Director Matt Reeves takes over for “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” a sequel that maintains the themes of the original while placing a greater focus on action and spectacle. That type of shift has the potential to doom a franchise, but Reeves’ work is so good that he takes the series to new heights. “Dawn” is more exciting and action-packed than it’s predecessor, but it’s also exceedingly smart, and it features an Oscar-worthy, motion-capture performance by Andy Serkis. 

Ang Lee won his second best director Oscar last month for his exceptional work in bringing novelist Yann Martel’s “Life of Pi” to the screen. The fanciful yet poignant story centers on an Indian boy named Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma) whose family runs a zoo. When his father decides to move to Canada, he packs the family and all of their animals onto a freighter only to see it sink at sea.