Tag Archives: Terry Notary

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) Review – Exploring the Past

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TL;DR – It is a profoundly emotional work that builds on the first film in nearly every way.   

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this film.

Caesar in war paint.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Review –

It has been ten years since this movie first came out, and I was taken aback by just how good visual effects had grown, even by the high standards that the Lord of the Rings brought us. But with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes coming out this week, I wanted to take a moment to go back in time and see how well this second entry before War of the Planet of the Apes holds up.

So to set the scene, it has been ten years since the Simian Flu pandemic spread across the globe with a survival rate of only 1 in 500, as was seen at the end of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. As human society completely collapsed, the ape colony founded by Caesar (Andy Serkis) began to thrive in the growing woods outside of what was once San Francisco. It has been two years since they even saw a human, which made that first sound of a gun going off echo throughout the colony. One of the few human settlements left on the Earth has set up shop in the ruins of San Francisco. Caesar does not acquiesce to the drum beats of war but gives the humans an ultimatum: stay away from their area. Peace has a chance, just as long as no one on either side decides to fall on the animosity of the past.     

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Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) Review – Exploring the Past

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TL;DR –.It is a remarkable film that still holds up today and provided a strong foundation for everything that followed.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this film.

Caesar looks down on San Fransisco.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes Review –

Back in the 2010s, remakes were all the rage, and most of them were not great. So, I am not sure that anyone was expecting a prequel remake reboot of the beloved cult Classic Planet of the Apes was going to be any good, let alone spawn one of the best trilogies of the modern cinematic era concluding with War of the Planet of the Apes. Well, with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes coming out this week, I knew it was time to jump back in and refresh myself in this world.

So to set the scene, we open in on a rainforest where a troop of chimpanzees is led into a trap by poachers. In San Fransisco, Dr. William “Will” Rodman (James Franco) is desperately trying to find a cure for Alzheimer’s, using chimpanzees as part of the trial. But when the first trial goes terribly wrong, they discover a surprise: the trial chip was pregnant. It is this new baby called Caesar (Andy Serkis) that Will discovers the hope he has been looking for as his father, Charles (John Lithgow), slips further behind. But will the world see what Will sees, or will they see a threat?  

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Movie Review – Avengers: Infinity War

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TL;DR – Infinity War brings everyone together and then tares them apart leaving you with a foreboding as to what will happen next, but also an excitement as they try to work it all out.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars (this is a tentative score, it might change after Part 2)

Post-Credit Scene – There is an end credit scene

Avengers Infinity War Banner

Review –

It should be no surprise that I have been eagerly awaiting the new Avengers film. In preparation not only did I map out the Marvel Cinematic Universe (see here) but I also ranked every film released in the build-up (see here). However, if I am to be perfectly honest, part of this stemmed from a nervousness, could they stick the landing, could they create a story that would give justice to all the desperate characters they were involved, could they actually bring on Thanos? Well as you can probably tell I have seen the film now, so I can now answer those questions … sort of. Now a quick note today, there will be [SPOILERS] for several of the recently released Marvel films including Thor: Ragnarok (see review) and Black Panther (see review). As well as this, I will try to avoid most of the major spoilers until a paragraph at the end when we discuss the ending, but because of how quick the film moves this is just a general [SPOILER] warning if you have not seen the film yet.

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Movie Review – War of the Planet of the Apes

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TL;DR – Apes Together Strong

Score – 5 out of 5 stars

War of the Planets of the Apes. Image Credit: 20th Century Fox.

War of the Planet of the Apes Review –

Film trilogies are very precarious things to manage because you have to keep each film working in its own right, but also place it in the context of a greater series. This can lead to all sorts of issues, like power creep when you have to keep upping the last film into ridiculousness, or different creators can come in and you have to balance their views with what is already established, there are studio and contract pressures. All of this can lead to the very common third film fail where things just fall apart, like the X-Men films for example. So given how strong the Planet of the Apes films have been, especially given that they are reboots, I was concerned that they would not be able to stick the landing with the third film. But I was wrong, and I am so happy that I was.

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Movie Review – Kong: Skull Island

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TL;DR – Fantastic action, amazing visuals, interesting characters, and the best rendition of King Kong in a long while, this is a must watch film

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

P.S. There is a post-credits scene

Kong: Skull Island. Image Credit: Warner Bros.

Review –

The more and more we heard about Kong: Skull Island, the more I had a feeling that Kong was either going to be a masterpiece or a heaping pile of trash, I just could not see a middle ground happening. Well, I was right, Kong: Skull Island is not a mediocre film at all, and thankfully it is not a pile of trash either, instead it is an epic film that makes the most of the characters whilst setting it away from the traditional narrative. The effects alone make it a film you have to see, but it is so much more than just a technically brilliant film, it has a strong narrative, characters you relate to, and one of the more interesting island set ups I have seen since I read Dinotopia, quick aside, can we actually get that Dinotopia film now please and thank-you. Ok so let’s go break down why I think you should go see Kong: Skull Island.

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