JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH (2025)

July 1, 2025

Greetings again from the darkness. It’s been 32 years since John Hammond “spared no expense” on ice cream and Chaos Theory Doctor Malcolm pleaded that the colorful jeep “must go faster”. That 1993 film by Steven Spielberg awed us and changed the course of cinema. Now director Gareth Edwards (ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, 2016; GODZILLA, 2014) brings us the seventh film in the ‘Jurassic’ franchise. Having adapted Michael Crichton’s books for the first two in the series, renowned screenwriter David Koepp (who has also contributed to Mission: Impossible, Indiana Jones, and Spider-Man franchises, among others) returns for “Rebirth”.

Opening with a flashback to fifteen years prior, we see the InGen lab where experimental cross-breeding has resulted in dino-mutations, and we are only about four minutes in when we get the first dino snack (an unfortunate lab worker). Returning to modern day times (five years after the end of JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION), we find a citizenry somehow bored with the dinosaurs that have been released into the wild – most of which have died or are dying due to environmental issues caused by us despicable humans. The exception is a remote island near the equator where the climate most resembles prehistoric times, and the beasts are free to roam … as it’s now a “No people allowed” sanctuary. It’s also a former InGen lab site.

This all sets the stage for greedy Big Pharma executive, Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) to plan an excursion with the goal of collecting DNA from the three largest dino species from land, sea, and air. Oh, and minor detail – the DNA has to be collected from live specimens. The DNA can supposedly be used for major medical breakthroughs. Krebs hires Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), a mercenary for “situational security and reaction”, and Dr Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey, WICKED, 2024) a paleontologist trained by the infamous Dr Grant. Zora assembles the rest of the team, including friend and boat captain Duncan Kincaid (Oscar winner Mahershala Ali), and the rest of his crew.

Separately, a family sailing the same waters is introduced. Reuben (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and his two daughters, college-aged Teresa (Luna Blaise) and clever 11-year-old Isabella (Audrina Miranda), along with Teresa’s lazy and spacey boyfriend Xavier (David Iacono). This secondary group provides us with ‘normal’ folks to fear for as their boat is dino-attacked, leaving them stranded in the sea, awaiting recovery by the pharma boat. This creates a strange mixture of folks and, most importantly, allows for the mandatory kid-in-peril. Another dino-attack on the boat separates the family from the team and begins the process of scratching characters from the story.

The adventures are quite different for the two groups, and the island scenery is consistently awe-inspiring. But we are all here for dinosaurs, and on that front, the film never disappoints. Very few gaps occur between sightings or attacks, and the dinosaurs dazzle. A slumbering by the river T-Rex provides one of the best chase/attack scenes from any of the Jurassic movies (with a tip of the raft to the Crichton novel). Of course, we know who the villain will be, and we know how things go for villains in these movies. The story includes an altruistic approach from Loomis, who flashes some survival instincts despite a career spent in an air-conditioned museum, rather than a dino-filled jungle.

We are left to ponder what the titular “Rebirth” refers to. The film doesn’t offer anything new, outside of the mutants … including the much-anticipated D-Rex (sporting the head of a Beluga whale?). Your individual level of critique will determine whether you buy Scarlett Johansson as the ultimate tough warrior, although John Mathieson’s stunning cinematography and composer Alexandre Desplat’s score (generously sprinkled with John Williams’ iconic JP score) are complementary to an overall entertaining and crowd-pleasing big-budget summer blockbuster, with many nods to the previous films in the franchise. Race cars and dinosaurs in the same summer … spared no expense.

Opens in theaters on July 2, 2025

WATCH THE TRAILER

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Posted by David Ferguson

TWISTERS (2024)

July 18, 2024

Greetings again from the darkness. Those that have lived through one often describe it as sounding like the roar of a freight train. Of course, they are referring to a devastating tornado … or “twister”. Oscar nominated director Lee Isaac Chung (MINARI, 2020) and writers Mark L Smith and Joseph Kosinski take on the follow up to Jan de Bont’s fan favorite TWISTER (1996). The earlier film featured a screenplay from renowned writer (the late) Michael Crichton and his then-wife Anne-Marie Martin, and the cast included the late Bill Paxton, the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Helen Hunt, Cary Elwes, and Lois Smith.  In that one, we learned Aunt Meg’s gravy is a food group, and are left with the memorable line, “We got cows”.

Chung’s opening sequence is frenetic and powerful … just as we’d hope and expect. Oklahoman Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones, WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING, 2022) is leading her team dangerously close to a tornado so that she might obtain enough data to earn the grant needed to keep her dream alive. Hers is a dream of affecting tornadoes in such a way to minimize their power, and thereby minimize the death and destruction. The team is young and smart and passionate; however, they pay the price for the unpredictability of the same storms they are chasing and studying.

Five years later, we find Kate stuck in a NYC cubicle as a bullpen meteorologist. She’s given up on her dream of minimizing the effects of tornadoes. Well, at least until her old storm chasing teammate Javi (Anthony Ramos) shows up with a funded and credentialed team. All they need is Kate’s extraordinary ability to read storms so they can realize the dreams they had years ago.

Once in Oklahoma, Kate realizes that storm chasing is now entertainment for locals, and a social media ego trip for root’n toot’n cowboy Tyler Owens (Glen Powell, who has seemingly appeared in every single movie over the past two years, including TOP GUN: MAVERICK, 2022). Owens is a cult figure with one million followers as he broadcasts live while creating a spectacle in the storm. Soon enough we and Kate (although she’s a bit slow on the uptake) figure out that Javi’s well-funded team, including snooty MIT grad Scott (future SUPERMAN David Corenswet) is not what it seems (rich guys are evil), and of course, neither is Tyler Owens (there’s a tender heart buried in that ego).

The storm effects here are quite stunning. We feel the power and danger. It’s a remarkable technical achievement. Admittedly, this is a wild and fun ride … one filled with tense action and breathtaking visuals. On the other hand, most of the non-storm parts didn’t work for me, often dipping into a cheesy level. Daisy Edgar-Jones comes across as an Anne Hathaway knock-off, while Glen Powell re-deploys his 1970’s Burt Reynolds imitation filled with grins, smirks, struts, and self-satisfying charm. Both actors are lovely to look at, however, the connection comes across as fabricated. The character interactions and story depth stand in contrast to the original, and it’s impossible to avoid comparison.

Director Lee Isaac Chung last delivered a beautiful film with MINARI. In my review of that film, I called it “gentle story grounded in realism”. Obviously, his latest film was never meant to be that, but it’s a shame some of that couldn’t have been captured here. Perhaps the easiest way for me to explain this is by noting the similar feelings I had for the recent ROAD HOUSE remake of the 1989 original. Both of these new versions have exaggerated characters and hyper-action scenes. On the bright side, this difference is likely one that will only bother me and a few others, as I expect TWISTERS will be a massive late summer hit and one most will find thoroughly entertaining … despite replacing cows with chickens.

Opening in theaters on July 19, 2024

WATCH THE TRAILER

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Posted by David Ferguson

JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM (2018)

June 29, 2018

 Greetings again from the darkness. While I will never tire of seeing really cool dinosaurs on the big screen, I’ll probably never avoid frustration from a poorly written and poorly acted film. On the bright side, I got to see this at the Grand Opening of the beautiful new Alamo Drafthouse in Denton, Texas. A 66 foot curved screen with the best available sound system made the dinosaurs that much more impressive, while simultaneously exposing the acting for the disappointment it is … especially the almost impossible to watch Bryce Dallas Howard.

J.A. Bayona directs this follow up to the 2015 JURASSIC WORLD, but he’s saddled with a subpar script from the writers and director of that previous entry, Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow. The creatures of the late, great Michael Crichton deserve better. In addition to the aforementioned Ms. Howard (as Claire Dearing), Chris Pratt also returns as the smirking Owen Grady, and this time he flashes some fighting skills that would make Jean-Claude Van Damme proud. Not sure how his experience training baby dinosaurs and building a cabin in the mountains prepared him to single handedly take on an army of armed mercenaries, but such things are possible in a cartoon … which is exactly what this plays like: a live action cartoon with high dollar special effects.

We have a spoof of a villain in Eli Mills, played by an over-the-top Rafe Spall, a quivering techie played by Justice Smith (PAPER TOWNS), a tough Paleo vet in Daniela Pineda (MR ROOSEVELT), a dying billionaire former partner of John Hammond played by James Cromwell, a greedy capitalist who should be twirling a mustache in Toby Jones, a big-gun toting badass by Ted Levine, and a good-hearted housekeeper played by Geraldine Chaplin. Mr. Cromwell and Ms. Chaplin add a touch of class in their all too brief scenes. BD Wong is back doing things with dino DNA, and sadly, Jeff Goldblum probably filmed his two courtroom scenes in a couple of hours. One nice addition is young Isabella Sermon, in her screen debut. She is part of the only decent twist in the story.

Despite the disappointments, it remains awe-inspiring to see the dinosaurs on screen. If only those moments weren’t ruined by such superfluous bits such as a close up of Ms. Howard’s footwear to prove that she’s not wearing high heels in the jungle this time. Director Bayona has three very fine movies under his belt: THE ORPHANAGE (2007), THE IMPOSSIBLE (2012), and A MONSTER CALLS (2016). He’s likely to make more good films during his career, and this will surely be a box office smash because people love seeing the dinosaurs, and are willing to overlook the people. As a frequent movie goer, I’m just unable to cut slack to a mega-budget film that expects us to overlook shoddy writing and laughable acting. We don’t expect to recapture the (25 years ago) magic of Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams in the stunning JURASSIC PARK, but we do expect a better effort than this.

watch the trailer:

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Posted by David Ferguson

JURASSIC WORLD (2015)

June 21, 2015

jurassic world Greetings again from the darkness. I’m guessing that most anyone who enjoys movies and is at least 30 years old, has vivid recollections of Steven Spielberg’s original Jurassic Park from1993 (based on the Michael Crichton novel). The iconic theme from John Williams, that initial awe-inspiring look at the dinosaurs grazing in the valley, the reminder that “objects are closer than they appear” in side mirrors, and the late Sir Richard Attenborough stating that he “spared no expense” in creating the park … all merged to became part of an incredibly moving and huge new movie theatre experience.  This latest (and fourth in the franchise) offers us “big”, but very little “new”, and unfortunately nothing very “moving” in its presentation.

Set two decades after the tragic and messy park trial run of that original movie, we find Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help) managing the financially-challenged theme park owned by Irrfan Khan (Life of Pi). Chris Pratt is training Velociraptors, while BD Wong is cooking up hybrid and genetically modified monsters such as Indominus Rex – designed to excite the audiences who have become bored with an old-fashioned T-Rex.

Even though this is technically a sequel, there are numerous similarities to the original film, and a fun parlor game consists of spotting all the homage’s and tributes sprinkled throughout. Two of my favorites are the “Winston’s” shop in the park, and the ViewMaster shot early on. These two are tips of the cap to Stan Winston and Ray Harryhausen … two giants in the world of special effects.

In what has become the Hollywood “go to” for evil-doers, the secret plan to militarize the dinosaurs is being carried out by Vincent D’Onofrio. Of course, this clashes with Pratt’s ideal life for “his” trainees. The mandatory kids-in-peril are played by Ty Simpkins (Insidious) and Nick Robinson. Much has been made of the absurdity of Ms. Howard’s numerous scenes of sprinting in high heels, and I found her overall demeanor to be every bit as exaggerated and unbelievable as her actions in heels. Jake Johnson (TV’s “New Girl) and Omar Sy (so wonderful in The Intouchables) were the most “real” characters, though neither was given much to do.

Much of what is written here is “in comparison” to the original. While this may not be fair, it is inescapable when dealing with such a respected and iconic film. Youngsters unfamiliar with the original film, are likely to find this one exciting – even terrifying at times – and that’s an important distinction to make. The Mosasaurus alone is worth the price of admission … and good for a few nightmares!  And who among us wouldn’t pay up for a Baby Triceratops ride in the Petting Zoo?

For the Jurassic Park stalwarts, the inconsistent (sometimes great, sometimes fake-looking) CGI will be as tough to overlook as Ms. Howard’s cartoon character. And yes, composer Michael Giacchino is new to the Jurassic series, and he is wise enough to work in the terrific and familiar John Williams theme in more than one scene.  However, none of the downsides will keep the true fans away, and there is an entire generation of kids who should have the chance to marvel at lifelike dinosaurs on the big screen courtesy of director Colin Trevorrow (previously known for his work on the indie gem Safety Not Guaranteed).

watch the trailer:

 

 

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Posted by David Ferguson

JURASSIC PARK 3D (1993, 2013)

April 8, 2013

JP There are a few truly awe-inspiring moments in movie history. One of the most memorable occurs when Dorothy steps out of her Black & White farm house and into the full color wonderland of Oz (the original Wizard of Oz). Not far behind is our first glimpse of the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. Director Steven Spielberg brilliantly focused on the stunned reactions of Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Dr. Ellie Attler (Laura Dern). We smiled because we knew their reactions mirrored ours! Now, twenty years later, the film has been re-released with a very effective 3D re-mastering.

The movie has its place in Hollywood history for its revolutionary use of George Lucas’ ILM CGI and the animatronics and visual effects under the supervision of Ray Winston. This was no ordinary science fiction special-effects movie. It was a very interesting, entertaining, thrilling story that brought to life the plastic dinosaur toys of kids and dinosaur dreams of JP4curious adults. This was light years from the Ray Harryhausen stop-action dinosaurs we had seen before. The dinosaurs in Jurassic Park had back-stories, childhoods, ferocious roars and a realistic look that tied right into our childhood fantasies.

Never-before-seen special effects would be enough to set this one apart, but it’s the story and characters that draw us in and elevate the movie to classic status. John Hammond is a very likable, little old rich man played by Sir Richard Attenborough. In fact, Attenborough is genuinely such a nice guy, he was cast as Kris Kringle in the 1994 re-make of Miracle on 34th Street. He is also an Oscar winning director for Gandhi (1982) and ironically beat out Spielberg (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial) that year. Attenborough also directed A Bridge Too Far (1973), A Chorus Line (1985) and Chaplin (1992); plus, one of my favorite hidden gems: Magic (1978). Unfortunately, Attenborough, now almost 90 years old, has recently been moved into hospice for health reasons.

JP2 John Hammond and his team of scientists have taken “dino DNA” and brought life to dinosaurs, previously 65 million years extinct. Hammonds’ instincts as a showman lead him to develop a kind of amusement park where people can come and see his dinosaur creations in a natural habitat. Facing a lawsuit … what could go wrong?? … his investors bring in a team of specialists to inspect the park. Dr. Grant, Dr. Attler and Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) take the tour with Hammond’s grandchildren (Joseph Mazzello and Ariana Richards) and a bean counter played by Martin Ferrero. Of course, things go terribly wrong thanks to a sub-plot involving the park’s computer guru played by Wayne Knight (Newman from “Seinfeld”). Don’t miss the photo of J Robert Oppenheimer (the atomic bomb creator) on Nedry’s computer monitor. Samuel L Jackson has a classic line of dialogue, but also seems to be prepping for his role in Deep Blue Sea (1999). The other key player is the park’s game warden played terrifically by the late Bob Peck … he mutters the “clever girl” line.

JP3 Real life Paleontoligist Jack Horner worked as an adviser on the film and was the inspiration for the Dr. Grant character. It’s also interesting to note that there was quite a bidding war for the rights …even before writer Michael Crichton had finished the manuscript. When Spielberg won the rights, he hired Crichton to write the screenplay, and David Koepp was brought in for the final version. Crichton is also known for Westworld (1973), Twister (1996) and The Andromeda Strain (1971). Mr. Koepp is known for his screenplays that include Mission Impossible (1996), Panic Room (2002) and Spider-Man (2002). And of course, the majestic score was composed by the great John Williams, a frequent Spielberg collaborator.

JP5 Jurassic Park was nominated for and won three Oscars: Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Visual Effects and Best Sound. Many believe Jurassic Park should have nominated for the Best Picture, but I doubt Mr. Spielberg much cares. See, he released another movie that same year… Schindler’s List … which did win the Best Picture Oscar. Many ask about the child actors from Jurassic Park. Tim was played by Joseph Mazzello, who was most recently seen in TV’s “Justified”, as the snake-charming traveling preacher. Mr. Mazzello has also appeared in The Social Network, and the mini-series “The Pacific”. Lex was played by Ariana Richards and she won the role based on her amazing ability to show and express fear … and her believability as a teenage hacker. Ms. Richards has focused more on her work as an artist, but does act periodically.

Jurassic Park is definitely one to experience on the biggest screen possible with the clearest sound possible. This 3D re-mastering is worth the price of admission and I enjoyed seeing the look of awe in the eyes of a few youngsters in the theatre. No need to wait for Jurassic Park 4, which is scheduled for release in 2014 … go experience the original in its full big screen glory!

**NOTE: It’s always fun to see kids experience the Jurassic Park dinosaurs for the first time, but I like to warn parents that there are two very intense, terrifying sequences: the first T-Rex attack in the rain, and the kitchen scene with the Raptors chasing the kids. Young kids need to be pretty tough to make it through those scenes.

Below is the newly issued trailer for the 3D version.  I would not recommend watching it if you have not seen the movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hke5SxKzkbc

 

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Posted by David Ferguson