Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

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Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 08-04-2011, 04:12 AM:

Absolutely the best movie of the summer of 2011. I would even go so far as to say the best movie from the major studios so far this year. The story and the main characters are very well developed. The visuals are absolutely amazing. And the movie is only as long as it needs to be.

Barring something very special later in the year, I feel confident that Apes will win the Oscar for visual effects.

Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 08-04-2011, 10:37 AM:

Now that is some good news!

AJG

Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 08-05-2011, 08:09 AM:

This is in the top 5 for me this summer. I've been interested in this since it was announced two years ago. I thought it was an interesting way to go, by doing the Apes all digital. When WETA was announced to be the house doing the work I was even more excited.

Everything about this movie just worked, there is so much emotion in Ceasers eyes that it is very scary. There are a few nods to the originals that I really liked. I felt it was the perfect running length and could of maybe even had another 20 minutes or so. I'm really looking forward to the sequel to this already, bring on the Conquering of the planet!

My only real complaints are during the montage of Ceaser growing up from years 3-8. There are a few scenes where his body looks a little odd, but the face always looks amazing.

Also, great to see Brian Cox and John Lithgow in another movie as well.

4/5 [thumbsup]

Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 08-05-2011, 01:23 PM:

this surprised the hell out of me and the ETX presentation at AMC Tysons was top notch! (despite the screening starting thirty minutes past it's posted time)

Posted by Connor Wilson (Member # 6088) on 08-05-2011, 11:30 PM:

CINEMA: Cobb Village 12, Leesburg, VA
AUDITORIUM: 12
PRESENTATION: D-Cinema (unsure about the real technical stuff)
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: Off-center projection; Bass was a tad bit overpowered; lights did not dim until 5 minutes after the film started; and lights did not come back on during or after the credits. Weird presentation, isn't it?
RATING: Four (out of ten)

PLOT: Nerdy white guy raises a chimpanzee until it realizes he is not fit for society. Wackiness ensues.

I don't know why this film is getting well-received on this thread. IMHO, the storyline was predictable, nothing special about the acting, bland music, and it left the viewer with nothing rewarding. Mediocre at it's best. The apes done by Weta are pretty cool, and the chemistry between them was far more flourished than that of the humans in the film.

When you use "of the" TWICE in the title of your movie, intelligence has seen better days.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 08-06-2011, 12:15 AM:

(the Evil Sam will come after you for stealing his format..and quote...lol)

Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 08-06-2011, 03:01 AM:

quote: Connor Wilson
I don't know why this film is getting well-received on this thread. IMHO, the storyline was predictable

Of course it was predictable, we knew from the title what the film was going to be about. What did you want? I'm not sure how you could of made this movie and not made it Predictable. Its a prequel to a series of movies that were made over 30 years ago, we knew what the end game was already.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 08-06-2011, 12:34 PM:

...more like an add-on to the end of the 1971's "Escape", then it became a remake of 1972's "Conquest".

But true...very predictable...just interesting on how the almost 40 yrs in technology, budgets and moviemaking between the two being a huge difference in telling the basic same story. I think FOX, in 1972, made "Conquest" under a 1.5 million dollar budget and the film returned almost $10 mil that year. Now, this new one was prob made in a hundred fold budget and needs to return twice that much just to break even.

(And to add a bit of self history and credit: with this movie makes it that I've ran all of the "APES" movies - from the classic first one of 1968 ((where I ran it on a 2nd run basis in 1970)), to this present one ...)

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 08-06-2011, 06:15 PM:

CINEMA: Cinetopia Progress Ridge 14, Beaverton, OR
AUDITORIUM: 5 (the "Grand XL")
PRESENTATION: 4K DLP, Meyer "EXP" Sound ("huh?" "Yeah, beats me.")
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: None
RATING: Two and one half stars (out of four)

I suppose I could laugh at Connor, but I once wrote a review for a shaky film (United 93) where I went on a rant about sticking the director's head in the paint shaker at Home Depot...only to discover a couple of years later while back researching the Bourne movies that Brad had already written that almost word-for-word. Sort of blew my mind.

The new Cinetopia is located in a cleverly hidden shopping village within a massive townhouse development. Admission for their "Grand XL" auditorium (with a claimed 70 foot screen) was $11.00 for a noon matinee. The auditorium has a three-tier stadium seating setup with eleven rows about thirty seats wide. The wall decor...random rectangular patches of various shades of blue...looks like a jetBlue aircraft tail. Seats are leather with padded arm rests. The "Meyer EXP sound" is fine but unremarkable.

The snack bar sold the usual offerings at ridiculous prices. The small popcorn was possibly the smallest I've ever seen. But they did have five or six custom flavored butter toppings. I think one was garlic.

You can apparently get real meals somewhere here. Somebody brought in a great looking fried fish and chips platter. Never figured out where they got it.

The most impressive things here...the auditorium doors must be 12 feet tall, and the arcade has FOUR...yes FOUR...pinball machines. They're all modern Sterns with movie themes...but there's FOUR OF THEM!

THE PLOT: Apes participate in clinical trials. Wackiness ensues.

Okay, first off...This isn't "Planet of the Apes"...it's "CITY of the Apes." San Francisco, specifically. Because San Francisco is SO well known for their favorable views on animal abuse and their complete lack of compassion.

The movie builds slow but gets better as it goes. But sort of ends on a "Really? It just ends like that?" Then the credits roll and another scene comes up that I'm sure is a tip to fanboys but left me going "Huh?". I guess it's all a setup to a sequel. I'll be surprised if this one does enough business to warrant one.

I've seen many of the Apes movies over the years but have never been a real fan. I found them largely forgettable. I found this one largely forgettable.

Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 08-07-2011, 04:44 PM:

I enjoyed it. Watched it in Screen 24 at Regal Hollywood 24 , Atlanta. The picture was nice and bright and steady(maybe digital?). I think it was digital. I will have to check because the listings no longer seem to indicate which showings are in digital these days.

I missed the first few min, so I walked into Screen 12 which was definitely digital. This was the biggest auditorium, dimly lit and immediately I looked up at the projection booth. They had those dual projection of images, so I wonder if the dimness is due to the controversy over those SONY 3D projectors in 2D mode. For once, I am glad I saw it in the midsize screen.

I enjoyed the movie. Then again, except for the Burton remake, I have enjoyed most of the Ape movies.

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 08-07-2011, 07:10 PM:

I saw RISE OF THE PLAET OF THE APES yesterday and posted my comments on my thread about the Blu-Ray collection of the original POTA films.

-Claude

Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 08-07-2011, 07:26 PM:

I quite liked it. A well made sci-fi movie with a halfway interesting story. The performance by Andy Serkis is very very well done, and the effects go right along with that.

Saw it in 35mm SRD in house 11 at Cinemark Movies 14 in Mishawaka, IN. Other than a slightly shaky image, print looked nice and bright and the sound was sufficient.

Sadly, the men's room began to flood. It was one of those moments that made me happy not be an usher any more. [Smile]

AJG

Posted by Tony Gallimore (Member # 5358) on 08-22-2011, 01:05 PM:

Just as stated by several others earlier in this thread, the storyline was predictable; however, the difference in technology used today as opposed to thirty years ago when the first ape series was shot made this an excellent movie. No complaints... I pretty much received what I expected. The print was in good condition with acceptable audio.
[thumbsup]

Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 09-10-2011, 12:17 AM:

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

****

Wow! so into this movie. Right on the edge of my seat. What a way to develop the story. I saw this two days after seeing the orginal. By far the best studio film so far this year!

Reminded me of Batman Begins in how it was such a good reboot or remake. Very good score, visuals, and acting. I was worried about the digital apes, but they were amazing. The final conclusion on the bridge was outstanding.

I like how they possibly set up a possible sequel where the Mars ship goes missing in space...

Everything worked in the movie, except for one flaw which I will get to at the end. A movie like this reminds me of why new directors like Christopher Nolan or Rupert Wyatt are better today that the Spielbergs or Lucas's of today. Yes, Speilberg paved the way for this type of movie but the new directors are making better stuff the latest by Speilberg.

Few things I really liked. The subtitles for the apes communicating, the voice of Caesar near the end, and the deaths of certain police, people and the ape that pushes the helicopter of the bridge. Also, Caesar riding on the horse leading the charge. Also, the ape that give up his life for Caesar was really cool. There was just so much that worked !

The movie also had good cinetography which I like. Caesar by far was the best character of the movie. The tie-in to the original where Caesar speaks for the first time was very impressive.

I am shocked IMAX did not get there hands on this movie.

Now for the one flaw, after the credits begin to roll, the filmakers explain that the virus has spread, this was a complete mistake and should not of been at the end of this movie, it should of been in the beginning of the next film. This was the only flaw of the film. Kind of ruined the uplifting ending.

This is the perfect example of a movie where if you care about the characters enough, the flaws of the movie do not matter. I knew nothing about this movie going in, and I am really glad I saw this movie.