Photo © 20th Century Studios
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Proximus Caesar (voiced by Kevin Durand) in ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’
Hansel and Gretel
(Capelight Blu-ray)
The father in this 1987 Brothers Grimm adaptation ekes out a poor living as a wood chopper (and is cheated for his work). Mother is angry as she doles out scanty rations from their impoverished pantry. And the kids, Hansel and Gretel, are clueless at the onset—but stale cookie crumbs come in handy when they get lost in the woods while foraging for food. The cast— even Cloris Leachman as the Witch—plays their parts in a low key. The score is taken from Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera Hansel and Gretel in this dark (but not too dark) version of a fairytale (without fairies). (David Luhrsssen)
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
(In Theaters May 10)
It’s 300 years since Caesar’s death and apes now rule the planet. Ape society blends medieval tech with Native American values. While most ape groups exist harmoniously, one group is determined to conquer the rest and resurrect human technology. Noa (motion capture of Owen Teague) is a chimp (like most chimps here, he has human eyes). He’s a member of a peaceful tribe that is brutally attacked and enslaved by power-hungry gorillas. Noa escapes this fate, and rescues a human woman named Mae (Freya Allan) from a murderous gorilla soldier. Though humans have devolved and lost the ability to speak, Mae is the exception. Virtually flawless CGI creates credible primates replete with expressive faces. At 2½ hours, the film features memorable abandoned human locations right out of the “Mysteries of the Abandoned” TV series. Kevin Durand and William H. Macy appear in key roles, under the direction of Wes Bell, who plans to deliver a trilogy. (Lisa Miller)
Not Another Church Movie
(In Theaters May 10)
Tyler Perry’s Bible-quoting, gun-toting granny, Madea, may not appear to need a send-up, but she gets one here. Kevin Daniels portrays Taylor Pharry, instructed by God (Jamie Foxx)—who appears in Pharry’s bathroom mirror—to use Pharry’s crazy family as characters for the basis of a comedy-drama. These orders are issued when billionaire talk show host Hoprah Windfall calls upon God to fix her show’s plummeting ratings. The star of Pharry’s tale is Madude Hims (Kevin Daniels again, wearing a shoulder-length white wig). To accomplish the task, Daniels will battle the Devil (Mickey Rourke), who lays out a series of obstacles. The film, shot in 2022, wrapped just before the writer’s strike began. This left writer-director Johnny Mack to hurry-up-and-wait before he could finish this R-rated spoof. (Lisa Miller)
