In the original B-movie “Planet of the Apes” of 1968, three astronauts travel far into the future to a planet and time when simians have enslaved people. The big reveal comes when a buff Charlton Heston stumbles upon the ruins of the Statue of Liberty, evidence of a civilization-ending World War III, and realizes he is on Earth. The original became something of a cult classic, permanently stunted the career of Roddy McDowall, and spawned at least two sequels and a little-noticed 2001 remake. Now comes the prequel, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” imagining a much different scenario to explain the beginnings of the primate conquest of humanity. Of course, four decades on, movie technology has evolved faster than either humans or our chimp cousins. Instead of men and women in ape suits, actors model monkey movements while wearing virtual reality suits, and computer graphics project primate bodies and faces onto them. It’s the same technology used in recent movies such as “Avatar” and “Where the Wild Things Are.” As for the setup, which takes place in the present, we have an unhinged microbiologist, Will (James Franco), who develops a virus that can regenerate brain cells. Rattled by the rapidly advancing dementia of his father (John Lithgow), Will presses ahead with tests on chimpanzees of what may be a cure for Alzheimer’s. His moment of triumph is dashed by the dramatic and violent entrance of his prize subject, Caesar (Andy Serkis), gone rogue. Out of pity for the chimp, Will takes him home, and out of frustration over his derailed discovery, he decides to speed up testing of the virus, using his father as the subject. Can you spell t-r-o-u-b-l-e? Can James Franco? This is one of those movies in which the audience sees it coming a mile away. Without giving too much up, suffice to say that the miracle cure has a problematic side effect: it boosts IQ faster than the Krell could boost theirs in “Forbidden Planet.” Soon we’ll have talking apes. Soon enough, we do. It all makes for rip-snorting action — and I mean it. Lots of ripping, and a ton of snorting. Plus smashing, crashing, exploding, and roaring. Have I mentioned the apes? Apes swinging, leaping, soaring, pounding and pouncing, climbing, and riding horses. Apes aping the “2001: A Space Odyssey” apes. Apes misbehaving. Apes with attitude. Apes on a mission. Oddly enough, the technical wizardry in this “Apes” is not so hot. These apes defy gravity in a computer-generated way that is unconvincing to the eye. And those talking apes have it better than Freida Pinto, who plays Will’s love interest and has fewer and less interesting lines than her simian counterparts. Not that it matters much, since neither she nor Franco can manage much beyond blank expressions, and their dialogue is strictly Grade B. Still, if you like a summer blockbuster with plenty of noisy, pulsating, frenetic action, this is your man. Er, ape. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” is rated PG-13 for intense and frightening sequences of violence and action. It is playing at the Moviehouse in Millerton, and elsewhere.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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