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20 UCW AUGUST 6-12, 2014 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Rise of the Planet of the Apes was great for a number of reasons. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (130 minutes) was good, and in some ways technically superior to the first. However, the franchise took a big step backwards in terms of gender representation. There is only one named female character with lines (Keri Russell's Ellie), and she doesn't get to do a whole lot. A female ape identified as Cornelia (Judy Greer) in the end credits is part of the film, but she is never named in the film. If that doesn't bother you, feel free to skip the next paragraph. Begin Aside: I don't think I've ever mentioned the Bechdel test, and I suppose now is as good a time as any other. Briefly, the Bechdel test measures gender representation in a film with three questions. First, (1) it has to have at least two women in it, (2) who talk to each other, (3) about something besides a man. For an idea that came out of a 1985 comic strip, it is a surprisingly solid test of the amount of gender bias in a given film (Gravity not with standing). And Dawn of the Planet of the Apes doesn't pass, which is sad because it should have. There were an infinite number of ways to even up the gender representation by gender switching a key character, expanding the role of Ellie, or even just having Cornelia and Ellie talk to each other. What a disappointment. End Aside. The Simian Flu virus mentioned at the end of the last movie wiped out a whole lot of humanity. As with most apocalyptic movies, the number of dead vs. survivors doesn't quite add up but maybe a couple of secondary apocalypses further trimmed the population (how many nuclear reactors would be unattended in California should a pandemic arrive and how many of them have a foolproof automatic shutdown feature/dead man's switch of some kind?). Caesar (Andy Serkis) is still the smartest ape on the block, governing a community of other presumably enhanced apes in Muir Woods, Calif. Maurice, the circus orangutan (Karin Konoval) from the last movie is hanging around, teaching the younger apes a pictographic version of new ape history, while Koba, the scarred up lab bonobo (Tony Kebbell), is still nursing a grudge against humanity. Caesar has a wife and a son called Blue Eyes (Nick Thurston). Blue Eyes and his ape buddy Ash are out in the woods when they run into a group of human survivors. The first guy they meet, Carver (Kirk Acevedo) shoots Ash and almost starts the interspecies war for which we've all been waiting. Luckily, a guy named Malcolm (Jason Clarke) makes it to the party just in time. He defuses the situation and the humans retreat back to humanity's base camp, where he reports to Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) that women are as unimportant in ape culture as they are in human culture. They smoke cigars, drink brandy and congratulate themselves on having the good sense to be born men. After some plot building ape/ human interaction, it seems like it's all going to work out. At least until Koba's hatred of humanity overwhelms his loyalty to Caesar. The climax of the film involves an ape invasion of the human stronghold, and the apes look amazing. I don't know what combination of motion capture, CGI and practical effects were used, but the final look of the ape army is superb. The film is well worth your time, even if it does focus on male characters to the exclusion of females. World War Ape (Spoiler: Humans Are Doomed) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Rated R) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upand- comingweekly.com. 910.484.6200. Registration ends Friday, Aug. 15! FALL SEMESTER CLASSES BEGIN AUGUST 18th Registration assistance available at the following locations: Fayetteville Campus • Spring Lake Campus • Fort Bragg Center New for Military Students! FALL Semester LUNCHTIME Classes 12 noon - 1 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays Math (DMA 40 & 50) Computer (CIS 110) Reading/English (DRE 97 & 98, ENG 111 & 112) Psychology (PSY 150) Public Speaking (COM 231) ACA 122-College Transfer Success Call (910) 678-1050 to learn more about these lunchtime classes! FTCC (910) 678-8400 www.faytechcc.edu