Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Sequels are never good news. Some worked, but most were forgotten. Hollywood understood this, people do not like sequels. So a new trend appeared, prequels. Some say this trend appeared with Spider-Man, others say, with the Incredible Hulk. The basics are simple, take a popular story, and say how it all began. Ever since then, we have learned how the A-Team formed, how Batman got his fetish for bats, and how James Bond got his Aston Martin DB5 on a civil servant’s salary.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes follows the trend. The original Planet of the Apes told the story of a civilisation where the apes are now the evolved species, and humans are mute slaves. In Rise, we learn just how the Apes got this boost in evolution. Guess who’s responsible. That’s right, bio-medical companies. We follow Will Rodman (James Franco) who is trying to find a cure to Alzheimer (which his dad has coincidentally) by creating a virus that allows the brain to repair itself. The test subjects for this project are, you guessed it, apes. After a failed experiment, Will finds himself adopting a super-intelligent ape, that he calls Caesar. Caesar learns about the world very fast and soon becomes aware of the dangers facing him. After turning other apes like him – super-intelligent thanks to the virus-, he goes on to cause havoc in San Francisco in order to free the apes from the burden of human civilisation.
The story itself is very interesting, and raises some genuine concerns regarding animal welfare, and bio-medicines. Turns out that the virus that gives the apes the power to become super-intelligent does not have the same effects on humans, thus answering the other part as to how the apes took over. One man’s dream to change the world caused all this.
On the cinematic side, the way the apes are portrayed is genuinely novel. We have close-ups of their faces, and see their emotions through their eyes. We see that we are not dealing with pure animals, but an evolving species. This is shown through two very important events, one of which sees all the apes rising on their hind legs. The other scene is too good to spoil. The more the apes seem to involve, the more they are filmed like normal humans. When they do not have the virus, they are shown from a distance, usually in groups. Once the virus has an effect on them, the focus is more on individual apes and their reactions and feelings. This does culminate to the point when a dying gorilla scene is treated in similar Hollywoody fashion.
Finally, as to how Rise fits in with the franchise, well as I said it is a prequel. There are some nice references to the space mission that left for the original film. To properly understand it you have to forget the 2001 remake ever existed.
All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable film, which is really well done. What is scary though is that theoretically it is possible……..

4/5
Liked: Story, actors, novel portrayal of apes
Dislikes: Guess what, leaves room for a sequel….

Source Code (2011)

Some movies are good. Some movies are bad. Some movies are neither. Source Code enters another category. This movie is not bad, far from it, yet not exactly good. However, once you’ve seen it, you keep thinking about it, in a good way.
The story line at first seems very simple: The US army have developed a program to revisit the past, as seen through a dead man’s eyes, in order to discover information. We follow Colter Stevens as he tries to discover the identity of a train bomber before another major attack, by exploring a train that has already exploded, moments before the bomb goes off. The exact same situation is thus explored in different ways, showing us to some extent the randomness of life and how it can be so easily altered. That’s the philosophical part I get from it anyway.
Up to here, things seem simple and easy, and we imagine it to be another Vantage Point – an action movie with a difference. However this is not really an action movie. Sure there is the love part, but in the end, the story is more about life itself in a science-fictiony kind of way. So after an initial twist that adds a huge emotional factor to the movie (along with the obvious and necessary love story), you feel like this movie could be different. The initial ending proves this as what you think is the last scene, is so well done and memorable, you almost feel a tear coming.
And then there is a final twist that just simply boggles the mind. You think you have the movie figured out, and then the last five minutes just put everything back into oblivion. (Hint: Think about the space-time continuum). You think it is not possible, think about it more, and think again, and still cannot find a plausible explanation. More questions are asked than answered in the end.
Yes, it is a bit like Inception in a way.
I really was not expecting much from Source Code. The trailer made it see like a basic sci-fi action movie. Turns out it is not a lot like that, and thus had me pleasantly surprised. The actors were all great in their respective roles and the story was novel and interesting. You really do feel for the protagonist, something that is rare in modern movies.
Sure, on the one hand the ending does seem too Hollywoody however; on the other hand it is really unexpected (tough you expect it in a way, because it is Hollywood after all). Some of the movie does seem obvious, like the love story, or the identity of the bomber, yet the way taken to the ending is new, and thus Source Code is an undiscovered gem of 2011.

4/5
Loved:A really unexpected movie, with nice twists. Good story, good actors, good all-round.
Hated:Does seem a bit obvious/Hollywood.

Captain America (2011)

Now here’s a movie I was waiting for! When the first trailer came out at the beginning of the year, I was so eager with anticipation, I could only be disappointed! Turns out, I was not. Captain America truly did live up to the trailer, and that is a very rare thing for a movie.
The last in the series before the Avengers comes out (spoiler alert I guess), this is the story of Steve Rogers, a ninety pound asthmatic who through shear determination to join the army gets enlisted in an experimental program that grants him superhuman strength. He then becomes an American hero and goes on to fighting a Nazi general, who it turns out, is more than just an angry German (that would be another spoiler I guess). All this takes place through a both very realistic and fantastic (the old definition here, not “Fantastic 4” style. Think “The Invisible Man” if you will. If you don’t understand what I mean, well, tough….) recreation of the Second World War period.
This is another Marvel Masterpiece. Visually it is as impressive as it is well played. All the actors are perfect in their respective roles, and there seems to be no weak points in the movie. The balance of action, drama, impressiveness, comedy and story is on a par with previous Marvel movies, that means very good! And best of all, even though Marvel were dealing with one of the hardest characters to take seriously, they managed to pull it off. Chris Evans’ Captain America is not camp, nor is he a Duke Nukem-style patriot. He is both superhero and humble at the same time, but not too goody two-shoes. Yes there is American patriotism; the whole movie in fact has the feeling of a Second World War recruitment ad, but that is what it has to be to pay tribute to the original Captain America (the comic book part is true, Wikipedia-it). It still remained very good. Moreover, the movie brings together the Marvel universe in a very interesting way.
And yet, unlike Thor and Iron Man, I was not stricken per se. It was all very impressive, but the story kind of flew in a way. Some may say that is a good thing, I did not see the passing of time, so I genuinely enjoyed myself, yet it is not that. To say why I was left a bit disappointed would be to give the movie away a bit….
As Captain America only had one movie to develop himself, everything had to be pushed in two hours. All of his Second World War exploits are told in those two hours, and they take place over a few years. Next time we see him will be in the Avengers. I guess the reason why I was disappointed was because of Marvel’s timing. If the Avengers came out in 2015 for example, we could have had more Captain America and thus get a better chance to explore the character. In the movie you do get the feeling he is asthmatic, boom-hero, then boom- he saves the world, and then finally, boom-literally. The character lacked development.
But then again, if the Avengers were to come out in 2015, I would have gone mad.
Bring on May 2012 (stay until after the credits to know why)!!!!!

4/5
Loved: Superbly made, impressive visuals, great story, great actors etc…
Hated: More time to develop Captain America rather than pushing it all in one movie.

Cars 2 (2011)

Think of it as Hangover 2 for kids. I don’t mean you have transvestites and bad culture references, but it is like the original, only bigger, yet not as good.
Gone is the story of Lightning McQueen who is humbled by a small lost American village. Instead the main focus is on the rather annoying secondary character, Tow Mater. The first movie followed the change of McQueen; here we see how Mater’s not actually an idiotic rusty Chevy.
As with all good sequel, there are more guns, more explosions, and more characters. The story has all the elements of the recent Bond movie, Quantum of Solace (Italy, explosions, guns, the environment and a sort of romance), yet is adapted for car enthusiasts and children. Many people (over-protective parents?) have criticised Cars 2 for being too scary and violent compared to old Pixar movies. Really? Have they seen the original Toy Story????? I still get nightmares from the creepy crab-like mutant doll! And if you count Disney as well, who can forget The Lion King? The uncle killing the father in front of the sun? If that is not cruel and twisted, what is?
Back to Cars 2, though. I am a HUGE fan of the original. I love cars, and I love Pixar, so a movie bringing the two elements together was always going to be in my top ten. Even though the sequel is not as good, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. As a car fan, it is pure heaven. The amount of details given to the car world, and the car-geek references had me loving every moment of it! (“A Pacer! I haven’t seen one of those in years!”) The amount of detail put into designing this car world is simply stunning. You can see that this movie was made by genuine car enthusiasts.
Regarding the plot itself, it is a bit basic, and indeed is maybe not as good as some of Pixar’s earlier work. Tow Mater is confused for a secret agent, and joins an attempt to save the world from a bunch of car lemons (ie badly made cars no one cares about) who want to destroy the success of bio ethanol fuels. Basic you see? And in the background, McQueen joins in a world Grand Prix.
If you do not like cars, I can totally understand why you would not like it. That does not mean you are right though.
For me, I loved it, and if like me you enjoy both cars and Pixar, go see it!

4/5

Loved: Car World, Good Entertainment, Visually Impressive, Pretty Funny
Hated: Plot is not that good. Soundtrack either.