Movie Review: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

25 years after dinosaurs roamed Isla Nublar, we bid adieu to the infamous island in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. The second in the Jurassic World trilogy, this film brings back the leads of the previous film, Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) back to the island for one last adventure.

An imminent volcanic eruption on the island threatens all life on the island but nefarious forces (ie wealthy rich men) make sure that the dinosaurs don't die. Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), an old associate of John Hammond who created Jurassic Park, and his advisor Eli Mills (Rafe Spalls) rope back Claire and Owen to save a few of the dinosaur species, including Blue the raptor.

Directed by Spanish director J. A. Bayona, the film examines the dinosaurs' place in this new world. Man brought them back and now must deal with the consequences of that decision. There have been other choices - with cloning and the creation of new breeds of dinosaurs. What are the ethics behind all these god-like decisions?

But there isn't much time to discuss this all on the island. Owen, Claire and a team of mercenaries try to find as many dinosaurs as they can and take them to a sanctuary. But are these mercenaries to be trusted? Of course not!

With volcano on the island due to erupt at any moment, the action moves away back to California, on Lockwood's grand estate where he lives with his isolated granddaughter Maisie (Isabella Sermon). The smart little girl finds out what the two-timing Mills is up to - setting up an auction of the dinos on the black market.

Luckily, help is on the way. Claire and Owen have made it off the island and snuck aboard the vessel with the dinosaurs making its way to Lockwood's estate. Once there, they are caught and locked up, not before they realize their responsibility in bringing back the dinosaurs and creating them into the sharp, clever entities they are today.

They somehow find Maisie who aids them around the estate and they all try to derail the ongoing auction. They manage that spectacularly. The sequence that follows when the dinosaur species manage to escape and turn on the humans is frantic, gory and thrilling to watch.

The cat and mouse chase then develops between Owen, Claire, Maisie and a particularly persistent, Indoraptor (a cross species between the Indominus rex and a raptor). The stakes are high here and you'll definitely be on the edge of your sets.

Fallen Kingdom is the second film of this second Jurassic series and the addition of director Bayona is a great choice. He brings his editor  and D.O.P. from The Impossible (2012) and The Orphanage (2007) respectively to the project and adds his own touch - connecting the series, 25 years apart.

Executive producer Steven Spielberg, who directed Jurassic Park (1993), set the template and others are carrying it forward. Bringing back the dinosaurs was an audacious move, 25 years ago, and it still remains an audacious move. Jeff Goldblum's Dr Malcolm is back in this installment to warn us again of the consequences. Like always, we never learn from history's past mistakes, do we?

Howard and Pratt are solid as usual. They have some close encounters with the cold-blooded reptiles. But it's the wide-eyed wonder and fear of Sermon's Maisie that will remain with you after the film. Maisie and that lone brachiosaurus waiting and wailing at the edge of the docks of Isla Nublar as the destruction and debris of the volcano is about to envelop her.

Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom is a great addition to the summer blockbuster season. Catch it if you can! My own quibble was there wasn't enough Jeff Goldblum.

Directed by J. A. Bayona; Written by Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow; Cinematography by Oscar Fuara; Editing by Bernat Vilaplana; Music by Michael Giacchino

Running Time: 128 minutes

Rating:

Trailer Time: The Magnificent Seven, The Girl on the Train, Jason Bourne and The Founder

Lots of trailers out this week, showing us what's in store for the rest of the year. Let's start with the reboot of one of the greatest Westerns in cinema.

 

The wild, wild west is back with Antoine Fuqua's remake of the classic The Magnificent Seven! With his Training Day star Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Byung-Hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Martin Sensmeier teaming up to go up against Peter Sarsgaard's baddie, the first teaser shows us how the assembling of the band of outlaws and heroes coming together to save a town. There will be much debate on whether a reboot or remake like this is needed after the previous masterpieces with Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954) and the 1960 version with Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen, but casting Washington in the lead is welcome addition, for sure. The Magnificent Seven releases on September 23, 2016.

Right on the heels of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl came Paula Hawkins's psychological thriller, The Girl on the Train. The best-selling novel is being turned into a film which releases on October 7, 2016 with Emily Blunt as the titular girl who thinks she witnessed a murder from the train. Along with co-stars Rebecca Ferguson, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans, Haley Bennett and Alison Janney, the movie focuses on Rachel (Emily Blunt) and quest to separate fact from fiction. The first teaser looks fantastic, great choice with Kanye West's Heartless playing over it. However, I am disappointed that the filmmakers decided to change the setting of the novel from U.K. to America. It's missing something essential in the change, I believe. The Girl on the Train is directed by Tate Taylor.

The spy who just won't go away, Matt Damon returns back to the franchise with Jason Bourne. This time, original director Paul Greengrass too is on board to helm this latest film. The first teaser has everyone's favourite amnesiac making his presence known, yet again. I don't know why they keep getting surprised that he returns. You created a super spy, now deal with it. Julia Stiles seems to be the only returning cast member from the previous films, while newly minted Oscar winner Alicia Vikander and Tommy Lee Jones join the cast to hunt down Jason Bourne. The film is in theaters on July 29.

Michael Keaton, who's on an all-time professional high with the last two Oscar Best Picture wins under his belt, steps into the shoes of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc. But as the first trailer begins to unveil, can he rightly be considered the founder of the fast food franchise, when the idea and the conception was someone else's? The Founder co-stars Laura Dern, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch and B.J. Novak and is directed by John Lee Hancock. It releases August 5, 2016.

Movie Review: Jurassic World (2015)

22 years after Jurassic Park (1993) stormed its way into theatres, Jurassic World, the fourth in this gigantic franchise, is well on its way to make movie history itself. A new generation is experiencing the dino-mania that gripped the 90s when Stephen Spielberg and the talent team of VFX and animatronic artists showed us the forgotten world of dinosaurs. This time around, the whole experience feels a tad commercialised as we head back to dinosaur land in Jurassic World.

It was the dearly departed John Hammond's (the late Richard Attenborough) wish that the park be up and running at its finest for the public. In Jurassic World, it's all running smoothly until the newest attraction decides she's had enough of waiting in the wings for her big debut. Young brothers Gray (Ty Simpkins) and Zach (Nick Robinson) are our eyes and ears as we travel to Jurassic World for the first time. Their aunt Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) is the head of operations at the park and they've got an all-access pass to the park.

The introduction to the park via the brothers is breathtaking and very real. Gray's infectiousness at wanting to visit everything at the park is heady. It's Disney World meets Universal Studios with vicious prehistoric creatures. But everything here is treated as a commercial enterprise so there's a petting zoo with baby dinosaurs, a Sea World-esque splash zone where the mosasaurus eats a large shark like it's an appetizer (a not-so subtle ode to Spielberg's Jaws) and a gyrosphere which allows you to roam amongst the apatosaurus and the stegosaurus. I sorely missed Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), from the first two films, who would have never allowed this to happen, he would have been the first to point out there's a looming disaster in the wings.

As a substitute, we have Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), the former Navy man turned Velociraptor wrangler, who believes that the dinosaurs aren't just park attractions but animals with a mind of their own. He leads the raptor pack (featuring Blue, Charlie, Delta and Echo) who've established a bond with him. When Jurassic World's latest dinosaur, Indominus Rex, outsmarts her handlers and escapes her paddock, a exhaustive search and rescue is set upon the island.

Of course, everyone underestimates how smart the dinosaur is. The Indominus Rex is hellbent on a mission to be the last dinosaur standing and the humans are helpless to stop it. Throughout the film, there are flashes of nostalgia with nods to the original Jurassic Park, a destroyed banner on the ground, the old jeep, the scene with the gyrosphere echoing the first encounter with the T-rex and then there are the original dinosaurs who let the Indominus Rex know who's boss. Seeing T-Rex stomp through the park in the climax gave me a big thrill; she's the real lead of the film.

Before the film released, it received a lot of flak for not having a strong feminist character. Howard's Claire started out the film dressed in all white, ran around in heels and according to Grady "has control issues". I'd like to point out that not only does she save Grady's life when he's been attacked by a dimorphodon, she also bravely leads the T-rex to the fight with the Indominus Rex. I guess that's not strong enough for everyone!

The rest of the Jurassic World features some known faces. Jake Johnson from New Girl plays the long-suffering control room support guy Lowery, Vincent D'Onofrio as the InGen representative Hoskins who only sees the dinosaurs as weapons and finally Irrfan Khann as the park's down-to-earth charismatic owner, Simon Masrani; they all stand out in their scenes. Director Trevorrow, in only his second film, was given a mammoth task of reviving a franchise. I really enjoyed his debut film Safety Not Guaranteed and I thought he was a odd choice to helm this film. However, Jurassic World hit all the right points for me as it deeply echoed the first film in the franchise.

The special effects really bring home the whole idea of dinosaur adventure park. You end up wishing for a place where you could canoe down a river or ride a safari amongst the dinosaurs. The final dino-on-dino fight is something else altogether and it's all enhanced by Michael Giacchino's soaring score. Building on John Williams' instantly recognizable Jurassic Park theme, Giacchino gives the thrills and chills of exploring the long-long world. Williams' music still gives me goosebumps to this day.

Jurassic World became the first film to gross $1 billion worldwide in 13 days and edged out the debut record previously held by The Avengers back in 2012 and it's easy to see why. Many of us have a some of kind of fascination with dinosaurs over the years and to see them come to life onscreen is astounding. Jurassic World has replicated the Jurassic Park in spades and it's wonderful to see them on the big screen. Easily the film of the summer!

Directed by Colin Trevorrow; Screenplay by Amanda Silver, Rick Jaffa, Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly; Edited by Kevin Stitt; Cinematography by John Schwartzman; Music by Michael Giacchino

Running Time: 124 minutes

Rating:

Movie Review: The LEGO Movie

There's been an influx of sequels and franchises in animation for the past few years so it's always great to welcome the new kid of the block when it comes to original content.  The LEGO Movie, the brainchild of filmmakers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller whose Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (a delightful and puntastic sequel) released a few months ago, is made up of 100% awesomeness.  This is a fact, you can go look it up.

Based on the toy building blocks that defined most of our childhoods, the film pits the free thinkers vs. the rule followers.  All of this combined in a clever package of humour, the right amount of pop culture and a small dash of emotion makes it hard to resist.  This oft-heard tale of an ordinary hero's epic journey opens with an old man proclaiming a prophecy about the "Special" one and a piece of resistance (Yes, really!). The wise one Vitruvius is voiced by Morgan Freeman (Who else?) states that one "most interesting and special" will save the world from the Kragle and liberate the rest of the MasterBuilders.

Enter Emmet Brickowski (voiced by Chris Pratt, who's adorably clueless in the part), an ordinary construction worker who's like the rest of the citizens of Bricksburg and just longs to be a part of a group to belong to.  He has lived his whole life by the rules, doesn't question authority and is pretty much a nobody.  Until the day he runs into Wyldstyle (voiced by Elizabeth Banks) aka the girl of his dreams (we know this to be true because she is introduced in slow-motion closeup) at the construction site where he works after hours.

He is then sucked right into an adventure he would dare not dream himself as Wyldstyle believes him to be the Special and takes him to the rest of the surviving MasterBuilders and Vitruvius as they band together to take down President Business (voiced by Will Ferrell) who wants to end the world on Taco Tuesday.  The horror!  Emmet tries to fit in but it is soon obvious to everyone that he does not exhibit the skills of the chosen one.  The scene where the MasterBuilders figure out this is hilarious.  Imagine disappointing a group that includes Gandalf, Dumbledore, Superman, Wonder Woman and Abraham Lincoln!

Seriously, The LEGO Movie had me the moment I heard the prophecy by Vitruvius.  The laughs started and did not end until the movie ended.  Emmet gets his chance to shine and prove to everyone especially Wyldstyle that there is something about someone who follows the rules and she as a free thinker comes to understand where Emmet comes from.  That's a lot of deep thinking for a movie based on LEGO toys.

But that's the beauty of the film that at once is both meta and wholly original at the same time.  The supporting characters, a brooding and boastful Batman (voiced perfectly by Will Arnett), a 1980s spaceman Benny (voiced by Charlie Day) who just really wants to build a spaceship, the ever-chipper Unikitty (voiced by Alison Brie) and the conflicted good cop/bad cop (voiced by Liam Neeson) will have you in stitches.  Even the cameos by Superman (voiced by Channing Tatum) and his nemesis Green Lantern (voiced by Jonah Hill) will make you want more.

Many films based on childhood toys have tried to cash in its familiarity and make something cinematic out of it.  Some have succeeded and others have failed.  But no other movie revels in as much as The LEGO Movie does.  I have to admit, I've a bit of Emmet in me, knowing that an instruction manual is there to guide me.  I like using my imagination after all but I like have a manual in front of me as I start.

The LEGO Movie is far and above, the best movie of 2014 for me.  Others may come and win me over later on as more films release in the year.  And if the theme song "Everything is Awesome" is not firmly embedded in your brain after seeing the film, then you need to watch it again.  I know I can't wait to see it again and again.

Directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller; Screenplay by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, from a story by Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman and Phil Lord & Christopher Miller; Cinematography by Barry Peterson and Pablo Plaisted; Editing by David Burrows & Chris McKay; Music by Mark Mothersbaugh

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