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With Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes hitting theaters soon, I figured now would be as good a time as any to revisit the recent Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy and journey through Caesar’s story all over again before exploring Kingdom‘s take on the future of the world he created. The modern Planet of the Apes film are something of a pleasantly surprising enigma in popular culture.

In an age where many reboots either adhere so closely to the source material as to feel like a redundant carbon copy or stray so far as to be completely unrecognizable, the Apes trilogy manages to find that balance of maintaining the spirit of the original films while carving out an identity and a story all its own. But just how did they accomplish such a feat? Let’s find out.

Also Read: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962): Revisiting...

The impressive reboot series of the Planet of the Apes movies continues as the stories look to extend further than the arc of the revolutionary leader, Caesar (memorably played by Andy Serkis). The film is out in about a week, and now reactions to the new entry from The Maze Runner director Wes Ball have started to roll out on social media. Our official review will be released on Wednesday at 11 am Et, but our own Chris Bumbray got to catch an extended preview of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes at CinemaCon in Las Vegas and was impressed, calling the footage “pretty jaw-dropping” and a worthy continuation of the modern trilogy.

Our own JimmyO participated in the junket, writing on Twitter, “#KingdomOfThePlanetOfTheApes maintains – and builds – this impressive world that was explored by Matt Reeves. Wes Ball, The Maze Runner director, offers rich characters and an interesting take on the franchise.

Who would have thought something from 1968 would still be this popular? Planet of the Apes achieved something none of the franchises ever could. Over the years, it has demonstrated to Hollywood the art of the perfect reboot. Despite its initial revival being met with disappointment in 2001, what followed was nothing short of spectacular.

A still from Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (Credit: 20th Century Studios)

While other major franchises may have succumbed to the pressures of expectation or faltered under the weight of their own legacy with time, this iconic saga has defied all the odds and carved out its own path. Now, with the latest installment gracing the silver screen soon, it has done it once again. Its raving reviews demonstrate how flawlessly a franchise can be executed.

Wes Ball’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Reviews Claim It Is the Best To Date!

Everyone...

Tagline: "Blood is thicker than water." The Australian shot Red Billabong has a new trailer. The clip shows several characters in the outback and a mysterious creature. And, Red Billabong will attend the Oz Comic Con, later this year. The film stars: Jessica Green (Rise), Tim Pocock (Lemon Tree Passage), Dan Ewing and John Reynolds. The film's trailer is hosted here. The trailer keeps much of the story in mystery. However, two brothers discover a family secret. That secret has an appetite and it is borne of your worst nightmares. The film is being repped by sales agent Darclight. Still, a distribution date for North America has not been released. But, this film is expected to show at film festivals soon, now that this title is complete. Fans of creature features can view the thrilling trailer below. Release Date: Tba. Director/writer: Luke Sparke. Cast: Jessica Green, Tim Pocock, Dan Ewing and John Reynolds.

Red Billabong is being shot in Queensland, Australia. The film is part thriller and part drama. In the film, several characters are stalked by an unknown entity. As well, Red Billabong stars Jessica Green (Rise), Tim Pocock (Lemon Tree Passage), Dan Ewing and John Reynolds. Being produced by Sparke Films, an unofficial poster has been released for the film. The graphic shows characters and a single foe. The two brothers are prominent as menacing red eyes stare downwards. Is the creature supernatural? Film fans will have to wait for that answer, with the film expected to complete shooting shortly. As well, a few stills have been released for the film. The photos show actors Tim Pocock and Sophie Don as Tristan and Anya. Both characters look to be in peril. A second still shows an unnamed character in the dark of night. The photos rest below. Actors Tim Pocock and Sophie Don.

The case for flexible release windows for Australian and other independent films has been reinforced by the weekend debuts of My Mistress and Rise. Transmission launched My Mistress, Stephen Lance.s debut feature about the affair between a vulnerable teenager (Harrison Gilbertson) and a French S&M mistress (Emmanuelle Béart), grossing $8,029 at seven Palace locations and $1,329 from the Canberra International Film Festival. Including receipts from Melbourne International Film Festival, the total is $19,020. .My Mistress is a brave debut feature which has sold well internationally to a number of key territories including the Us, UK, Russia, Hong Kong and Japan (somewhat of a coup for an Australian film),. producer Leanne Tonkes tells If. .We had our world premiere at Miff where screenings were sold out. It is a well-known fact that distributing independent films is challenging - getting the word out about a film's screening schedule and creating a groundswell to...

Barring a miracle or at least several hits, the Australian films released in cinemas this year have no hope of matching 2013.s combined gross of $38.5 million.

Through last Sunday, 43 local features and documentaries had racked up $18.5 million nationwide. That includes mostly small amounts earned by 20 titles that opened in 2013 or earlier. As the Safc.s Richard Harris has pointed out, the results of each film should be evaluated on the basis of its release strategy rather than regarding every film that earns less than $1 million as a disaster and proof that Australian audiences have turned away from Aussie cinema.

However distributors and producers were counting on far stronger ticket sales for the Spierig brothers. Predestination, Matt Saville.s Felony, David Michôd.s The Rover and Zak Hilditch.s These Final Hours.

Only The Railway Man (which opened on Boxing Day and has a lifetime cume of $7.3 million), Wolf Creek 2...

First-time writer-director-producer Mack Lindon.s Rise will get a cinema release in November via Pinnacle Films.

The autobiographical drama is based on Lindon.s experiences as a young nurse when he was falsely accused of rape.

Lindon tells If the film will open on November 6 on about 50 screens. Gary Hamilton's Arclight has come aboard as international sales agent.

Nathan Wilson plays the protagonist Will, who is accused of drink spiking and rape after a one-night stand. Found guilty at trial, he.s sentenced to six years in prison.

He is incarcerated in a maximum security prison where he meets Jimmy (Martin Sacks), a hardened inmate who was responsible for a spate of armed robberies. Jimmy is inspired by Will.s courage and determination.

Erin Connor plays the QC who appeals his case in the Supreme Court, Gemma Laurelle is his chief accuser Constable Rossi and Linda Millar is the chief warden.

When Stephanie Louise May heard that a movie inspired by the Us TV comedy Blue Mountain State was to be shot in Canada, the enterprising Aussie actress made an audition tape and sent it to the producers.

They liked what they saw and May, who doesn't have a Us manager, heads to Montreal in August to appear in Blue Mountain State: The Movie, which will star Denise Richards (reprising her role from the Spike TV show), directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, whose credits include The Dukes Of Hazzard (2005), Super Troopers (2001) and TV.s Community, Ben and Kate and Happy Endings. .I am cast as a funny sorority girl who more or less thinks she.s cool, but she.s really not,. she tells If.

The TV show, which Jay directed, followed three freshmen at Mid-Western college football powerhouse Blue Mountain State who must quickly adapt to college life and juggle football,...

Today we're reviewing 300: Rise of an Empire, discussing the differences and similarities between the MTV Movie Awards and Oscars, answering your questions, playing some games, listening to voice mail and answering all of life's important questions. If you are on Twitter, we have a Twitter account dedicated to the podcast at @bnlpod. Give us a follow won'tchac I want to remind you that you can call in and leave us your comments, thoughts, questions, etc. directly on our Google Voice account, which you can call and leave a message for us at (925) 526-5763, which may be even easier to remember at (925) 5-bnl-pod. Just call, leave us a voice mail and we'll add those to the show and respond directly. An alternative to that option is a new way of leaving us a voicemail directly from your computer. Just click here and no matter where you live in the world,...

Laremy is back with us and we're talking the 2014 Oscars. which means John Travolta referring to Idina Menzel as "Adele Dazim", Ellen DeGeneres' great job hosting and a special listen to Matthew McConaughey's acceptance speech you'll only hear on the RopeofSilicon podcast. We also discuss the winners, new DVDs and Blu-rays, answer your questions and voicemail, play some games and send you out with a snippet from Clint Mansell's score for Noah. If you are on Twitter, we have a Twitter account dedicated to the podcast at @bnlpod. Give us a follow won'tchac I want to remind you that you can call in and leave us your comments, thoughts, questions, etc. directly on our Google Voice account, which you can call and leave a message for us at (925) 526-5763, which may be even easier to remember at (925) 5-bnl-pod. Just call, leave us a voice mail and we'll...

We're heading into Oscar weekend so it's time to take a look at every single category at the 2014 Oscars and offer up predictions. Yes, even the short film categories. On top of that we're reviewing Liam Neeson's new movie Non-Stop as Kevin Jagernauth from The Playlist joins me for a second show in a row as Laremy is still on a little vacation. Hope you enjoy and we'll see you here on Sunday for the Oscars. If you are on Twitter, we have a Twitter account dedicated to the podcast at @bnlpod. Give us a follow won'tchac I want to remind you that you can call in and leave us your comments, thoughts, questions, etc. directly on our Google Voice account, which you can call and leave a message for us at (925) 526-5763, which may be even easier to remember at (925) 5-bnl-pod. Just call, leave us a voice mail...

Laremy is off this week so Kevin Jagernauth from The Playlist is filling in and that gives us a chance to talk a little "True Detective" as we have two episodes of the show left to discover, we also listen as Jamie Foxx raps about his Electro character in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and before getting into games we answer some of your questions and talk new DVD and Blu-ray releases. If you are on Twitter, we have a Twitter account dedicated to the podcast at @bnlpod. Give us a follow won'tchac I want to remind you that you can call in and leave us your comments, thoughts, questions, etc. directly on our Google Voice account, which you can call and leave a message for us at (925) 526-5763, which may be even easier to remember at (925) 5-bnl-pod. Just call, leave us a voice mail and we'll add those to the show and respond directly.

Only one review this week as we tackle Pompeii, but we discuss more news items than normal as a lot of superhero and franchise casting has taken place recently, plus we discuss our Oscar wishlist for those we'd like to see end up winning in some of the major categories. If you are on Twitter, we have a Twitter account dedicated to the podcast at @bnlpod. Give us a follow won'tchac I want to remind you that you can call in and leave us your comments, thoughts, questions, etc. directly on our Google Voice account, which you can call and leave a message for us at (925) 526-5763, which may be even easier to remember at (925) 5-bnl-pod. Just call, leave us a voice mail and we'll add those to the show and respond directly. An alternative to that option is a new way of leaving us a voicemail directly from your computer.

The BAFTA winners are in and we are just under two weeks away from the 2014 Oscars, do we have a frontrunnerc Laremy and I discuss as well as take a look at new DVDs and Blu-rays releasing this week, answer your questions, play some games and do a little bit of complaining... as usual. We hope you enjoy. If you are on Twitter, we have a Twitter account dedicated to the podcast at @bnlpod. Give us a follow won'tchac I want to remind you that you can call in and leave us your comments, thoughts, questions, etc. directly on our Google Voice account, which you can call and leave a message for us at (925) 526-5763, which may be even easier to remember at (925) 5-bnl-pod. Just call, leave us a voice mail and we'll add those to the show and respond directly. An alternative to that option is a new way...

Reviews, reviews and more reviews as today's episode includes reviews of the new RoboCop remake with Kevin joining us from The Playlist, About Last Night, Endless Love, Winter's Tale and even the 12 O'clock Boys documentary. Plus talk of Darren Aronofsky's Noah, some voicemail, your questions and several games. It's all for you on this Valentine's Day episode and we hope you enjoy. If you are on Twitter, we have a Twitter account dedicated to the podcast at @bnlpod. Give us a follow won'tchac I want to remind you that you can call in and leave us your comments, thoughts, questions, etc. directly on our Google Voice account, which you can call and leave a message for us at (925) 526-5763, which may be even easier to remember at (925) 5-bnl-pod. Just call, leave us a voice mail and we'll add those to the show and respond directly. An alternative to that...

Like most Tuesday episodes this one is all over the place as we discuss everything from the Olympics, to Shirley Temple, to Dumb Starbucks and how Brad thinks there are just too many TV shows to be able to watch them all. Then we get into our usual game session before ending with a few #GoodComments. If you are on Twitter, we have a Twitter account dedicated to the podcast at @bnlpod. Give us a follow won'tchac I want to remind you that you can call in and leave us your comments, thoughts, questions, etc. directly on our Google Voice account, which you can call and leave a message for us at (925) 526-5763, which may be even easier to remember at (925) 5-bnl-pod. Just call, leave us a voice mail and we'll add those to the show and respond directly. An alternative to that option is a new way of leaving...

The Tuesday episode brings with it DVD and Blu-ray news, as always, along with discussion over the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman, talking about the Super Bowl and specifically the first trailer for Transformers: Age of Extinction and as well as answering a lot of your questions we present not just the normal batch of three games, but we also play our new quote game as well as a Philip Seymour Hoffman edition of Watch This or Watch That. If you are on Twitter, we have a Twitter account dedicated to the podcast at @bnlpod. Give us a follow won'tchac I want to remind you that you can call in and leave us your comments, thoughts, questions, etc. directly on our Google Voice account, which you can call and leave a message for us at (925) 526-5763, which may be even easier to remember at (925) 5-bnl-pod. Just call, leave us a...

It's the Friday before the Super Bowl and while most of the conversation this week is Super Bowl related we still have some movie stuff to chatter about for around 100 minutes including a review of That Awkward Moment where we're joined by Kevin Jagernauth from The Playlist. Then we discuss the story of the Academy rescinding the nomination for "Alone Yet Not Alone" and Oscar lobbying in general, play some games, answer some questions and discuss a change coming to the podcast later this year. If you are on Twitter, we have a Twitter account dedicated to the podcast at @bnlpod. Give us a follow won'tchac I want to remind you that you can call in and leave us your comments, thoughts, questions, etc. directly on our Google Voice account, which you can call and leave a message for us at (925) 526-5763, which may be even easier to remember at (925) 5-bnl-pod.

Busy show for a Tuesday as we dig into a slew of Oscar topics, discuss the new movie theater trailer guidelines, take a closer look at allegations against Woody Allen, answer your questions, play some games and give you a taste of Lana Del Rey's new "Once Upon a Dream" song from the new Maleficent trailer. If you are on Twitter, we have a Twitter account dedicated to the podcast at @bnlpod. Give us a follow won'tchac I want to remind you that you can call in and leave us your comments, thoughts, questions, etc. directly on our Google Voice account, which you can call and leave a message for us at (925) 526-5763, which may be even easier to remember at (925) 5-bnl-pod. Just call, leave us a voice mail and we'll add those to the show and respond directly. An alternative to that option is a new way of...

With no new reviews this week today's Friday episode is one topic after another as well as several of your questions. We discuss Mark Harris' article describing what he calls "The Nolan Effect" on the Oscar race as the Academy has moved to five nominees, we go on a tangent talking about ebook prices vs. print book prices, truth in movies, movie snacks, several of your questions, Jonah Hill talking about meeting Joe Pesci and much, much more. If you are on Twitter, we have a Twitter account dedicated to the podcast at @bnlpod. Give us a follow won'tchac I want to remind you that you can call in and leave us your comments, thoughts, questions, etc. directly on our Google Voice account, which you can call and leave a message for us at (925) 526-5763, which may be even easier to remember at (925) 5-bnl-pod. Just call, leave us a...

Today's episode was a little surprising as we found ourselves going off and random tangents regarding gender and race in today's films and especially the upcoming 2014 slate while also talking about Richard Sherman's postgame comments this weekend. Then we finally get into more standard movie topics including new DVDs and Blu-rays, the Oscars following last week's award shows, your questions, some games and a little more. If you are on Twitter, we have a Twitter account dedicated to the podcast at @bnlpod. Give us a follow won'tchac I want to remind you that you can call in and leave us your comments, thoughts, questions, etc. directly on our Google Voice account, which you can call and leave a message for us at (925) 526-5763, which may be even easier to remember at (925) 5-bnl-pod. Just call, leave us a voice mail and we'll add those to the show and respond directly.

The true story of a young male Australian nurse who was falsely accused of rape has inspired the feature film Rise, which is shooting in Queensland.

It.s the first feature from writer-director Mack Lindon, a co-founder of Gold Coast-based Vision Films Australia.

Nathan Wilson plays the nurse, Will, who is accused of drink spiking and rape after a one-night stand. Found guilty at trial, he.s sentenced to six years in prison. Will is incarcerated in a maximum security prison where he meets Jimmy (Martin Sacks), a hardened inmate who was responsible for a spate of armed robberies.

Jimmy is inspired by Will.s courage and determination. Erin Connor plays the QC who appeals his case in the Supreme Court. Gemma Laurelle is the primary antagonist, Constable Rossi, and Linda Millar is the chief warden.

The unit is shooting at a disused jail. .It's eerie and surreal shooting in a big,...