 |
Bananas!
By Steve Ramos
Tim Burton gets Hollywood. Both artistic and commercial, he lovingly licks the pages of the blockbuster rule book and, more importantly, manages to push the boundaries of special-effects moviemaking.
This giddy mix of high-concept and high-art helps to explain what's so exciting about Burton reinterpreting the 1968 classic sci-fi film Planet of the Apes. It's fair to expect that he'll do for Apes what he's done with his previous films: He'll fashion a popular genre into a wondrous cinematic world unlike anything we've seen before.
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985) remains a high-spirited boy's life adventure. Edward Scissorhands (1990) tweaks its Brothers Grimm-inspired fairy tale by placing its monster/hero in a middle-class suburb. Mars Attacks! (1996) captures the pulpy spirit of a 1950s alien invaders story. There's no better love letter to Hollywood's let's-put-on-a-show spirit than Ed Wood (1994). Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992) bring their comic-book heroes and villains to 3-D life. And Sleepy Hollow (1999) updates Washington Irving's classic story by paying homage to 1960s Hammer horror movies.
Burton says his version of Planet of the Apes will stay close to the cynical spirit of Pierre Boulle's novel. So don't expact astronaut Mark Wahlberg's trip to monkeyville to be modeled after Charlton Heston's time-traveling hijinks in the original Apes. Burton also warns long-time Apes fans not expect to see the Statue of Liberty poking through a sandy beach at the film's climax.
With a monkey-suit ensemble that boasts the talents of Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter and Michael Clarke Duncan, Burton has plenty of other surprises up his sleeve.
WHO: Planet of the Apes. · WHEN: Opens July 27. · INFO: www.planetoftheapes.com
E-mail Steve Ramos
Previously in Cover Story
Road Trippin'
By Mike Breen
(May 24, 2001)
High Concept
By Steve Ramos
(May 24, 2001)
The Son of High Concept
By Jason Gargano
(May 24, 2001)
more...
Other articles by Steve Ramos
She Got Game (May 24, 2001)
The Mondo Summer Movie List (May 24, 2001)
Film Listings (May 24, 2001)
more...
personals |
cover |
listings |
humor |
news |
movies |
music |
arts & entertainment |
dining |
classifieds |
mediakit | home
|
|
Inching into Summer
Hedwig and an all-star local band look to be be the hottest act in town
The Hot 100
May-June
The Hot 100
July
The Hot 100
August-September
Hot Chamber
CSO Takes the Small and Intimate Route
Hot Issues
Activism Heating up the Streets
Hot Dispute
Trying to Get Buffy and Roswell on Local Cable
Hot Italian
Bocce? Hot-chee!
Hot Family Values
Reunion Not Just a Black Thing
Hot Sauce
Dancing With the Taste Devil
Hot Voices
Attracting the Opera World's Best
Hot Food Fest
Goetta Load of the Tristate's New Festival
Hot Game
Just Like Real Golf, Only Better
Hot Shirts
Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk
Hot Tuesdays
You're Invited to a Phammilly Gathering
Hot Drink
Red bull is red hot
Hot Sundays
Reggae Fest Gets Bigger, Better and Wetter
Hot Wiff
A Game for the Passionate
Hot Glass
Art Museum Installs a Spectacular Sculpture
|
