Jurassic Park:
I just saw the 3D re-release of this film, so catch it if you can before it leaves theaters. The film follows a paleontologist, Dr. Alan Grant, who, along with his paleobotanist colleague Dr. Ellie Sattler, are invited by billionaire John Hammond to his private island. They are joined by "chaotician" (mathematician and chaos theorist) Dr. Ian Malcolm, Hammond's grandchildren, and a lawyer, for a special preview of Hammond's new nature preserve/theme park "Jurassic Park". Here, Hammond has miraculously played God and recreated dinosaurs. But, when other interested parties mess with the security systems, the dinosaurs (including a Tyrannosaurus Rex, Velociraptors, and an acid-spitting Dilophosaurus) are released, and all hell breaks lose. With their lawyer dead, crew gone, island being ripped apart, and with a huge tropical storm brewing, the group must retake the park. This is one of the most revolutionary movies ever made. Not only was it a huge commercial success, but it was critically acclaimed and was a technical revolutions. The animatronics and CGI are still impressive today. The cast is fantastic. Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Bob Peck, Samuel L. Jackson, Martin Ferrero, Ariana Richards, Joseph Mazzello, Wayne Knight, and B.D. Wong all give great performances, some big, some small. The action scenes are fantastic, from the first encounter with the T-Rex, the Jeep chase, the encounter with the Velociraptors in the jungle, to the final encounter with the Raptors and the T-Rex in the Discovery Center. The musical score is fantastic. John Williams is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, film composers of al time. Every time you hear that theme, you're transported back to being a kid, watching this movie. The special effects, as stated before, are excellent. They still are better than some CG from 2013. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, the master of magical movies and summer blockbusters. This film blends his two iconic styles perfectly. The film was written by sci-fi author and screenwriter Michael Crichton (who sadly passed away a few years ago), as this was based on his bestselling novel of the same name. The film takes some hints from the books, and some sequences, but is kind of it's own thing, which is good. I'm glad Spielberg and Crichton agreed to make it it's own. The film was co-written by David Koepp, the 5th most successful screenwriter of all time. The 3D rerelease updates the Universal logo, and the 3D conversion is incredible, possibly the best rerelease conversion ever. This film is one of the greatest blockbuster of all time, hell, one of the best movies. The movie blends the action blockbuster, the sci-fi thriller, and the family fantasy film. It also adds some clever humor. Jurassic Park is an astounding, exhilarating, and fun blockbuster, which is entertaining for all ages. Everyone needs to see it. 5/5 stars.
The Lost World, Jurassic Park:
After the success of the first film, fans, and even Steven Spielberg, pressured Michael Crichton into writing a second novel. He wrote The Lost World, which took many hints from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novel of the same name, and it's silent film adaptation. The book was much darker than the original novel and film, which was done to please fans. Ian Malcolm returned as a morphine addict. The film adaptation remained dark in tone, but toned down some of the more adult themes. The film follows Dr. Ian Malcolm from the first film, who is told by John Hammond to visit Isla Sorna, an island similar to Isla Nublar, the original location of "Jurassic Park". On Sorna, dinosaurs have somehow survived and have been able to run free for 4 years. Hammond has lost control of his company InGen to his nephew after publicizing the events of the previous film, because no one believed him. He tries to redeem himself for past mistakes, and tells Malcolm to go with a team of experts to the island, as InGen wants to collect dinosaurs to bring back to the mainland, and Malcolm needs to beat them there. But when the teams arrive at the island at the same time, they are at each others' throats, until they realize they need to band together to survive the dangers of the island. The cast, including Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Vince Vaughn, Arliss Howard, Peter Stormare, Pete Postelthwaite, Richard Schiff, and Vanessa Lee Chester are pretty damn good. The writing is good, but not as good as the original. The darker tone doesn't make the film better, in fact, the fact the film gets so violent is a bit strange. Jurassic Park is supposed to be fun, enjoyable, and although it can get a little intense, it's supposed to be somewhat of a family film as well. The violence in this film is pretty brutal, people torn to shreds, limbs torn off, blood gushing, etc. There are also some pretty dumb moments. Like the Velociraptor and the teenage daughter of Malcolm facing off near the end of he second act. But most of the action scenes are pretty awesome. The Velociraptor chase in the tall grass, the two T-Rexes flipping the trailer over the cliff, the T-Rex chase through the camp, the hunter running from the tiny carnivore dinosaurs, and the T-Rex running through the streets of San Diego (reminiscent of Doyle's climactic scene in the original novel). The film also introduces new dinosaur species the first film didn't cover, such as the Stegosaurus. The special effects are top-notch, the animatronics and CG are on par with the original. The music is just as good as the original. Hell, it's the same music! The Lost World: Jurassic Park is an acceptable, but flawed sequel to the classic original film. Although it broke many box office records at the time of it's release, it was never as praised or loved as the original, and it hasn't captured the imaginations of kids and adults alike like the first film did. (Probably because of the much darker tone and brutal violence throughout most of the film. Hell, the film opens with an innocent little girl being mauled by little dinos.) It's good, but not great. 3/5 stars.
Jurassic Park III:
This movie was released for the 10th anniversary of the original. This is the first film in the series that was not based on a book by Michael Crichton, and the first not directed by Steven Spielberg. Spielberg didn't even serve as a producer. It's also the shortest, at only 92 minutes. The film takes place of Isla Sorna once again, as two young tourists, one an adolescent boy, go missing while parasailing near the abandoned nature preserve. A divorced couple, the parents of the young boy, convince Dr. Alan Grant (from the first film) to go to the island with them in hopes of rescuing their son and his friend. But when they discover that Velociraptors, Pterodactyls, T-Rexes, and Spinosaurs inhabit the island, they struggle to find the two young men and survive in the depths of the dense and dangerous jungle. Although not based directly off of a book by Michael Crichton, it does take several scenes from the two novels not included in the previous films, including a scene from the original novel where the team must battle a water dinosaur on a rickety boat. The cast are decent. Sam Neill returns as Grant, who gives a good performance, just as in the original. William H. Macy, Alessandro Nivola, T'ea Leoni, Trevor Morgan, and Michael Jeter all give decent performances. Laura Dern returns as Dr. Ellie from the first film, now married to a treaty law expert, with a young dinosaur-obsessed son. Joe Johnston replaces Spielberg as director. Johnston is known for period pieces and special effects showcases. He had directed Honey I Shrunk the Kids, The Rocketeer, Jumaji, and October Sky. He had served as a concept artist and technician on the original Star Wars and on Spielberg and Lucas' Raiders of the Lost Ark. He has since gone on to direct The Wolfman and Captain America: The First Avenger. The special effects are, as always, fantastic. The film does pack in a good amount of action, too. The fight between the Spinosaurus and the T-Rex is pretty awesome, and the encounters with the Velociraptors are, as in the other films, chilling. The boat battle, mentioned before, is pretty spectacular. The addition of the Pterodactyls is cool because they provide a threat from above. An enemy in the air. The Spinosaurus is also a cool addition, it provides a rival for the T-Rex, as it's bigger and even more viscous. I mean, it replaces the T-Rex on the fucking logo! The music, again, is fantastic. This film, like the previous film, doesn't quite capture the spirit or greatness of the original. It lightens it up a little from the last film, but the absence of Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough, and the fact that the cool theme park is in ruins, makes this film a little lackluster. Also, the gray, dull look of this film is nothing compared to the color that makes the original's images really pop. Ultimately, Jurassic Park III is a fun blockbuster, but doesn't match the original film's majesty. 3/5 stars.
(Images: Wikipedia)
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