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Rise of the Planet of the Apes (12A)
Review by Nathan Webb

Where’s Brutus when you need him?

DIRECTOR - Rupert Wyatt
STARRING - James Franco, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton

PLOTA female chimpanzee is poached from the jungle to be used for drug trials in a San Francisco Lab in the hope of curing Alzheimer’s disease. During the course of testing more chimps are tested but an escape at the lab leads to the chimps being destroyed with only baby Caesar left alive. With the drug having transferred from mother to baby – Caesar displays extraordinary intelligence and is taken in as a pet/experiment by scientist Will Rodman (Franco). As Rodman battles on to cure his ailing father (Lithgow). Caesar grows increasingly intellectual. Will this ape rival humanity?

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a stunning film. Breathtakingly shot with extraordinary CGI performance capture (A special nod to Andy Serkis). This film reboots this franchise with a hearty kick to pull on your heartstrings and often leave you siding with the apes.

Franco is excellent as leading man Will Rodman and special praise must be reserved for John Lithgow who steals the first half of this film with his portrayal of Rodman senior battling day in with his condition. Pinto is a good casting to give us a different angle on the Owner/pet relationship. Brian Cox is expertly mean with Tom Felton trying to shake off the Harry Potter shadow that will undoubtedly over shadow his next few films.

All in all Rise is as entertaining as any big budget feature of the past few years. Although a little slow in parts it’s forgiven for its stunning storytelling and exhilarating performances. Nature vs Nurture has truly never been told on screen better.

SUPER 8 (12A)
Review by Nathan Webb

The film of the summer!

DIRECTOR - JJ Abrams
PRODUCER - Steven Spielberg
STARRING - Elle Fanning, Joel Courtney, Noah Emmerich, Kyle Chandler

PLOT – Based in the fictional town of Lillian. Joe (Courtney) and his friends, sneek out to film the latest shots for his homemade zombie movie. Filming is interrupted by a dramatic train crash that brings chaos to the town and possibly humanity.

Abrams and Spielberg! Super 8 comes right out the blocks and takes you on a rollercoaster ride that tackles the entire range of human emotions. Brilliantly delivered by the films young cast as they tackle Abrams homage to 80’s Sci-fi. Shrouded in mystery before the films release Abrams does an excellent job of delivering a touching coming of age story crossed with impending danger and world annihilation.

All in all Super 8 ticks all the boxes as far as summer blockbusters go. In a summer jammed packed with sequels and Superheroes this film may have been overlooked had it not been for Spielberg’s involvement and Abrams’s continuing success such as the reboot of Star Trek, Lost and Cloverfield. Elle Fanning is rapidly emerging as one of the stars of the future and gives yet another fantastic portrayal. The rest of the young cast shine as a group but don’t get much screen time to themselves.

Super 8 is a film we should embrace with open arms as a homage to a better period of film making that encapsulates the magic of a good old Spielberg tale.