Tag: Keri Russell

Film Review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

It’s always darkest before the ‘Dawn’.

Hail O'Mighty Caesar!
Hail O’Mighty Caesar!

In Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the follow-up to the surprising and emotionally resonant 2011 reboot, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, we are treated to another slice of the 50-year-old Planet of the Apes universe that had, until now, only been hypothesized.  Part of the consuming mystery surrounding the original 1968 Planet of the Apes ending was wondering how the humans had destroyed the Earth and fallen prisoner to ape overlords.  Dawn offers just a small, yet undoubtedly significant, step on this inevitable path.  And yet, under the confident direction of Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has an epic feel that looms large with great performances, memorable and haunting action, and deep social commentary.

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Film Review: Austenland

No sense and no sensibility: Jane Austen as uninspired rom-com

Jennifer Coolidge, Keri Russell, and Georgia King are living the Jane Austen dream in Austenland.
Jennifer Coolidge, Keri Russell, and Georgia King are living the Jane Austen dream in Austenland.

With Austenland, first-time director Jerusha Hess (one half of the husband/wife team that wrote Napoleon Dynamite) has turned Shannon Hale’s popular novel into a dippy, run-of-the mill, predictable romantic comedy. The novel’s fans may be the only audience for this dud, and even then their enjoyment no doubt will stem purely from the curiosity of seeing how the story translates to the screen. Everyone else would be better entertained by staying home and reading an actual Jane Austen novel. Continue reading “Film Review: Austenland”