Silver Screen Review: The Help

Sometimes, it is good to get away from the norm, and that can be seen in the new hit film “The Help”. Some may recognize the title. “The Help” is based off the bestselling book written by Kathryn Stocket, the book tells the story of an unlikely friendship in a time where racial differences conflict the country.  The film has already received much praise, so let us see if “the Help” lives up to the buzz. Here is an interesting perspective in this review of “The Help”

Story: The films’ plot is at first is difficult to follow. It feels as if there are a lot of unclear details and it is not difficult to feel lost. However, the film makes up for keeping true to the idea behind the story and making it compelling.   So though the story has its issues, it does make up for getting the idea across.

Characters:  The film’s strongest factor.  The main characters are well developed, and with great performances to go with them. Actresses such as Emma Stone, Viola Davis and Bryce Dallas Howard shine through with their performances as they lead a well rounded cast of actors creating a very impressive ensemble.  One of the only issues was that it could be difficult to believe some of the female parts because they look a bit young for the roles, but that is just nitpicking.

Directing: Tate Taylor helms this film adaption of the bestselling novel.  The major issue with his directing was timing in scenes as well as the pacing in some of the film’s transitions. It felt as if some of the moments came out of nowhere and it is hard to follow the direction behind it.  Though Taylor’s direction was hard to follow at times, he did however make up with a good atmosphere as well as directing some very compelling scenes.

Everything Else: Two things stand out in this film, atmosphere are compelling scenes.  The film’s atmosphere seems very definitive thanks to the movie’s set as well as the lighting. As for the scenes, there are indeed some strong, compelling, and memorable. The scenes showed wonderful symmetry between acting, pacing and technical aspects.

Overall: “The Help” has it issues such as the details in its storytelling technique; however the film makes up in other aspects. The movie showcases terrific acting as well as an atmospheric sense that captures you right into the world of the film. You do not need to be a fan of the book to enjoy this film. “The Help” receives a gracious 4 out of 5 hats.

Silver Screen Review: Rise of the Planet of the Aoes

Another franchise can be added to the list of reboots which just so happens to be “Planet of the Apes”. The film series began in 1968 is back once again with a back story entitled, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”. The movie is getting a lot of positive reviews, but that remains to be seen with this critic. Is it a movie of the year contender or does it fall short like so many other movies dealing with Apes?   Find out in the review of “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”.

Story:  The film’s plot deal with the events prior to the 1968 classic. In this plot, there are thing that work and things that falls short by failing in execution. What works is the story of Caesar the Ape and his evolutionary rise into the world, which made for compelling storytelling.  What does not work is the plot’s pacing as well as the missing details that would have helped the film’s execution. That aside, the greatest of all the film’s flaws is that there are very few surprises to the story as most of the film’s plot can be seen and deciphered from the advertisement.

Character/Acting:  What can be said when the best character, as well as the best performance, is in fact a monkey. It is not as bad as it sounds. Since the majority of the film is seen through the perspective of Caesar, played by Andy Serkis, it comes to no surprise that he has the most development.  To see a  character having no dialogue and to be able to remain compelling is an impressive feat.  The film also see a great performance from John Lithgow, a decent performance from James Franco, and a complete waste of characters from both Brian Cox and Tom Felton.  However , the biggest issue about the development is how the movie seems to suffer from the cliché of characters being bad for the sake of being bad.

Directing: This film marks the fourth cinematic feature for director Rupert Wyatt.  Wyatt had some good decisions like making a standalone film as well as trying to make the characters and storytelling compelling as possible. Though these elements did succeed, other decisions were not as effective such as a good way to translate the original idea with the new idea.

Everything Else: The movie features the effects of WETA, the company that created the effects of “Avatar” and “The Lord of the Rings”. No Apes were hurt in the making of this film because they were all CG. That being said, the CG is definitive, not the best, but the well defined nonetheless.

Overall: Though not the best reboot, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” is still a good film. It is compelling and makes for a compelling standalone film, just do not expect too much from this film. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” receive 3 ½ out of 5 hats.