So, another monkey movie opens today. Excuse me, ape movie. Funny. I sitll remember seeing the original “Planet of the Apes.” And I remember how shocked I was at two specific parts: 1, when the gorilla on horseback suddenly appears and, 2, that shattering ending. Of course, similar to most everything else that Hollywood does, the movie became a series …. the latest chapter of which being “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” It's hard to think that this will be in any way a match of the original (directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and released in 1968). But I'll go anyway/Dan Webster, Movies & More. More here.

Question: Are you a fan of the “Planet of the Apes” movies?

It’s unfortunate that “Inception” so closely follows Martin Scosese’s “Shutter Island,” in which DiCaprio stars as a federal agent who falls into a similar kind of psychological purgatory. But Nolan’s story, while more fantastic, is nevertheless more successful at creating a world that feels authentic — instead of pop-psychology hamhanded, the way “Shutter Island” came across. Spokane Public Radio film critic Bob Glatzer loves to call the films he loves “delicious.” Well, “Inception,” as a film is pure bubble gum. But it’s really delicious bubble gum. You need to bite off a chunk/Dan Webster, Movies & More. More here.

Question: Have you seen or plan to see ‘Inception’?

Beginning with John McTeirnan’s 1987 original, and proceeding with at least four sequels now, the “Predator” films run on a simple conceit: an inordinately ugly breed of extraterrestrials loves to hunt down residents of other worlds just for the sport of it. In the original, of course, the bad-ass alien runs into a mud-and-blood-spattered commando played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. This time Arnold lives in the California governor’s mansion, so we’re left with Brody and co. And while Brody’s acting abilities may be far superior to Schwarzenegger’s, his physique can’t compare. And director Nimrod (yes, that’s his name) Antal is no McTeirnan/Dan Webster, Movies & More. More here.

Question: Predator or Alien?

Get ready for “Iron Man 2,” which opens Friday. This time, with Don Cheadle subbing for Terrence Howard as Lt. Col. James Rhodes, our iron-clad hero takes on some political enemies, a rival manufacturer, a new superpowered rival in Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), a degrading arc reactor (the device that powers his heart) and his own roller-coaster temperament. The movie should be a fairly decent way to escape for a couple of hours, even if it doesn’t match the 2008 original in, if nothing else, freshness factor. And it does boast the presence of Robert Downey Jr., an actor who can make anything look interesting, even a lame take on Sherlock Holmes/Dan Webster, Movies & More. More here.

• On Facebook, Betsy Anderson gave ‘Iron Man 2’ a thumbs up: “We saw IronMan 2 this evening. Loads of fun. Entertaining as all get out. Robert Downey Jr. is perfect in the role. (It’s just not quite as good as the first one.)”

Question: Are you a fan of Robert Downey Jr.?

In the two decades that I have been entering our office Oscar pool, I have won once. Mostly I do terribly, often placing strictly middle of the pack. This year, though, was different. For some reason, I was able to correctly choose 20 of the 24 Oscar categories – missing only Best Foreign Language Film, Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary Short and Best Short Animated Film. And the only reason I missed Documentary Feature is that I followed a hunch, which told me that the overwhelming favorite – “Man on Wire,” which I saw and wasn’t blown away by – would be done in by the Hurricane Katrina film, “Trouble the Water” (which I haven’t seen)/Dan Webster, Movies & More. More here.

Question: When did you last win an office pool? For what?