Jurassic World Review

"That was kinda scary!"

That smile. It lights up the darkest room.

"I know, it was! Did you like it though?"

When I was a kid, cinema lit my imagination on fire. In reality existence can be pretty routine and mundane. On celluloid, anything is possible. When I sat down in front of a screen, big or small, I could travel to distant worlds. I could meet new, fascinating people, and after literally minutes of knowing them I would feel the warmth of their charms. I would be rattled by their misfortunes. I would shed tears because of their pain.

"Yeah, I loved it!"

I see that same kid when I look at her.

It's fucking magical.

Jurassic World isn't a perfect film. Many would argue that it isn't even a good one, and I can completely understand such a claim. The screenplay is lazy, like a copy and paste job from other by-the-numbers generic blockbusters. The concept, while interesting on paper, suffers from being rushed along, like I didn't have a chance to ever bask in the wonder they tried to portray because scenes either felt recycled or simply didn't have a chance to breathe. Some of the characters, Vincent D'Onofrio as "Hoskins" for example, technically played important roles to the progression of the narrative and yet they really added nothing at all to the mix. The product placement in the movie is laughable and tedious because it honestly does take away from the experience. When I am focused on Mercedes logos popping up in every frame or the strange placement of stores that would only be there because the real life entity wrote a fat check to put their name in it rather than get lost in the story, it's kind of a bummer.

Despite these issues, and there are even more I could rattle off if I wanted to I'm sure, I had a whole lot of fun watching Jurassic World. Why? I don't know. Perhaps the kid in me goes into a film like this and craves the possibility of pushing the critical eye to the background for a couple of hours so I can just shut it down and enjoy watching dinosaurs eat people. Perhaps I was aided by the fact that I walked in with lowered expectations because I had already heard all of the complaints and had a gut feeling they would prove to be valid (and they did). Perhaps, and this is a big one...perhaps I just feel good about a trip to the theater with my beautiful seven year old daughter. One where I can look over at her at any point during the picture and see her locked in focus on only the images in front of her when so much of the world is reading tweets. One where I get to see her cower behind her hands in fear as a monster approaches her favorite character, begging the gods of cinema for his safety much the way I did when I saw Aliens or Predator for the first time. 

One where I get to see her smile. I will never complain when I get to see her smile.

"That was kinda scary!"

Those were the first words out of her mouth as the credits began to roll, and while I asked her if she loved it, I really didn't have to. I could see it in her eyes that she had a blast. 

It's hard to give a shit about a bad screenplay or a perfectly placed Coca-Cola bottle when you sit down in the theater with the same mindset as a seven year old. I just wanted to have fun.

I did. Jurassic World is a bunch of fun.

3.5/5

10 Most Anticipated Films March - June

As the weather begins to warm up, so does the season of cinema. While the second half of the year always features a far more interesting slate of films overall, that doesn't mean some truly special gems aren't released before July.

Here are the 10 movies I am most excited about that will hit theaters between now and the end of June.

Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter

Directed by Nathan Zellner

Starring Rinko Kikuchi

U.S. Release Date: March 18th

A film based on an urban legend surrounding the real life and death of Takako Konishi, as the media falsely reported that she died while on a quest to find the missing money buried near the end of the film Fargo. In actuality Konishi killed herself, but the fictionalized version of events is far more interesting and cinematic than reality. Reviews are pretty outstanding for this one, and I can't wait to see it.

Clouds of Sils Maria

Directed by Olivier Assayas

Starring Kristen Stewart, Juliette Binoche, Chloe Grace Moretz

U.S. Release Date: April 10th

Unfortunately, a common reaction when many people see the cast listing will be to write this film off because of the presence of Kristen Stewart. Insert Twilight jokes, comments about her personal life, whatever. The truth is, with the right material she can certainly act and apparently that is the case here. Why do I say that? Well, she recently won the Cesar Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance here in France. Not only is this a prestigious award, it's especially significant because Stewart is the FIRST American actress to ever win one. So yeah, safe to say I am excited to see this film.

Lost River

Directed by Ryan Gosling

Starring Christina Hendricks, Matt Smith, Eva Mendes, Saorise Ronan

U.S. Release Date: April 10th

Reviews for Lost River have been almost universally terrible and it was booed viciously at the Cannes Film Festival last year. So why do I have it on my most anticipated list? Because I don't care, I want to see it for myself and make up my own mind. The directorial debut by Ryan Gosling, word is this film was heavily and noticeably influenced by David Lynch and Nicolas Winding Refn, which makes me intrigued to say the least. 

A couple of years ago, people kept talking about how terrible Only God Forgives by Refn was. It was angrily booed at Cannes and the negative reviews came pouring in. In my opinion, it was one of the finest films of the year. So yeah, Lost River may be terrible, but I need to make up my own mind.

Ex Machina

Directed by Alex Garland

Starring Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac

U.S. Release Date: April 10th

Oh man do I love some good science fiction. I literally don't need to know anything from a project, just tell me it is well reviewed and science fiction and I will be there, and that is exactly the case here with Ex Machina. Critical reception has been fantastic, my boy Oscar Isaac is in it, and the writer/director Alex Garland previously wrote 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Never Let Me Go. Count me in.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Directed by Joss Whedon

Starring Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, James Spader, Paul Bettany

U.S. Release Date: May 1st

What really needs to be said? The first Avengers film was, in my opinion, the first truly excellent thing to come from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, until 2014 rolled around and both Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy exceeded it. Those are the last two films to be released before Age of Ultron, so yeah, expectations are through the roof.

Far From the Madding Crowd

Directed by Thomas Vinterberg

Starring Carrie Mulligan, Michael Sheen, Juno Temple, Matthias Schoenaerts, Tom Sturridge

U.S. Release Date: May 1st

Talk about jumping in the complete opposite direction of Age of Ultron, and with the same release date no less. I read Thomas Hardy's novel of the same name, which was published roughly 140 years ago, and I liked it but was underwhelmed. Despite this, I am very excited to see this film adaptation. Why? Director Thomas Vinterberg's last work was The Hunt from 2013, which was without a doubt one of the greatest films from that year, so I was going to be excited about whatever he did next. Plus, I'm a fan of Carrie Mulligan, a pretty extraordinary actress. So while I will be seeing Avengers on the biggest screen possible that weekend, Far From the Madding Crowd won't be far behind.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Directed by George Miller

Starring Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult

U.S. Release Date: May 15th

While on my list because of the outstanding trailer, Mad Max: Fury Road is the first film on this list I am truly skeptical about. I can't shake that amazing trailer, disappointing film overall feeling, but I am hoping for the best. Regardless, I'm sure this will be a pretty spectacular sight on the big screen, and I hope it lives up to the footage we have seen thus far.

Tomorrowland

Directed by Brad Bird

Starring Britt Robertson, George Clooney, Hugh Laurie

U.S. Release Date: May 22nd

An intriguing trailer, a summer slice of science fiction that I can see with my very excited daughter, and Brad Bird. Enough said, I will be there.

Jurassic World

Directed by Colin Trevorrow

Starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard

U.S. Release Date: June 12th

Much like Mad Max: Fury Road, I approach Jurassic World with what can best be described as highly excited pessimism. I am going to see it, I really want to see it, and I hope it is great, but I just can't shake the bad feeling it will be a dud. Excited that Colin Trevorrow is at the helm here as I loved his previous feature film Safety Not Guaranteed, and much like most of the planet right now, I'm a big fan of Chris Pratt, so I am hoping for the best. 

Inside Out

Directed by Pete Docter

Starring Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Kyle Maclachlan, Diane Lane

U.S. Release Date: June 19th

The world needs a truly great Pixar film. I have not hated anything they have done, including the Cars films which do what they intend to for their target audience, but it has been years since the glory days of a studio that released animated masterpieces annually. I have big expectations for Inside Out and will be severely disappointed if it ends up merely being "good. This one needs to be something special, and the first couple of trailers indicate it has the potential to be just that.

I'm sure a few of these ten films will be disappointing, but obviously I will hope for the best across the board. Here's to an exciting and highly anticipated next few months of cinema!