Movie Review – Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Overview
When a science lab experiment on apes testing a cure for Alzheimer’s disease goes wrong at Gen-Sys, super intelligent ape, Bright Eyes, wrongly believes that the company are trying to take her newly born child from her. So she retorts against the company’s workers who inevitably have to shoot her down. The boss of Gen-Sys assumes that the injection that they are giving the apes are making them crazy and that is why Bright Eyes behaved the way that she did. He demands that all of the apes on site must be destroyed.
Will Rodman, an employee at Gen-Sys, empathises for the baby ape and takes him home with him. Over the years it is clear that the baby now know as Caesar, has inherited his mother’s super intelligent genes. Caesar’s skills include being able to communicate with Will via sign language. When Caesar spots Will’s Alzheimer disease suffering father being bullied by a neighbour, he flips and severely assaults him subsequently being sent to an animal shelter for monkeys.
Will tries to bail Caesar out but he must wait until a go-ahead from the high court is issued. Caesar steals some treatment from Will and gives it to all the other apes who plan to revolt against the humans that are imprisoning them and they escape from the ape jail destroying anything in their path.
Review
I have mixed feelings about this movie. I feel that the build up to the action scenes were far to long and I think that the makers of the film should have developed the story of Caesar finding out that he can speak further. I also think that the additional clip in the middle of the credits was a desperate attempt at an opening for a possible sequel and ruined the movie. Also I didn’t understand why the apes were attacking all the humans. I thought they only wanted to escape to the wild, not kill all of those innocent people.
The positives of the movie are that the CGI was phenomenal, the apes looked so real, it was ridiculous and the part where all the apes grab bars from the park gates and stand on top of a building and throw them down at the cars below like javelins really effected my emotionally and I sat in the cinema with my mouth open and full of popcorn staring at the screen in amazement.
Overall the movie was probably one of the best releases of the year and I have to admit that if a sequel was released, I would definitely go and see it.
Book Review – Stolen By Lucy Christopher
Overview of Book
‘Stolen is the first book by Welsh author, Lucy Christopher and does not fail to impress. It follows the story of a British teen, Gemma, who is abducted by a man named Ty who takes her abroad to the middle of nowhere (where we later find out is the desert of Australia.)
Ty is not the average kidnapper. He claims that he has watched over Gemma all her life to protect her from danger. Slowly Gemma realizes why Ty has a familiarity about him as she remembers many scenarios in her life where she has glanced his face.
Naturally she tries to escape several times but is never successful. Ty cares for Gemma like a little sister and Gemma loathes it. She keeps waiting for the moment when he hurts her but it never comes. Slowly the hate that Gemma feels for Ty melts away and she doesn’t know what she feels any more. She misses her family but it grateful for the break from her busy life.
Will Ty ever let her go? Will Gemma ever see her family again? Find out in Stolen, the critically acclaimed début novel by Lucy Christopher.
Review of Book
Stolen captivated my mind to the point where I could not put this book down and although many books have done this for me this was different. It covered a sensitive topic where you felt a strong sense of sympathy and longing to know what happens to the main character. Will she escape in the end? Won’t she? You just cannot wait until you flip that final page and the answer is made known to you.
You understand how the character feels but sometimes want her to feel a different way. You wish she knows what is coming for her as you can see ahead. I guess what I am trying to say is that Lucy Christopher really knows how to write a gripping novel where the readers feels involved in the ongoing story.
I would recommend this book to the 14-19 age category as I think people around the age of the character can relate to her more than a 56 year old for example. Stolen was truly an exceptional and inspiring read.
