Movie Night: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I saw first-hand what Alzheimer's disease does to a person.  My father-in-law, a brilliant lawyer, had only a mild case of it in the last years of his life.  I saw his frustration at the things he forgot how to do.  I saw how he tried to deny his confusion and make light of the disease that was destroying his beautiful mind.  Would I do what Will Rodman (played by James Franco) did in the movie to cure his ailing father?  Yes, I would.  I will do everything to give my parents the quality of life they deserve - especially in their final years of life because I love them.

The cure to Alzheimer's had nothing to do with what went wrong in this movie.  The root of conflict in this movie comes from the cruelty, greed and fear of the unknown.  These are human traits, human failings.  It has nothing to do with animal testing or gene therapy - it has everything to do with animal cruelty and lack of respect for others.

Caesar was treated cruelly, he fought back.  The degree with which he was able to fight back was enhanced by the ALS 112/113, but even an ordinary animal would fight back when abused.  We must learn to treat others like we would want to be treated ourselves.  Treat others with respect.  Treat others with kindness.

In the movie, it wasn't that Caesar was able to talk that amazed me the most.  It was how Buck gave his life to save Caesar's - what an amazing show of loyalty, sacrifice and friendship.  It was how Caesar always stopped the other apes from killing human beings.  It was how Caesar only became violent to protect Will's dad.

We always seem to point the blame at that new and cutting edge scientific breakthrough with tragic movies like these.  But we must not forget, that it is our own failings that determine the ending of the movie!  If we weren't so greedy, if we weren't so cruel, if we were better human beings then the world could be a better place than it is now.

Be kind.  Respect all creatures and creation.  Be better so we can make the world better!  I think this is a great movie and I hope that when you see it - you will be able to appreciate the important lessons the movie shares.  I think this is a must see - two thumbs up for me!