Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

The first of the prequel trilogy for Planet of the Apes this is very much a genesis tale which starts out intimate and small scale before becoming an epic action thriller.

Unlike much of the superhero fare though, this is an origin story which we haven't seen before (Spider-man, I'm particularly looking at you) and which is genuinely involving and even poignant as it deals with the loss of innocence, freedom and ape-human connection.

The cast are all good, but Lithgow's sadly credible performance as someone suffering from Alzheimer's stands out.

The CGI is already well refined although as noted in my review for War for the Planet of the Apes - it's a pity the chimpanzees are not as realistic as others such as the mountain gorilla and the orang-utan.

The second and third films in the prequel series are noticeably weaker in comparison as they neither quite manage to achieve the intimacy or scale of set pieces towards the end of this one.

Verdict: Best of the bunch.
 

Review: The Zen of Muhammad Ali

Sports writing, and boxing in particular, isn't really my thing. But I was attracted to this after hearing a recent Tim Ferriss podcast which featured someone who'd interviewed Muhammad Ali and Ali sounded like a fascinating character so I resolved to read something about him when I got the chance.

This book is a collection of magazine articles and as a result there's some overlap, even repetition of phrasing - and my overall impression is that I gained most insight into the author. But the writing is as times beautiful e.g. on Ali, Miller writes:

"He no longer aches with the ambition and the violence of a young god. 

About a third of the book is devoted to Ali - and the last essay sadly describes a falling out and subsequent distancing between the author and Ali's entourage which leaves a bitter-sweet taste.

The rest of the book is a selection of essays on Sugar Ray Leonard, Bruce Lee (a critique of a drama documentary which serves as framing device for a short biography of Lee's life) as well as the author's own fiction and memoirs. The best of these is a poignant story of an early romantic interest which manages to capture all of the hope and awkwardness that is characteristic of teen love.

I can't say it transformed me into a fan of the sport of Kings but I did gain a new appreciation of the mindset, dedication and beauty of those taking part in it.

Verdict: Not entirely successful experiment (on my part)

Review: The Right Stuff

During the recent run of space based science-fiction movies a friend recommended The Right Stuff - the dramatised story of how early test pilots became the astronauts of the 60s.

Overall, it's an engaging cast in an involving film, but the running time is a bladder-stretching three hours and I felt a tighter edit could have easily brought that down by at least half an hour without hurting the story.

Certain liberties have been taken, e.g. it wasn't Yeager's first time in the X-1 and nor was it apparently unplanned.  Nor were relationships between the astronauts and the German scientists on the programme anything like as difficult as the film suggests. I guess these and other points fall into dramatic licence although I can well understand why those involved feel aggrieved. 

Apart from some of the iconic scenes e.g. breaking the sound barrier - one thing that stood out for me was the pushiness of the press. Some of those scenes felt uncomfortably claustrophobic. 

The picture quality of the DVD is fairly rough in places. There are extremely high levels of grain with anything involving people set against a darkening sky and some early scenes feel too dark. But that may be a problem with the source material rather than the encode. Still, I cannot complain too much - the DVD was just 25p in the charity shop remainder bin. 

Verdict: Lengthy & good docudrama. 

Review: Passengers

Visually spectacular and unusual take on Robinson Crusoe story.  The basic premise, that of a passenger on a long (more than a lifetime) space voyage wakes up from hibernation to find himself alone is a fantastic one - and it could have gone in a number of directions.

The resulting film does hint at some of these. For example, there's sometime spent exploring the deteriorating mental state of the main protagonist, but this is no Castaway - even if it does have a Wilson in the form of Sheen's robobutler). There are also moments of mild horror which suggest the effects of isolation like the Shining.

But in the end, Passengers settles for redemptive love story between the leads, the circumstances of its formation being deeply suspect. It would be more plausible had Pratt's character been allowed to do the legwork.

It's an interesting choice, giving Lawrence top billing as while she is undoubtedly the more well known and better performer, it is mostly Pratt's character's film.

Verdict: Fantastic premise, simpler execution.

Review: Gravity

It's been a few years since I first watched Gravity on the big screen in 3D at the cinema  (or 2.5D as the purists rightly say). It was a breathtaking vertiginous experience and I came out of the cinema awed.

So a few years on, I wondered how it would like in 2D and on our home projector?  I felt it held up pretty well, even stripped of the deep immersion that big screen 3D had provided.

Essentially, it's a single handed Bullock chase movie vehicle despite the attachment of Clooney to the billing (although his role is a valuable one).  It's mostly a physical role for her too, although as a long term fan, it was hard not to be charmed by her dog impressions.

Understandably it's not as immersive as previously, but I still found it incredibly tense at times although having recently mainlined most of Chris Hadfield's ISS videos, the science is rather dodgy at times - and I couldn't fail to remember his anecdote around disrobing after a spacewalk. Apparently after a spacewalk - everything aches, your hair is matted with sweat, you have chafed skin from contact with the inflexible suit and one colleague even had nerve damage.

Verdict: Tense and majestic viewing.

Review: The Mummy Returns

The second in the Weisz/Fraser helmed turn of the century Mummy series resorts to doing what most action sequels do which is add in more action, more explosions and more SFX.  It's still quite a lot of fun, but not as coherent or humorous as the first.  Nor does it rival any of Indiana Jones movies, in story, fun or action.

Thrilling sequences, like the outpouring of a horde of beetles or the Mummy's restoration,  are often beat for beat lifted from the first film and simply made bigger/quicker and so lose their impact. Another notable borrow comes from Jurassic Park II.

The addition of Boath as the adventuring couple's son proves to be a great choice as he gets many of the best comedic moments (a role Hannah had in the first film). I particularly enjoyed those where he annoys his captors through restless finger tapping and repeatedly asking if they are there yet. By the end, I was beginning to feel the same.

Verdict: Fun, but no Indy.

Review: Star Trek: Discovery - first six episodes

I'm a bit of a late comer to Star Trek: Discovery for several reasons:

• Outside of the first of the recent films, none of them have quite gelled with me. 
• Its well documented production troubles were not exactly encouraging
• Most Trek series have taken at least one, and sometimes several seasons to find their feet - and I just don't have that kind of tolerance for poor TV anymore. 
• I felt Trek's time was probably past with its utopian exploration of strange new world's message and there's wasn't much left to say. 
• I was a big fan of the Next Generation, but have only watched a scattering of episodes from the other series. 

But buoyed by encouraging reviews on a forum I occasionally frequent I decided to give it a go.  Star Trek: Discovery turns out to be one of the more interesting TV Trek outings. 

The first couple of episodes are set up and they bring movie like production values to an edgy encounter with some new look Klingons at the frontier of Federation space. So far, so Star Trek.

But hold up, the second in command stages a mutiny and things go rapidly pear-shaped from there. It does not end well for a certain guest star and the ship which doesn't share its name with the title of the show.  They might as well as given them a red shirt. 

The mutineer eventually finds herself on a Black ops science vessel - the Discovery - now charged with giving the Federation an edge in a war they are losing with Klingons. And it's a game changer in more ways than one. It brings brand new technology and a moral ambiguity - particularly in the form of its traumatised yet determined to win at all costs captain.  

As each episode unfolds, the complexity of the situation and wider political dynamics is gradually revealed.  Add in rather more gruesome violence than we're used to - and while this is still Star Trek, it's not Trek as we know it.  It's Trek filtered through the lens of Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad and Battlestar Galactica. 

But perhaps it's the Trek we deserve for a post-truth, post-911, post Iraq war world. 

Verdict: Early signs good, Captain.