Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Screw Skynet, I welcome our new prime ape overlords. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes is a superb prequel-reboot-remake thingy of the 1968 classic, with less prosthetics and more Weta CG goodness. Though the side characters serve little more than plot devices, the film never lets go of the fact that this is Caesar’s story, and the emotive range they capture is pretty staggering. There are a couple of holes and cringe-worthy moments, but I hellishly enjoyed this film. I was afraid they’d mess this prequel up, but those fears have been put to rest… and replaced by gorillas…

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127 Hours - 127 word review

Based off of real events, a good-natured explorer, Aron, ventures into the rocky wilderness. On his way through a narrow canyon, he stumbles on a loose boulder. The boulder falls, crushing his arm between itself and the canyon. Stuck in an enclosed and isolated canyon, the film focuses on the 127 horrific hours Aron faces, desperately doing anything he can to survive. With James Franco in the leading role, Danny Boyle successfully crosses off “bottle film” from his list of stuff he hasn’t done yet (followed closely by “musical“ and “Saw sequel”). It’s engagingly agonising, but always elegantly humane. Though you never get a strong sense of claustrophobia, Boyle never lets the pace drop thanks to his masterful directorial flair, while Franco delivers a deliriously sublime performance.

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