Movie Review: A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Biographical movies are not easy to make. You have to not only have a good director, but you also need a good cast (and of course a lot of other people who know what the hell they’re doing). I am one who likes to watch a good biography every now and then. Last time I watched such a film was when I watched “Dead Man Walking”. Today we are taking a look at a biographical movie that tackles something else than a guy on death row or a gangster…this movie is about a teacher.

Ladies and gentlemen…”A Beautiful Mind”.

The movie follows the real life (with a few slightly more fictional aspects) story of mathematician John Nash (Russell Crowe). While he is a genius mathematician, he is also incredibly asocial. He is not one of those you see interacting and having fun with a bunch of friends a friday night. His only real friend is a man named Charles (Paul Bettany). But soon Nash will be pulled into some top secret cryptography work with the government. He at that point works for/with agent William Parcher (Ed Harris). This job is so top secret that he will have to keep it secret from his wife Alicia (Jennifer Connelly). Thing is…this job will turn his life around in some very strange ways. And that is all I am gonna say, becuase this movie and it’s story is magnificent. It is both dramatic, complex and somewhat tragic…which is something I adore. If I was a teacher and the story was my student, I’d give it an A+!

The characters are complex. For example, John like I said is an asocial genius…which makes him a lot more interesting. But honestly, even though he and most characters are interesting and fantastically acted, Paul Bettany steals the show. He is one who just oozes charisma and is highly entertaining to watch. He is a little bit like Sam Rockwell in “Seven Psychopaths”. But in general to the entire situation, every character is complex, interesting and…realistic. Also, the actors are doing an amazing job in this movie…especially Russell Crowe.

The music in this movie is amazing. Sure, a lot of it is the type of music you’d expect from a drama…but that is not a bad thing. The soundtrack by James Horner is beautiful (mind). And what I mean by my first statement about it being what you’d expect is that there are a lot of orchestral tracks, but also a few relaxing, calm tracks that use the piano a fair amount. There is also a little voice…thingy (can’t really call it singing, because singing requires lyrics) in a good amount of the tracks…and that is one of the things that makes it beautiful. I love it.

While the camera work offers nothing new or innovative, it still looks really good. Ron Howard knows how to make a great looking movie (Even though I already knew that thanks to “Apollo 13”, “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels & Demons”). And again…Paul Bettany stole the show…I’m sorry I repeat myself, but the truth needs to get out there. Also, this movie almost made me cry a little bit during the second half (not saying how, just saying that it happened).

The reception for “A Beautiful Mind” was good. Rotten Tomatoes has a 76% positive rating with a “Fresh” certification. Metacritic has 72/100 as score. Roger Ebert gave this movie a perfect 4/4 stars. imdb.com has the score of 8,2/10 and has the movie ranked #161 on the Top 250 list.
This movie was also nominated for a total of 8 Oscars (Holy shit). And it won on 4 of them (Best Picture, Best supporting actress, Best director, best screenplay based on previously published material). The other 4 nominations were for Best Leading Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup, Best original score.

The acting is fantastic, the story is complex and fantastic, music is fantastic and…FUCK IT! This entire movie is fantastic. My final score is a 9,71/10 and a recommendation to buy it…and also the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”

Review of “A Beautiful Mind” is finished.

Why didn’t Russell Crowe win the Oscar for this movie!? HE SHOULD’VE WON IT!

Movie Review: Donnie Darko (2001)

Mindfuck stories! I love them. Mainly because they make you think. That is why I am such a fan of stuff like “Matrix” and “Inception”. But if you don’t like watching these types of movies because you have to use your brain for once, then you have nothing to be here for. Seriously, shoo! Go away! But you other people, you can stay. Today we are taking a look at a movie that is a mindfuck but also a cult classic.

Bunnies and Rabbits…”Donnie Darko”.

The story of the movie follows young man (high school student) Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal, also roll credits). He lives with his father (Holmes Osborne), his mother (Mary McDonnell), his older sister (Maggie Gyllenhaal, irony) and his younger sister (Daveigh Chase). Donnie is for the most part a normal guy. Except for the fact that he has a tendency to sleepwalk quite a long distance from his house. But one night when a jet engine suddenly bursts through his room (while he’s out because of sleepwalking) he then starts having visions of this large, creepy rabbit named Frank (James Duval). Frank makes Donnie lose touch with reality and commit crimes. Thing is…only Donnie can see him and he doesn’t know where he comes from. And that is where I stop because otherwise I will get into spoilers. This story is like I previously said…a mindfuck. It is complex, weird and…yeah, weird. That is really all that can be said. It is not your typical run-of-the-mill mindfuck. This is one that stands out in the crowd like a large, creepy rabbit at a carneval. This movie makes “Fight Club” look normal! Yeah, achieving that is pretty big in itself. But still, I really liked the complex story…worth thinking about.

The characters…ah yes. No one is normal really in this movie (Except maybe Donnie’s science teacher, played by Noah Wyle). Which makes them really interesting to watch. One thing that also makes them interesting to watch is that they are played by actors who know what the hell they’re doing. I especially felt invested in the character of Donnie, not only was his character very well-written, but Jake Gyllenhaal does one hell of a job playing him…he was excellent. But in general…every character was interesting in one way or another. But Frank creeps me out…a whole lot.

The music…creepy. That is all you need to know. Okay, that wasn’t really fair to you, but I don’t know what to say. It is creepy and cold…kind of like the overall tone of the movie. It fits perfectly for the overall creepiness of the entire movie. And the end theme…the song they play during the final scene…I love that song. I had heard it prior to seeing the movie…but hearing it in the movie made me so happy. Not gonna spoil the scene itself…just saying…search “Gary Jules – Mad World”…you’ll see why I love it and think it’s so beautiful.

The camera work in the movie is excellent. It looks incredibly good and always makes a scene interesting. Richard Kelly did a great job with it. Also…what kind of sick motherfucker would come up with the design of Frank…it is terrifying…STOP!

Now for the reception “Donnie Darko” got. It was overall good reception. It first debuted on the Sundance Film Festival and got a lot of praise there. Then it came to regular cinemas and got even more praise there. Rotten Tomatoes has a “Fresh” cerftification and an 85% positive rating for it. Metacritic has 71/100 as their score for it. Fun thing: Roger Ebert gave it 2,5/4 stars in his original review  but raised it to 3/4 stars on his review of the director’s cut version 3 years later. And imdb.com has the score of 8,1/10 for it and has it ranked #193 on the Top 250 list.

My opinions on a few aspects of the movie are given. It is clever, complex and creepy (The 3 C’s). My final score is a 9,56/10 and a recommendation to buy in combination with the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

I thoroughly enjoyed “Donnie Darko” and highly recommend it.

Review of “Donnie Darko” is completed.

Still can’t believe I found a movie that makes “Fight Club” look normal.

Movie Review: Dead Man Walking (1995)

I am a big fan of dramas. Okay, a lot of people are that, but hear me out. I am a guy who a few years back never expected to like dramas. I was a guy who thought “I am simply a fan of sci-fi, fantasy, comedy and action…nothing more”. And look at me now! 17 years old and watching movies from all genres (except horror because those movies don’t appeal to me). What am I trying to get at here you may ask? Well I am just saying that considering the movie we are taking a look at today is a drama. And that I couldn’t find anything better to write here…yeah.

Dead men and dead women…”Dead Man Walking”.

Helen Prejean (Susan Sarandon) is a nun. One day she receives a letter from a man sitting in death row. This man is Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn) who apparently killed a guy by shooting him in the back of the head (twice) and also raping, stabbing and finally shooting his girlfriend…yikes. But he says he is innocent and says his “friend” Carl Vitello (Michael Cullen) is the one who did it. Of course the higher ups (government, law-system, etc.) thinks he is bullshitting them. But when Helen decides to go visit him she discovers more about him and gets to know him more and form a sort of bond with him. And of course the parents of the dead couple is not too happy about it when they find out and all that fun shit. Now I am gonna leave it at that because this story is fan-fucking-tastic. It is not only well directed, but also incredibly tense and even has a little emotional weight. It is also based on a true story…yeah…let that sink in for a second.

The characters like the story are based on real life. But that doesn’t say much for this movie. I think they are very well-handled and their portrayals (while maybe not accurate to the real life people) are magnificent. And if you look closely, you will notice a ton of great actors who maybe weren’t the biggest actors ever back then. Of course we have the ones that are well known since earlier in the leads like Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn and R. Lee Ermey…but that isn’t as fun (considering they are obvious and very prominent throughout this). You will find such actors as Jack Black, Clancy Brown, Margo Martindale and Peter Sarsgaard (before they were as famous as they are now). But in general, these characters are handled very well are portrayed incredibly well.

The soundtrack is amazing. A lot of cold songs that makes you feel that everything is wrong in this world. But then there are songs that are just kinda…feelgood…yeah, feelgood. To give an example of that, search for Eddie Vedder feat. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – The Long Road…then you’ll know what the hell I am talking about.

This movie looks great. And to my surprise, this movie was directed by Tim Robbins…yeah. Andy Dufresne from “Shawshank Redemption” directed a movie…who knew. But the camera work was still really good and I am impressed by this. This movie also at one point made me shed a tear. And when a movie does that, kudos to that. I am not saying what happened or when the scene is, just saying it happened.

The reception for “Dead Man Walking” was great. Rotten Tomatoes has a 93% positive rating with a “Fresh” certification. Metacritic has a 80/100 sc0re for it. Roger Ebert gave it a perfect 4/4 star rating and called it:

“absorbing, surprising, technically superb and worth talking about for a long time afterward.”

imdb.com has a score of 7,6/1o. This movie was also nominated for 4 Oscars (Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director, Best original song). It won on Best actress (Susan Sarandon).

I have spoken my words and I am ready to hand out my final score for “Dead Man Walking”. My final score for this compelling, emptional and incredibly well made movie is a 9,62/10 which makes me give it the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

Review for “Dead Man Walking” is done.

Dead Man Walking……OH MY GOD ZOMBIE REALIZATION!

Recent purchases: Episode 2

Guten Abend meine Freunde! Today this linguistic guy from Sweden is back to tell you about some of his most recent purchases (as in purchases after the last episode). So let’s not waste any time…HERE WE GO!

 

Movies (DVD):
Terminator 2 – Director’s Cut (1991)
Argo (2012)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Donnie Darko (2001)
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
The Illusionist (2006)
Zodiac (2007)
Pulp Fiction (1994)

And that’s it really. I have no more to add to the list. But I’ll see you later! I really enjoy doing these posts.

Take my poll, please!

Hello people! Today I am making a slightly different post. I want you to take my poll on which movie I should watch/review next! The poll closes this thursday, 12pm, Grennwich Mean Time +2 (AKA, Swedish time, because I am Swedish). So compare time zones to know when you wanna vote! Or you just vote now! Remember, your vote might make me watch and review one of your favorite movies (If it is in the list, that is). Have fun!

See ya later! The movie with the most votes will be watched and reviewed!

Movie Review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

Sequels are probably the one thing (besides shitty horror movies and comedies) that is the most common in our modern movie world. Some are good, some are bad (Cough, cough, Transformers, cough!). And today we are taking a look at the sequel to the excellent “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (Still a mouthful).

APES!…”Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”.

Just so you know, this review will contain some spoilers for “Rise of the…” considering this is a sequel. So if you have not seen that movie yet I suggest you go watch that first and come back when you have done that. Okay, for the rest of you people who had the common sense to watch “Rise of the…” first…let’s go!
The story is set 10 years after the events of the previous movie. The so called “Simian Flu” eradicated most of humanity except for a few who apparently were immune. A few of these were our important (main) characters Malcolm (Jason Clarke), Dreyfus (Gary Oldman), Ellie (Keri Russell) and Alexander (Kodi Smith-McPhee). On the other side of the spectrum we have the a giant community of apes led by Caesar (Andy Serkis). Not only is Caesar the leader of all apes…he is also a husband/father. But of course his leadership is threatened by not only war with the humans (if that would happen) and his servant and “friend” Koba (Toby Kebbell). The humans want to restore power to their town with the help of a nearby dam. Problem is that a giant ape “army” (using the word loosely) between them and the dam. But as Malcolm want to make peace with the apes to work in peace, Dreyfus having some problem with that and Koba having something bad in mind, shit will go down. Now that is kind of the story in a nutshell without spoilers. I am keeping it as simple as possible (which is more difficult than it seems) to not spoil anything. Because this story might have a kind of predictable idea…the execution is strangely more awesome. It is perfectly executed and always keeps you interested (at least in my case). This movie is one that some people have called “boring”…but I disagree. Those people probably expected non-stop action and did not like when there would be good amount of drama. Oh yeah…it is the “Drive” situation again. And once again I love how it turned out and don’t care that there is a good amount of drama. The drama only makes it better…kind of like “Drive” (Comparisons on two different types of movies…jeez).

The characters are portrayed very realistically. They are not as cheesy as in the 1967 original…but also not trying to be too dramatic. All characters are incredibly human (Yes, even the apes). I have never seen a movie where I have seen primates show emotions and make it seem so realistic. That is the only word to describe the characters here really…realistic (Again…yes, even the apes). Malcolm is the guy who only wants peace between humans and apes but also to help humanity survive by getting the dam running. Dreyfus does not have a problem shooting the apes and even talking about it in public. Then we have Caesar…oh my god, give Andy Serkis his fucking Oscar already. I don’t care what the academy thinks about performance capture…give Serkis his god damn Oscar already!

The score is fantastic. A lot of epic tracks are of course in there for the more action-based bits, but it also features some calmer tracks to work with the drama and slower bits. Composer Michael Giacchino did a fantastic job with the soundtrack and has my utmost respect and admiration.

The CGI in this movie is breathtaking…even more so than in the pervious movie. It is so good. I am not kidding, you can look at this movie and your jaw will drop to the floor. I wouldn’t get surprised if it got an Oscar nomination for best Visual Effects. Also, the camera work is fucking magnificent in general. Matt Reeves know how to make a great looking movie and I love that. And if I can be honest for one second, there was a scene in the movie, not saying which…that made me cry. Not like “Oh no…I am crying my eyes out”. More like “I just shed a tear”. If a movie succeeds in doing that, then it does something right.

The recpetion for “Dawn of the…” has been nothing but general praise (Unless you count the few assholes who calls it boring). Rotten Tomatoes has a 91% positive rating with a “Fresh” Certification. Metacritic has 79/100 as score. imdb.com has 8,5/10 as main score and the movie is ranked #155 on the Top 250 list.

I have given my primitive opinions on a few things that this movie has to offer. And now I am willing to hand out my final score. My score for “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is a 9,70/10 and a recommendation to buy it when it comes out. But wait, with that score also means, *gasp*…the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is now reviewed. I honestly think it is slightly superior to the previous one.

APES! TOGETHER! STRONG!

Movie Review: The Illusionist (2006)

Mysteries, they are so…mysterious! I always love a good mystery, often in combination with supernatural elements. If you didn’t know, I am a big fan of TV-shows like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, “Angel” and “Supernatural”. All those contain mystery in one way or another and also have supernatural elements (Especially “Supernatural”). But what happens if you take a supernatural-based mystery but trade a lot of the horror/thriller elements for romance? You get this one movie that was kind of an odd choice for me.

Ladies and gentlemen…silence please…today TheMarckoguy presents; “The Illusionist”!

In the turn of the century (19th – 20th) we follow a young illusionist (roll credits) called Eisenheim (Edward Norton). At a young age (Flashbacks featuring a younger version played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) he was shown some great magic tricks and got very interested by it. So he started practicing and got really, really good. He met a young girl named Sophie (Eleanor Tomlinson) whom he falls in love with and she falls for him. But their love is not accepted considering she comes from a higher social standing (Her guards/family calling him a “peasant”). The young Eisenheim runs away and travels the world to show off his magic tricks. Several years later he comes back to Vienna (forgot to mention it was set in Vienna…sorry) to have a show. In this show the crown prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) is attending…and so is a now grown up Sophie (Now played by Jessica Biel). She and Eisenheim meets eachother again afterwards and begin a little bit of a secret romance. But that is not all of the plot, a lot of it also involves Eisenheim’s shows and inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti) trying to figure out how his tricks work. And that is the story in a nutshell I suppose. To be honest I really liked it. I am not one to choose a romantic movie first-hand since they are for the most part not my cup of tea. But this storyline intrigued me (Maybe because of Edward Norton being in it, I don’t know). But it might be because of the magic-based twist this movie got. Or maybe it is because of the next segment…

The characters…sure, they are not always the most likeable, but they are portrayed so well by their respective actors that I don’t mind. I was especially impressed with Paul Giamatti and Rufus Sewell…DAMN THEY CAN ACT! I really liked their performances, and that is one of the highlights of this movie. And of course we have to give a few points to Edward Norton for being…Edward Norton, really. He is always good (He just acts in bad movies sometimes). But everyone on the acting side did a great job. Maybe Aaron Taylor-Johnson was a bit…not too good but remember, this is one of his earlier movies.

The music was FANTASTIC! The score by Philip Glass was just perfect. It not only works with the time period, but also works for the different situations in this movie. It is just beautiful and I think you should listen to it. NOW!

This movie looks beautiful! It is shot in such a way that I just love looking at it. Not only based on the lighting, but in general, the camera work is excellent! So I am not surprised that it was Oscar Nominated for best Cinematography.

This movie had really good reception. On Rotten Tomaotes it not only has a 74% positive rating, but also a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has 68/100. Roger Ebert gave this a 3,5/4 star rating (couldn’t find a good quote). 7,6/10 is the score on imdb.com.

I have said my opinions on this movie and I am now gonna amaze you with my magic trick of conjuring up a score! Yes, there it is. It is a 9,59/10 which tells me you should go buy it now. And it also tells me it gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”. 

“The Illusionist” is now reviewed.

If life is an illusion, then what the hell are hallucinations?

Recent Purchases: Episode 1

Hello good people of wordpress! It is me again! Remember when I told you in a post a while back how I maybe should start telling you about new/recent purchases I have made (Based on DVD’s, Blu-Ray, Books, etc.)? No? Well that is kinda rude. Well, now I am starting it up…so HERE WE GO!

DVD: Snatch (2000)
Collateral (2004)
Body of Lies (2008)
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011).

Blu-Ray: Devil May Cry Complete Series (2007)

And that’s about it, really. I will try to do these posts every now and then to keep you updated. I hope this has been informative (in some sense) for you. I hope you also enjoyed it.

See you later, alligator!

Movie Review: Dirty Harry (1971)

Clint Eastwood is one of those actors that have gone on for many, many years but is still going on at a turtle version of their full speed. Another great example is Christopher Lee, who is in his 90’s, still making movies…and made a heavy metal album a while back…hmm. Anyway, Clint has made some of my favorite movies, such as “Unforgiven” and the fantastic “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly”. His most recent really good acting part was in 2008’s “Gran Torino”.  But today we are taking a look at one of his older and most popular works.

Harrys and Harrietts…”Dirty Harry”.

San Francisco…a nice, calm city with no crime at all…PFFFFT…HAHAHA! I’m sorry, I can’t keep a straight face. What I mean is that there is crime everywhere…ish. But this movie focuses on one specific crime. Or more like criminal. The one who calls himself…THE SCORPIO KILLER (Andrew Robinson). His first victim is a woman swimming around in her pool, killing her with a sniper rifle. This of course interests the police. And who is the head of this investigation, you ask? Well it is “Dirty” Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood). A cop who takes no shit from no one. Of course it is not always easy working with Harry considering he 1. Does not like other people and 2. Has a “Special” way of taking care of things…by shooting at them with a .44 magnum, the (at the time) most powerful handgun in the world. So of course throughout the movie (several times) it is a bit of a cat and mouse game between Harry and The Killer. More I am not going to give you…why? Because good and intense story is good and intense. I am not kidding, I like this story.

Now to the characters…the characters here are all assholes in one way or another. Harry is trigger happy and kind of impulsive. The killer is a killer who enjoys killing. And then there are everyone who are assholes because they are on high alert because of the killer. That is all I can say. Of course…Harry is essentially Clint Eastwood in most movies he has ever made where he has to carry a gun. So yeah…I can say they all are interesting. Especially the killer who is a total nutjob, which makes him even more unpredictable.

The music is really good. It is a mix of chilling thriller music and a few groovy things that I could easily follow because of the smooth rhythm. In general, it is a soundtrack I could easily sit and listen to any day whenever I would like something good to listen to. That’s it.

This movie is filmed in a pretty good way. Not in a special way that makes it stand out, just in a way that makes it look really good and fun to watch. And the action is not half-bad either. They are not really as good in as maybe “The Raid”, but they are pretty cool. Especially any scene where Clint Eastwood uses his Magnum revolver becuase Magnum revolvers are cool. Also, shootouts between characters are really well made and fun to watch.

Reception for “Dirty Harry” was good…but still had a few sharp edges to it. The movie sparked some controversy considering Harry’s…ahem…unique methods. But enough of that. In general it looks good on those reception based fronts. Rotten Tomatoes ahs a 95% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. Metacritic doesn’t have a score for this because they don’t seem to like the old classics. Roger Ebert gave it 3/4 stars. And imdb.com has a 7,8/10 rating for it.

I think you already know what I am gonna say (kind of) about “Dirty Harry”. Yes…I did really like this movie and I am willing to give it a score. My final score for “Dirty Harry” is a 9,69/10 as in think you should buy it and while you’re at it, get the entire box-set with all the movies just in case. I also give this movie the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”. 

My review of “Dirty Harry” is completed.

“You gotta ask yourself, do I feel lucky? Well do ya, PUNK!?”

Movie Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Don’t we all love reboots!? No? Good, because varying opinions are great. There are a few decent enough reboots out there…like “The Bourne Identity (2002)”. Yeah, bet ya didn’t think that was a reboot/remake! Well it is! But enough about that. Reboots/remakes are usually a hit-or-miss situations. Like I said “The Bourne Identity” is a good one. “Robocop (2014)” wasn’t really the best. But what about the franchise that got a reboot a few years back and it completely flopped, and had…human on ape kissing…ugh. And then, a few years later it got rebooted AGAIN! But how did it turn out? Did this guy like it? Will it be as great or will it flop like Tim Burton’s try at it.

Apes and Chimps…”Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (That’s a mouthful).

Will Rodman (James Franco) is currently on the verge of a scientific breakthrough. He thinks he has created the cure for alzheimer’s disease. He mostly worked on it becasue his father Charles (John Lithgow) has it. Unfortunately science is not the best thing ever. As always the new drug/cure/virus/thing is being tested on animals. And in this case it is chimps who are the chosen ones. But the fun thing is the drug/cure/virus/thing actually kind works and makes one of the chimps smarter. The one called bright eyes. But when something goes wrong and she escapes, she gets shot and killed, leaving the boss to tell chimp handler Robert Franklin (Tyler Labine) to put the rest down. Only thing is he finds a tiny and adorable chimp baby whom he hands over to Will to take care of. So of course Will brings him home and starts raising him. He also finds out the chimp had inherited the drug/cure/virus/thing’s effects from his mom. So he both studies him and raises him…hmmm. He also names him Caesar (And is mo-capped by Andy Serkis). But as you may have guessed by the title of the movie, shit gets fucked up. The plot in a non-detailed fashion is kinda predictable. But what is so interesting is the execution. It is made in such a way that the plot becomes fantastic. Also, this isn’t just an action film with an ape twist…it is also a character driven drama. I was very surprised with the plot and I just love it.

Characters are not too shabby I guess. You basically wanna punch most characters on the throat at least once in the movie. The only ones you maybe don’t wanna punch are Will, his father and Caesar.  They are the only ones you understand why they are like that without them being dicks about it. But the corporate people are not really justified (Because corporations conducting animal tests are not justified).

The music is epic. That is all I can say. The soundtrack by Patrick Doyle is amazing. Fits every big and little thing that happens in this movie and just makes you wanna be there and go on an adventure. MMMMMM YEAH!

This movie is beautifully filmed in every way. Not only the camerawork, but also the CGI is magnificent. They really bring the apes to life here. Also, where is Andy Serkis’ Oscar!? I don’t care that motion capture is not really the same as regular acting, but give him an Oscar already! He was great in the “Lord of The Rings” movies and he is great here. He deserves one, god damn it!

Reception for “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” was just great. Rotten Tomatoes has an 82% positive score and a “Fresh” rating. Metacritic is as always the lowest and gave this a 68/100. Roger Ebert gave this movie 3/4 stars and really praised Andy Serkis as Caesar in this. He even said:

“one never knows exactly where the human ends and the effects begin, but Serkis and/or Caesar gives the best performance in the movie.”

imdb.com has 7,6/10 as score for the movie.

I have given a few opinions on this movie and I am ready to hand out a score. I am giving “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” a 9,70/10 and in other words not just a recommendation to buy it…but also the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (still a mouthful) is now reviewed.

To be honest, I am hyped for the sequel.