Dog Days & Apes

Now I know why they call them "the dog days of August." Even a dog couldn't exist in this heat. I wonder how the coyotes do it. We've set a new record for average highs in August, and I and everyone else are sick of it. I even had to extra water my fruit trees, which were all looking a bit droopy eared.

We went to see The Rise of the Planet of the Apes and thought it was accurately reviewed, about a B. I remember a few things about the original made in 1968, Planet of the Apes, starring Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowell, and Kim Hunter. I remember the space ship crashing inro a lake and the three survivors escaping to trudge across a desert landscape to an oasis city run by a species of apes, with humans serving as mute slaves. Then, the last scene, when Heston has made it to the edge of an ocean, only to curse mankind when he sees what tells him of the near destruction of the planet, a half submerged Statue of Liberty, nearly ruined.

The viewer then realizes along with Heston, that the planet they'd crashed onto was really earth after an apocalyptic nuclear war. The Rise is a prequel to that original film, explaining how the apes came to rule the planet. Most of the movie was well done, but some of the destruction scenes involving the apes and chimps swinging all over the place on the Golden Gate Bridge was a bit silly. I only wish the original stars were alive and had taken bit parts in this 2011 film. That would have made a nice bookend to the series.

Arggh! Now there's a kiss to build a dream on.