Katherine and I just saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011). I have all the Planet of the Apes movies on DVD, including the godawful one starring Marky Mark. I also have the entire television series on DVD. Somewhere in my boxes in the garage is the paperback version of the book from which the first movie was made. In short, I'm an Apes aficionado. (I've never seen a single episode of Star Trek. Go figure.)
I'm pleased to report that this new movie is very good. It's a prequel. It shows how the apes took over the world. James Franco, who is said to be working on two Ph.D. degrees (why two?) is the star. Without being cruel, I have to say that he should stick to academia. The animation in the movie was superb. At least I assume it was animation; I can't imagine the chimpanzees and apes were trained to do what they did.
