Planet of the Apes

This has been a good weekend for Planet of the Apes fans. Not only did we get our first look at some of the early buzz for the final film in the trilogy  —  buzz that suggest that War for the Planet of the Apes might just be the best and bleakest movie in the series yet  —  we’ve also been treated to a special Father’s Day trailer that explores the universal truths of fathers, sons, and legacy. Sentient apes or human, we’re all just trying to leave behind a better world for our children.

If you’d told me a decade ago that one of my most highly anticipated moments of the summer would be a showdown between Woody Harrelson and a CGI primate, I probably would have politely excused myself, driven to the local video store, rented a VHS copy of Clint Eastwood’s Every Which Way But Loose, and smacked you over the head with the cassette tape. My, how things change. Under the careful eye of director Matt Reeves, the war between primates and mankind is now one of the hottest summer tickets, and the early trailers and teasers for War for the Planet of the Apes promise one of the best big-budget movies of the year.

Those viewers of the opinion that the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise numbers among the more successful revivals in the recent deluge (and if you disagree, feel free to kindly see yourself to the e-door) tend to credit Caesar as the film’s secret weapon. The intelligent chimpanzee provided the films with a human center, ironically enough, conveying his maturation and radicalization through unprecedented motion-capture technology and acting from Andy Serkis. The upcoming War For the Planet of the Apes will form the final chapter of this trilogy, and according to the film’s producer, may hold bad news for Caesar superfans.

On Thursday, 20th Century Fox showed journalists some sneak peek footage from the upcoming War for the Planet of the Apes. I got to see some brand new unreleased footage, hear some details from director Matt Reeves, and see the new trailer.

Few franchises have had a more successful or impressive reinvention in recent years as Planet of the Apes. The original series, beloved in its day, petered out by the middle of the 1970s, and the first attempt to revive it, in a 2001 film from director Tim Burton, proved disastrous. But the new prequel series, charting the descent of our human world into a planet full of those damn, dirty apes, has breathed new life into the old property. Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a late-summer hit in August 2011, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes outgrossed it three years later. (It made about $30 million more in the U.S. and a whopping $220 million more worldwide.)

It’s been a little while since we had an update on the third installment in the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise. So far, we know Dawn of the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves is on board to helm the sequel, with screenwriter Mark Bomback also returning. Today brings the first piece of casting for the film, which is operating under the working title War of the Planet of the Apes and has just cast newcomer Gabriel Chavarria in a leading role.

The title of the third film in the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise has been revealed and it shouldn’t surprise anyone who watched Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Since the previous film concluded with the stalemate between Caeser’s tribe and the humans of San Francisco bubbling over into bloodshed, it’s only natural that the follow-up would be titled War of the Planet of the Apes.

It’s a common complaint about modern movies: “They only made this to sell toys.” And sometimes, that’s actually true. But there was a time, not that long ago, when that concept didn’t even exist, and toys based on movies were barely an idea, much less a guarantee. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane (and by memory lane, I mean YouTube) and watch movie toys (and movie marketing) evolve through 40 years of vintage movie toy commercials, from Planet of the Apes to The Avengers.

The release of ‘Big Eyes’ marks the 17th film of director Tim Burton and one of the biggest departures in his 30 year career as a feature filmmaker. A seemingly straightforward drama about painter Margaret Keane, the movie sees one of the most fantastical filmmakers in the world making a rare trip back down to Earth. To mark the occasion, we delved into Burton’s filmography with one mission: to rank his films from worst to best. Some choices were easy (he’s made some really lousy films) and others were difficult (he’s made a handful of genuinely great movies), and through it all, he proved to be fascinating, often maddening subject. Few directors stoke the ire of movie fans quite like Burton, but when he’s on point, no one can do what he does.

While 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' ruled the box office this past weekend to the acclaim of many critics, audiences could've received a much different film. From our chat with director Matt Reeves, we learned that an initial story treatment included highly evolved versions of the ape tribe who could speak rather articulately. Now, new 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' concept art has hit the web, which seems to be along the lines of this earlier draft.