's quite a bit to talk about here, so I'm just gonna dive right in. 'Dawn' begins ten years (give or take) after the final events of 'Rise,' in which the lab-created virus known as ALZ-112 has, for lack of a better term, gotten loose. The virus, originally created to battle Alzheimer's, proves to have an overwhelmingly positive effect on the lab chimps and apes experimented on, starting with Caesar (Andy Serkis), who eventually frees his kind from captivity and escape to the nearby San Fransisco redwood forest.
Human exposure to the virus is something different altogether, in that it becomes a simian flu outbreak, leaving the only human survivors those with a natural immunity to it. This is basically covered in an opening credits news cast, much like your average zombie movie, and in time, we see what has become of Caesar and his friends we met previously - a circus orangutan named Maurice (Karin Konoval) and fellow chimp, Koba (Toby Kebbell), both of whom have sworn a loyalty to Caesar for their freedom, ever thankful for the community they've created for themselves. Through those ten years, the human race has been dying off, leaving the world in a 'Last of Us'-like state of overgrowth, and apes have thrived. Caesar even has his own close-knit household with his partner, Cornelia (Judy Greer), son, Blue Eyes (Nick Thurston) and newborn baby, Cornelius, who some will recall as a full-grown ape in the 1968 original, tying this thing together loosely, but nicely. The future for this society looks promising enough, but the question remains, are humans still out there somewhere? And if so, do they pose a threat? The first portion of this is answered when a group of human survivors, led by a guy named Malcolm (Jason Clarke), along with his wife, Ellie (Keri Russell), and son, Alexander (Kodi Smit-McPhee) stumble into ape territory in search of a dam, which could restore power to their community. However, one of the ass holes of the group, Carver (Kirk Acevedo), shoots and injures Blue Eyes' friend, Ash (Larramie Doc Shaw). Caesar decides the best move is to draw a line in the sand, not wanting violence, but warning that they'll fight if they have to. Once all that is established, what we really get from this film, in my opinion, is two extremes of both sides of the coin. Malcolm and his family wish to make peace, and Caesar, remembering good natured humans like his Will takes a chance on him, wanting the same peace. On the other side of the coin, however, is Koba, who only remembers the bad things human scientists did to him, and the leader of the human society, Dreyfuss (Gary Oldman), who lost his family to the virus and will stop at nothing to keep his community surviving. I really liked the way the film executed such a range of emotions through these characters, reminding me of a handful of D&D creations ranging from "lawful good" to "chaotic evil," and placing characters like Blue Eyes in the middle of it all, knowing the way his Dad thinks in terms of peace, but understanding where Koba's need for vengeance comes into play, especially with his friend having been shot by one of those damned dirty humans - Carver; definitely a character you love to hate, and it doesn't stop at that gunshot. While 'Rise' is how everything began, concluding with the virus getting out of hand, 'Dawn' is more about being in the ape's world now, and the beginnings of their society. I also take what I mentioned about two extremes on either side of the coin to heart here. One of the big themes here seems to be the classic trope of "we're not so different, you and I," but it does a very good job of not just simply dividing good and evil, and it's always nice to be able to understand where everyone here is coming from... except maybe Carver... what a jerk. 5/5  My relationship with the 'Planet of the Apes' franchise before this movie came along was essentially non-existent. I knew enough about the first movie to be able to quote its most famous lines, and spoil the twist ending for the three people on Earth who didn't know it. But for whatever reason, to this day, I still have not seen any of the older films, save for the original (and that was just to say I've seen it). So when things got a prequel treatment back in 2011, I thought that might be a good jumping-on point.
I'm not sure how much more I expected things to carry on with the franchise at the time, as this can easily just be passed off as a simple "this is how it all started" film, and one can pretty much understand how things might unfold from its ending. The thing is, the film's emotional story combines with the CG technology of the time made it good enough to spawn a few sequels and actually for an incredibly solid series of prequels that lead into the original 1968 classic and its series of sequels. Speaking of which, before we get into it, this entire movie takes place on Earth and we see how the Planet of the Apes was formed over time through the next few films. So basically, the big reveal at the end of the '68 film is officially not in spoiler territory anymore. It's basically something everyone knows at this point, but it doesn't take away from Charlton Heston's wonderful overacting in that scene that has made cinematic history as one of the most famous of all time. Still a classic! The entire franchise begins with a young pharmaceutical chemist named Will Rodman (James Franco) who tests a viral-based drug known as ALZ-112 on chimps in hopes of discovering a potential cure for Alzheimer's. The terrible disease is something Will has to deal with on a daily basis with his father, Charles (John Lithgow), who is getting worse by the day. One day during tests, a chimp named "Bright Eyes" goes on a rampage, and as a result has to be put down. However, she wasn't being vicious so much as protective of her child no one noticed, who Will takes home to take care of, naming him Caesar (Andy Serkis). As time passes, Caesar shows how much of ALZ-112 he seemed to absorb through his mother with signs of increased intelligence, not the least of which is learning sign language. As Will wonders if this could be the solution to his father's disease (and kudos to the writers for not making him a nut about becoming rich off of it), Caesar begins questioning his existence and whether he's a friend, a pet, or just an experiment. Soon enough, of course, Caesar shows just how smart he really is, and we get to see the beginnings of everything in the franchise. Looking back on this now, the CG still looks pretty good, bearing in mind that the MCU released 'Captain America: The First Avenger' the same year, and the CG on young Cap looks awful by today's standards. I'm still an MCU guy, but there is definitely something to be said for this movie's tech being ahead of it, at least at the time. It's this wonderful blend of giving the actors a massive ape makeover, but leaving those eyes free to show the human-like character these apes have, especially with Caesar. I had to appreciate upon this viewing how the climax of film makes you route for the apes' victory, while at the same time fully realizing that any human these apes are fighting through are kinda just doing their job. You don't think of them as villains so much as civil servants. So one might say the film does a good job of humanizing all of its characters, whether they be ape or human. It's still a great film, and even though its perhaps the least action-packed, the heart and emotion put into these characters is what really makes it special. This one's a bit more on the dramatic side, and for its purposes, that's a good thing. 5/5  To be honest, 'Dune' was never really a thing that I gave a proper chance to until this movie. That is, unless you count the old 'Warcraft'-like strategy game, which I once owned and believed to be the only 'Dune' thing in existence. Shortly after playing the game for a while, I found out that it was a whole thing with something of a cult following, perhaps in the same realm as 'Star Wars'. But when I finally rented 'Dune' (1984) to see what it was all about, I actually thought it was boring and dry, so never got into it at all.
As far as the books go, I've still never read any of them, but from a distance, I can't deny the influence it all seems to have had on some things... including my own "fanboy" world of 'Star Wars'. In the end, I feel about 'Dune' about the same as I feel about 'Star Trek'. They each have my utmost respect for what they are and what they've accomplished, they're great in their own way, but for whatever reason, I can't seem to get deep into them. I think it all boils down to being raised much more on 'Star Wars', and that's just my "thing" when it comes to this genre. We begin by learning of the desert planet, Arrakis, the only source of "spice" in the universe. The importance of the spice becomes an extreme, as it's the only means of interstellar travel, and boosts vitality. The planet, once ruled by House Harkonnen and its head, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) is soon ordered off-planet on the order of Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV (not appearing in this film) and the planet, in turn, is given to House Atreides and its head, Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac). While apprehensive based on the danger to his house this may imply, Leto does see political advantages in controlling the spice planet, and so he accepts. Duke Leto's concubine, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) is part of a sisterhood that bears uncanny abilities called the Bene Gesserit who wish for her to have a daughter, who would one day become a pretty big deal. She has a son instead, however, named Paul (Timothée Chalamet), who is nevertheless tested by his grandmother, Gaius Helen Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling) to see if he is "worthy" to be a sort of "chosen one" for a whole complex scheme the Bene Gesserit have been cooking up for ages. Upon landing on Arrakis, Paul, his parents, Warmaster, Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) and other members of House Atreides get a nice little tour. This tour includes a first-hand look at the difficulties of harvesting spice in a massive desert loaded with giant (and badass) sandworms, and the special suits they all have to wear in order to withstand extreme weather conditions. They also learn of the native Fremen, who have adapted to the planet's conditions, and whom Paul has been having dreams about; specifically a girl with bright blue eyes we eventually know as Chani (Zendaya). The Freman have been fighting with the Harkonnen the entire time during their reign, but Leto hopes to make an alliance with them instead, after his friend Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa) finds them and learns their ways. Anyway, I could go on and on here, but this is a "heroes journey" epic with this film doing much of the setup, so my apologies if I missed anything major without going into heavy spoiler territory. I know there are some appearances I've neglected to mention as well, like Dave Bautista as Glossu Rabban Harkonnen, who's a pretty major player here as a big baddie, just a level below Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. To be perfectly frank, I'm still not exactly head-over-heels for this, but I definitely enjoy it, and again, it has my utmost respect as a property, especially as something that was originally written as a great story and not something meant to sell, sell, sell - something I must again admit that 'Star Wars' is extremely guilty of, that much is clear. It's also refreshing to have something epic on screen that isn't 'Star Wars' or Superhero-related, and it's no wonder to me why this has been ultimately successful. Over time, this could very well be a cult following I can be a part of. But it will definitely take a lot more repeat-viewings. 4/5 |
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