Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Will Rodman (Franco) is a neuroscientist living in San Francisco trying to develop a cure for Alzheimer's disease by testing on chimpanzees, giving them a human level of intelligence. After a test subject's baby, Caesar, is orphaned, Will decides to raise him at home on his own with his Alzheimer-stricken father (Lithgow). What begins simply as a continuation of his experiment quickly turns into a problem for Will, as Caesar is taken away from him and forced to live in a primate facility. As Caesar's intelligence continues to grow, he begins to stake his claim as the leader of his new primate counterparts, which will ultimately lead to "The Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes." (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary by Director Rupert Wyatt; commentary by Writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver; 12 deleted scenes (HD 12:00); six featurettes: "Mythology Of The Apes" (HD 07:11), "Studying The Genius Of Andy Serkis" (HD 07:48), "A New Generation Of Apes" (HD 09:41), "Breaking Motion Capture Boundaries" (HD 08:43), "Composing The Score With Patrick Doyle" (HD 08:07), and The "Great Apes" (HD 22;37); an interative screen breakdown; a character concept art gallery; three theatrical trailers; BD-Live functionality; and a digital copy.

The 1080p AVC picture exhibits a superb visual presentation that at times appears a but rough in texture, especially with respect to human fleshtones. The ape family appears perfectly natural, as one would expect to see them. The WETA Workshop has done a fantastic job at creating realism with CGI. The overall appearance of the picture is warm textured, for a very filmic presentation. The color palette is richly hued and saturated, with strong primaries and solid black levels. Contrast is excellent, with revealing shadow delineation. Fleshtones are inconsistent, which at times appeare naturally hued and at other times orangish and unnatural. Resolution is superb, with excellent detail revealed in creature expressions, ape hair, clothing foilage, tree bark, and object texture. Overall, this is a dynamic visual presentation with excellent resolution and character. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is dynamic with aggressive envelopment and effective directionalized surrounds. Atmospherics and sound effects are perfectly realistic and dimensional in presence, even at low levels. While the overall balance definitely favors the frontal soundstage, the soundfield delivers a holosonic presence throughout. Sound effects, in the form of deep bass, are energized in the .1 LFE channel with at times sub-25 Hz energy. Patrick Doyle's assertive orchestral score is fluid and dynamic, with a sweeping, wide and deep soundstage presence that extends to the surrounds. Dialogue is effectively integrated spatially and is convincingly natural in presentation. This is a powerfully dynamic soundtrack that is well produced. The climactic scenes are absoultuely sonically engaging. (Gary Reber)