Planet of the Apes

While Tim Burton’s re-make of the sci-fi classic lacks heart and mystery, it’s damn good to look at. Mark Wahlberg takes over the Charlton Heston role as a pilot marooned on a planet where apes are superior and humans don’t bathe. Wahlberg is good as the action hero, and Tim Roth is OK as Thade, an evil chimpanzee who huffs and puffs a lot. Helena Bonham Carter plays the sensitive ape, but there is no character in this film like Cornelius, played by Roddy McDowall in the original series, so that’s a loss. The makeup by Rick Baker (who actually plays an ape in the film, as he did in 1976’s King Kong) will surely win an Oscar. Not a mind-blower, but a good time nonetheless.