Every Sunday, Gill delves into his archive of over 800 movie reviews and randomly selects three for your enjoyment! Here are this week’s…
Timecrimes
Fans of time-bending movies (not quite time travel so much as time looping) like Christopher Smith’s Triangle, Primer or even Groundhog Dog will find a lot to enjoy with the bizarre and compelling Timecrimes, a Spanish film that deals with the concept of going back in time to change the future in a refreshing and unusual way. The film suffers a little because the protagonist is a bit of an asshole, but puzzling your way through the non-linear plot is enough to keep you watching and guessing until the very end. This is time travel portrayed in a way that’s quite unlike any other movie I’ve seen, and as soon as the credits rolled, I found myself itching to watch it again, if only to see how all the plot points connect on a second viewing. A must-see movie for fans of time travel flicks.
3.75 out of 5
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Much to my surprise, I loved this movie! From the top-notch script to the mind-boggling visual effects, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is not only a a terrific summer blockbuster, but it’s intelligent, handles its subtext and messages well without bludgeoning you over the head with them, and manages to be thrilling, insightful, adventurous, scary and dazzling all at the same time. It’s no small feat to get the audience invested in CGI chimps, but director Rupert Wyatt, actor Andy Serkis and the folks at WETA digital do a spectacular job. I never thought that I’d say this, but the prequel/reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise is, in my opinion, the best film in the whole series, and I can’t wait to see where the franchise goes from here. It’s not a perfect movie, but it’s a perfect b-movie.
4 out of 5
Cowboys and Aliens
Too many cooks spoil the broth, and too many screenwriters spoil a good idea. This is the case with Cowboys and Aliens, a film that’s full of potential and good ideas, but doesn’t succeed in following through on most of them. It’s a generic western combined with a generic alien movie, and the result is only just slightly above average. Still, Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Sam Rockwell are all great and fun to watch, and the special effects are good. Olivia Wilde’s character, unfortunately, drags down the entire movie and serves no useful purpose, but if you can overlook that and turn off your brain, you’ll have a good time. It has cowboys. It has aliens. I got what I wanted. But not much more.
3.25 out of 5
See you next Sunday for three more thrilling short reviews!