Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (Blu-ray disc)
James Franco, Freida Pinto

James Franco plays a scientist trying to find a cure for Alzheimers, by experimenting on chimpanzees. After a young chimp's mother is killed in the lab, he takes pity on the baby chimp and raises him at home with his father. Given the name Caesar, the chimp starts showing heightened intelligence and becomes part of the young doctor's family. But growing up in captivity, and being viewed as a pet by outsiders soon take their toll, and Caesar begins to have doubts about the life in store for him.

How the plot moves on from this point to the actual "rise" of the apes is extremely believable and actually quite frightening when you think about. The climactic battle scene on the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco is exciting and features brilliant special effects, but alas, it's over too soon. On the plus side though, the ending paves the way for another chapter in the "prequel/origin" mould before the plot comes full circle to the original Charlton Heston film.

The visual effects are astounding, especially the apes. It's quite hard to tell what's computed images and what's an actual animal. It's a pity the acting of the humans couldn't be digitally created because that's one of the few low points of the movie. James Franco continues to seem uninterested, and Freida Pinto is wasted in her role as love interest. John Lithgow and Brian Cox fare much better, but Caesar manages to out-act them all in this exciting sci-fi adventure. (4 out of 5, by Carlisle Johnson)