Pure Monkey Business..."Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

PG-13

Starring Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell,

Directed by Matt Reeves

The Story:

Ten years after the last movie, which quite frankly, I barely remembered what happened, they recap that a simian virus swept through the globe and killed lots of people. As society attempts to rebuild, Caesar (Serkis) leads his band of merry apes in the forests outside of San Francisco as they live pretty peacefully. However, when the local population enters the area hoping to get power from the dam, a tenuous peace between the apes and people is about to devolve into all out war.

At least, by the next movie.

This movie was fine, and was watchable.

Just not a whole lot really happens until the final act, and it's like they were simply setting this movie up as the bridge to Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, or whatever it will be called.

The fragile peace between apes and mankind is of course shattered... but not by who you expect!

Gary Oldman shows up and collects a paycheck!

Seriously.

He's in the movie for about 5-7 minutes total.

Anyone could have played that part. I had 20 minutes free in 2013 or 2014, I could have done that.

:)

The visuals are amazing, as usual.

I'm sure I'll be around to watch the sequel.

And like this one, I'll probably have forgotten what happened previously.

:D

Final Grade: C / C+

You've Got To Be Seriously Committed To Go To "Austenland"

Austenland (2013)

Rated PG-13

Starring Keri Russell, JJ Field, Bret McKenzie, Jennifer Coolidge, Georgia King, Jane Seymour

Written and Directed by Jerusha Hess

The Story:

Jane Hayes (Russell) is obsessed with Pride & Prejudice, and her romantic life is forever ruined because of Darcy.  Spending her entire savings, she goes on a trip to England where there is a resort run to make you feel like you are living in the time-period that Austen wrote about.  However, it is very real and soon the lines between what is real and what is fake are blurred for Jane as she is torn between two gentlemen (Field & McKenzie) and how she really feels about them.

Poor Jane cannot afford to be much more than a poor girl on her trip, but she is befriended by Ms. Charming (Coolidge) who has enough money to go around and really likes Jane.

Austenland is a clever idea, and I am surprised that there isn't something like this in existence.

And if there is something like this, I wouldn't be surprised in the least.

The costumes and scenery are top-notch, the movie just looks gorgeous.

Everyone does fine in the movie, but this one never really grabbed me enough to lock in and connect with anyone.

It was a good background movie, one that you can hear what is going on, and you're fine if you're looking down and checking your email or updating your Facebook status.

You aren't going to miss anything.

The same could be said if you never watch it at all.

: )

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Cute, but once was fine.  The more you love Austen or Pride and Prejudice, your mileage could vary.

Some Family-Friendly "Bedtime Stories" For The Weekend

Bedtime Stories (2008)
Rated PG

Starring Adam Sandler, Keri Russell, Guy Pearce, Russell Brand, Courteney Cox

Directed by Adam Shankman

The Story:

Skeeter Bronson (Sandler) grew up in the Sunny Vista Motel that was started by his dad and then bought by millionaire, Barry Nottingham (Richard Griffiths).  The promise was made that Skeeter could someday run the hotel, but apparently Barry has forgotten as he has promised when the hotel is remodeled, it will be run by Kendall (Pearce) instead.  On top of that, the new site, unbeknownst to Skeeter, is on the site of the school where his sister (Cox) is the principal.  She needs to head to Arizona to find a job, so she has Skeeter watch her two kids, and her co-worker Jill (Russell) will split time with him.  Skeeter tells the kids some fun bedtime stories when he puts them to bed, and the kids add to his fantastic tales.  But when the stories begin to come true, exactly like they said the night before, Skeeter realizes that he still has a chance to run the hotel, if he can just shape the stories appropriately.

Not your typical Adam Sandler movie, right?

Nope, not when it's released by Disney.

However, this continued  a trend of more family friendly Sandler films that are actually sweet enough, and funny, that they are worth seeing with the entire family.

Is That A Rat on My Head?

Originally seen a few years ago after it had come out, this movie remained on our wish list for years, always hard to justify a $20 price tag on some of those Disney films that just never went down in price.

Ah, but when your local Blockbuster goes out of business, suddenly films that had always been just off the radar come back on, and get picked up for a  bargain price.

Welcome to the library!

Which in the intervening years since 2008, it was checked out about every year by my daughter from the local library so she could watch it.

Now I've saved her a few steps!

Watched again, and yes, it was still as cute and fun as I remember from 2008.

The situations become more absurd with each story, and Skeeter risks ruining the relationship he is building with the kids when he does snap at them in anger when they change the ending to one of his tales.

Have I Not Entertained You?

Brand gives a hysterical performance as Skeeter's best friend.  He livens up all of the scenes that he is in, and he plays a pivotal part in the climax of the film.

Overall this is a very cute movie with a wonderful message about the joys of childhood and the way kids see life.


Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I finally got it, and I wouldn't be surprised if this gets a replay at least once a year. :)