Monkeys! Damn!

This is gonna be a quickie. I was on a red eye to Florida last night and didn't sleep a wink. You don't mind.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is awesome! So much better than it had any right to be, this is a surprisingly thought provoking and touching retooling of the long running franchise. The marketing would have you believe that the humans, headed up by James Franco, are the main players, but you'd be wrong. Here, the monkey's take center stage, and run away with the whole thing. For the first time in the entire history of the franchise, the apes are purely CGI, no stupid make up needed. And, damn is it good CGI. We've come a long way since Gollum, and it's only fitting that the same man who made us believe that that jewel obsessed gremlin could exist takes the lead here. Andy Serkis, as main ape Caesar, is great. I know the academy won't go for it, but give this man an Oscar already. His performance here is soooo much better than most things to come out of humans this year. What action there is is fun and visceral, the script is well written, and the references to the past films are well handled. It's been doing well, so you've probably already seen Rise of the Planet of the Apes, but if you haven't, get to the theatre now. It's not like there's anything else worth checking out.

IT'S MAD HOUSE!!!