Rest in Peace James Garner (1928-2014)

This week the world of film and television lost one of its greats, James Garner passed away at the age of 86 years old at his home. 

I can never claim to be a fan of his two big television series Maverick and The Rockford Files, because I've never seen a full episode of either, but as you can guess I have seen plenty of his films. One of the best things I can about the late Mr. Garner was that he was extremely charismatic. It's easy to see why this man remained so popular through out his career, it probably explains why he got two TV series. 

Now a lot of Nicholas Sparks fans would probably know him for his performance as the older Noah Calhoun in the 2004 adaptation of The Notebook (Dir. Nick Cassavetes). Even though I can't really say I'm a fan of the film, or any Nicholas Sparks related material for that matter, I can that the film did have good performances and Mr. Garner was no exception. He just had this warmth about him. A very inviting feel, that made you feel comfortable. Also, he and Gena Rowlands had great chemistry together. 

He was introduced to a new generation of fans a few years before The Notebook. In 2001 Disney Studios released its 2001 animated epic Atlantic: The Lost Empire (Dir. Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise), in which Garner played the leader of the expedition to find Atlantis and the main antagonist. Garner managed to convey nearly every trope every good villain character should have, he would draw you in with his professionalism and then when the time came he showed his real color without batting an eye. 

For me Mr. Garner will always known for his role in one of my favorite films, The Great Escape (1963, Dir. John Sturges). In this WWII POW movie he portrayed American RAF pilot Flight Lt. Bob Hendley, or as he was known to the Allies in camp, The Scrounger. Every scene with him you got a great sense of who he was not only through the writing but through Garner's performances. He could be manipulative when he needed something from the guards, but he was also friendly and compassionate, as indicated though his friendship with the forger of the group, Flight Lt. Colin Blythe (played by Donald Pleasance of the Halloween franchise). 

I'll end this post with a clip from The Great Escape when Garner, along with the other two American POWs (Steve McQueen and Jud Taylor), give out homemade liquor in the camp on the Fourth of July. Mr. Garner, you will be missed. Rest in Peace.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) Review-Spoilers

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
D: Matt Reeves
W: Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
S: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit-McPhee

Caesar the ape returns in the (technically) eighth film in the Planet of the Apes series. This time around he lives in harmony with the other apes from the previous film, Rise of the Planet of the Apes. In between films, a deadly virus broke out wiping out a good chunk of humanity, and now a small band of humans hopes to gain a power source from a dam so they communicate with the outside world. Obviously, doing this will be no easy task considering many of the apes don't trust the humans and vice versa. Will the humans and apes resolve their differences? Or are they doomed to fight?

I haven't seen the previous film in this particular installment though from what I gathered it's a film that seems to be saved by the performance of Andy Serkis, the rest of film was okay. Now, I have seen the other Planet of the Apes films. I saw all original five films when I was younger on VHS and I caught Tim Burton's version on TV. I do enjoy the first five in one way or another, but Burton's film.... eh no. 

As it stands right now, this installment is pretty decent. The best thing about the film is Andy Serkis. I am convinced that this man can do no wrong. He is that good of an actor. The animation and CGI on the apes is really well done and Serkis's body language and facial expressions are able to shine through. By the way, (SPOILERS) the movie begins and ends with close ups on Caesar's eyes. The expressions given to those scenes is amazing and definitely worth interpreting. 

This movie is basically a remake of Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973, Dir. J. Lee Thompson), though it does try to develop things a little more and give some reasoning behind the actions. To go into detail would mean spoiling A LOT though given the characteristics of some of these characters. A lot of these characters are very basic and in some cases dull. The most annoying in this case is that both humans and apes have a jerk character who has no real dimensions. For the apes it is a Bonobo ape named Koba (Toby Kebbell) who was tortured and experimented on by humans, though it becomes obvious he wants power as well. For the humans it's Carver (Band of Brothers's Kirk Acevedo) who doesn't like apes... for some reason.  

But there is ONE human character that I liked and found multi-dimensional, Dreyfus played by the always fantastic Gary Oldman. When the humans receive electrical power he looks at his iPad and we see pictures of his military squad and his family, Oldman's acting in the scene is pure, simple, but amazing. It made me like him so much. 

While the dullness of the characters does bother me the movie makes up for it by having some spectacular battle sequences. Seriously, watching Caesar and Koba fight is awesome, and watching the apes ride on horse back with machines guns is something to see.

So yes I do recommend this movie.

Also out of all the Apes films I've seen this is how they rank.

Planet of the Apes (1968, Dir. Franklin J. Schaffner)
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972, Dir. J. Lee Thompson)
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970, Dir. Ted Post)
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014, Dir. Matt Reeves)
Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973, J. Lee Thompson0
Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971, Dir. Don Taylor)
Planet of the Apes (2001, Dir. Tim Burton)

I'll get around to watching Rise of the Planet of the Apes. 

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