Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

81% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 263 reviews)

Runtime: 145 minutes

Directed by: Wes Ball

Starring: Various motion-capture performers, Freya Allan, and a famous actor whose identity I dare not spoil

From: 20^th Century Studios

I’m happy to continue the timeline where James Franco was the downfall of humanity. It’s a joke I borrowed from Twitter & I don’t loathe him like some do (him probably trying to act smarter than he actually is… that’s another story) but regardless, I’ve at least liked most of the entries in what is now a 10 film franchise that began in 1968.

Yes, I have a list where someone can read all my reviews if they so desire. It did warm my heart a little to see many mutuals all throughout May visit or revisit the entire series before Kingdom. Undoubtedly, the whole virus aspect hits closer to home now, the ending of Rise the keystone highlight of my point.

Myself, I was cautiously optimistic about Kingdom. There was trepidation as Rise was pretty good and Dawn/War were both great… but the advancement of generations plus Wes Ball filling the director’s seat previously occupied by Matt Reeves in the past two installments gave me pause. Luckily, I did not have to go bananas that Kingdom was a disappointment, as it proved to be rather delightful instead.

The story boiled to its essence was a hero’s journey following the simian Noa who beings as a young unassuming member of a clan who through circumstances encounters (among other characters) a human lady and a self-professed king who bastardizes the lore of Caesar. The movie is patient in telling its story-OK, perhaps too much so at a time or two-but I was riveted & although it blatantly set up ideas for the sequels, the self-contained story still satisfies on its own merits. A serious story where the villain’s motivations are understandable & there’s a minimal amount of humor-what jokes were present, they typically landed-is typically an asset in my enjoyment of a movie.

When I saw Dawn, the appearances of both Keri Russell (no relation) and Gary Oldman left me flabbergasted. In Kingdom, a famous actor appears and as I know others were surprised by this person’s presence, their identity won’t be spoiled. Freya Allan as the main human character was swell; the role was more complex than you would first assume. The VFX, those that continually improved since Rise 13 years ago; that world was acutely brought to life and there was no issue in believing this world, or the remnants of the decaying human world.

Good setpieces, exciting action, a nice score from John Paesano, a story that isn’t simplified for the rubes & instead makes you think a little—if you’ve been a fan of the series since at least 2011, there’s a good chance you’ll give this film high marks also as long as your expectations aren’t sky high.

 

Braddock: Missing in Action III

Braddock: Missing in Action III (1988)

Runtime: 103 minutes

Directed by: Mike Norris

Starring: Chuck Norris, Aki Aleong, Yehuda Efroni, Roland Harrah, III, Miki Kim

From: Cannon

Ahhh, the 80's... when plenty of children can be placed in plenty of (simulated) danger.

In the past I've reviewed the original Missing in Action, which is fine. The prequel second movie hasn't been watched by me-by all accounts it is bad as it wasn't meant to be a prequel but they were filmed at the same time & released the better movie first. In some circles, III is the best of the trilogy, for whatever it is worth. Golan-Globus blatantly aped the Rambo franchise, for obvious monetary reasons. It did not do that well at the box office but at home, this is silly yet enjoyable jingoistic poppycock.

There's a nice Fall of Saigon (1975) opening where Norris is about to leave Vietnam but because of circumstances, falsely believes that his Vietnamese wife passed away in gruesome fashion. It was only now that he hears that not only is she still among the living, they have a son. Despite the CIA being complete D-bags as you'd suspect in an 80's action film, he goes to Vietnam and raises some hell. Note that an entire orphanage becomes involved so we have Chuck attempting to rescue them and a priest from a comically evil Vietnamese army. In fact, it was easy to root for a hero trying to rescue a few dozen children from vile people that wish to do them harm.

The film is silly nonsense where more than once I wondered if there were entire scenes missing. Be that as it may, if you enjoy goofy B-movies where Chuck Norris wrecks dudes, want to see him cosplay as Rambo, and witness MANY explosions, this may be one that the B-action movie fans will dig. You may be horrified by 2024 standards that Chuck's 12 year old son is punched in the face more than once, a gun is pointed at him & the heels literally attempt to blow up dozens of children—me, I am bemused at what seemed to be normal back then. There's even a sexual assault... then an astounding comeuppance for the SOB that committed the act.

The Woman in Green

The Woman in Green (1945)

Runtime: A brisk 68 minutes

Directed by: Roy William Neill

Starring: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Hillary Brooke, Henry Daniell, Paul Cavangah

From: Universal

Viewing a classic mystery film was a nice change of pace; the brisk 68-minute runtime was also a plus for last night. Last summer I viewed 1939’s The Hound of the Baskervilles-starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson-back when the series began at 20th Century Fox. In the 40’s, they moved to Universal where the setting moved from the 19th century to the 1940’s.

I was curious; the reason why I chose this when many of those films can be found for free on YouTube: the cool title + the plot revolving around the distinctive detail of young women murdered… and one digit was severed on each occasion. Is Moriarity involved… despite him (or someone allegedly to be him) having been hung at the gallows? In case it wasn’t evident, aside from two small details taken from two Holmes stories that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote, this was an entirely original tale.

From reviews my mutuals wrote, those Universal movies all seemed rather similar & rote. As I can’t verify this myself, the film will be rated on its own merits. It was rather enjoyable, due in part to Rathbone and Bruce as the lead duo. So it the macabre detail where severed fingers are carried around in pockets. It was a fun mystery and while there’s the bizarre statement from Watson someone 14 stone “shouldn’t own birds” because they are too heavily to properly feed them without possible accidental death (?!?!) overall there was no regrets in seeing more Sherlock on screen, not to mention Rathbone & Bruce. That fatphobic moment wasn’t ideal but at least Watson was properly humiliated in a hilarious scene I dare not spoil.

Dementia 13

Dementia 13 (1963)

Runtime: 75 minutes

Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: William Campbell, Luana Anders, Bart Patton, Mary Mitchel, Patrick Magee

From: AIP

RIP Roger Corman

Like everyone else (well, except Paul Schrader but that’s not dwell on that) I was saddened to hear that he passed away at the age of 98. The fact that less than 6 weeks ago he was at that private screening of Coppola’s Megalopolis where Francis Ford was attempting to find distribution for his movie made the news surprising when I saw interviews w/ him in recent years and he was rather spry for his age. It is incalculable the impact he had on more than one generation of Hollywood with the number of legends & names who worked for him… everyone from Coppola, Jack Nicholson & De Niro to James Cameron, Bogdanovich and Jonathan Demme. It’s a shame that even with Hollywood’s numerous differences since the 60’s and 70’s, there’s no producer like Corman who can help nurture young talent to pay their dues before they made films with the big studios.

Out of all the films I could have chosen, Dementia 13 was chosen not just as an example of him giving Francis Ford a big break but it’s a film I had previously seen years before joining Letterboxd. Coppola worked for Corman for awhile and was in Ireland to assist in his directing 1963’s The Young Racers. Roger was famous for not wasting a nickel during production and was happy to make more than one movie with many if not all of the same set, actors & crew. Corman had money left over from The Young Racers and tasked FFC with creating a Psycho riff. With only a few days, a script was written and while there is stilted dialogue, the overall effort was still a fine 75-minute feature.

Louise is with her husband John in a rowboat. He has a bad heart so he dies of a heart attack after a dispute over his mother’s will. As Louise won’t receive a nickel if he dies first--she forges a letter saying he can’t make it to the annual ceremony of his young sister’s death at a castle in Ireland. She attends and has a scheme to acquire the family fortune but what misfortune that someone with an axe is about…

If given more time, Dementia 13 stood a satisfactory chance of being a better movie. As is, even as a rushed movie where some plot beats suddenly materialized, the movie had decent Gothic atmosphere (filming at an actual Irish castle was an asset) and I was engaged w/ the story, as predictable as it was in my opinion. For the record, I saw the original 75-minute cut that played in places like drive-ins across the United States rather than the shorter director’s cut that Coppola created (as he’s wont to do) several years ago.

Since I’ve been on Letterboxd I’ve viewed more than a few productions that involved Corman, whether it be as director or producer. I’ll be happy to do the same in the future. I do feel bad for Coppola that he loses the man who brought him into the industry soon after his wife (who apparently he met on the set of this film) dies. Also expect some FFC reviews later in the year, including hopefully Megalopolis.

Don't Look Now

Don’t Look Now (1973)

Runtime: 110 minutes

Directed by: Nicolas Roeg

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Julie Christie, Clelia Matania, Massimo Serato, Hilary Mason

From: Paramount released it in the United States

What, don’t YOU sketch in the nude?

Not only was it overdue for me to discuss this famous 70’s thriller, but to talk about Nicolas Roeg as a director for the first time. He didn’t make that many yet many are easy to track down—for certain, in the future some others will be discussed. For Don’t Look Now, a key aspect is the at times unique editing which helps drive the story & assuredly augments the original Daphne Du Maurier story this was based on, along with the obvious motifs of water & the color red.

This was done as the opening is the daughter of Donald Sutherland & Julie Christie passes away in a tragic accident by drowning in a pond while wearing a distinctive red jacket. Besides the obvious of the movie moving from England to a city famed for its canals so he can work on restoring an old church, Sutherland sees a small girl wearing a similar jacket around Venice as his wife meets a pair of twin sisters-because this was partially an Italian genre production from the 70’s, OF COURSE one of the sisters is blind, and of course she’s psychic-causing an escalation of bizarre moments and strange images that Sutherland witnesses.

The film is a meditation on grief expressed through various motifs and recurring moments as the lead couple struggle to maintain their relationship despite still having a healthy son. Venice was successfully presented as an alien world to the lead couple, one where the locals commonly stare at them and as a viewer, unless you speak Italian we are kept in the dark as those aren’t translated. A relative went to Venice and noted that “the city smelled terrible” and “there was constant flooding.” I can’t verify those statements and if it was true then hopefully the city has improved… in any case, the city was presented quite well—many different locations seen throughout.

Mix in a quality Pino Donaggio score and this is a movie that people should stick with even if they feel it lags at times or you’re befuddled as to the plot. Once the great conclusion is seen, everything comes together and there’s an explanation of sorts for the peculiar moments. Both Sutherland and Christie deserve praise for their excellent performances, as does Roeg for his solid direction. At least I finally got around to discussing this piece of work and a movie from the famed director.

By the by, there is a random moment where Ol’ Donald starts sketching after getting out of the shower without putting any clothes on, leading to an awkward moment w/ the maid. I don’t sketch myself; even if I did, it wouldn’t be when I was naked!

Who Saw Her Die?

Who Saw Her Die? (Chi I’ha Vista Morire?) (1972)

Runtime: 94 minutes

Directed by: Aldo Lado

Starring: George Lazenby, Anita Strindberg, Adolfo Celi, Dominique Boschero, Peter Chatel

From: Several different production companies

Featuring Not Timothee Chalamet

There’s plenty of giallo for me to possibly view in the future. The reason why this was selected? It has some story beats which will remind you of a thriller quite famous: a little girl is shown dead in the opening, drowning is involved, the setting is Venice. Lest you think this is a B-movie ripoff of that film (which I haven’t reviewed… yet), this came out first. It may be a case that this was also based on the same Daphne Du Maurier short story, but let me not get sidetracked.

Who’s plot: George Lazenby (w/ great mustache) lives in Venice; his daughter Roberta visits him from London but estranged wife Elizabeth doesn’t come along. They visit several characters which will eventually become red herrings after Roberta is murdered by yes, someone wearing black gloves. Elizabeth comes down and she is dragged into her husband’s attempt at investigating this crime. The guy I call Not Timothee Chalamet is a minor character who has limited screentime and only one scene of note, but his appearance did amuse me.

The plot meanders at times due to a lack of momentum. Otherwise, this was a fine giallo effort which has some blood and plenty of sleaze; besides a sex scene soon after the death of their daughter, there’s a key character accused of pedophilia and another exhibits creepy behavior towards Roberta at one point. Even if you exclude the whole child murder aspect, there are affairs, bad rich dudes, even badder behavior… this is all done in a Venetian setting that was sometimes covered in fog, leading to nice atmosphere.

A huge asset for the film was the Morricone score; the keystone there was a child’s choir, but it wasn’t always used to create angelic music. Instead, it at times was used in odd, unexpected ways to create something bizarre & unnerving for your ears that augments the actions on screen. Thankfully, it’s on YouTube for those curious, as the score is pretty wild. For better or worse, the denouement was undoubtedly one you’d find in a giallo. In fact, without remember specific examples, it does resemble at least one other I’ve heard in a genre I’ve only seen a small amount of.

Does this work as the B-movie in a double feature at home, following Don’t Look Now? Yes it does; naturally, this movie isn’t as mature or contemplative as Roeg’s classic but it is one many genre fans can dig.

 

Airplane!

Airplane! (1980)

Runtime: 88 minutes

Directed by: The ZAZ trio

Starring: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges

From: Paramount

Surely you can't be serious in saying you don't even remember the last time you saw this in full?

I am... and don't call me Shirley.

Quite simply, when I discovered last night that this movie was on Prime (& it could be seen free for me as a Prime member) the choice was easy for me.

By now many people have the foreknowledge of Airplane's plot. It spoofs the Airport disaster movies of the 70's-which I've viewed-along with closely following the plot of 1957's Zero Hour, which I haven't seen for comparison's sake. Unlike what happened to spoof comedies a few decades ago, this is not predicated on then-modern humor (for the most part) for its gags. Rather, the humor is full of silly puns involving names, sight gags, running gags revisited occasionally, wordplay, etc.

Also, there was more off-color humor than what was in my memory banks. Not all of my Letterboxd mutuals enjoyed that aspect, which is fair. There's a pun involving a woman inflating the automatic pilot (those unfamiliar w/ the movie, it makes sense in context!) which looks incredibly vulgar from behind, Peter Graves plays a pilot who implies he likes little boys, a little girl “likes black men”, etc. Personally, it's too silly for me personally to be offended. Jerry Seinfeld says that comedy now is “too woke” and I'd rather not go down that path... except to say that no matter your opinion on the topic, the subsequent release of his big Netflix movie flopping hard in terms of general reception did not help his cause.

In any regard, even if you've never seen Airplane it is likely you've heard some of his most famous phrases/moments that have entered the lexicon. From old white lady Barbara Billingsley talking jive and “I've picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue” to Otto the blowup doll automatic pilot and many others, it's quite the feat that the movie has soared since 1980 when before release it was just seen as a silly little comedy no one had expectations for. They were able to hire familiar faces known for drama who never winked at the camera while they acted serious in increasingly absurd situations.

As I believe that modern comedy in general is pretty terrible-no matter the reasons why this may be the case-it is a relief that Airplane for the most part hasn't aged poorly.