Apes Will Rise. That was the tagline for this past summer’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Box office rose along with the apes, as the movie did very well financially and there are already plans for a sequel—or another prequel, however you want to look at it. Unfortunately, good storytelling did not rise along with the apes and box office returns. As Dan stated in his review, “how the story proceeds lacks drive. Having two research breakdowns requires far too much exposition, meaning the movie doesn’t arrive at a three-act structure so much as there’s one exceptionally long beginning followed by a lengthy finale. In other words, the apes needed to rise sooner, which would’ve left more time for the worldwide ape takeover.” He does, however, praise the effects and the endearing qualities of the characters—both human and simian. Rent It.

The original “Fright Night” is one of my 1980s horror movie favorites. I remember seeing the cover in video stores (remember them?) as a kid and it used to scare the hell out of me, with a sinister-looking cloud shaped like a fanged creature, hovering above a house. The premise took the idea of murder in suburbia one step further and asked: What if the neighbor next door wasn’t just a killer, he was a vampire?

With my love of the first one, I regarded the recent remake of Fright Night with scepticism. I didn’t see the need for Hollywood to do more tinkering with a classic, and in my mind, no one can convey smoldering contempt and menace with a single stare like Chris Sarandon, the vampire in the original.

Then the trailers came out, and while no Chris Sarandon, Colin Farrell looked like he had a pretty good stare. The film also seemed to be faithful to the original, while putting a fresh, modern spin on the story. Then Dan praised the film (in 2D anyway), calling it “nicely crafted escapist nonsense fun,” which is precisely what it should be. And the cameo from Chris Sarandon doesn’t hurt either. Buy It.

Jack Black is back this week in Kung Fu Panda 2, the sequel to the 2008 hit “Kung Fu Panda.” This time, he and his friends save the day from an evil peacock named Shen, voiced by Gary Oldman. As Dan noted in his review, “There’s plenty of action, but writers Jonathan Abel and Glenn Berger have also given the movie a soft emotional core that really clicks. Specifically, they encumber Po with the desire to find the truth about his parents and enjoy ‘inner peace,’ as Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) says, which of course connects back to Shen. Structurally this is very well put together.” Buy It.

Peter Jackson fans can keep “Lord of the Rings” and “King Kong.” To me, his best film remains 1994’s “Heavenly Creatures,” starring Kate Winslet, which tells the true story of two New Zealand schoolgirls with very active imaginations. The fantasy sequences where the girls imagine themselves in beautiful, far off lands are breathtaking, and the colors should pop on blu-ray. When one girl’s mother insists that she move away and leave her friend, the two girls plot to murder the mother. The scene where they lead the unsuspecting woman out into the woods to beat her to death with rocks packs a wallop of suspense and emotion that will stay with you long after seeing it. Jackson’s masterful direction invites you so intimately into the woods with the three ladies that you feel like more than just a film watcher, you feel like a witness. Buy It.

If you’re going to remake “Citizen Kane,” why not remake it in the glam rock world of 1970s London? Apparently, that’s the question that director Todd Haynes asked himself when making 1998’s “Velvet Goldmine.” The film stars Christian Bale as a rock and roll reporter interviewing people for a story on the disappearance of a famous glam rocker named Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers, channeling David Bowie). Ewan McGregor shows up as well as another rock and roll personality whom Bale’s reporter befriends. While nowhere near as great as “Citizen Kane,” the structure works well and the film captures and recreates the London glam rock scene with a lot of enthusiasm. Rent It.

Also out this week: “City of God,” an astounding portrait of the slums of Rio De Janeiro as seen through the eyes of a bright young boy growing up in them; “Meet Me in St. Louis,” a lively musical with Judy Garland about a family shaken by the prospect of moving to New York; “Intruder,” about a killer running amok in a grocery store; and “Branded to Kill” and “Tokyo Drifter,” two Criterion Collection releases from Japanese director Seijun Suzuki, both telling highly stylized stories about the Japanese gangsters known as the Yakuza.

Andrew Hudak is a lifelong film lover. His column on blu-ray new releases appears every Tuesday; he also regularly reviews new theatrical releases for Hudak On Hollywood. He lives in Connecticut.

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burntspawn said:

	... I loved the CGI in Rise Of the planet of the apes story was ok but what killed it for me was when they used Hestons famous saying and butchered it Love Kung fu panda Fright night was better then expected but still prefer the old one
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December 14, 2011
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aerion07 said:

	... Great article. I'm really looking forward to the Blue-Ray release of Kung Fu Panda 2. Loved the first one. Haven't seen this one, but I'm sure it will be amazing!
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December 14, 2011
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