Immortals (2011)

One man must rise against an unstoppable army, lead
his people and become Immortal...

This is loosely based off the stories of Theseus as
he goes on a quest to find the Epirus Bow and stop the
Evil King Hyperion. I wanted to see this becasue
the trailers looked very cool and I'm a fan of all the
Greek Mythology. Now this was quite the film all the action
and effect shots were amazing. The fights and the action were

very quick and brutal. This movie for one doesn't
pull any punches. Its uncompromising, Unflinching, vicious,
bloody and basically gory. Some scenes might make
you want to turn your head and wince, namely
the "Ball Busting" scene.

There are exploding heads and bodies in slow motion! Even though the
slow motion fights were very impressive they are extremely graphic
and...in 3D! with blood splashing towards you.
Speaking of 3D it was pretty good effect especially in the fast and
slow paced fights and yes there was even nudity..Nudity in 3D!

I would all so like to say I liked the production design as well as the
costumes they were excellently done. I loved all the various masks
Hyperion and his army wore. The Designs were all Unique and interesting
especially the one for "the Minotaur" Even though the production
design was very good they didn't do alot on a big scale it seemed that this
all tood place in the same general area. There was some Interesting landscapes
but not much. I think alot of the production went into the fine details.

One of the things That I thought really sold the movie was the music .
The Sound Track for this was incredible! The acting wasn't bad either
Mickey Rourke does a great villain and the guy soon to be the
New Man of Steel (Henry Cavill) was very good as well I would have to say
I believed in this anger and this reasons for rising up. as for Freida Pinto
she did well also especially in one key scene, you'll probably know the one
I'm talking about...

As for the story I felt it was kind of loose it reminded me of things like
Gladiator and the Scorpion King. The whole film seemed like it was a cross
between 300 and Clash of the Titans (2010). One of the major problems I had
with it was the depiction of the Gods to me they didn't seem very God like..
I for some reason expected something more I felt the Gods in movies like
Percy Jackson and Clash of the Titans (2010) were better compared to the ones
in this, but in the end..

If you are looking for some deep hysterical epic this is not that. If your looking for
something driven by pure action and visual effects then I think this is the one for you.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Now I wanted to see this due to its prequelness
How did it become a Planet of the Apes?
it all apparently started with a brilliant young scientist played
by James Franco who is the leading expert in all things
to do with the brain as he works to solve and cure the mystery's
of Alzheimer's disease. What he is doing is very noble and
come from the heart because he wants to save his father
(played by John Lithgow) from the crippling disease.

He Develops a cure which seems to work on a Ape which
has been dubbed "Bright Eyes" but after and tragedy
in the lab they loose the ape, but Franco is left
with a small baby ape who is the new born son
of "Bright Eyes" Franco's character brings the
baby ape home to his ill fathers delight and
the two of them name the small chimp Caesar.

They soon find out how special this lil chimp
is as the experimental drug has been passed on
from mother to son and as Caesar's intelligences
grow the two men begin to raise his as a human child.

As Caesar becomes more intelligent by the day
and proves how much of a miracle the drug is
Franco's character uses it on his father which
in turn reverses the effect of Alzheimer's
for a short time.

After a incident with a neighbor involving
Caesar and his growing curiosity Faranco's
character along with his new Girlfriend and
veterinarian Caroline Aranha (played by Freida Pinto)
come to the decision that it is not right to
keep Caesar cooped up in the house and decided
to take him to a local national park and
show Caesar the beauty of the world and
and what it is like to be...free.

But sadly not everything goes so smoothly
as Caesar begins to question his place in
"Man's World" as well as the
treatments no longer having any effect
on Franco's father and after a second
incident with a neighbor Caesar
is taken from everything he has know
and is put in a Animal shelter.

Caesar quickly becomes displeased with humanity
and feels as though Franco's character has turned
his back on him even though he does do everything
he can to bring him home. Caesar rises to the
head of the other apes and starts a revolt while at
the same time franco tries to fix his
miracle cure with disastrous results...

First off I though this was an amazing movie.
it is truly one of the best of the year.
I liked how they included things such as lines and
saying from the original films. The acting
on this was no less then perfect. I really enjoyed
the performances from everyone especially
Andy Serkis who truly brought the ape of
Caesar to life. The writing was very good and
there was some "monkey business" going on
as in some jokes by the CG Apes.
But I would have to say the effects were
breathtaking and showed true emotion in their
presentation and animation.

Now I did want to say that the neighbor guy was a
real jerk. I felt that he was a total hot head in
both instances with Caesar. The first
one where he was going to hit him with the bat was
in my view uncalled for.
Also for the second with the car was as well he should
know that the old man (John Lithgow) was not well and
has Alzheimer's and that is no reason to be a jerk to him
Also true having Alzheimer's is not excuse either but still
the guy next door could have been a little more understanding.
As for Caesar attacking him well Caesar was protecting
his "family" from someone who was being overly aggressive
and yes that is no excuse either but still
I think the guy next door brought it upon himself.

Also the young guy at the animal sanctuary I believe he got what
he deserved as well. he was the greatest example of being a jerk.
If you want respect from the animals you have to show them respect.
that is why Caesar didn't want the other young guy hurt becasue he
didn't do anything to the apes unlike the one that was spraying
them with the hose and using the cattle prods on them.

Now even though this movie had a good story and I enjoyed
it, it does leave mw with a lot of questions..
mainly how does this fit into either version of "Planet of the Apes"?
it doesn't seem to line up with either the Charlton Heston version
or the Tim Burton version featuring Mark Wahlberg.

Both take place in the future where both Heston and Wahlberg
are space explores who get sucked into a lets say
"Time Anomaly" which shoots them into a even further future
where earth is apparently ruled by a society of super
intelligent talk apes.
But then again this movie take place in present day...
How does this fit into the already established continuity?
Personally I thought this in a way synced up with
the Tim Burton version best due to the ending of that film.
and I was told there was a scene in after the initial credits
so I thought you would see the main ape from Burton's appear in the
POD and changing the past leading to the end of Burton's version but
that didn't happen instead you get a somewhat explanation on how
the human population declines, but that still doesn't explain
how the intelligent apes from San Fransisco get to places like
Australia and Japan? Also how do you get back to the first
film? Where astronauts crash on "the planet of the Apes"?
If your really paying attention there is new footage on a
TV in the background about the first maned mission to Mars and then
in a following scene you see a Newspaper headline saying the
shuttle has been lost in space. Which you could say is an
explanation and how this links up but I feel that it is so off
to the side and "blink and you'll miss it" that is feels more like
they are just covering their ass story wise then anything else.

But other then that is this an amazing movie and is worth seeing
it has a good story, some nice action and amazing effects. you shouldn't
be dis a pointed.