War for Planet of the Apes impresses audiences with the closing film in an epic trilogy

Movie Title:  War for the Planet of the Apes

Grade:  A-

Rating:  PG-13, 140 minutes

In a Nutshell:  This is a war movie with all of the violence, explosions, strategy, suffering, beatings, prison camp, and human drama that the best war movies has….except that it also happens to have apes.  

This final installment in the reboot trilogy of Planet Of The Apes has incredible visual effects and plenty of heart to end the journey and story in an epic way.

I watched the original series of Planet Of The Apes when I was a little girl and remember even attending a Movie Marathon at a theater that played them all back-to-back.  I think the original film team would have been proud of this new version…and extremely impressed.  “Apes together strong!”

Uplifting theme: 

• Mercy vs. justice
• Revenge vs. forgiveness
• Family, friendship, loyalty
• Fear vs. love

Things I liked:

• If you have forgotten exactly what happened in the first two movies, the beginning of the movie gives you a clever, quick summary of RISE and DAWN to lead you into the WAR.  There’s only one other expositional scene, which makes for a very riveting movie without long scenes that have to explain to you what’s going on and why. 
• Andy Serkis is absolutely amazing.  What an outstanding career he has had in bringing epic characters to life like Lord of the Rings’ Gollum and now Caesar. He deserves every one of the awards he has won and been nominated for.
• The cinematography is stunning.  Visually, it's a truly beautiful movie.
• The motion capture work is unbelievable.  There is a blending of humans dressed as apes and real apes and you can't often tell the difference. In fact, you forget you’re watching special effects when you see the apes move and talk.  They’re incredible.
• I love the small details, like blood vessels in the ape’s unbelievably expressive eyes, fog coming out of the apes’ mouths in the winter scenes, and ice crystals on the apes’ fur.  Speaking of the eyes, even Colonel exclaims, “Look at your eyes!  Almost human!”
• “Bad Ape” (voiced by the lovable Steve Zahn) provides most of the comic relief.  He was a scene-stealer every time. In a dark movie like this, “Bad Ape” could have been an awkward “Jar Jark Binks” figure that just didn’t work, but instead, “Bad Ape” works very well.
• I got a kick out of carefully placed words that provided some humor like “Ape-colypse Now”, and “Bedtime for Bonzo”.
• It’s truly rare that the third film in a series can measure up to the first or even the second, but this last edition in the franchise is excellent.
• Critics are referring to the script writing as a masterpiece, partly because it follows the old-fashioned model of storytelling.
• The score by Michael Giacchino was noticeably awesome.  It kept up with the meat of the story extremely well.
• The green laser sequence was super cool.
• Directed by Matt Reeves, this film immediately immerses you into the ape world from the beginning. 
• Woody Harrelson was fun to watch, as always.
• I love that this final installment in the story is so ape-centric.
• SPOILER: If you think about it, the end of the movie is a perfect set-up for the very FIRST movie in 1968.  Interesting, right?

Things I didn’t like:

• It’s a bit slow-moving.  It’s more of a thinking movie, rather than an action movie.
• A lot of dark, night scenes will make this hard to watch on your computer when it comes out on DVD and streaming.
•  The Colonel makes some dumb decisions in regards to Caesar.
• The Colonel is worried about his race dying because of the apes, but ummm....where are all the women? Doesn't the lack of female humans pretty much end the human race?  ha ha
• It always bugs me when the lines in the movie trailers are different from what's actually in the movie.

Interesting lines:

• “The irony is we created you and nature has been punishing us ever since.” –  The Colonel (Woody Harrelson)
• “There are times when it is necessary to abandon our humanity in order to save our humanity.” – The Colonel 
• "I saved myself.” – “Donkey” gorilla

“Is there anything left of you to save?” – Caesar

• “I am like Koba.  I can’t escape my hate.” – Caesar
• “I did not start this war…..I fight only to protect apes.” – Caesar
• “I may not make it back.” – Caesar

“That’s why I’m coming….to make sure you do.” - Maurice (Karin Konoval)  Interesting that he's voiced by a woman, right?

Funny lines:

• “Oh no! OK.”  - Bad Ape
• “You’re probably not much of a reader.” – Colonel to Caesar
•  

Tips for parents: 

• There are bodies of dead humans and apes throughout the entire movie.
• A lot of the monkeys use sign language, so there are a lot of subtitles kids will have to read quickly.
• There is a lot of violence, including frequent and bloody beatings.  Some images will be disturbing for young kids.

Take another look at the first two parts of the story:

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Rise Of The Planet of the Apes

@trinaboice 

Monkey Kingdom provides Ecotainment and Disney charm

Movie:  Monkey Kingdom

G, 1 hour 25 minutes

Grade: A

In a Nutshell:  Disney Nature spent three years filming this lovely movie that documents pivotal moments in the life of Maya, a mother who will do anything to protect and raise her baby son Kip…it’s what mothers do.  This one just happens to be a monkey…a fiercely loyal macaque in Sri Lanka to be exact.

Perfectly timed for Earth Day, this story is heartwarming, true, and touching.  Be sure to stay seated during the final credits to see how the filmmakers actually got some of the amazing shots they did.  Three cheers for Mark Linfield, Alastair Fothergill and their fantastic cinematography crew.  

Uplifting Theme:

·         Don’t forget Earth Day is April 22!

·         Find joy in living.   

·         Love and protect your family and friends.  Be willing to pick bugs off them when necessary.

Things I liked:

·         Who doesn’t love monkeys?  Seriously, you’d have to be a real hater not to like this movie.

·         Tina Fey’s humorous narration connects us to these adorable creatures.

·         Will these monkey’s hairdo’s ever come in style?

·         Tey Fey asks “Did you know monkeys could swim?”  They can!  And it’s a joy to watch!  You can actually see them hold their breath under water.

·         The monkeys are completely adorable when they huddle up to sleep. So sweet.

·         The ancient ruins that become the monkey village called Castle Rock looks like it is right out of an Indiana Jones movie.

·         It was fascinating to watch the monkeys befriend a dog.

·         I thought it was perfect casting that nature provided a “bad” monkey who actually looked bad.

Things I didn’t like:

·         I often wondered how much of the crazy antics were staged.  I mean, it’s awfully convenient to have cameras suddenly inside a house that the monkeys discover and explore during a birthday party where food is set out all over the kitchen table and not a single human around.  Just sayin… It is a pretty cute scene though.

·         I thought it was interesting that male/female stereotypes exist in the monkey world.   Some of the females were caddy and mean, while the males play rough and tumble and want to be in charge.

Funny lines:

·         “No one will ever know we were here.  We are like ninjas.  Is this even food?  I don’t care.  Leave nothing behind!”  Tina Fey voices the monkeys’ thoughts as they steak birthday cake and food from a human’s house.

https://youtu.be/Qwh6_bMcGl4

Interesting lines:

·         “Maya, like most mothers,  probably wants to freeze this moment in time.  This is the perfect age.”  I think I said that every year while my kids were growing up.

·         “If nothing, Maya’s scrappy.  She has a Plan B.”   I’ve learned that all mothers need to have a Plan B.

·         “They’ll fall asleep with an unfamiliar feeling in their bellies…fullness.”

·         “Jack fruit isn’t just fruit.  It’s politics.”

Tips for Parents:   There was a dad sitting behind me in the theater who had to explain a few things to his little girl.  There are some sad and tense moments, but otherwise it is a “safe” movie for all ages.

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