Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Review

4 Things I Liked About 'Dawn'

1. Andy Serkis - If you know me, you know my love for Mr. Serkis. Caesar is portrayed by Andy Serkis. He gives a brilliant motion capture performance and is best known for his performance capture roles such as Gollum from "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy (2001-2003) and for his portrayal of Caesar in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)." He deserves an Oscar and should be credited for, body language and limited dialogue. FYI -He was consulted on how to give an emotional quality to the character of Godzilla. 5 points for Andy Serkis

2. It centers on peace and conflict resolution (The Ape Camp) – Even though it ended with the beginning of a war. Caesar, portrays an element of concord, reciting phrases such as “If we go to war, we could lose all we've built", "Home. Family. Future” and “Apes together strong”. It has a fantastic voice of reckoning and captivating emotional core. Believe me when I tell you I would bring along Cesar and Maurice to one of my conflict resolution sessions.

3. Computer-generated imagery (CGI)- What firstly needs to be mentioned is what astonishing success 'Dawn' has done when it came to the use of CGI.

I'm normally very critical towards the (over-)use of CGI – but the level of craftsmanship displayed here simply has to be admired. It only took me seconds to forget I was watching digital characters (brought to life through the outstanding motion-capture performances by Andy Serkis, Toby Kebbell and Judy Grier – to name but a few), and I can't begin to imagine what a task it must have been for the artists and wizards in the animation department to work on every background and every tiny little detail of every character until this level of seamlessness and reality could be achieved. – Gogoschka-1

4. The story-line – Ten years after the worldwide pandemic of the deadly (known as the Simian Flu), human civilization is completely destroyed following martial law, civil unrest and the economic collapse of every country in the world. Over 90% of the human population has died in the pandemic, while apes with genetically enhanced intelligence have started to build a civilization of their own. The film's insistence on anchoring every event in strong, simple emotions...made [Dawn] surprisingly intimate and wrenching. Caesar was your entry point into the story. You identified with him completely, as you did with King Kong,.... You felt his pain, and cheered when he stood up for himself.- MS

Fantastic movie! Filled with great storytelling, wonderful special effects, and a captivating emotional core. Dawn of the Apes is close to perfection hence it’s score of 9.5/10

Ask Me Anything Movie Review

Britt Robertson, Molly Hagan, Andy Buckley

Release Date: December 2014

Directed by: Allison Burnett

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Katie, a brash seventeen year old is dating, (and then some), her high school boyfriend along with two older men. That is, her boss and an engaged 32 year-old a community college teacher who is living with his fiancé. Her promiscuity is a bit inexplicable- seeing that she knowingly has unprotected sex with her lovers while telling them that she’s “safe”. Only the Lord know what that means.

As the film unravels, I see where the breakdown in her life derives from. Her parents are divorced (her mom has yet to be married), her father is a dying, anti-feminist alcoholic and as a child she was.... you’ll find out when you watch. But the fact of the matter is that she has daddy issues - which is evident in her flashbacks during her sexual escapades - and when a female has daddy issues she’s bound to have man issues. 

To give her life structure Katie starts a blog, suggested by her guidance counselor. However, the only structure the blog has is detailing the different aspects of her life especially highlighting her sexual activities. She becomes famous, not only in her mind as she puts it, but on the internet.

So where are we? She’s sleeping with three men - her boyfriend, a soon to be married man and her boss. During her grieving process when the teacher “dumps” her, the teen becomes distant from her boyfriend and eventually moves onto her boss, a 43 year old man with a wife and newborn.

We come across other characters in the film, like the kind-hearted bookstore owner, portrayed as an advisor, her suicidal schoolmate who I considered her inner-conscience, and even her drug-addicted best friend.

The acting portrayal was...okay. I little strained for some, and confusing for others. In Ask Me Anything, I think Katie really needed to be loved but received it vicariously through sex and that is always a sad case.

It’s an edgy coming of age tale and while everyone can watch, by all means it’s not a family movie. Watch with a friend. I gave it a 5.5/10

***P.S. The ending will blow your mind