melody23-574-62836

I was really disappointed in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. I loved the development of the Eagle Clan, only to have it unwind in a stodgy narrative that fought against any ethical base. I understand their not wanting to opt for a mawkish, obvious one, but to so obviously kick the thematic ball down the road did a disservice to the genre. I loved the final ending, but it felt better as a middle narrative base.

The special effects were game-changing. I loved Peter Macon's Raka.

I really disliked the gorillas becoming the big, bad dudes when chimpanzees were the good guys. Of course, neither is as vicious as humans can be.

Proximus (love the name) was supposed to be a bonobo?

I walked in on the strength of Monkeypaw endorsement. I don't like violent films, but the strength of the narrative, the Bruce Lee caliber fight scenes, and the other elements made for one if the finest films I've seen this year. Dev Patel has carved for himself a real future. Every element of this script defines all that comes after and further reveals what has gone before. Every performance is cleverly nuanced. The visual definition, to further deepen the plot, makes very clear the villainous archetypes overwhelming the plot line. I look forward to any and all of the future work of this creative team. It gets ten.

This film by Gareth Edwards stages a Freudian slaughter on his own creative roots. The Americans are the evil ones, and new Asia, both AI and China, are benevolent children. Edwards should realize he's taking a stand against a culture from which he learned, but apparently learned to hate. It happens to be my culture so seeing it destroyed elicits no dark empathy from me. Women are portrayed as evil if strong, and only benevolent if a pretty member of a slave race. White men are dupes or evil. Black men are only useful. And AI is benevolent and childlike. I hope Edwards stays out of American independent cinema.