The film that I chose for today was one that always peaked my interest, but I never pulled the trigger because I was always weary of Jim Carrey (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) doing anything other than comedy. Nevertheless, the film I chose for today is The Number 23 and Carrey plays dog catcher Walter Spearow. One day, Walter’s wife Agatha (Virginia Madsen) buys him a mysterious book simple called Number 23 for his birthday. After reading deep into it, Walter starts becoming obsessed with the number and starts to find that just about everything equals the number 23. Walter then begins to suspect that there could be some correlation between the book and real life so he sets out to find the author to figure out the answers. The film also stars Danny Huston (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) as Isaac French/Dr. Miles Phoenix, Logan Lerman (The Perks Of Being A Wallflower) as Robin Sparrow, Lynn Collins (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) as Suicide Blonde, Rhona Mitra (Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans) as Laura Tollins, Michelle Arthur (Fun With Dick And Jane) as Sybil, Ed Lauter (Trouble With The Curve) as Father Sebastian, Patricia Belcher (Jeepers Creepers) as Dr. Mortimer, Corey Stroll (Ant-Man) as Sgt. Burns, and the film was directed by Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever).
This was definitely an interesting film and an interesting role for Jim Carrey to take, but it was definitely a cool role for him. He definitely stepped it up in this film and proved that he could do films that were not comedies. The concept of the actual number 23 in the film was interesting, but to become obsessed with it is one for those that believe in conspiracy theories. What I loved about the film was how most characters portrayed two characters in the film when Jim’s character reads the book and he narrates. The story that you see unfold in front of you is actually a very cool one that has that detective crime story feel to it that definitely kept me glued. The real part of the story that was the best for me was the very end when all about the origin of the book is finally revealed to you onscreen. It was a text book thing that I should have seen coming, but I actually didn’t. It was just sitting there in front of my face and then it gets revealed and my reaction was of course it was. The tone of the film is very dark with lots of reds and out of focus shots that help tell the eerie story as it unfolds in front of us. I couldn’t believe that the film is less than a decade old it cause it seems like it came out forever ago, but I think if you’re a fan of mystery thrillers like this then you should give it a shot. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.
I have always been a fan of the Planet Of The Apes series whether it were the classics or the reboot Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. It took me a little bit to catch the sequel Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, but it’s here. I believe that it has been ten years since the events of the first film and what the humans called the Simian Flu has almost wiped out the entire human race. Meanwhile, Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his family of apes are enjoying the fruits of their fight by living in the forest across the Golden Gate Bridge. The apes believe that there must not be any more humans until they run into a crew looking to gain access to the dam. The crew led by Malcolm (Jason Clarke) need to gain access to the dam in order to establish a power source for the humans who still live in San Francisco because they are running out of fuel for power. As Caesar begins to allow the humans to work, one ape named Koba (Toby Kebbell) begins to get angry and he rises against Caesar in order to gain payback on the humans for what they did to him when he was captive. Can Caesar and Malcolm stop Koba before he starts a war or will it be too late? The film also stars Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight) as Dreyfus, Keri Russell (Felicity) as Ellie, Kodi Smit-McPhee (Paranorman) as Alexander, Kirk Acevedo (Oz) as Carver, Nick Thurston (White Irish Drinkers) as Blue Eyes, and the film was directed by Matt Reeves (Felicity).
I loved the first reboot film because it obviously explains the story of Caesar who we hear about in the original films. The first one left you in the cliffhanger of knowing how exactly the apes were able to kind of take over (at least part of San Fran). The second one kind of explains the story a little bit more as it is starting to inch over to where it is kind of the planet of the apes. The second really takes us into the psyche of the apes now that they have been free for what they say is 10 winters. They are still adjusting to the freedom and some of the apes struggle with how Caesar handles humans and it turns into a battle. I love the special effects obviously, but one of my other favorite elements of the film are the sets. The set design for the film was phenomenal as they created a post Simian flu San Francisco. Jason Clarke was phenomenal as well as he kind of took the place of what James Franco was to Caesar in the first film. I don’t know about you, but I am certainly excited for the new film War Of The Planet Of The Apes. I am most excited because it continues the story from this film and that means more Caesar and Andy Serkis. I am going to give this film an A- for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 