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"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" triumphed at the 26th Genesis Awards. The fantastic prequel took home the Outstanding Feature Film of the year "for its examination of the ethics of using chimpanzees in medical research."

In a crowded box-office weekend, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" continued to dominate the box-office finishing at No. 1 for its second weekend. Starring James Franco, the 20th Century Fox release earned $27.5 million and has raised its 10-day domestic total to $104.9 million.

I love, love, love "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." It's one of the best sci-fi action films of the year and that's largely due to Andy Serkis' affecting performance as the rising simian leader Caesar.

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" did not monkey around at the North American box office over the weekend. The prequel to the popular series starring James Franco, Freida Pinto, and Andy Serkis claimed the top spot bowing at No. 1 with $54 million, about $15 million to $20 million more than expected.

I could describe Rise of the Planet of the Apes as Escape from Alcatraz, except with apes, but that would make it sound like a movie you might actually want to see.

To read my movie review. Here's more info on "Rise of the Planet of the Apes."

The "Planet of the Apes" series, especially the classic 1968 film starring Charlton Heston, was a cautionary tale about the unthinkable consequences of man playing God.

Carmageddon getting you down? The planned closure of parts of the 405 is scaring everyone, including me, and I'm supposed to brave the Carmaggedon for "First Avenger -- Captain America!"

Something like five years ago I optioned a feature script from writer James Hancock that I really liked, it took the teen slasher format and gave it a more European feel mixing up a bunch of horror essentials without cheese and with a psychological edge that just completely entertained. James and I spent quite a while developing it further, tried to get it funded, unsurprisingly failed with just a couple of tiny low budget shorts to our name and decided to come back to it a bit later in our careers.