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August Movies: Apes, Conan, Fright Night, & Dark....


Mark Vader

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Saw "Apes" tonight, outstanding movie. If you were disappointed in Tim Burton's reboot of the series, have no fear, you will love this entry.

 

Great effects; the motion capture is amazing. Good story, acting & action makes this one of the better summer movies I have seen this year.

this was #1 on my must see movie of the year.

 

saw it and loved it!

 

ps. the burton remake was good too. for me at least.

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Saw "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark", and enjoyed it very much. A good remake of the original telefilm.

 

If you are expecting buckets of blood, guts & intestines along with one-liners and gratuitous sex scenes, you will be gravely disappointed.

 

However if you want an old-fashioned type of Haunted House thriller, with some good jumpy moments, chills & thrills, and good creepy moments, then you should enjoy this.

 

Bailee Madison does a great job as the child in peril.

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Really enjoyed Fright Night. Farrell was great. Well cast overall. I always thought the original was cute but I think this was better on all counts. Good summer fun flick that's a bit of a sleeper.

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Really enjoyed Fright Night. Farrell was great. Well cast overall. I always thought the original was cute but I think this was better on all counts. Good summer fun flick that's a bit of a sleeper.

 

Seconded.

 

(And that's as someone who hates the genre.)

 

"If you're naked in there, I'm definitely going to look!" Great humor infusion from David Tennant.

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Saw "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark", and enjoyed it very much. A good remake of the original telefilm.

 

If you are expecting buckets of blood, guts & intestines along with one-liners and gratuitous sex scenes, you will be gravely disappointed.

So why wasn't this released near Haloweem?

However if you want an old-fashioned type of Haunted House thriller, with some good jumpy moments, chills & thrills, and good creepy moments, then you should enjoy this.

 

Bailee Madison does a great job as the child in peril.

 

So why was this not released near Halloween?

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I am 46...the original Planet of the Apes movies are, for me, like the equivalent of Star Wars for some of the young whipper-snappers...I must say, the Burton movie, to me, was so awful, it scared me away from big budget, "blockbuster" type movies, for the most part, ever since. I saw "Star Trek" a couple years ago, and thought it was pretty good, and, finally, went to see "Rise of the Planet Of the Apes" this week, just stopped at the movie theater, on my way home from work, on a whim..."discout ticket"($8.50!!!), sparsely filled theater...I enjoyed it very much. I realize, being a "franchize" type movie, it wouldn't be quite as dark as I think it could have been, but it came close...the CGI was incredible, although there were a few scenes where it looked a little too cartoonish..but this movie was a blast...in my book, it didn't drag for a second...if I had seen it when I was a kid, I think it would be my favorite movie of all time...but, I am an adult, and far more jaded than that now- and I still really liked it...

 

Funny thing is, I couldn't get anyone to see the movie with me...my best friend here in town, rarely goes to movie theaters (though he teaches a film class...go figure!) and my gf had 0 interest...it was okay, I don't mind going to movies by myself, sometimes I even prefer it...when I got home from seeing it, before telling my gf that I had seen it, she offered to see it with me, cuz she felt bad that I hadn't seen it yet...a "mercy flick" if you will...for a second, I almost thought of not telling her I had seen it, and went to see it again...but I didn't...I will buy the blu-ray! :P

 

she looked very plain in this movie.

 

bombshell in millionaire movie.

 

 

Yeah, she is gorgeous! I didn't really have a problem with her in this flick, though her presence didn't seem important to the script...they needed to have a beautiful woman...but being an action flick, I am not looking, necessarily for Oscar level acting performances. Remember Linda Harrison, Nova from the first two, original POTA flicks? :blush:

 

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=linda+harrison+planet+of+the+apes&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1440&bih=680&tbm=isch&tbnid=U-UPF46FuT5qSM:&imgrefurl=http://www.chud.com/61637/franchise-me-planet-of-the-apes/&docid=Jti0Ykb_Iqj37M&w=450&h=333&ei=NN1ZTqPhONGgtweghrmcDA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=184&vpy=241&dur=735&hovh=137&hovw=173&tx=130&ty=116&page=1&tbnh=137&tbnw=173&start=0&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

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I am 46...the original Planet of the Apes movies are, for me, like the equivalent of Star Wars for some of the young whipper-snappers...I must say, the Burton movie, to me, was so awful, it scared me away from big budget, "blockbuster" type movies, for the most part, ever since. I saw "Star Trek" a couple years ago, and thought it was pretty good, and, finally, went to see "Rise of the Planet Of the Apes" this week, just stopped at the movie theater, on my way home from work, on a whim..."discout ticket"($8.50!!!), sparsely filled theater...I enjoyed it very much. I realize, being a "franchize" type movie, it wouldn't be quite as dark as I think it could have been, but it came close...the CGI was incredible, although there were a few scenes where it looked a little too cartoonish..but this movie was a blast...in my book, it didn't drag for a second...if I had seen it when I was a kid, I think it would be my favorite movie of all time...but, I am an adult, and far more jaded than that now- and I still really liked it...

 

Funny thing is, I couldn't get anyone to see the movie with me...my best friend here in town, rarely goes to movie theaters (though he teaches a film class...go figure!) and my gf had 0 interest...it was okay, I don't mind going to movies by myself, sometimes I even prefer it...when I got home from seeing it, before telling my gf that I had seen it, she offered to see it with me, cuz she felt bad that I hadn't seen it yet...a "mercy flick" if you will...for a second, I almost thought of not telling her I had seen it, and went to see it again...but I didn't...I will buy the blu-ray! :P

 

 

 

 

 

I've been interested in hearing from some of the die hard planet of the apes fans...I saw the originals as a kid, but don't remember anything about it. Have never seen the burton version, but am very interested in seeing this one. Glad to know it held up well to your scrutiny as a fan of the franchise!

 

And yep, there are times when seeing a movie alone is the best way. If it's at night, I always go with someone else or a group of friends, but like you, there have been times when I took in an afternoon showing and it was great. It's also kind of funny, cause when it's a film where there is a really rabid group of fans, you're typically going to find the uber-nerds there in the afternoon. When I went to see SW Ep.III in 2005 the first afternoon it was out, I was surrounded by a bunch of really interesting folks lol. It was fun, though...not only was it the redeeming film for the prequels, IMO, it was sort of cool to share the moment with others who I know were passionate about the story.

 

Did you see Apes in 3D?

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I've been interested in hearing from some of the die hard planet of the apes fans...I saw the originals as a kid, but don't remember anything about it. Have never seen the burton version, but am very interested in seeing this one. Glad to know it held up well to your scrutiny as a fan of the franchise!

 

And yep, there are times when seeing a movie alone is the best way. If it's at night, I always go with someone else or a group of friends, but like you, there have been times when I took in an afternoon showing and it was great. It's also kind of funny, cause when it's a film where there is a really rabid group of fans, you're typically going to find the uber-nerds there in the afternoon. When I went to see SW Ep.III in 2005 the first afternoon it was out, I was surrounded by a bunch of really interesting folks lol. It was fun, though...not only was it the redeeming film for the prequels, IMO, it was sort of cool to share the moment with others who I know were passionate about the story.

 

Did you see Apes in 3D?

 

The shame about the Burton film was that it looks terrific, but the script was awful. If you are a big Apes fan, you have to see it, just to see all the subtle tributes the originals (also present in the new Rise Of movie). But, just a bad script. A good old friend of mine is a screenwriter, and was paid to write a script for the Apes franchise, back when the Burton film was being floated around as an idea. While I never read my friends script, I know it had to be better than the crap they put out. He was told his vision was "too dark" for what was being projected to be a "family adventure" type franchise...if the movie is too dark to get a "PG" or "PG-13" rating, then nobody is going to invest millions in it, cuz it isn't going to make it back.

 

"Rise Of the Planet Of The Apes" is kind of a "re-booting" of the fourth original movie, "Conquest Of the Planet of the Apes". If you are familiar with the original five movies, the fourth movie kind of explains how apes rose into dominance over humans. It was actually a pretty good script, full of socio-political parallels of the times (1974)...but it was so low budget, it looks kind of silly. Also, it made no attempt to put any "science" in the science-fiction formula for the film series. This new one does just that. It may be a little flimsy, but I liked the attempt, it worked for me, and was just a fun movie.

 

btw- I only saw the new movie in reguler "1D"...

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I don't know if I ever commented on Apes in here. I liked a lot of the little things they did to distinguish Ceasar from the rest of the crowd. It's such a minor detail but I really enjoyed how he was always standing upright. I was expecting a little bit more from the evil looking ape who they used the newer formula on, but I suppose that will be for a sequel.

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I don't know if I ever commented on Apes in here. I liked a lot of the little things they did to distinguish Ceasar from the rest of the crowd. It's such a minor detail but I really enjoyed how he was always standing upright. I was expecting a little bit more from the evil looking ape who they used the newer formula on, but I suppose that will be for a sequel.

 

 

Genearl Ursis I presume? Or Urko, for you fans of the tv show!

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The shame about the Burton film was that it looks terrific, but the script was awful. If you are a big Apes fan, you have to see it, just to see all the subtle tributes the originals (also present in the new Rise Of movie). But, just a bad script. A good old friend of mine is a screenwriter, and was paid to write a script for the Apes franchise, back when the Burton film was being floated around as an idea. While I never read my friends script, I know it had to be better than the crap they put out. He was told his vision was "too dark" for what was being projected to be a "family adventure" type franchise...if the movie is too dark to get a "PG" or "PG-13" rating, then nobody is going to invest millions in it, cuz it isn't going to make it back.

 

"Rise Of the Planet Of The Apes" is kind of a "re-booting" of the fourth original movie, "Conquest Of the Planet of the Apes". If you are familiar with the original five movies, the fourth movie kind of explains how apes rose into dominance over humans. It was actually a pretty good script, full of socio-political parallels of the times (1974)...but it was so low budget, it looks kind of silly. Also, it made no attempt to put any "science" in the science-fiction formula for the film series. This new one does just that. It may be a little flimsy, but I liked the attempt, it worked for me, and was just a fun movie.

 

btw- I only saw the new movie in reguler "1D"...

 

Wow, I'm psyched to go back and watch the orignal now. It's on a "very long wait" on Netflix, but I can see it in HD on my VUDU account (VUDU is my new favorite streaming service) for three bucks, so I'm going to do that. I also saw that Amazon has a bluray box set with all five of the original films for $40...that seems tempting, too.

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Wow, I'm psyched to go back and watch the orignal now. It's on a "very long wait" on Netflix, but I can see it in HD on my VUDU account (VUDU is my new favorite streaming service) for three bucks, so I'm going to do that. I also saw that Amazon has a bluray box set with all five of the original films for $40...that seems tempting, too.

 

I got that, and I have to say...it is awesome! The best sort of DVD/Blu-ray deluxe thing I have ever seen. I realize, everyone is not in to the Apes as I am, but if you have any interest in the inner-workings of Hollywood in the 60's and 70's the extras on this thing will blow you away. There is a documentary about the making of each film...it goes well beyond the scope of just the Ape franchise...it really was trailblazing in so many ways. It was really, the first movie series to launch full-scale merchandise campaigns for the movies. Of course, Star Wars took that to the next level, but with the Apes franchise, they didn't really latch on to that until the last two movies...they just kind of stumbled into it, realizing the mass popularity of the movies with kids...and adults.

 

What is also, very cool about the Blu-Ray, for the first time ever, it contains the original directors cuts of the final two movies...they were edited horribly by FOX, because they were deemed "too dark, and too violent"...just cool insights. For instance, in Conquest (4th movie) at the zenith of the ape revolt, a bunch of gorillas, with rifles are surrounding the president, who is on the ground, pleading for his life...in the version released to theaters, you see the gorillas surrounding him, positioned to start pummeling him with the butt end of their rifles...then Ceaser interjects, and goes on some soliloquie about how "if we kill him, we are no better than them" kind of thing...you then see the gorillas pull their rifles back...but, in the original, Ceaser implores them to kill the president, and they proceed to beat him to a pulp...the director, suspecting that the studio would balk, simply ran the scene backwards, so the gorillas are drawing their rifles back, rather than pummelling...and then he had Roddy McDowell (Ceaser) record the flowery speech, to dub in, to appease the studio...

 

The fifth movie, "Battle For the Planet Of the Apes" is, admittedly, not very good...definitely a low budget attempt by the studio to see if they could mile one last final dollar out of the kids who loved the movies. The unedited version is better, and makes a lot more sense, but still the weakest link in the series. Almost more like the old short-lived Planet Of the Apes tv series.

 

Sorry, gushing about these movies...I will stop. But, I have always been tempted to go back and watch the originals, in the chronilogical order they are supposed to have occurred...so you would watch the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 1st and 2nd movie, and you would come full circle, from the birth of the ape revolution, to the destruction of earth. I love all those apocolyptic sci-fi flicks from the mid-60-s through 70's.

Edited by Buftex
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I got that, and I have to say...it is awesome! The best sort of DVD/Blu-ray deluxe thing I have ever seen. I realize, everyone is not in to the Apes as I am, but if you have any interest in the inner-workings of Hollywood in the 60's and 70's the extras on this thing will blow you away. There is a documentary about the making of each film...it goes well beyond the scope of just the Ape franchise...it really was trailblazing in so many ways. It was really, the first movie series to launch full-scale merchandise campaigns for the movies. Of course, Star Wars took that to the next level, but with the Apes franchise, they didn't really latch on to that until the last two movies...they just kind of stumbled into it, realizing the mass popularity of the movies with kids...and adults.

 

What is also, very cool about the Blu-Ray, for the first time ever, it contains the original directors cuts of the final two movies...they were edited horribly by FOX, because they were deemed "too dark, and too violent"...just cool insights. For instance, in Conquest (4th movie) at the zenith of the ape revolt, a bunch of gorillas, with rifles are surrounding the president, who is on the ground, pleading for his life...in the version released to theaters, you see the gorillas surrounding him, positioned to start pummeling him with the butt end of their rifles...then Ceaser interjects, and goes on some soliloquie about how "if we kill him, we are no better than them" kind of thing...you then see the gorillas pull their rifles back...but, in the original, Ceaser implores them to kill the president, and they proceed to beat him to a pulp...the director, suspecting that the studio would balk, simply ran the scene backwards, so the gorillas are drawing their rifles back, rather than pummelling...and then he had Roddy McDowell (Ceaser) record the flowery speech, to dub in, to appease the studio...

 

The fifth movie, "Battle For the Planet Of the Apes" is, admittedly, not very good...definitely a low budget attempt by the studio to see if they could mile one last final dollar out of the kids who loved the movies. The unedited version is better, and makes a lot more sense, but still the weakest link in the series. Almost more like the old short-lived Planet Of the Apes tv series.

 

Sorry, gushing about these movies...I will stop. But, I have always been tempted to go back and watch the originals, in the chronilogical order they are supposed to have occurred...so you would watch the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 1st and 2nd movie, and you would come full circle, from the birth of the ape revolution, to the destruction of earth. I love all those apocolyptic sci-fi flicks from the mid-60-s through 70's.

 

 

I'm glad you shared all that, man, cause Im starting to feel like I'll be discovering a great sci-fi franchise sort of for the first time since I have so little memory of it. A few weeks ago I was watching another older Eastwood flick, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and it made me realize that I have very little memory of the "dollars" spaghetti western trilogy other than "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" which I saw just a few years ago. Apes falls into the same category, except I'm a much bigger sci-fi fan than I am a western fan. I'm starting to realize just how many awesome films there were in the 60s and 70s, cause every time I go back and revisit one or see one for the first time, it's a great ride!

 

Part of why I love bluray so much is because I feel it takes us back and really brings the film alive. Josey Wales was filmed like 40 years ago, but the transfer was so amazing it felt like I was transported back and was literally going along for a ride with Clint and the Native American guy he was traveling with. The whole film just looked stunning to me, and the sound was equally as impressive. I've read some reviews on Amazon about the Apes box set, and there were many folks saying the same thing about the transfer of Planet of the Apes, too. I just love how this technology gives these films new life and makes them feel more real...it's very cool.

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Here are this month's Independent Films.

 

Rachel Weisz is "The Whistleblower", Nebraska cop Kathryn Bolkovac takes a one-year contract serving as a peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia, where she outs the U.N. for covering up cases of sex trafficking. Also starring Vanessa Redgrave, Monica Bellucci & David Strathairn.

 

"Magic Trip" is a freewheeling portrait of Ken Kesey and the Merry Prankster's fabled road trip across America, from La Honda, California to New York City for the 1964 World's Fair. Starring Stanley Tucci, Ken Kesey & Tim Leary.

 

In "Amigo", Set during the Philippine-American War at the turn of the 1900s, a village mayor works to keep the peace as advancing U.S. troops led by Colonel Hardacre look to garrison his settlement. Starring Joel Torre, Chris Cooper & Garret Dillahunt.

 

In "Bellflower", Woodrow and Aiden devote their time to building flame-throwers and weapons of mass destruction, part of their preparation for the global apocalypse. Their plans are derailed temporarily when Woodrow falls for Milly, but when their relationship sours, the two guys begin to live out an even darker, more violent fantasy. Starring Evan Glodell, Tyler Dawson & Jessie Wiseman.

 

Vera Farmiga directs & stars in "Higher Ground". A small evangelical Christian community is thrown off balance when one of their own, Corrine, begins to question her faith. Also starring Joshua Leonard & Dagmara Dominczyk.

 

From Australia comes "Griff The Invisible"; An officer worker who masquerades as a superhero by night finds his noble yet lonely existence changes when he meets a a scientist who shares his passion for the impossible. Starring Ryan Kwanten, Maeve Dermody & Marshall Napier.

 

From France & Portugal comes "Mysteries of Lisbon"; a roving narrative set in 19th century Portugal and first centered on an orphan who sets out to discover the truth of his parentage and opens up into a three-decade-long odyssey in which a series of characters conjoin, separate, and reunite. Starring Adriano Luz, Maria Joao Bastos & Ricardo Pereira.

 

From France, USA & Iran comes "Circumstance"; a wealthy Iranian couple struggles to contain the teenager daughter's growing sexual rebellion and her brother's dangerous obsession. Starring Sarah Kazemy, Nikohl Boosheri & Rezo Sixo Safai.

 

The documentary "Chasing Madoff", is a look at how one investigator spent ten years trying to expose Bernie Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme that scammed an estimated $18 billion from investors.

 

Finally there is "Senna", a documentary on Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, who won the F1 world championship three times before his death at age 34.

 

Calendar with Trailers. Note: These dates are for exclusive or limited release. These films may appear in your area at a later date.

 

8/5

"The Whistleblower": http://www.thewhistleblower-movie.com/

 

"Magic Trip": http://www.magictripmovie.com/'>http://www.magictripmovie.com/

 

"Bellflower": http://www.magictripmovie.com/

 

"Mysteries of Lisbon": http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi4040465433/

 

8/12

"Senna": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1709218841/

 

8/19

"Griff the Invisible": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3481443353/

 

"Amigo": http://www3.amigomovie.com/

 

8/26

"Circumstance": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi4163214617/

 

"Higher Ground": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2145623065/

 

"Chasing Madoff": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1955109913/

 

That's all for now. I'll have the September movies up shortly. Enjoy!

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