Planet Of The Apes (1968) - Monkey Business With Adrienne Cupp

     I recorded a victory last night.  Much to my surprise, Adrienne expressed an interest in watching  Planet Of The Apes (1968).  Even more stunning - she liked it.  A lot.

     I realize this probably doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but Adrienne has long expressed to me an aversion to sci-fi movies.  I've never protested much because she's always been very tolerant of my appetite for horror.  She doesn't always see the value of every horror movie that I like, but we've watched enough horror together over the years that I've gotten a pretty good feel for which ones she's likely to enjoy.  The corollary of that is that I've also developed a sense of which horror movies I should just go ahead and watch on my own.  If  I don't subject her to too many horror movies that I know she isn't going to like, she continues to be willing to watch the ones I think she might like.  It's a delicate balance.  Because I'm already fighting the battle on that front, I've never pushed very hard with the sci-fi movies.

Taylor (Charlton Heston) with Cornelius and Dr. Zira

     She gave me an in, though.  She enjoyed the recent reboot of the franchise, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (2011), and apparently that piqued her interest in seeing the original.  Charlton Heston starring in the original probably only sweetened the pot.  Heston is kind of like a gateway drug for people who don't like sci-fi.  He clearly isn't a man who's going to tolerate any foolishness, so his participation is a seal of approval for the non-fanboys.  Moses wouldn't let his people wander aimlessly for forty years in the realm of science fiction, right?  Heston always gets everyone on board by playing to the cheap seats.  Could anyone have growled "Get your filthy paws off me, you damn dirty ape!" with more badass conviction?  

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil - a surprisingly funny moment from Planet Of The Apes (1968)

     In particular, though, Adrienne was pleased by the fact that her mind was engaged while watching Planet Of The Apes.  I believe it was eye opening for her to realize that sci-fi isn't all just ray guns, robots, and light shows.  She's anxious to watch the rest of the franchise now, and I'm excited to be watching them again with someone who's excited to be seeing them for the first time.

The iconic final moments of Planet Of The Apes (1968)

     The best part of this episode for me was the fact that Adrienne had no prior knowledge of the twist ending that closes Planet Of The Apes.  I was surprised because I suppose I thought it was one of those pop culture things that everyone knows by osmosis, even if they've never seen the movie.  *SPOILER*  I can't even express what a pleasure it was to watch Adrienne see the buried Statue Of Liberty come into view and suddenly have everything she'd just watched fall into place.  I envied her.  I guess in a few years I can once again experience that moment  vicariously when I get to share Planet Of The Apes with Gunnar for the first time.

     Is it weird that I'm most looking forward to watching "the ape out of water" entry Escape From The Planet Of The Apes (1971) again?

I had this when I was a kid.  You're jealous, aren't you?

Manborg (2011) - This Is The Sort Of Thing You'll Like If You Like This Sort Of Thing

Manborg (2011)

     . . . but what sort of thing is Manborg (2011)?  Well, take a long, hard look at that poster.  Did it stir the geeky, adolescent boy in you?  Did you just snicker like a twelve year old  at the unfortunate semantics of the preceding question?  If the answer to either of those questions is "yes", then you probably owe it to yourself  to watch Manborg.

     Created by the five person collective known as Astron 6 (reportedly for a mere $1,000?!?), Manborg is a loving ode to the sort of earnest, often silly sci-fi action movies that littered video store shelves in the late 80s and early 90s.  You'll know whether you're going to love it or loathe within the first five minutes, and you'll only be sacrificing an hour of your time if you choose to commit.  I loved it.  Adrienne immediately rolled over on the couch and chose to commit instead to an hour long nap.  Clearly, this wasn't her sort of thing.

     Filled to overflowing with monsters, mayhem, and a mother lode of way cool stop motion animation, every frame of Manborg crackles with the genuine and refreshingly unironic love of its creators for "this sort of thing".  I'm not going to get all movie blog critical about it here.  If you should see Manborg . . . well, you know who you are.  Enjoy.

     Not for nothing, I just glanced at the clock and realized that composing this post carried me past midnight and straight into my forty-third birthday.  Forty-three years of beating my brain to pudding with genre movies has come to this.  I can still sit down to watch movies like Manborg and be thoroughly entertained.  Good.  Maybe there's still the heart of youngster beating in my chest after all.

     Check out the pics below to whet your appetite, then grab yourself a copy of Manborg when it releases on disc April 30.