Beta's Top Ten Favorite Movies of 2024

I’ve been away from the blogging space, and most of that is because, well, 2024 was a garbage year. I dealt with medical issues all year long, my wife and I bought a new house and a lot of things went wrong when we did, and worst of all my father passed away (well, worst of all is actually that American re-elected Biff Tannen despite him being a convicted felon, but I digress). But today is the 15 year anniversary of Beta is Dead so it would be good to post something. Plus next month is still Black Superheroes Month, so getting back into the grove of writing is necessary. 

 2024 wasn’t my favorite year for movies and I actually struggled to write a Favorite Movie list this year. Shoutout to The Bikeriders, which didn’t quite make the cut, and also Drive-Away Dolls which I had been looking for to for months and months but ended up being delayed into 2024…and it was just okay, sadly. Also Lisa Frankenstein, which I wanted to love,  but just didn't have what I needed in a film (even though the two leads were great)

My favorite movies of 2024 after the jump.

Review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a sequel to the 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which itself was a reboot of the Planet of the Apes movie franchise. “Rise of” was surprisingly well received and a sequel was approved fairly early on. As the film takes place some years after the first one, and after the ramifications of the ending, the entire human cast has been replaced. So if you were hoping for another James Franco centric film I guess you’re out of luck.

This flick was directed Matt Reeves who previously directed Cloverfield and Let Me In, two films that were met with positive reviews in the past. Still despite his talent one must wonder if “Dawn of” will be able to capture lightning in a bottle again now that it has a someone new at the helm.

Full review after the jump.

Summer Movie Preview '14

I’m once again doing a Summer Movie Preview. Summer Movie season is a frustrating magical time of the year where Hollywood churns out its loud big blockbusters. I also tend to spend most of my free time in the movie theater during this season. So last year there were a ton of movies I was super excited for and most of them let me down. I think this has affected me as I now find it hard to get all that enthusiastic about this year’s offerings. That’s kind of sad.

Anyway today we’ll be taking quick looks at movies that have come under my radar that will be hitting theaters this summer (I tend to think of May, not April, as Summer Movie Season). If I missed anything or if there’s a film you’re excited about feel to let me know in the comments.

Click below for more.

Review: Planet of the Apes

What can I possibly say about Planet of the Apes? No, not the disaster of a film directed Tim Burton in 2001 and starring Marky Mark Mark Walberg. I’m talking about the 1968 classic directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starring Charlton Heston. The film that started a franchise that will not die continues to this day it was based on the 1963 book La Planète des singes by French author Pierre Boulle. It may surprise you to learn that while I’ve seen the remake from 2001 and even reviewed the 2011 reboot I’ve actually never seen the original films, not even the first one. Apparently this is to the disgust of The Lady (Who hadn’t seen Star Wars until I forced her so I don’t think she really has any room to judge).

We all know how the film ends, both in story and real life. A runaway success the movie led to all sorts of sequels, spin-offs, parodies and, eventually, remakes. But the sad fact is that 1968 was a long time ago and things change. Is the film actually as good as its legend implies, or is it another example of overrated 1960s fluff?

Full review after the jump.

Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Who hasn’t ever heard of Planet of the Apes?  It’s one of the most famous, and most parodied and referenced, films of all time.   Even if you haven’t seen it yourself you certainly know the final reveal scene (“YOU MANIACS!!!”).   The film was so successful that it spawned four sequels, with varying levels of quality (Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, and Battle for the Planet of the Apes), as well as two TV shows.  Knowing that Hollywood loves stealing and reusing ideas it should be no surprise that a remake would eventually be made.   And 20th Century Fox did just that in 2001 with a Tim Burton directed, Marky Mark Mark Wahlberg starring movie that was supposed to be the first in a new series of films.   Except that it was awful, had a bizarre ending (Though it’s been stated the ending would have been addressed in the aborted sequel) and pretty much universally panned.  Fox quickly decided to sweep the franchise under rug following its release.

But bad ideas, such as remaking a beloved movie franchise, never truly die so it was just a matter of time before Fox tried again. Hoping that ten years would have been enough time for Americans to forget the previous failed attempt (Spoiler: It wasn’t) they green lit another remake.  Actually in per-production it started as being a prequel to the original film, but seeing as the films work on a Stable Time Travel Loop it’s actually impossible for a true prequel to exist within the original continuity without it being a remake of “Escape from...” and “Conquest of…”. Instead the studio decided to change it into a reimagining (Sort of) of those two films to act as the first in a new series of movies….or at least I assume they did.  Understand this: this cannot be a true prequel to the original film!   It has to be its own continuity because it can’t fit into established cannon.  Okay?

Originally titled “Caesar” (Likely changed because the studio feared no one would go see a Planet of the Apes movie that didn’t have “Planet of the Apes” in the title) Rise of the Planet of the Apes was directed by Rupert Wyatt, and as far as I can tell his only other film was The Escapist which I’ve never heard of let alone seen.   Still the fact that this isn’t a straight remake greatly helps the possibility of this movie not being a disaster.   All remakes of classic films are bad ideas in principle but reimaging of classic films are only mostly all bad ideas in principle.  It’s a clear step up!

Full review after the jump.