Apes make a comeback in more ways than one
‘War for the Planet of the Apes’
Unlike the originals, the rebooted “Planet of the Apes” saga seems to get better reviews as it moves forward.
The first in the redo, 2011’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” had an 80% “Fresh” rating on RottenTomatoes.com, meaning 80% of the reviews were positive. The second movie, 2014’s “Dawn,” had a 90% “Fresh” rating.
So far, the latest chapter, “War for the Planet of the Apes,” is rating higher still.
The leader of the apes — Caesar, the genetically modified ape motion-capture-acted and voiced by Andy Serkis — is being hunted by a human army led by a ruthless colonel played by Woody Harrelson. Both sides have a world at stake: The colonel is trying to save mankind, while Caesar’s trying to stave off extinction while seeking revenge of his own.
USA TODAY film critic Brian Truitt gave “War” 31⁄2 stars, saying Serkis deserves Oscar consideration for his performance, even if it’s primarily motion-capture. “Caesar’s new adventure is one of this summer’s best,” Truitt wrote.
“War for the Planet of the Apes” is rated PG-13 for violence, thematic elements, and some disturbing images. It runs for 140 minutes.
‘Wish Upon’
The new horror movie “Wish Upon” takes “be careful what you wish for” in a decidedly darker direction.
Joey King plays a high school student who discovers an old music box that grants wishes. When the first one works, she tries it again, and again — until she discovers there’s a payback.
Just a little thing: While she’s getting what she wants, those closest to her get killed off. Oh, and she might lose her soul as well.
Directed by John R. Leonetti, who made the scarydoll thriller “Annabelle,” “Wish Upon” co-stars Sydney Park, Shannon Purser, Alice Lee, Ki Hong Lee, Ryan Phillippe and Sherilyn Fenn.
“Wish Upon” is rated PG-13 for violent and disturbing images, thematic elements and language. It runs for 90 minutes.
‘Maudie’
Maud Lewis wasn’t your movie-stereotypical outsider artist. A sunny, determined woman, she became a painter despite crippling arthritis, capturing bright, bold images despite a quiet, unassuming life in a hardscrabble corner of 1930s Nova Scotia.
By the mid-1940s, the tiny house she shared with her husband was a tourist stop, with people buying her artwork. As her fame grew, her art blossomed.
Lewis’ story is the focus of “Maudie,” a characterstudy drama starring Sally Hawkins as Lewis and Ethan Hawke as the reclusive fish peddler who falls in love with her.
Hawkins, who has made her mark before with memorable performances of indelible characters (”Happy-Go-Lucky,” “Blue Jasmine”), is getting raves again.
Seattle Times film critic Moira Macdonald gave “Maudie” 31⁄2 stars: “A brief glimpse of the real Maud, at the end, shows us the uncanny accuracy of Hawkins’s physical transformation, depicting Maud’s severe stoop, curling hands and tiny, crushed voice. But Hawkins also creates a gentle, loving soul, determined to find beauty and goodness in a world that hasn’t treated her kindly.”
“Maudie” is rated PG-13 for some thematic content and brief sexuality. It runs for 115 minutes.
‘Lost in Paris’
Once upon a time, a small-town librarian in Canada gets a letter from her aged aunt in Paris, who needs her help. The librarian gets on a plane, lands in the City of Lights, whereupon she promptly falls down a rabbit hole of slapsticky disasters, with the dubious help of a street tramp who only makes matters worse.
The quirky comedy “Lost in Paris” is brought to you by the Belgian duo Fiona Gordon and Dominique Abel, who play the teacher and the tramp respectively, and have made a career of whimsyfueled storytelling. Emmanuelle Riva, who earned an Oscar nomination for her heartbreaking performance in the 2012 drama “Amour,” plays Gordon’s dotty aunt.
“It may be a specialist’s rarefied sort of work now, but Gordon and Abel really know what they’re doing,” Variety film critic Todd McCarthy wrote. “It’s gentle and admittedly closer to a divertissement than a full-course comic meal. But no one else is doing anything like this at the moment.”
“Lost in Paris” is not rated. It runs for 83 minutes. It’s in French and English, with English subtitles.