Ian Hoffman

*Planet of the Apes First Watch continued* ✅ | 2025 First Watches | Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a great sequel to the first movie and honestly might be better. I watched this several days ago but I wanted to let it sit and because I have been very busy. I loved the story beats in this particular movie over the first, I am equally rooting for Cesar more so now than in the first. The music is also amazing and the CGI has taken a step up, even in the shots where the Apes look far away or it is a wide shot it still looks so natural. I love “The Batman” a lot so having to watch this I can see how Matt Reeves cooked before directing the Batman. This movie is great and I would definitely have to say this is better than the first and definitely up there in my 4 star movies.

*A 2025 First Watch*👌 | 2025 First Watches |  I have been waiting so long for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes to be on one of the 20 streaming services I have so I could watch the entire Trilogy and thankfully that time has come. Rise is such a great setup movie for the future of the trilogy. I enjoyed Cesar so much and his dynamic with the humans was surprisingly emotional at the end and I think the ending of the movie was done super well. It is also sick to watch a bunch of Apes go at it against humans. I do think the CGI looks rough at times especially in the final battle where it sometimes took me out, and I found a lot of the beginning to be super slow and most of the scenes are unnecessary towards the greater story which overall is what brings down the movie for me. A 6/10 is still very good to me and overall I enjoyed this movie.

*Diary Entry #125 of 2025* 👍 | 2025 - First Watches | Skyfall is certainly a darker bond film but I think it excels a lot more at what it’s trying to do. For starters I think visually this is the strongest so far especially in that last 1/3. I also think Javier Bardem delivers on of the most chilling villain performances in the franchise and one of the most compelling as well. I also found the story to be very engaging for the most part. I don’t have too many thoughts on Skyfall and I still think Casino Royale is clear and away the best so far but Skyfall is a great improvement from Quantum.

Oh Boy what Indeed was that