Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

In this The Planet of the Apes prequel, James Franco plays a scientist who discovers a drug he's been working on to cure Alzheimer's has a side effect: it makes the apes he's testing it on more intelligent. When he takes home a chimp, Caesar, who exhibits advanced skills, they grow close, but a series of unfortunate events puts Caesar in lock-up. Caesar devises an ape escape and leads a revolution that has deeper consequences on the world. With an unlikely hero and story that tugs on your heart, the film is entertaining fare. DVD extras include deleted scenes and a featurette about Andy Serkis's performance as Caesar.

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Kung Fu Panda 2

This animated sequel revisits panda Po (Jack Black) as he returns to the village he was born in and fights enemy Lord Shen (Gary Oldman). The voice actors from the original reprise their roles, including Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, and Seth Rogen. The movie is cute for kids and adults alike, while the 3D animation is impressive as well. The DVD extras include an episode of new Nickelodeon series Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, a commentary track, a Chinese lesson, and a featurette of Black visiting a zoo.

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With Summer blockbuster season officially coming to an end, The Help had another strong showing at the box office, taking the top spot yet again. It earned $14.2 million, making it the first film since Inception to stay at the top of the box office for three weekends straight. New movie The Debt followed with $9.7 million, while its fellow newbies Apollo 18 and Shark Night 3D were right behind it with $8.7 million and $8.6 million, respectively. Rise of the Planet of the Apes managed to stay in the top five, bringing in $7.8 million.

Photo courtesy of Dreamworks

Despite three new releases and a hurricane that shut down much of the East Coast, The Help took the number one spot at the box office for the second weekend in a row with $14.3 million. In what was the second slowest weekend at the box office this year (behind only Super Bowl weekend), new film Colombiana saw a modest debut, taking second place with $10.3 million. Other newcomer Don't Be Afraid of the Dark followed close behind in third place with $8.7 million. Rise of the Planet of the Apes maintained a top five spot, coming in fourth with $8.6 million, while Our Idiot Brother came in fifth with a disappointing $6.5 million in its opening weekend.

Photo courtesy of Dreamworks

The Help cleaned up against the competition this week, rising to the number one box-office spot during its second week in release with $20.4 million. The Help is only the second film this year — the first being True Grit in January — to move up to a number one spot after debuting lower. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which held the number one spot for the previous two weeks, slipped to second place with $16.3 million.

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D came in third with $12 million during its opening weekend, the worst opening that a film in the Spy Kids franchise has ever seen. Conan the Barbarian also saw a weak debut at fourth place with $10 million, followed by The Smurfs, which hung on to a top five spot with $8 million. Newcomer Fright Night had a poor showing, taking in just $7.9 million and landing in sixth.

Photo courtesy of Dreamworks

Moviegoers continued to go ape over Rise of the Planet of the Apes last weekend. The seventh film in the franchise took the number one spot at the box office for the second weekend in a row, bringing in $27.5 million. Rise of the Planet of the Apes triumphed over four new releases, including The Help, which helped itself to a second place spot with $25.5 million. Final Destination 5 came in third with $18.4 million, while The Smurfs dropped to fourth place with $13.5 million. On its debut weekend, 30 Minutes or Less brought in $13 million, while Glee: The 3D Concert Movie flopped in its opening weekend with $5.7 million.

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Rise of the Planet of the Apes breathed new life into the franchise as the film drew in $54 million in its opening weekend and taking first place at the box office. The Smurfs took a distant second with $21 million, followed by Cowboys & Aliens, which earned $15.7 million in its sophomore weekend. The Change-Up saw a disappointing debut of $13.5 million, which isn't a particularly strong showing compared to other comedies that bowed this Summer. Captain America: The First Avenger added $13 million to its box office run, which put it in fifth.

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

In a cinematic landscape crowded with sequels, prequels, and reboots, Rise of the Planet of the Apes may easily be passed off as just another part of the pack, when in fact it's a fresh take on a beloved franchise with some fancy new tricks up its sleeve. The Planet of the Apes series has had hits and misses through the years, and this iteration manages to be a fulfilling part of the legacy and an enjoyable stand-alone piece. While imperfect, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is visually stunning and full of heart, thanks primarily to an amazing performance by Andy Serkis as the sweet, but confused and troubled genius chimp Caesar.

James Franco is fine as Will Rodman, a conflicted and unethical young scientist who is working on a drug to cure Alzheimer's, which he has a personal stake in since his father Charles (John Lithgow) has an advanced case of the disease. His trials are shut down when his prize test ape, Bright Eyes, goes berserk in the lab. What is presumed to be a side effect of the drug turns out to be motherly instinct when a newborn baby chimp is found in her examining room. Unable to bring himself to put the infant to sleep, Will takes little Caesar home.

The green glint in Caesar's eye and his uncanny intelligence hint to Will that the drug was passed from mother to child and in fact has amazing results. Will proceeds to raise Caesar as a son, which goes swimmingly until Caesar starts to realize what he is missing out on in the world. A misunderstanding with a neighbor lands Caesar at a terrifying ape "preserve," which leaves Caesar feeling betrayed and ready to organize an uprising with his fellow apes.

To read the rest of my thoughts on Rise of the Planet of the Apes just read more