#Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Last night we went to see the movie ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’. Awesome movie. One wonders how they make those movies. It was in 3D.  The Apes were so lifelike and almost human. In fact, they acted a lot like humans. There were only a few humans left on Earth because of a virus that wiped out most of humanity. When a band of humans ran across the Apes in the forest, the meeting did not go well and the problems began. I don’t want to give away the plot. The movie ended okay and left much open—for another great installment in the franchise.

Some of the reviews I read were negative. No surprise there. It doesn’t matter what it is, be it a restaurant, a hotel, a book, or a movie that is reviewed. Most of the reviews can be positive and even raving, there will always be those who find something wrong for whatever reasons. Some people will write a negative review on principal. Some may even write a negative review without seeing the movie. It happens all the time with books. There are people out there who find pleasure in tearing something down for no reason at all. I never rely solely on reviews, but I do read them. Sometimes they help me make up my mind. I’ve written many reviews myself about places I visit, restaurants I go to, and hotels we stayed in, and I will always write it the way I experienced it. I won’t make anything up to sound important. Unless something is really bad, I won’t write a negative review.

Despite the few negative reviews, we went to see the movie. We saw all the ‘Planet of the Apes’ movies. The very first one, staring Charlton Heston, we saw in Salt Lake City in 1968 when we came back from a holiday in Santa Barbara, California. That was a wonderful movie and a shocker for some viewers. Not so much for me, because I read the short story and I knew how it ended; but I was still excited to see a story I read made into a movie. I became a Science Fiction fan the day I read my first Science Fiction novel at the age of 14. I read every Science Fiction book that was published in the early years in Germany. I was a member of the ‘Science Fiction Club Deutschland’. I still have my membership passport. My membership number was 750, which means I was the 750th fan to join the club. I don’t know how many members the club had at the height of its existence. There were not many German Science Fiction writers in those days. Most of the books were translated from English. I’ve read all the great Masters and I have most of their books in my library.

Now I’m a writer myself and I write mostly #Science Fiction stories. Even though I write in other genres, Science Fiction is still my favorite genre.

But I strayed a little off the subject. My wife and I we enjoyed watching ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’, and we are looking forward to a sequel. The movies these days are sure different from the ones thirty and forty years ago. The technology has advanced so much, and it is amazing what movie producers create with the use of computer-generated images. Add 3D and it seems you are almost there when you watch the movie.

We paid $24.00 for the two of us, and that’s just for the tickets—seniors even. It is expensive to go to the movies. We don’t buy popcorn and drinks and Nachos and other stuff. I can eat all that at home. When I go to a movie, I don’t want to eat. That’s what restaurants are for. I just want to enjoy the movie, but everyone thinks differently. For some people movie and popcorn just go together. Of course, always the people who should not snack have the largest popcorn buckets, the Nachos with sour cream, and the largest soft drinks.

Many people our age don’t go to the movies anymore and they miss out on great entertainment. I’m fortunate my wife also likes those Action and Science Fiction movies, otherwise I would have to go by myself, which probably means I would never see any of them.

I can only recommend ‘Dawn of the Planets of the Apes’, but only to those who love these kinds of movies. It’s Science Fiction, Fantasy. Not everyone is into that kind of stuff. Some people may even think it is juvenile and stupid to watch movies like that. Well—it is something that keeps us young and entertained, and sometimes it even instills in us that sense of wonder that is mostly missing in people our age. We’ve seen and done so much that sometimes we get bored with watching all those regular shows on TV. The same old crime stories, the same comedy routines, the same romance stories; that’s why it is great to see what technology can achieve in the entertainment field; and it is wonderful to be able to watch and experience something new and fresh. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Science Fiction is stories from the future—and the future is now.