re: The Cabin in the Woods. TulaneLSU's 2011-12 movie review thread

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Rise of the Planet of the Apes "What a chimera then is man! What a novelty! What a monster, what a chaos, what a contradiction, what a prodigy! Judge of all things, imbecile worm of the earth; depositary of truth, a sink of uncertainty and error; the pride and refuse of the universe!" Thus wrote Pascal on man's ability and limits. Planet is a movie largely about man's limitations: that even though we think we are lords or even gods over this planet, the author of life sees to it to tear down our Towers of Babel. And the towers are falling in this popcorn flick.

Besides Transformers and Thor, this summer has largely been bereft of any decent popcorn movies, until Planet. Planet does what all good sci-fi movies should do: create an alternate, possible world that we believe is entirely real. Enter the world of the Caesar, where this movie is at its best. There we see the emotion of torment of partial being that stops becoming; the rage of not reaching the potency of being. But we all know and what is becoming in nature will be, whether we strap a leash on the being or not.

James Franco gives another yeoman's performance that gets the job done, but doesn't leave the viewer impressed. The peripheral characters, notably, the next door neighbor, the girlfriend, and the profit-driven businessman, detract from the movie, which should have spent more time in the primate world, for that is where this movie excels. Many worried about the logistical improbability of a primate takeover of the world. Worry not. 7/10

The Rite The critics who trash this movie completely miss the point of it. They seem to think it's a horror flick, but that shows they are uninformed morons. It's a movie about spiritual journeys, a movement from skepticism to hell to faith. The lead role isn't particularly good, but neither is the guy from Silence of the Lambs. This role is quite similar to his Silence of the Lambs role: conflicted, wise man who plays a villain and a hero. Anthony Hopkins is probably the most overrated actor of his generation. The Rite sometimes looks like a cheaply made film, but it is an interesting movie about faith and what brings faith. Theologically, I think it hovers too much in the realm of paganism. 6/10

Sanctum - this is only the second movie I've seen in 3-D. I really hate 3-D. It adds nothing to the movie. In fact, it detracts from the movie because it makes things more difficult to see on the whole and gives me a headache afterward. Anyway, this movie sucks. It's supposed to be about adventure and the complex relationship of a father and son, but it's really a movie about rich spoiled people who have no purpose and euthanasia. This is about the most pro-euthanasia movie made in America yet. Besides that horrible message, the film tries to make swimming through caves for two hours entertaining. The acting is horrendous, the dialogue just as bad, the casting terrible, the story just rancid. There were a few intense scenes, but overall a terrible movie. 1/10

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