Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

When "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" was released, it quickly became one of my favorites of the franchise. It was a brilliant reboot of one of my all-time favorite franchises (as I have pointed out here, here, and here, among other places), and deserved to go down in the pantheon of incredible film making. Now, it's sequel has been given to us, and it is equally as beautiful, climactic, and breath-taking. There are scenes in this movie that moved me to auditory responses that I don't get to make during many films.

Andy Serkis should seriously be given some kind of technical Oscar for being a better mo-cap actor than most actors are without it (because they have some crap rules about giving it to actors who don't appear on-screen). Honestly, I can't think of any performances that were sub-par in this flick, some characters could have flushed out a little better, but just none stand out the way Serkis did. Except, perhaps, Toby Kebbell as Caesar's second in command, Koba. That ape was just plain frightening. Despite a couple of lags in the story early on, it is a well written sci-fi movie, with plenty of heart and brain to spare. "Dawn" simply hurdles toward a third act that is thrilling in every way, and captures the spirit of the original series with an ending filled with doom and gloom.

Grade: A-

3D: Doesn't hurt, doesn't help

Easter Egg: Not really. Only some sounds. 

Starring: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman
Director: Matt Reeves
Writer(s): Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
RT: 130min
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and brief strong language

Lucy (2014)

Place Beatles Reference Here

There a few things that writer/director Luc Besson did right with "Lucy". He cast Scarlett Johansson, who is just utterly incredible in this role. Watching her become godlike in this film is an absolute treat. He and cinematographer Thierry Arbogast create a visually captivating film that manages to keep the eye completely full. There is always something worth looking at in this film. He gave the first twenty minutes some weight and intrigue (complete with some cuts of cheetahs hunting antelope). Despite the concept starting out strong, Besson devolves into a world of mismanaged action sequences, silly pseudo-science, and gaping plot holes. Nothing makes much sense, and its self-aggrandizing gets old rather fast. I honestly can't defend anything that happens in this movie after the inciting incident; therefore, I would not be able to defend suggesting this movie to anybody.

Grade: D
3D: N/A
Easter Egg: None

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Feeman, Min-Sik Choi
Director: Luc Besson
Writer(s): Luc Besson
RT: 90min
Rating: Rated R for strong violence, disturbing images, and sexuality