Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Plot synopsis:
The film opens at Gen Sys, a genetic therapy pharmaceutical company. A female ape (Terry Notary), designated No. 9 and known as "Bright Eyes" by the staff, has been given the drug ALZ 112, and has shown considerable progress. She is more sociable and calmer than normal apes, and has succeeded in completing the Towers of Hanoi puzzle in 20 moves, which is close to a perfect score of 15. Will Rodman (James Franco) talks to his boss, Steve Jacobs (David Oyelowo), and convinces him that he has data to enable them to proceed with human trials for the drug.The next day, Rodman and Jacobs appear before the board of directors in the Gen Sys conference room. Will explains that the new drug causes neurogenesis, the growth of new brain cells (something that doesn't typically happen after birth) and may heal any number of degenerative brain disorders, such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's. The only side effect is that the subjects exposed to the drug have a green sparkle to their eyes.Back in the lab, the senior ape caretaker, Robert Franklin (Tyler Labine), is having trouble coaxing Bright Eyes out of her cage. She acts aggressively towards Robert and the other helpers. They attempt to lure her out of the cage with orange soda, but when they try to wrangle her with a lasso pole, she goes "ape" and runs rampant through the building. The chase ends when she crashes through the glass window of the conference room and the building's security guards kill her.Fearing that what they witnessed with Bright Eyes is a violent side effect of the drug, Jacobs pronounces the drug project 'dead.' Will attempts to change his mind, but Jacobs refuses, claiming he wants the remainder of the test apes 'put down.'After returning to the lab, Robert shows Will a baby ape hidden in Bright Eyes's cell. This explains that their assumption was in error: Bright Eyes was not acting violently because of the drug, but to protect her child. Robert does not have the heart to put down the baby, and gives the task to Will. Unwilling to do so, he decides to take the baby home.Will returns home, where he lives with his father, Charles (John Lithgow). Charles suffers from Alzheimer's and needs care from a nurse when Will is not around. Will shows the baby ape to Charles, who soon takes a liking to it. Charles playfully calls the baby Caesar (due to his love of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, it is implied).Caesar soon shows incredible progress, able to feed himself after only 2 days; he has apparently contracted the virus-based ALZ 112 from his mother. His "temporary" residence with Will extends to 3 years and Will sets up a room for him in the attic. Though apelike in some ways, the now half-grown Caesar (Andy Serkis) is a beloved member of the family and shows great intelligence, communicating complex ideas with sign language.While Caesar has been showing mental growth, Charles's Alzheimer's is getting worse and he has an altercation with his nurse. Will takes a major risk and steals ALZ 112 from Gen Sys. He gives a dose to Charles, and it appears it is a miracle drug when the next day, Will finds his father sitting at the piano, playing perfectly.Meanwhile, Caesar has grown enamored of watching the neighbors playing outside, and escapes out the window into their neighbor's backyard. However, his appearance frightens the neighbor's daughter, and her father, Hunsiker (David Hewlett), angrily attacks Caesar. Will and Charles manage to rescue Caesar, but not before Hunsiker has injured him.Will sneaks Caesar into a zoo for treatment. Caesar is treated by a veterinarian there named Caroline Aranha (Freida Pinto). During the procedure, Caroline is fascinated by how well Caesar knows sign language; he even implies through sign language that Will and Caroline should go out to dinner.To counter Caesar's wanderlust, they take him across the Golden Gate bridge to a redwood forest for some outdoor play time. Upon arriving at the forest, Caesar will not leave Will, but makes a supplication gesture of extending out arm, palm up, which is his way of asking for permission to play. Will gives his permission, and Caesar takes to the trees.Five years later, Caroline is living as part of the Rodman family and Caesar has grown. Will has even started dressing him in a shirt and pants. During a visit to the forest, Caesar is barked at angrily by a dog, and he counters with a primal cry that scares it off. Will notices that Caesar seems sad and confused about just what he is. They drive past Gen-Sys and Will explains to Caesar about the drug that made him more intelligent, as well as the death of his mother.In the five years since he was given ALZ 112, Charles' condition has deteriorated. Will reasons that his immune system has developed antibodies and a more aggressive virus is needed. Will takes a risk by going to Jacobs, confessing his secret experiment with his father, and explains that the drug not only repairs cognitive damage but makes people smarter. He says he has reworked the virus and needs Jacobs to approve new animal testing.Back at home, Charles gets confused and wanders outside and into their neighbor's car. He attempts to drive it, but ends up damaging it. Hunsiker (the same neighbor who attacked Caesar) angrily pulls Charles from the car; in his demented state, Charles is unable to convey his reasons for being there.Caesar watches this from his window in the attic, and upon seeing the neighbor yelling and angrily pushing Charles, rushes out of the house. He attacks Hunsiker, throwing him to the ground, jumping on him, beating him, and finally biting off a finger. Charles recognizes Caesar, and yells "Caesar, no!" Caesar backs off and goes to Charles. The incident causes Caesar (by court order) to be taken to a primate "'sanctuary" by animal control. Will and Caroline walk him in, and say good bye.The sanctuary proves to be tough on Caesar during his first days. It is run by John Landon (Brian Cox), with the care of the animals supervised by his short-tempered and abusive son Dodge (Tom Felton) and a timid man named Rodney (Jamie Harris). When Caesar flings his food at Dodge and laughs, the young man angrily responds by turning a fire hose on him, forcing a cowering Caesar into a corner of his cage.When released with the other animals into the main play area, Caesar meets the alpha male of the group, an ape named Rocket (also Terry Notary). Rocket tears off Caesar's shirt and beats him. Caesar also takes note of a gorilla named Buck (Richard Ridings) in a locked cage and an orangutan across from his cage who speaks sign language. Quietly, Caesar begins to communicate with the orangutan, Maurice (Karin Konoval).The sanctuary ships 12 apes to Gen Sys for the testing of the newer version of ALZ 112, which is named ALZ 113. Will is once again in charge of the testing, and chooses a rather harried ape named Koba (Christopher Gordon) as his first subject. Koba is strapped down and given the new drug through a breathing mask. However, Koba struggles, and the hose comes off the machine. Almost everyone in the lab has their breathing masks on, except Robert, who is accidentally exposed.That night, Will takes some of the ALZ 113 home to treat his father. Charles refuses the treatment, and dies that night in his sleep. After Will and Caroline pack up the remainder of Charles' belongings, Will's eyes fall on a copy of Julius Caesar.Some time afterward, Dodge brings some of his friends into the cage area at the sanctuary, where Caesar manages to steal a pocket knife from one of the visitors. Caesar befriends the large gorilla in the yard named Buck, who is never let out of his cage, by letting him loose. Next he releases Rocket, who ventures into the yard. Caesar hits him with a steel gas can. Rocket is ready to fight, but realizes that Buck is loyal to Caesar and will protect him, so he submits. Caesar is now the alpha male. Caesar later lets Rocket out of the cage area and allows him to give stolen cookies (from Dodge) -- one to each ape, bringing solidarity to the group. Caesar has also found a walkway and controls to the windowed enclosure at the top of the play area.Will returns to work, where he finds that Jacobs has greedily and recklessly pushed the research schedule ahead. While Jacobs is largely thinking of business profits, Will warns him that the major hurdle they need to worry about is how the newer ALZ 113 will affect humans. When Jacobs refuses to listen to Will's warnings, Will quits Gen-Sys. Meanwhile, Robert has been experiencing side-effects from his exposure to the virus, including sneezing that produces droplets of blood from his sinuses.Will returns to the ape sanctuary and attempts to bribe John Landon into letting him have Caesar. John is willing to do so, but when Will coaxes Caesar to go with him, Caesar refuses.That evening, Caesar busts out through the window he found and goes back home. He steals ALZ 113 from Rodman's refrigerator and gives it to the apes at the preserve. The next day, John Landon observes the apes having something like a conference. The apes scatter, playing it off. Landon dismisses it as just something weird.That night, the apes are returning to their cages, but Caesar balks, confronting and 'defeating' Dodge in the yard. When grabbed, Dodge says "Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!" Caesar speaks (audibly) for the first time, shouting "NO!" The other caretaker is a witness and runs into the cage area, trying to rescue the now unconscious Dodge.The apes attack him, but Caesar calls them off and, in a show of mercy, puts him into Caesar's cage. Dodge tries to escape and gets killed. (He is holding a cattle prod and Caesar hits him with the fire hose.)At dawn, Will calls to check on Caesar but receives no answer. Driving over to investigate, he finds the facilities wrecked, the apes gone, and the ALZ 113 canisters open in the cage areas. He decides to raise the alarm.Meanwhile, the apes are making their way across town. Caesar divides them into two groups. Buck goes with one group to the zoo to liberate the apes there, while Caesar leads the second group to Gen Sys.Robert goes to Will's home to talk to him, but Will isn't there and Robert is accosted by Will's short-tempered neighbor, Hunsiker. Startled, Robert sneezes on him. Later on, a woman in Robert's building finds Robert dead.The news about the ape escape is relayed to Jacobs, who has just made his way to work. He finds that Caesar and the other apes have taken over the building and freed the 12 ALZ 113 test subject apes.The police are called in. Jacobs boards a police helicopter as Caesar and Buck's groups join forces, now some 50 to 60, chimps, orangutans, and gorillas strong. However, the apes seem to be intentionally preventing the deaths of humans they encounter.Will and Caroline have heard about the rampage, and upon learning that the apes are headed for the Golden Gate Bridge, they surmise that Caesar is leading the apes to the redwood forest.The officers are waiting on the bridge to fire on the apes, but Caesar again divides his forces. One group climbs the suspension cables, while another swings from the underside of the structure to get past the blockade.In the helicopter, Jacobs catches sight of Caesar and orders the men to shoot at him, reasoning that the death of Caesar will call off the others. However, as the helicopter hovers low to the bridge, Buck leaps onto it, bringing it down at the cost of his own life. Caesar feels sadness over the loss of his comrade, and soon finds the remains of the helicopter precariously clinging to the side of the bridge, with Jacobs pleading for help. Instead, Caesar turns away and Koba pushes the helicopter off, killing Jacobs upon impact with the water.The apes proceed into the forest. Will and Caroline, meanwhile, have made their way onto the bridge. Will steals a police car and heads for the forest. He calls out Caesar's name, but is accosted by one of his followers. However, Caesar soon appears, and the others back away. Will attempts to reconcile with his friend, promising that if Caesar comes home with him, he'll protect him. Caesar shocks Will by holding him close and whispering "Caesar IS home." Will watches as Caesar and several other apes climb up into the trees and survey the forest... and the world beyond.In an aftermath sequence, we see Will's neighbor Hunsiker reporting for duty as a pilot at San Francisco International Airport. As he walks to his plane, he realizes that he is bleeding from his nose. As the camera pans up, we see the digital boards flashing to different destinations... a sign that soon, these places will be infected with ALZ 113, sealing mankind's fate.A recurring sub-plot throughout the film is the TV and newspaper reports of a troubled manned Mars probe named Icarus which has become lost in space. What will the astronauts find on their return?

Tags: mystery, realism, thought-provoking, violence, action, tragedy, inspiring, sentimental

Review:
I felt the movie was paced a bit too quickly but nevertheless, still contains very fleshed out characters driven by excellent performances throughout, from Lithgow, to Franco, to Cox and especially by Andy Serkis.Cesar is by far the best animated character in the history of cinema.
I am a big fan of the original and had fun with the sequels and even after Tim Burton's remake I was still excited for this film and I got to say this is the best Planet of the Apes picture since the original.This story is an origin story about how the Apes began to rise to power and about a man who is bent on curing Alzheimer's and raising an ape who has been past on the genes of the cure from his mother and what the effects this has on this one ape named Caesar.The very surprising thing about this film is how story based and character based it really is.
Caesar is played by motion capture actor Andy Serkis (his second film as an ape, the other one being King Kong (2005)) brings so much to the table.
They also really know how write convincing dialogue and leaves the door open for a sequel but it could be just an make you think type of ending.The Bottom line is this is a very good story driven film that includes great special effects and matches the original and is the second best film of 2011 Final Score 9/10.
The actors delivered fine performances for their well developed characters; the writers, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, didn't miss a beat with their fantastic and intelligent script; and the story was compelling, exciting and emotionally touching.The star of the film is an ape named Caesar (whose emotions were brought to life brilliantly by Andy Serkis) who is the baby of an ape that was tested on for scientist Will Rodman's (James Franco) research in an effort that resulted in a way for the brain to heal itself, and what could possibly be the cure for Alzheimer's; a disease very personal for him because his father (John Lithgow) suffers from it -- even though Rodman is warned not to let personal issues get in the way of science.
Even with Avatar, using real humans, pales in comparison to the amount of detail going into every single one of these apes; there is not one second in the film where you cannot understand one of the primates intentions - you could practically vocalise them yourself with the refined eye movement, body language that clearly separates Caesar from his more primitive relatives.
Eat that Michael Bay. I was almost in tears at one point during one of Caesar's more emotional scenes for Christ Sake - although a chimp, the heightened intelligence really gives him just enough human characteristic to be above the uncanny valley while still behaving like an animal.The humans in the film were what I considered weakest in this film; not any of the performances were bad, but a little more development in some minor characters and some tweak in the writing here and there would have made this a perfect 10.
The main cast are good, though at it's current length, I think more development with James Franco's character wouldn't have gone amiss, but then again, this might have thrown off the pacing.Another thing I love about this film is that while taking a sharp diversion from its roots in terms of gradual characterisation, it does a superb job of delivering what everyone inevitably came for.
This is the time of year that people rush out in masses to see the latest action extravaganza, and to be fair, some films have delivered on that promise -- "Harry Potter," "Captain America" (though I have yet to see either of them and am simply relying on general reactions) -- but there's been a whole lot of disappointments, too, and the worst part is that people still seem to be flocking to them, almost out of necessity than wont ("Transformers 3" and "Pirates 4" both made over $1 bil worldwide, which is amazing, because they both sucked).I think the last film anyone expected to reverse the trend this summer was a prequel to a franchise that has been consistently poor over the years since its original incarnation in 1968.
Indeed, the first trailer for "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" focused on ape carnage and mayhem, and although a subsequent one highlighted the dramatic underpinning of the film, it seemed like Fox was just trying to turn around its marketing and fool people into thinking there was more than meets the eye.Alas, the second trailer turned out to be a far more accurate reflection of the movie than anyone would have expected.
"Rise of the Apes" is most likely the best film of the blockbuster season, full of heart, carefully crafted and professionally delivered on every level.Sure, the story has its fair share of clichés -- the "evil caretakers" played by Brian Cox and Tom Felton seem bad just because the film requires them to be, and Felton's performance in particular is so over-the-top that it's almost a caricature -- but because of how the film is packaged, and because it spends so much time focusing on the character of Caesar (played magnificently by Andy Serkis), you are willing to overlook many of the flaws.
You care about the characters and the story, even when you kinda know where it's headed and feel like it's a variation of a prison break-out movie with apes in place of humans.The human cast, as has been noted by many critics, is nothing to write home about.
There's a moment of genius in that particular scene where Caesar exchanges a sad, knowing glance with Franco's character, and it's eerily touching.Director Rupert Wyatt follows blockbuster blueprints from beginning to end, but by enriching the first three-quarters of his film with character development and an actual *story* (something so many blockbusters these days seem to be sorely lacking), when the big action sequence arrives at the end, you're invested in what's happening -- and you actually care.I confess to never having watched many of the "Apes" films.
It says something that the best performance comes from Andy Serkis and he plays the film in a CGI suit swinging through trees and rattling bars but to be fair again Daniel Day Lewis would be incapable of bringing much to the roles of humans in this screenplay There's a saying that " If you give enough chimpanzees enough typewriters they will eventually write the complete works of Shakespeare " Apparently this is an untrue truism and according to the likes of Richard Dawkins and other scientists involved in biology there's neither enough chimpanzees or typewriters for this to remotely come close to happening .
The main ape's actor, Andy Serkis, only spoken few lines in this movie but the motion he provides to the character is remarkably amazing.
Let's take a look at them: -the good scientist, played with his usual blandness by James Franco, -the beauty love interest (I suppose she is Hindu in order to attract moviegoers from that "emergent" market...), who happens to also be wise (surely she studied in the MIT) and cultured (she is reading Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar", hence the name of the ape...
The story telling in "Apes" is unique in that it tells the story from the point of view an orphaned chimp named Caesar, adopted as a lab-test animal by a drug researcher played by James Franco, who's good in this.
Franco's character is trying to find a cure for Alzheimer's, which his father, played by the terrific John Lithcow, is in the grips of.But the stories is told through the eyes of chimp Caesar, who goes from family pet/child to being the punching bag for a tyrannical chimp in a California rescue facility for apes.
Watched Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes with James Franco(Spider-Man) as Will Rodman , The Lovely Frieda Pinto(Slumdog Millionaire) as Caroline Aranha,John Lithgow (Footloose) as Charles Rodman ,Tom Felton(Sherlock Holmes) as Dodge Landon, Brian Cox(Troy) as John Landon,David Oyelowo(The Passion) as Steven Jacobs and Andy Serkis(Lord Of The Rings) as Caeser ,.
The end scenes, where apes begin to take a stand against the consistently nasty humans, are impressive, but by then - after being through so much back story spanning over a large number of years - I did not really care.Lastly, and oddly, a huge drawback of the film was the marketing.
It deals with Caesar (Andy Serkis , this is the second film in which Andy Serkis plays an ape, having previously portrayed 2005's version of King Kong and he was also the motion capture actor for Gollum in Lord of the Rings), a Chimpanzee raised like a child by the drug's creator, Will Rodman (James Franco ,Tobey Maguire was considered for the role) and a Primatologist Caroline Aranha (Freida Pinto) .
So I should think a truly penetrating look at human nature may come from a Planet of the Apes follow-up feature, a film outranking its classic original in psychological depth and structural control.
I can be hopeful, all the same, can't I?One must, after having watched a film, take stock of its overall 'value' for viewers, despite how a film has made us feel; insofar as lasting value is consideration, Rise of the Planet of the Apes achieves little, because its characters and events lack mimetic relation to experiences in life, as realistically developed over time, as opposed to ample stimuli that we can't help but emote to, since we're viewing primal displays that prompt automatic response.
It had everything in it: Strong but slow developing plot (you can feel the tension building up as the story progresses) Great acting (Andy Serkis) Strong script Emotion (you could really feel Ceaser's was feeling) Action AMAZING CGI/live motion capture (not surprising if it's the same people behind Avatar) And most of all, Andy Serkis was truly amazing as Ceaser and I hope he wins an Oscar.Bad The truly pointless girlfriend (Freida Pinto), she had No purpose in this movie except to be the hottie in the background, and there 0% connection between her and Will.
But the best performance of the movie, just like every one else is saying, is without a doubt the ape named Ceaser acted by mo-cap actor Andy Serkis.
Movie shows the transformation of Caesar from a human family chimp to a ape that understands his origin and leads the primates into a new beginning.
Things really get rolling about halfway though, and it's an action movie after all....so the climax comes with plenty of thrills as the alpha males (human and ape) contend for dominance in a shoot out like you have never seen before.Although this wasn't the most rip-roaring movie I have seen this year, it was by far the most original.
and it was no doubt for the effects and everything to be good after realizing it was done by Weta, which previous works were "Lord of the Rings", "King Kong" and even "Avatar".Andy Serkis was Caesar the Ape. I think he was brilliant, again being cast as a character as so after Gollum in "Lord of the Rings" and the King Kong in "King Kong".
I also wondered how a rookie director could handle a movie like this, but Mr. Rupert Wyatt did a mighty fine job.This film is a prequel set in modern-day San Francisco and tells the tale on how the apes took over the world.
In San Francisco, the scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) has been researching for almost six years in the Gen Sys Company the ALZ 112 drug in chimpanzees expecting to find the cure to the Alzheimer since his father Charles Rodman (John Lithgow) has been deteriorating with the disease.When a subject ape increases its intelligence, Will brings the results of his experiment to his greedy chief, Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo), requesting to use the experimental drug in a human subject.
In only his second film, director Rupert Wyatt (in tandem with smarter than your average producers and the great Weta Digital Effects team) teaches a master course on how to do a reboot/origin story in a way only Christopher Nolan has previously been able to achieve.Skilled direction, a great performance by Andy Serkis as Caesar, emotionally involving character development, and a clever subversion of expectations help this Apes flick rise above the rest.Watch out for some plot holes, leaps of logic, a goofy James Franco, and a vacant Freida Pinto...but don't worry, you'll still enjoy the ride.Check out full reviews at theschleicherspin.com.
i saw this movie after reading so many reviews and i also like the both classic.so i decided to watch this movie and i found its surprisingly awesome movie.the story and casting is really good especially Direction by Rupert Wyatt is really counting in.use of CGI in the movie is amazing but instead of CGI why they cant use real apes?
but all over this movie deserves best ratings.James Franco is really doing great acting, Tom Felton is also good and we cant forget Andy Serkis playing Caesar the real hero of the movie.
Forgive me if I am gushing but I loved this film and cannot help laugh in a way because it's a movie about Apes and the humans are secondary characters.
It is sometimes difficult to tell where these effects stop and the CGI begins, but overall the look of the chimps is pretty good and the action sequences are downright amazing.What hurts the film is the weakness of the human stories.
Also I tend to not like CGI animals because you can always tell they're fake although, the effects were really good.Now the movie has tons of references of the past Planet of the Apes films, some subtle, some not so much.
His character is well put but the real star in this movie is Caesar (Andy Serkis) the ape!
Saw rise of apes yesterday..went to this film with huge expectations and gladly my expectations were fulfilled..to begin with..this movie has good cast..some decent performances from James Franco and Frieda pinto..the best performance is from the ape..Ceaser(Andy Serkis) steals the show..he did a brilliant portrayal of the ape..this movie also has some striking visuals..good story line..some fast paced action sequences..this movie has some minor flaws which aren't evident enough..Weta digital proves that it is the king of special effects..i think academy awards must also include a 'best CGI character award' category...i smell some Oscars for this film..kudos to new director Rupert Wyatt for giving us such a great movie..this is the best summer blockbuster of 2011..i give this movie 9/10...
There is not too much talent to be wasted in the characters of the scientist played by James Franco or his girlfriend played by Freida Pinto, and the best human performance is given by John Lithgow as the Alzheimer disease-stricken father.It is said that 'Rise of the Planet of Apes' is the smarter entertaining film of the summer.
Rise was a major box office hit, taking in a total of $481,801,049 over its $93 million budget.Fox immediately planned for a sequel.I won't talk about this movie from beginning to end, but it is a very successful reboot in the Planet of the Apes film series.Will Rodman is played by James Franco and she is trying to find a cure for brain aliments such as Alzheimer's disease.
I loved the performances in this movie and I really did love the actor playing Caesar, which was Andy Serkis, he did CGI and performance capture for the character and the apes look amazing.The CGI for the apes is amazing, the story is subtle and very coherent and the rest is just top-notch.
This reboot is very successful and it is so cool to see because I like the Planet of the Apes movies, but then Dawn of the Planet of the Apes came out in July of last year and really blew me.The editing, cinematography, production design, costume design and musical score by Patrick Doyle is really great and it is really interesting as well.Overall, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES breathes new life into the franchise and is remembered by audiences, moviegoers and critics everyone as a successful reboot in the long-running Planet of the Apes series, which began in 1968 with the original Planet of the Apes film, directed by Franklin J.
Andy Serkis as Caesar (The ape whos story this movie follows) brings a character too life that could off otherwise been tedious.
Off course it helps that there a bunch off great actors in this film (James Franco, John Lithgow, Brian Cox) but at the end of the day its the computer generated Caesar who is the star.The Flick also doesn't make the mistake off trying too have the "shocking" ending that the original or most of its sequels had (Something that ultimately destroyed Tim Burtons take on the apes a decade ago) and instead has a suitable conclusion to the lead characters story, while subtly hinting at where this new "apes" series will lead.
Some of the dialog was good but the majority of it was corny and badly written.I am a hardcore Sci-Fi fan and I loved all of the original "Planet of the Apes" films (excluding the 2001 remake), but overall I think this movie could have done a lot better if it had a more experienced director (i.e. Steven Spielburge) and better actors.
Caesar sees the many sides of human cruelty and he knows he can lead a revolution and lead his kind.Wyatt shows he is already turning into a really good director: The Escapist was a strong star and Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a great blockbuster.
A slow pace and some under-developed side characters bring the movie down a bit, but the captivating and emotional story, plus a very well-directed action-heavy third act, elevate the film into one of the best in the whole franchise.MSB Reviews - If you like my reviews, please follow my blog :).