War For The Planet Of The Apes Is A Captivating & Grim Work Of Art

Third movies in big franchises or trilogies have a tendency to be regarded as frequently lackluster compared to their predecessors. I don't think that's entirely fair since we've had a number of great third entries in big series of movies in recent years (Lord of The Rings, Captain America, Iron Man and Toy Story all delivered strong third entries in their respective franchises), yet such a thought process in pop culture. Want some further concrete evidence that third movies can be something special? Check out War For The Planet Of The Apes, the newest entry in the film series that, when first announced, sound like the ultimate cash-grab and now has morphed into something that feels groundbreaking for the very medium of summer blockbuster fare.

A Load Of Pointless Computer Effects Trickery Can't Boost The Serviceable But Substance-Free Beowulf

For a good chunk of the first decade of the 21st century, Robert Zemeckis devoted himself to being the first filmmaker to dabble in the world of full motion-capture animation (a process whereby actors wear special suits and have their movements put onto CGI characters) movies, a subgenre that basically died off after 2011, though motion-capture animation itself has become quite the frequent presence in live-action movies like the two most recent Star Wars movies. Two of those three efforts were The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol, a duo of family-skewing Christmas movies. Naturally, in between those movies, Zemeckis also used the motion-capture animation artform to create one of only four American computer-animated movies to get an MPAA rating harsher than PG: Beowulf.

The Rise And Fall Of Fully Motion-Captured Animated Movies

Filmmakers love to tout that their films have technology that will change things forever. James Cameron was right on the money when it came to how his creation, Avatar, would revolutionize cinema via 3D, while Peter Jacksons prediction that High Frame Rate projection would work like gangbusters turned out to be laughably off-the-mark. The way Robert Zemeckis championed motion-capture would change visual effects forever turned out to be true...just not in the way he tried, time and time again, to prove that statements validity.

My Most Terrifying Cinematic Experience? Why, The Polar Express Of Course!

Here's another exciting entry in this Holiday themed column, 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

We all have that one movie we watched as kids that terrified the living hell out of us. When you're 6, it's terrifying, but when you're older it's not only good material for a compelling yarn but a testament to the kind of power film can have over a person. Some have The Goonies, my brother has Gremlins, but me? I've got the scariest movie of them all: The Polar Express.

A New Trailer For Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arrives....And It's Actually Good???

I've thought the overwhelmingly negative reception to this new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie has been extremely over the top for a while now. I have my concerns over the movie too (could they get someone besides the director of Battle: Los Angeles to handle this thing?), but so far, the film has looked like a perfectly fine summer film. Even the turtles redesigns haven't bothered me that much (the versions of these CGI creatures without noses that fans on the internet made look much creepier to me). Now, this new trailer has increased up my excitement even more, and you find out why by watching it below!