Salon.com > Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Hollywood’s summer of revolution

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 18:01:00 +0000

Our oppressed underclass rises up and rebels against inhuman treatment -- well, at least in some of Hollywood's biggest current blockbusters.

While Tim Burton’s 2001 "Planet of the Apes" remake didn’t seem to have much on its mind, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is far more engaged with the culture of the moment -- as was the original, widely seen as a response to the civil rights movement. It's the only recent American film with even metaphorical relevance to the Arab Spring movement. And it shares some interesting resonance with Tate Taylor’s "The Help" and British director Joe Cornish’s "Attack the Block."

"The Help" falls into a long line of "problem pictures" running from Elia Kazan’s "Gentleman's Agreement" and "Pinky" to Paul Haggis’ "Crash." They’ve proven popular with Oscar voters, but while they purport to expose racism and other prejudices, they often subtly reinforce stereotypes in the guise of dismantling them. Whatever their virtues (usually as showcases for actors), such films tend to suffocate on their own earnestness. That can’t be said for "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," which falls into another tradition. It’s no B-movie, but it moves along like one. Its depiction of the fine line between humanity and the animal kingdom owes a lot to George Romero’s "Living Dead" trilogy and David Cronenberg’s films. Genre films benefit from being irresponsible, which I mean in the most positive sense. By talking about animals and monsters rather than speaking more directly about race and class, they have the freedom to escape from received wisdom about the latter subjects.

Should doctors treat loved ones?

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:45:00 +0000

Like many sci-fi films, "The Rise of the Planet of the Apes" stirs up a host of medical and moral issues. The plot kicks into overdrive after a chimpanzee Caesar is given a fictional drug that makes him the smartest Simian on Earth. Regular readers of this column will make the connection to neuro-enhancement drugs like Provigil and Ritalin designed to boost people's brainpower and awareness.

But, as a doctor, I was struck by a more subtle medical conundrum. Toward the beginning of the movie, scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) injects his Alzheimer's-stricken father (John Lithgow) with the same drug he gave Caesar. In the following scene, Lithgow's character recovers the memories and mental capacity he lost to dementia. That particular plot point raises a question we as physicians often face: Should doctors treat their own family and friends?

Pop Torn: 10 pieces of cultural ambivalence

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 12:01:00 +0000

TGIAugust, am I right guys? I cannot wait for summer to be over and for it to be cold again, because you know what they make children say in the Pledge of Allegiance: "Winter is coming." While we're still dealing with the warm weather, though, how about a roundup of all the cultural news that makes you feel like you just don't know what to feel anymore?

1. Jesse Eisenberg in Dostoyevsky adaptation: It sounds crazy, but making "The Double" into a movie might actually be a good idea. Very Charlie Kaufmanesque. Maybe Michael Cera can play his doppleganger?

2. Connor Ratliff is old enough to be president: Well, I'm sold on this guy's campaign. If only the rest of politics were this easy.

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”: Can James Franco make peace with chimps?

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:30:00 +0000

So I guess this is James Franco's new hipster performance-art career strategy, post-Academy Awards edition: Disappear behind an ape mask in an August B movie. No, I know, I know -- that's not actually Franco in the prosthetic/animatronic/digital/motion-capture/whatever get-up as Caesar, the genetically juiced-up chimp who becomes the leader of a simian rebellion in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," a curious attempt to re-reboot the venerable sci-fi franchise. That would be Andy Serkis of Gollum fame, midway through one of the strangest Hollywood acting careers since Peter Lorre's, who damn well steals the whole movie as the charismatic ape genius.