Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Spoilers!

So now the island that housed the disastrous theme park Jurassic World of the last movie has a volcano on it, and it's going to explode. Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), turned from prim and proper business woman to free-spirited animal lover in the last film, is heading up an organization to save the dinos. The government decides to stay out of it, so she jumps at the opportunity when a private company run by Rafe Spall offers to help her relocate the animals. Then she ropes in Owen (Chris Pratt) because his favorite Raptor, Blue, is still on the island.

Should've bombed the island as soon as all the humans got off. Then they wouldn't have this problem.

But surprise! Rafe Spall isn't actually relocating the dinos to another safe island -- he's bringing them to the mainland and keeping them in the cellar of a massive estate that belonged to John Hammond of the original, original film. What could possibly go wrong? Oh and Dr. Wu (BD Wong) helped him and Toby Jones create a new, new dino by mixing Raptor with the Indominous Rex of the last film. The Indoraptor. Super creative name, yeah? They plan on bidding all of them off to the wealthy and ill-intentioned of the world. Things go exactly as you imagine they will.

And that's not really a bad thing in itself. The giant house wound up being a fun set piece for the last act; the first was getting on and off the island, and the second was adventures stowed-away on the transport ship. With a little tweaking it could have been a rollicking and pure-blooded adventure. But it gets distracted, by focusing way too hard on... trying to teach us a lesson? They were pushing us to feel sympathy for the dinos, which I guess they didn't realize is something we naturally feel. Dinosaurs are freaking awesome, and unless they're actively portrayed as evil beings, we not going to be eager to see them die.

I mean seriously -- look how freaking cute she is!

But they went all ham-handed on the tragedy of their situation anyway, and went so far overboard with it. At the end of the first act as they sail away on the ship, a Brontosaurus is left behind, literally calling to them from the dock as the ash and lava catches up to it. The music swells dramatically; the cloud engulfs the majestic creature; the fire lights its silhouette as it rears and seems to dissolve away.... and I was about to roll on the floor laughing. Feels bad. The harder I tried not to, the funnier it became. I did manage to laugh quietly, so hopefully I didn't annoy the person next to me.

There's also a big plot line involving Blue being a good dino, and one secondary bad guy (Ted Levine) who pulls teeth out of the dinos to collect for a necklace. In case the point about him being evil wasn't clear enough. But guess what they neglected to do? Yep, create sympathy for any of the humans. Maisie (Isabella Sermon) is the most because she spends time alone figuring out the bad guy's evil plot and running for her life. Claire and Owen are complete blanks except that they care about the dinos, which doesn't help me much. They had a bad break and allude to that, and by the end they're kissing again, but nothing happened to get them there.

If one shared near-death experience couldn't keep them together, why should a second? 

And the two sidekicks, Franklin (Justice Smith) and Zia (Daniella Pineda), I actually forgot existed whenever they disappeared from the screen. Everything they did could've been accomplished by Claire and Owen, or was unnecessary in the first place. Like, they have a whole sequence where they reboot the ventilation system to save the caged dinos from poisonous gas, but later their efforts have only stalled for time -- so the leak could've been slower in the first place with no different outcome. They didn't annoy me particularly, but were blank too, and if their time had been redistributed through a smaller cast -- but the problem wasn't lack of screen time, but of attentive writing.

The poisonous gas bit was inter-cut with Claire, Owen, and Maisie hiding from the Indoraptor, in what is probably the best extended sequence of the film. The dark house of endless rooms and museum-displays of fossils, the one dino tracking them down. It's the classic Jurassic Park stuff and only seemed lacking because it wasn't given time to breathe. It needed to revel more. Linger and seep in. It did that in brief staccato moments, but jumped around too much for the feeling to stay.

"Rafe?" "Yes, Toby?" "Are we the bad guys?" "I think." "Well, crap."

And it's probably just me but I wanted a lot more out of the villain. I like Rafe Spall. But he did his thing and then disappeared until it was time for his death scene. And speaking of deaths, literally all but one death goes as follows: person discovers dino danger; person tries very hard to survive; person survives by skin of teeth; person relaxes -- bam! -- person is dino lunch. Not that that's a terrible way to do a death scene, but a little variety would've been nice. Also, I felt weird watching bad guys get munched on. It was like the movie wanted us to enjoy it; to cheer or feel satisfaction over it.

In the previous movies, even a villain death was played for horror, not elation, right? We felt they deserved it, but it was still grisly and disturbing. It's also worth noting that no good guy is killed by a dino in this film. Not a single one. Not even a neutral, innocent bystander. It's not like even a hint of stakes were ever in place for anyone except the dinos -- that was just adding fuel to the fire.

Forgive me if I want to care about human characters in a movie where the human characters are the leads.

Fallen Kingdom builds on a decently solid skeleton, and that keeps it from falling into a distracted oblivion. That, and the innate likability of Pratt, Howard, and newbie Sermon. A quality level equal to Jurassic World was out of reach I think, simply because the "horror at the theme park" premise is tough to top -- but though it's not unworthy of the name, it clearly could've been better than this.

Upcoming Movie Roundup - June

In May I got the surprise of the year when I went to see Deadpool 2, and absolutely loved it! Read my review here. My favorite superhero movie since Spider-Man: Homecoming. It was very R-rated, but used its rating with more discretion than the first one, making it more loyal in tone to the comics. The jokes hit and Deadpool "dies" a lot in some awesome action scenes which was something the last one sorely missed. I'll probably see Solo soonish too. Maybe today.

Let the summer officially begin! What's been your favorite of the year so far? And what are you looking forward to next? Let me know in the comments. With five Fridays in June there's LOTS to look at this month! Let's get to it:


Upgrade
Jun 1st; R
This looks like a fun hardcore action flick. One neat premise -- where an AI implant allows a crippled man to go on a revenge spree -- that's just about as catered to the R-rated action genre as a premise can be. I expect some of the plot will be familiar, but that's okay by me as long as it's done well. The action looks great -- by the cinematography mostly. I really like it when the camera is far enough away so we can actually see what's going on, and doesn't cut every half-second. Plus -- those spin moves. This one's out today, and already has enough good reviews that I'm definitely interested to see it for myself.




American Animals
Jun 1st; R
Also out today, and also getting some good reviews. This one caught my attention with it's cast of Barry Keoghan and Evan Peters, but finding out more about it, my interest has only been dropping since. It definitely looks like a well made movie; I just expect that the plot would irritate and stress me out. I don't know anything about the real-life event, but I seriously doubt this movie could end well. It's the sort of thing I'd watch when it's streaming for free.




Adrift
Jun 1st; PG-13
Hopefully that's the last time I ever have to see a trailer for this movie. (Update: It wasn't.) As far as true stories go, I'd a million times rather watch the above than this, even though I expect this one has a happy ending. Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin are meant to be a big draw (Tris and Finnick, together at last! Wait...) but for me it has the opposite effect. I'm so full of ugh over this movie, but I had to include it, to say no thank you. So -- no thank you!




Breath
Jun 1st; NR
Simon Baker directs, based on a novel. It's set in the 70's in Australia, and it appears to be a coming of age type movie with surfing. So that's all different and interesting. I'm not much a surfing movie fan, but I do like a good coming of ager. Will keep an eye open.




All Summers End
Jun 1st; NR
I heard about this movie in 2014 whenever Tye Sheridan had a few guest appearances on Last Man Standing as Kaitlyn Dever's boyfriend. I wonder why it took so long to be released, but that explains why they look so young. This is the sort of movie I'll be watching, disregarding reviews, without expecting much. Any other day I might not have given it a second look, but it's got Tye Sheridan, and I've low-key been waiting for four years, so....




Ocean's 8
Jun 8th; PG-13
Oh boy. Another Ghostbusters, or something actually good this time? I expect more the former. I'd be much more interested even if they weren't trying to bank of the Ocean's movies. Whether you call it a remake a reboot or a sequel, it can't help but feel like it's clutching onto the boys for support instead of trying to stand on its own high-heeled legs. Maybe it can stand on its own; maybe it can't. It's just a matter of principle, and one of the warning signs of a bad film.




Hereditary
Jun 8th; R
YIKES. This looks like a great horror movie. Which is why I'll probably never watch it.




Hotel Artemis
Jun 8th; R
If I ever watch this, it will be for Jeff Goldblum and sunglasses cinematography. I dunno, I mean, there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with it. It's got a nice cast, a scifi kind of premise. A siege plot. A nice look. It's just not appealing to me in any significant way. If it ever does, I'll be there.




Incredibles 2
Jun 15th; PG
I know everyone's excited about this, I just find it hard not to be cynical about sequels, even when it's Pixar. Not that Pixar has exactly been up to par recently. There are two main things about this sequel that gives me hope: One, Brad Bird is back. That is extremely comforting. And two, Jack-Jack's portal superpowers. I love that. So we'll see I guess!




The Yellow Birds
Jun 15th; R
Hmm. Alden Ehrenreich and Tye Sheridan war movie. Oh and Toni Collette. She has quite a few movies coming out this month. I don't think the movie looks particularly good, and I'm not generally big on modern war films, but I may give it a shot sometime for the cast.




Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Jun 22nd; PG-13
I seriously doubt that I'll enjoy this one as much as I did the first Jurassic World, but I also expect that I'll be seeing it in theaters. Unless it really bombs. Chris Pratt has lost some of his appeal to me, but I'm sure he can still carry a movie with star-power. And I'm sure the dinos will look great on the big screen. And hey, this one has Rafe Spall in it. He's probably a bad guy, but that's okay. He's great.




Under the Silver Lake
Jun 22nd; R
Haha wow, this movie looks like it was made for Andrew Garfield; perfect for him in a way no one could have guessed kind of thing. Intriguing and bizarre. My only real question is: how did that girl go swimming and still have all her makeup be so perfect and completely not smudged??




The Catcher was a Spy
Jun 22nd; R
Paul Rudd leading a great cast; WWII spy movie. But, true story, so I guess I should find out what happens before I watch it. Looks kinda fun and kinda serious. I'd be willing to give it a go, even just for Rudd. I was like "Catcher of what?" and then I watched the trailer.




Sicario: Day of the Soldado
Jun 29th; R
The first one was a good movie, and when this one was announced I figured it'd be terrible, especially when I heard Emily Blunt wasn't in it. But really, it's going in such a different direction, I think I've changed my mind. It looks fun; very different from the first, but still with Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin's characters. Brolin in on a roll this summer, my goodness. So I doubt it'll have the immaculate and intentional filmmaking of the first, but I also doubt it'll be a waste of time.




Leave no Trace
Jun 29th; PG
Looks like a sweet movie. Also a good movie for hermits. From the writer/Director of Winter's Bone, whoever that is. And that was a good movie, so sure; advertise that. But one of the blips here compares this girl to Jennifer Lawrence is a completely blatant way, and that seems unfair. Salt-of-the-earth people aren't really that scarce, and I'm sure one could think of a way to praise this girl's performance and demeanor without resorting to such laziness.




Woman Walks Ahead
Jun 29th; R
Sam Rockwell? Sign me up, boys! Although the movie looks to be so full of politics that it doesn't have any room for anything else, I'll give it a chance for Sam. Jessica Chastain is great too. I'm sure she makes an excellent lead. And modern-made westerns are a fun thing. Or at least they can be. We'll see what happens.

Upcoming Movie Roundup - August

Movie-wise, July offered no surprises -- I saw Star Trek Beyond, it was almost exactly what I was expecting, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Check out my review here! Not-so-great reviews for Jason Bourne kept me from jumping in on opening weekend, but (especially considering that I liked Legacy which has the same RT score) I'm still interested to catch it in theaters. Just need to do it before Suicide Squad comes out!

However, there was a fantastic surprise that I never saw coming in the TV category. That is, one day whilst browsing Netflix I came across a Netflix original show that looked very interesting, and one night my brothers dad and I plunged in. The show is called Stranger Things, and if you've seen it you know that, well, basically our world was turned upside down. It's a science fiction set in the 80's and revolves around kids, much like Super 8 -- but darker. We watched the last of eight episodes last night and I'm still reeling. A review will probably be forthcoming.

What did you watch that was good in July? And are you planning to see anything in August? Here's what's on my radar:


Suicide Squad
Aug 5th; PG-13
August's big event movie is it's first movie. Suicide Squad is very highly anticipated by superhero fans, and promises big things for DC, which has been struggling for a long time to recover and find a voice again after Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy. I don't think Suicide Squad is guaranteed to be a great film, but no matter what, I do think it's a bold step in the right direction. It looks like DC version of Guardians of the Galaxy, and that seems very much like a good thing. I'm also surprised that it landed a PG-13 rating, but not disappointed -- I'm sure they can go dark enough. The trailer is equal parts fun and edgy, its got the cast, and its got the hype. Hopefully the Squad hits their goal!




The Little Prince
August 5th; PG
This is an interesting case. You might remember that back in March I included this film in my list -- but it never actually released. Instead, a week before the release, Paramount dropped the film completely and without explanation. Now Netflix had picked it up and it will be streaming on the 5th. Very strange. But that said, I'm still interested in seeing it, and since I kinda doubt I would have seen it in the theater anyway, I don't mind that it'll be free to watch at home in a couple days. It's still got its large, top-notch cast, and I still think it looks like a good watch.




Pete's Dragon
Aug 12; PG
I remember watching and liking the original when I was very young, but that's no real incentive for me to watch this remake. I'd just as soon have it stay a fond memory. And honestly, this movie doesn't even look like it'll be that good, even if it is supposed to be a kid's movie. I'm not surprised they're trying it, but it really seems like a left-field idea. However, the animation will definitely be better this time, and the cast includes Bryce Dallas Howard, Wes Bentley, and, most importantly, Karl Urban. And I will literally watch anything that has Karl Urban in it. So I can pretty much guarantee you that I will watch this someday.




Anthropoid
Aug 12th (limited); R
I will also watch anything that had Cillian Murphy in it. This WWII spy film is different from the above though, because it looks like the kind of movie I'd be interesting in and enjoy even if it didn't star one of my favorite actors. The trailer is very intense and suspenseful. So it has my interest doubly.




Edge of Winter
Aug 12 (limited); R
And this one has Tom Holland! I think it's actually getting a lot more attention than a film like it normally would because of his presence. It's certainly not the sort of film that could really attract me without a familiar cast. But even with Holland this isn't a movie meant for a wide audience. It looks very psychological and disturbing actually -- in a way that is very intriguing, but also a way that could maybe be depressing in the end. but if I ever find it streaming somewhere, I doubt I'll be able to resist -- Holland, or my curiosity.




Ghost Team
Aug 12 (limited); PG-13
Maybe this is what I'll see in lieu of Ghostbusters 2016. An original ghost hunters comedy! With Jon Heder! The trailer makes it seem like the balance of scary and funny will be really good. The comedy in the trailer isn't laugh-out-loud funny to me, but it has an amusing and appealing natural flow to it. Looks like it could be a quirky and goofy modern-day Ghostbusters-type little flick. And that sounds nice to me!




Ben-Hur
Aug 19th; PG-13
Oh good grief! Just stop with these remakes that do nothing but try to ride the coattails of the originals already! Based on the trailer, this movies sole purpose for existing is just to to that chariot race... so just think up an original idea that allows for chariot racing and do that. Please. This this just pathetic.



The Hollars
Aug 26th (limited); PG-13
Aww, this movie looks so cute! That kinda sounds like a terrible thing to say, but really this trailer just evokes a calm, charming, and casually funny vibe that is really appealing to me right now. A lot like John Krasinski's normal vibe actually, which totally makes sense since he's the star and director! There's also Sharlto Copley, who is awesome, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Anna Kendrick. Sounds like a worthwhile family dramedy to me!

Jurassic World

This is a Spoiler-free review.

The Park is open.

And it's already boring (in fiction anyway). Jurassic World overcame the horrors of the disastrous 1993 theme park it was built on top of and became amazingly successful, but then the consumers began to get bored of real-life dinosaurs. They want something new; something exciting; something cool. So some scientist mixed together a bunch of genes and the result was a dino even scarier than the T-Rex: the Indominus rex.

It doesn't take much imagination to figure out what happens next.

Bothers Zach (Nick Robinson) and Gray (Ty Simpkins) are sent to Jurassic World to visit their Aunt Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) while their parents (Judy Greer and Andy Buckley) have a nice quiet divorce. Claire is very busy preparing the Indominus rex for her unveiling. Owen (Chris Pratt -- but you definitely know that one) is very busy training his Velociraptors to obey his commands -- and not eat him. Mr. Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio) is very busy trying to convince Owen that the Velociraptors should be used in the field -- for war. Once the Indominus gets loose and starts on a killing spree, everyone is very busy trying to not die.

Elements of the plot are obviously very predictable, with most events mirroring one from Jurassic Park, and that's not at all a bad thing -- this movie takes the predictable and goes to predictably exciting places with it. But then, as much of homage to and modernized carbon copy of the original Jurassic it is, it still has its own original ideas as well, that freshen it up for an audience easily bored and with high expectations.

Well -- THAT'S new.

They way they handled the trained Velociraptors for one. I thought it would be unbearably cheesy, but they maintained their danger in spite of the training, making them unstable, and it did wonders for the films suspense level. We all know Chris Pratt's character isn't going to get eaten, but we enjoy worrying about it all the same. And the Indominus was a seriously cool mash-up of a lot of seriously cool (and totally far-fetched) ideas. It's like the gleeful creation of a dino-obsessed six-year-old who's been trained in art design and high fashion. It's awesome.

The only problem plot-wise is that by the end they've painted themselves into a corner, and the resulting desperate leap for satisfying conclusion is less climatic than it's set up to be. Others may also point out gaps in logic in varying sizes, and I won't deny their existence, but I'd rather have them present along with the fun and awesomeness they help contrive than not.

When I watch cheesy thrillers about dinosaurs in the modern day, realism is not high on my list of must-haves.

At the top of my must-have list is a great cast, and Chris Pratt fills that category alone. I've known how awesome he is for at least a year now, but I seriously doubt that being reminded of the fact is ever going to get old. The role of Owen (like many other roles he's had and will have) is perfect for him. This one allows him to be cool and serious in a stylized, almost tongue-in-cheek kind of way. He is the epitome of the rugged hero, who quips at the villains, flirts with the ladies, and delivers the overly-dramatic lines with straight-faced gusto and a cool smolder.

Summary of this review: Chris Pratt rules; carries movie; beats up dinosaurs.

The rest of the cast only adds to all that. Bryce Dallas Howard I do like, and she never fails to do a great job, but here her character is the obligatory annoying good guy. She does overcome it fairly well by the end, but then there's something wanting in her chemistry with Pratt. But, since Jurassic World is in no way a romance, that can't be a big complaint. The two kids, I am very pleased to report, are in no way annoying. They have finally perfected how the make the Jurassic kids act brainlessly and get themselves into huge trouble and still make them endearing. And the development of these brothers's relationship was interestingly poignant for an action/thriller.

Keep back kids; it's a very scary thing -- character development!

I'm always happy to see Judy Greer in a cast list because her name is always a guarantee of a well-developed and acted supporting character, and so I must mention that as the boy's mother here, that guarantee comes through yet again. Fans of British entertainment may also recognize Katie McGrath in a smaller role. And then of course Vincent D'Onofrio makes a great and creepy bad guy; not even close to the level that he was as Wilson Fisk, but the exact right amount for this kind of movie. I enjoyed hating him very much.

A welcome surprise to the fray of thrilling carnage was how many throwbacks and references there were to Spielberg's original classic. They even did the rear-view mirror gag, which I specifically did not expect would happen. Sentimentality came on fast when the ruins of the original park are visited, and John Williams' original theme plays loud, proud and magnificent. This movie, as updated, upgraded, revamped and, well, evolved as it is, is obviously still proud of its origins, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

A roar of approval!

The fourth installment (or reboot, if you like) of the Jurassic Park series goes back to its vintage roots of epic wows and thrills, high-quality special effects and the cheesiest awesomeness money can buy. It may not be a great movie in terms of award-worthy storytelling, but as pure entertainment it takes gold as the best popcorn flick since the last time Chris Pratt graced the big screen. Jurassic World is rip-roaring, thrilling fun from start to finish.