It’s been awhile! For everything! We’re in the thick of the holidays so there’s a lot of slowdown. Great time to catch up on movies with TV on haitus but that ends next week.

It’s been some time since I’ve watched a movie I really liked. I’ve watched 3 this week and I’ll be doing quick hits of those this weekend. I plan on getting out to see Aquaman in January, which I’m looking forward to.

Netflix keeps putting out shows I like so a lot of my free time has been put there. Let’s go over some stuff.

Ink Master finished another season and this year was themed to a Grudge match. Cleen and Christian coached teams and overall it was a fun watch. The final 4 were tremendous talents but good lord do I hate the finales of this show. So much back-biting and trash talking makes it such a drag. I jump ahead to see the final pieces and the results.

On SYFY I completely missed Nightflyers and the new season of Channel Zero. I’m halfway through Nightflyers (if you can use the SYFY app on a media device instead of their website. The video player on the site is not good). I like but do not love Nightflyer. It looks gorgeous, the cast is great but there’s something about it that doesn’t make me seek it out like other similar-ish shows like The Expanse. I don’t like most of the characters, I think that’s why. I’m hoping it all comes together. When I finish, I move on to Channel Zero. I think Happy! starts soon and the ads for Deadly Class are interesting so that’s two more for SYFY.

The final season of Gotham starts on the 4th!

I was fortunate enough for DC to gift me a year subscription to their new DC Universe service. That gave me access to the first season of Titans which I have been looking forward to. First and foremost, it isn’t Teen Titans which the fan base knows and loves the best. The tone of this show is much different and the only thing they really have in common (so far) are the main characters of Robin, Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire. I think you need to drop the expectations for a live-action Teen show coming into this, that’s how much different they are (Titans is a very dark, adult take on the property). It’s a little slow to get going but overall I like it. Cliff hanger ending, but I think the casting is right on and they sell the story well. Robin is pretty fresh from leaving Batman behind due to (mostly) ethical reasons. Beast Boy has been living an isolated life so finding this group of misfits is the start of something great for him, even if it is dangerous and challenging. Raven’s powers are just starting so she has no idea what’s going on and that’s the main arc of the season. Starfire is the most different. We meet her “on the job” but she doesn’t know what that job is. She can’t remember what she’s here for only that she’s looking for Raven. Dressed as a prostitute, it means she’s been in some shady places trying to put things together. She’s comfortable on Earth, having no idea she’s not from here. Her childish and goofy charm isn’t part of this take which I don’t mind. I think her fish out of water mistakes/comments would have gotten old fast. It’s a short season so it moves at a good clip and teases a lot of DC tie-ins which I like so I’m invested in what happens. This is just the start of their original programming and there’s a great promise. Doom Patrol is next, the return of Young Justice should be fantastic (it never should have been canceled, it’s easily one of the best animated DC shows) and Swamp Thing is filming now. There’s more coming down the pipe but those shows are a ways off.

Now for Netflix. Voltron is finished and I liked it a lot. They put a lot of work into wrapping everything up and I think they did an admirable job. The timing of seasons coming out felt random so there is disjointed feeling I got from watching each chunk. There’s a lot I didn’t remember right away (I never went back to rewatch) but this show really scratches that sci-fi itch. Great characters, great animation, and some terrific sound design make it the total package. The ending had some serious weight to it, glad I watched it.

3Below: Tales of Arcadia. The spin-off series from Troll Hunters. I forgot all about this so when it popped up about a week ago, I dove right in. The tie-in to TH turned out great. Fun and inventive way to spin out this universe into another one about an alien prince and princess. It maintained the quality of animation and I really like Aja, Krel, and Varvatos Vex. The fish out of water stuff was often really funny, the writing on this show is really good. My only problem was with their pet, Luug. Why does this alien animal sound exactly like a dog? Sure you have to suspend your disbelief to make a lot of this show work (everyone speaks English, for example) but this doesn’t match the creativity put into the rest of the show.

I’ve been away from anime for a long time so I was happy to see a new batch of Seven Deadly Sins episodes. This show is basically a version of Dragon Ball Z but with way better pacing. All the problems are unsurprisingly still there though. Some really horrific dialog, which I think is mostly from directly translating Japanese to English so the syntax is all wrong. Another annoyance is when something happens on screen (like a monster getting cut with a sword) and a character will say exactly what happened. Nothing that ads context or background, but a literal replay in dialog form (“The sword cut the monster, it must be a sharp blade”). It’s the weirdest waste of time. The other problem is this show can get really uncomfortable to watch. The main character, Meliodas, gropes Elizabeth’s chest, looks up her skirt, and she does not like it. He basically ambushes her randomly and she recoils in horror every time. Saying it’s perverted is an understatement and it ruins every moment. Crazy costumes that exploit female bodies is a long staple of this genre but this stuff is mind-bogglingly stupid. I don’t know why they still do stuff like this. It serves no good purpose and is such a slam-on-the-breaks blight to an otherwise good show.

I can’t remember if I wrote about the second season of Castlevania, but I’ll say it’s totally worth watching. Some of the action is killer and the final fight is especially fantastic. The best choreography I’ve seen since the end of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles last year (the CG one).

I just started Sirus the Jaeger which has something to do with vampire hunters so I’m hoping it’ll be cool. I’m dying for some good anime, it’s been so long since I’ve seen a good one worth recommending.

I went through the entire The Great British Baking Show collection (except for Masterclass) in like 3 months and if you need something to kick back to, this is it. You can have it on the background while you do stuff and it’s just as enjoyable. One of my favorite competition shows, there’s a lot of jolly vibes in every episode.

I just started Sick Note which stars Rupert Grint and Nick Frost. I saw Rupert on the thumbnail and had to give it a try. Rupert plays Dennis, a 20 something shlub who is lazy and takes everything good in his life for granted. On his worst day ever. his girlfriend kicks him out, his job is threatened, and to top it off, he’s diagnosed with cancer. The hook is, due to stupid Dr. Glennis (Frost), Dennis is given the wrong info, he doesn’t have cancer. Dennis notices a rather nice upswing in his life when he told everyone he had cancer and instead of telling the truth, he doubles down to milk it for a few months and everything spirals from there. I’m on episode 2 (of 12, don’t know if there is more) and it’s great. It’s obviously a dark comedy and man, by the end of episode 1 they go to places I didn’t even think of.

When I’m done with Sick Note I’ll stay on that side of the pond with Derry Girls. That or the final season of A Series of Unfortunate Events. That drops on January 1st so I’m not sure which will pull me in first.

Pacific Rim: Uprising– I’m a fan of the first movie that came out in 2013. Guillermo del Toro making a sci-fi giant robots fighting giant monsters action movie was basically made for me. While it had its faults with a simple plot, I think it did what it wanted to. It set up a new universe and showed audiences giant robots fighting giant monsters in spectacular fashion. The sequel starts 10 years later with the human race largely recovered from the alien beings invading through the dimensional rift that opened in the Pacific Rim. Wealthy countries rebounded much faster than other locations, but as far as everyone is concerned, the war was won. The aliens had an ace up their sleeve though and as time has passed, they have quietly been setting up the next invasion. A young generation of Yaeger pilots is introduced, including Jake, the son of Stacker Pentecost, one of the heroes from the original. As a whole, I liked this new one has it showed me more of what I liked. That’s a basic need for any sequel. Many more robot and monster types and more action (that’s set during the day with no rain!) that show off how mankind has pulled together to defend the planet. But it also doesn’t do anything new or daring. There’s very little lore added to the universe (I don’t think they even mention what happened to Charlie Hunnam’s Raleigh Becket) and the movie boils down to the exact same arc of the first movie: the best defense is with teamwork. Now the set up for a sequel looks to do more, but it’s disappointing that more wasn’t done with this story. Meet the new team, show them training, the threat grows, the threat comes out, the final fight, credits. While I did enjoy it, Uprising is a rote adventure that hangs its hat on giants for its action scenes in an attempt to stand out.

Hotel Artemis– A really neat premise of a movie with a stacked cast. In the not too distant future, Los Angeles is in a state of chaos over fresh water. In the city is the Hotel Artemis, a secret hospital for criminals that is run by The Nurse. She’s been running this members-only facility for around twenty years and she’s pushed to her limit when a volatile mix of clients come knocking. There are strict rules set up for the Artemis to function and things fall apart when those rules are broken. If you’ve seen John Wick, this idea may sound rather familiar. I think it’s safe to say the idea for Hotel Artemis was taken from the assassin hideout in the Wick series. While the general idea of the facility is similar, the story is quite different. The Nurse is the main character and as the movie progresses we learn more about her and the hotel. I liked this a whole lot as I was always surprised at how many story layers there are (something that Pacific Rim: Uprising is sorely lacking) and was happy to see each layer get pulled back. I’m a fan of assassin movies and Artemis gave me my fill. Fun characters that are put into a pressure cooker, each with their own motives and histories. Some have met, others have not. Check out this cast list: Jodie Foster, Dave Bautista, Sterling K. Brown, Jeff Goldblum, Charlie Day (I don’t know what the odds are of watching two movies that Charlie is in back to back unintentionally), Zachary Quinto, and Sofia Boutella. It looks cool, it’s acted slick and the action was surprisingly on point. I give the action set piece gold star to Sofia Boutella’s hallway gauntlet. A lovely mix of vicious and sexy. I even liked the ending so I’m happy to report that the Hotel Artemis was a pleasant surprise.

Tomb Raider (2018)- I wanted to like this. The one sentence review is this was a disappointment. It’s not a bad movie, it just sits somewhere in the middle with nothing there to elevate it to greatness. The plot follows closely to the recent game reboot: a young Lara Croft, with no adventures under her belt, follows a path left behind from her father’s disappearance and assumed death to a remote island that hides a legendary power. So we have some globe-trotting, a bunch of chase sequences, gun and fist fights, and a little bit of bow and arrow work from Lara. It’s all well made too. Well shot, special effects are good, editing and acting are fine. It all falls flat though, there’s just no meat to bite into. I think Alicia Vikander does a fine job as Lara but with so many action movies coming out every year, you need to do something to stand out from the rest. I don’t think Tomb Raider does. I can compare it to Mission Impossible: Fallout. While that movie leans heavily on what’s come before, the whole “we’ve been abandoned by the government, again!” angle, the action on display is mindboggling exciting and unique. Tomb Raider just doesn’t reach the bar set by its peers. If you skip this, you aren’t missing out on anything.

A trip down Stephen King Lane!

1922– This story reminded me a lot of the kind of pieces that Edgar Allan Poe wrote. Wilfred James is a farmer struggling to make ends meet in 1922. When he gets the idea that the best fix for their problems is to kill his wife for financial gain, he convinces his son to help. Like any good story with a moral center, this action by Wilfred has consequences he never could have foreseen. It’s a slow ratchet up the hill of insanity for Wilfred. A plan that seems like the best and only way out for him and his son to prosper, one he plans out as best he can, completely ruins his family. The damage radiates for from his home as well. A very telling line early on is one where Wilfred narrates ” I discovered something that night that most people never have to learn. Murder is sin. Murder is damnation. But murder is also work.” I liked this a lot for the road it traveled. How Wilfred, who did everything to hold on to his pitiful pride, lead himself to bring hell on Earth. What he held dearest, his land and his son, not only continued to drift away but also rotted from the inside out because of him.  I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this but came away with an appreciation for another Stephen King concoction.

Gerald’s Game– This tale takes place almost entirely in one location. I’d consider this a “bottle” episode where the razor-sharp focus is on one character and their journey of self-discovery. Here, the character study is on Jessie. She and her husband Gerald go away for a weekend. The spark in their marriage has been on life support for some time and the idea for them to be alone and explore new things with each other on a lovers retreat seems like a good one. It goes wrong quickly and Jessie finds herself alone and trapped in the house. Once she’s alone I wasn’t sure where the story would go but I liked where it went. A deep dive into Jessie’s past makes her confront her long locked away secrets and find a possible path to save herself. I saw Jessie a certain way at the start and found her to be completely different at the end, something I always look for and appreciate when it’s done well. Things get weird, in typical Stephen King fashion as he explores childhood trauma and emotional shackles that can weigh anyone down, even if they aren’t conscious of it. Mix in flashbacks, hallucinations. a few boogymen, a dash of ‘oh nooooo’ gore, and you have a Game you won’t soon forget.  Another one I was pleasantly surprised with.

Cargo– A simple and straight forward story of a family trying to survive a pandemic in Australia. While the cause is never covered, it’s a zombie-like virus that is spread by being bitten. Once contracted, a person has about 48 hours before they transform completely. In just a few hours, the first terrible symptoms start. Andy and Kay are traveling with their infant daughter and after making a misstep, Kay is bitten. From there it is up to Andy to keep his daughter safe. Andy is played by Martin Freeman so he’s the immediate draw. He’s great in this, a father doing everything he can to keep his family safe. This reminds me of The Road as it’s a bleak story in a minimalist environment with few characters. I like this kind of stories, where people are pushed into tough situations and have to make major decisions that can mean life or death. The “what would you do?” angle is a fun thought experiment. This isn’t a scary movie, maybe a bit more if you have children, but it’s a well done if unoriginal survival tale that doesn’t overstay it’s welcome at 100 minutes long.

The Night Comes for Us– This isn’t a horror movie, but the level of gore and violence push it in that direction. If you like the two The Raid movies, you are going to want to watch this right away. Ito is a gangland enforcer, a stone cold killer in a group called the Six Seas. So deep in the Triad world, a person can never get out of such a position by simple means. After a brutal mission overseas, he can’t take carnage anymore and he defects. Once home he’s sucked into an insurrection is his Triad family and all hell breaks loose. He and his remaining friends are constantly being attacked and they must take extreme measures to protect themselves as it’s killed or be killed. The story is kept simple, with a few screens of text at the start to give the background set up, then you meet the main character and it’s off through almost two hours of straight mayhem. Brief pauses in the action set up the next action sequence and it’s some of the wildest and most vicious fight choreography around. This one is solely for action fans, dig in.

Let us discuss!

The Void– A cop parked on the side of a street on the look out for speeding cards comes across an injured man who stumbles out of the woods. He takes the man to an understaffed hospital (it’s being shut down soon) and the night takes a turn for the worst when a cult shows up along with some rather hungry creatures. This movie starts pretty strong but doesn’t really go anywhere. The Void is a pretty opaque thing and very little detail about it is given. The movie is pretty scant on any kind of detail as people are forced into a tight space for survival. So at the start, there’s a lot of angry people yelling at each other and for some reason, they don’t want to fill in each other about what they’ve been through or what they know. As a whole, it’s pretty well made. There are some impressive creature effects here and there but the gaps due to a low budget are pretty obvious. There are a few parts in the first half where the editing gets really weird like they had to cut around the fact that they didn’t have footage to show some things. Like the bottom half of a creature doesn’t exist so they had to severely limit shots. A person will move around or get pulled away by a creature in a strange jump cut where a lot of movement is assumed, the gaps so big it can look like things are teleporting around.  While darkness and flashing lights are pretty effective at hiding flaws, it’s mostly the weird editing moves that make this production look rather cheap. It’s not what I’d call scary either. I got a certain Hellraiser vibe from The Void but it never reaches that kind of intensity or sense of dread. I’m having a hard time nailing down what’s missing but I guess the ending was so unsatisfying that it makes me hesitate to recommend this.

I Am Not A Serial Killer- I mentioned this movie two months ago and it left such a positive impression on me that it’s made me want to discuss it. John is a troubled kid. He sees a doctor about his disturbing thoughts, most of them homicidal. He’s constantly worried that he’s going to eventually hurt someone, act upon his terrible thoughts that his doctor and mother help him keep in check. Then a strange murder happens in town and John becomes obsessed with it. He’s naturally drawn to the macbre, so with someone killing and taking body parts, he can’t help himself from investigating. This movie is a fun and well-made whodunnit and monster movie that thrives on its aesthetics and great cast (Christopher Loyd still rules). It’s got some great moments of mounting dread and suspense with quick pops of gore and violence to bring the message home. I found it tastefully done and was interested from start to finish. I like the end so I’m going to give this one a recommendation.

The Mission: Impossible movies have been pretty reliable for entertainment. Especially with the release of Ghost Protocol, the franchise has found it’s groove and brought some real unique and exciting action set pieces. Fallout continues that trend.

Writer/Director Christopher McQuarrie returns for his second term helming the ship and this guy knows how to make movie magic. Solomon Lane continues to be a bother, his followers forming a new organization under new leadership. They’ve got their sights set on causing mass destruction to create a new world order and it’s up to Ethan Hunt and his IMF team to once again save the world.

Right out of the gate, the plot gets pretty convoluted. There’s a lot of double-crossing going on and it gets hard to keep track of it all. New characters get quick introductions and it’s not clear who they are, where they come from, and who they work for. Being a spy series that’s expected to a degree but it feels like a lot is glossed over and the viewer is expected just know the characters name and be willing to be whisked away to the next scene(I’m thinking of The White Widow in particular). I’m sure some confusion can be cleared up with more viewings and revisiting earlier films for a refresher (Sean Harris’ Solomon Lane was introduced in Rogue Nation). Another point of confusion for me is name confusion. Solomon Lane and John Lark have similar last names and they are often referred to only by their last names. Sometimes I wasn’t sure what name the actor said and would get confused about who they were talking about. It’s also found it weird that once again, the IMF team are cut off from their resources and government help. “We gotta do this alone!” is turning into a well-worn crutch for this series.

While those are some bothersome problems, it doesn’t ruin an otherwise fantastic ride. McQuarrie knows how to frame a scene and shoot action. This movie is oftentimes gorgeous and the action set pieces are mostly all Raise the Bar of the Entire Industry level. This is one of the few movies I’ve seen in a while that demands you go to the cinema to get the most out of it.

Every inch of the frame is utilised. They must have used some crazy new wide angle lenses because the picture looks so expansive. Gorgeous framing with eye-popping cinematography. London and Paris wrap themselves around the viewer and asks you to take a bite.

This wide-angle look is continuous throughout the movie. If you’re watching the team come up with a plan, walking through a location or on a crazy chase through a city or mountain range, you have a view of it all. Action scenes aren’t crammed in tight and cut at warp speed. You can see where everyone is and what they are doing. The positioning is clear and you can follow the madness, often feeling like you’re there.

I watched this in a Dolby Cinema room and I think that’s a big part of why this movie popped so much for me. Monsterous screen, gorgeous picture quality, and a stupidly expensive sound system. Like I mentioned, McQuarrie shoots most of this action wide so when he sticks the camera on the side of a vehicle, or inside of it, it felt like I was right there. This is especially effective in the helicopter scene where you bounce back and forth with a character shooting out of the sides. You can see a ton of landscaping flying by and it totally sells how high up you are and how small the inside of the helicopter is. Watching the actual Tom Cruise clinging to the bottom of the helicopter is memorizing and pushes a sense of realism a lot of action movies these days don’t do. Speaking of realism, the sound work on Fallout is also incredible. The report from handguns was a real stand out and kicks and punches sound so brutal.

The ads show crazy glimpses of a bathroom fight and it totally lived up to the hype. I think the last fight scene that really knocked people out is the hallway fight from the first season of Daredevil on Netflix (something that production as tried to duplicate and never achieved again, so far). It is nuts and needs to be seen. It legit looks like they are beating the stuffing out of each other. Henry Cavill looks like a monster brawler. I didn’t think they’d top that fight and then I’m served up with an absolute slobber knocker of a fight in a cabin that was riveting from start to finish. I think the helicopter chase scene will go down in history as one of the best action sequences ever filmed.

I found a lot to like here and it makes me continue to look forward to more. I think another change of pace, the likes of what Rogue Nation did, is now needed to keep this series on top. Clean up the plot and avoid those M:I cliches. On the action front, I don’t know how they can top this, but hey, that’s not my job. If it was, I’d hire every action choreographer and stunt person from this movie to do it.

There’s a bunch of animated movies I’ve been meaning to get to so here’s a quick hit list for you!

Moana– A beautiful tale set in ancient Polynesia, Moana is a young woman who sets out on a quest to save her home from a curse that was started by Demigod Maui. He stole the heart of the island and now Moana must find him and make things right. Fantastic, vibrant animation (think Finding Nemo: Above and Sometimes Under the Ocean) with some great characters. Dwayne The Rock Johnson is perfect as Maui and he plays great against/with Auli’i Cravalho as Moana. Cute, funny, and sweet, this is a great family movie with pops of fun action. Does a great service for the Polynesian culture, I recommend it.

The Secret Life of Pets– File this one under “It’s good, I guess.” I don’t have much to say for this one as there’s nothing much to talk about. It’s best for very young children as there is little plot to speak of. “A day in the life” is more like it as the creativity of this movie comes mostly from ideas of how pets spend their day when their owners aren’t home. Instead of having a plot that can engage all age types, like Pixar does, Life of Pets spends most of its time on figuring out how to get animals from point A to point B in different ways. Good animation and standard gags that highlight how animals behave (cats are aloof! Dogs sniff butts to greet each other!) should hold your attention enough to get you to the end. Nothing special here…I consider that it’s only 80 minutes long to be one of it’s best features.

Despicable Me 3– This one felt very similar to The Secret Life of Pets. At around 80 minutes, the movie is short but the script was clearly padded to reach a full-length feature run time. The main premise is good, Gru finds out he has a twin brother, Dru, and Dru wants to tag along and revive the families business of being a world-class villain. The main antagonist, Balthazar Bratt, is probably the best idea and follow through in the movie. It’s a very by the numbers DM movie though. The animation is fine, there are some clever moments but it’s all rather boring. The unicorn sub-plot is a complete waste of time. Bratt doesn’t do much for the run of the movie, disappearing for long stretches of time and he seemingly just sits around for most of the movie after he gets the giant jewel. Having Steve Carell do the voice of Dru seems really lazy to me and it makes the brothers too similar (they’ve been apart for something like 40 years and Gru never knew Dru existed). I never cared for anything the minions do in this movie and they’re off doing their own dumb thing (i.e. very little) for most of the movie. Only one part of this movie was worth paying attention to, the other two parts were 20 minutes or so of spinning plates to make it seem like more was going on. Disappointing.

Coco– And now here’s another showcase of why Pixar is the best in the animation business and makes all the money. Miguel is an aspiring musician at the age of 12. His family has banned music from a traumatic event that occurred two generations earlier. Miguel must hide his dream and talent from his family. Then, as Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) approaches, his family finds out when he wants to sign up for a talent show. His grandmother smashes his guitar and Miguel goes in search of a new one. When he tries to borrow his great-great-grandfather’s guitar (a legendary musician) he’s transported to the Land of the Dead where he meets his deceased family members and finds out a whole new aspect of his family.

It’s a fantastic and timely story about the importance of family and the legacy we leave behind. Lovely and endearing characters I grew to know and love, I think Coco is a brilliant example of powerful story telling. On top of the rich and complex story that has laughs, twists and turns, and heartbreak, the visuals push Pixar to the top of their craft. Ignoring the standard brilliant animation they have for their characters, the detail in everything around the characters is unmatched. The colors, the effects, it all makes a digital world come to life. The world never looks like a set made up of simple shapes and plastic, but a real place with three-dimensional depth. The soundtrack is great too! I loved Coco and recommend it to everyone.

Sausage Party– I think the goal of this project from the start was to make a crazy edgy movie like Team America. But it gets nowhere close to that quality. I think I laughed 3 times. So that’s not a good batting average for a comedy. It’s just…not good. Let’s make all the characters stereotype’s based on what food they are. Let’s curse just because we can. Let’s have half the characters be obsessed with sex because that’s….funny? To keep it from being completely shallow, we’ll make it an allegory for…religion? Oh and there’s no good way to end the movie so let’s break the 4th wall and call it a day. If you never watch this movie, rest assured you haven’t missed anything.

I loved Rise and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. War caps what I consider one of the best film trilogies ever made.

It’s two years after the events of Dawn and Caesar, along with his remaining people are holed up in the woods. Caught in a never-ending tide of battle, the human’s keep coming in and attacking. After winning a fight (if you can call it that) Caesar sends four prisoners of war back to their leader, The Colonel, with a message: leave us alone and no one has to die. The apes are exhausted and scared, they just want to live on their own in peace. This faction of humans has a different idea.

Caesar has been deeply traumatized by the events of Dawn. The battle with his brother, Koba, took a massive toll on his mind. Koba could not let his hatred go and the results were devastating. When the Colonel sneaks into the apes home and kills Caesar’s wife and eldest son, he finds himself fighting the same demons that consumed Koba. Caesar swears revenge and puts his life, along with the lives of his people, right in the path of all out war.

Complex, engaging, emotional, and riveting. All of it can be found in War for the Planet of the Apes. Brilliant, mature storytelling bolstered by cutting-edge visual effects make this series one of my absolute favorites.

The growth of Caesar as a character through each film is a fantastic journey to follow. From an ape to a leader, one who leads by positive example for the betterment of his people, is really inspiring. The VFX are second to none, from frame one I never saw the apes (who are in 98% of the screentime) as anything but sentient beings on camera. Just look at the eyes of these amazing creations shows a production team far ahead of many of their peers.

Caesar is just the tip of the fantastic characters as everyone around him is a fantastic and believable character. I love Maurice. He’s the right-hand man, confidant, advisor, and friend that everyone should have. The Colonel is far more than a trite villain, he has valid reasons for doing what he does. Everything he does is horrible making him a fantastic antagonist to root against. His backstory adds so much to make him more than a cardboard cut out with a gun, something many movies get nowhere close to.

I found War to be a harrowing story from start to finish. I rolled through every emotion possible and by the end, I was completely blown away. I think this series that started in 2011 hasn’t gotten its fair share of attention. More people need to watch this and you absolutely need to start with Rise to get the full experience. While War (and the other two films) can stand as their own confined stories, you’ll be missing out on a lot of the meaning and purpose of this story. Please check these movies out, I really think they are some of the best works Hollywood has put out in the past twenty years.

I’ve become a huge fan of Matt Reeves because of this (directed War and Dawn, as well as co-wrote War) and knowing that he’s working on the next Batman film has me completely stoked.