Justin Chang reviews "War for the Planet of the Apes," directed by Matt Reeves and starring Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn and Judy Greer. Justin Chang reviews "War for the Planet of the Apes," directed by Matt Reeves and starring Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn and Judy Greer. Justin Chang reviews "War for the Planet of the Apes," directed by Matt Reeves and starring Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn and Judy Greer. Justin Chang reviews "War for the Planet of the Apes," directed by Matt Reeves and starring Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn and Judy Greer.

Two of the technology industry's most powerful leaders are at odds when it comes to artificial intelligence. Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has a pessimistic view of the risks associated with such technology. "I keep sounding the alarm bell," Musk told the National Governors Assn. in June. "But until people see robots going down the street killing people, they don't know how to react because it seems so ethereal." Facebook Chief Mark Zuckerberg on Sunday called Musk's dire warnings overblown and described himself as "optimistic."

In the new Syfy series "Incorporated," it is the year 2074 and global warming has had its way with the world, 90% of which is controlled by multinational corporations who war over "dwindling resources." Some would say that this is already the case. Premiering Wednesday, it is a sometimes clever, just as often clichéd mix of dystopian tropes, with performances ranging from nicely modulated to almost over the top, and some sly design that, along with some twisted PSAs, also accounts for most of the story's humor. It is quite watchable and nothing special. Science fiction, it has often been noted, is all about the present and, besides the full-bore climate disasters we're rehearsing now, there are references to Canada building a fence to keep the Americans out, a declaration that "the system was rigged" (meaning the insurance business, but still), and midterm elections to which only 22% of voters turn out.

Leon Russell called his best-known composition "A Song for You," but a better title might've been "A Song for You -- and You and You and You and You." The heartfelt ballad, instantly recognizable from its opening cascade of delicate piano notes, first appeared on Russell's self-titled debut album in 1970. That's a decade after this singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist -- who died Sunday at age 74 -- moved to Los Angeles from his native Oklahoma and quickly established himself as a go-to session player. Since then, though, "A Song for You" has been recorded and performed hundreds of times by artists as diverse as Donny Hathaway, the Carpenters, Willie Nelson, Amy Winehouse and the rapper Bizzy Bone. In 1994, Ray Charles won a Grammy for his moving rendition of the tune.

The new science-fiction film, it says, has created word-of-mouth, wowed audiences and earned a 100% Fresh rating on the movie review website Rotten Tomatoes. Denis Villeneuve's latest work, starring Amy Adams as a linguist chosen to communicate with alien visitors, may well be that. But it isn't easy to market a masterpiece -- especially a sci-fi masterpiece with spaceships that don't engage in dogfights, aliens who don't fire lasers and protagonists who don't throw punches. When "Arrival" touches down at 2,200 theaters this weekend, it will do so not only as one of the most well-regarded science-fiction movies in some time but as one of the greatest marketing puzzles in recent memory. The Paramount release is quiet, subtle and patient -- an artisanal offering in a time of studio fast food.

Close to 350 actors took their grievances to Electronic Arts in Playa Vista on Monday, marching and chanting for more pay and better working conditions for performers who do voice-over and motion-capture work on blockbuster video game titles. The picket line was the latest signal from SAG-AFTRA that it is preparing for a long fight with several prominent game companies, as both sides have failed to agree on the union's demand for residual-like payments that are commonplace in film and TV but not in the gaming industry. SAG-AFTRA also wants employers to reveal the titles of games when hiring actors, but companies including Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts and Take Two Interactive are arguing that level of transparency is impossible and could put them at a competitive disadvantage. On Monday, the video game companies hit back, accusing SAG-AFTRA negotiators of failing to communicate the most recent proposal to its members before officially calling the strike Friday. "If I was a performer, I would want the opportunity to say yes or no," said Scott Witlin, a lawyer at Barnes & Thornburg and chief negotiator for the gaming companies, during a news conference Monday afternoon.

The largest actors union in Hollywood officially called a strike early Friday morning against several prominent video game companies after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on an increase in compensation for performers who do voice-over and motion-capture work for popular games. SAG-AFTRA said Friday the work stoppage began at 12:01 a.m. Friday and covers games made by the companies that went into production after Feb. 17, 2015. Many of the most sophisticated games take years to develop and bring to market, and employ large casts of actors over that development process. Members of SAG-AFTRA are planning to picket one of the companies -- Electronic Arts -- at its location in Playa Vista on Monday.

While plenty of movies and TV shows have made it onto various Internet "Best of" lists, not many can claim to have made a list curated by a president. Now films like "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope" can add that honor to their list of commendations. Somehow between his day job as POTUS and campaigning for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, President Barack Obama found time to guest-edit the November issue of Wired. Among his editing duties was listing off his essential genre films and television shows, and no real surprise here, a lot of sci-fi greatest hits made the list. But that's OK, Obama's still got plenty of nerd cred to go around.