Sunday, November 22

Jurassic World – Now on DVD and On Demand



The Film Fatales, while generally high-maintenance, rough it and go quasi-prehistoric. 
 

Jurassic World. 2015. PG-13. 124 minutes. Starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. Directed by Colin Trevorrow. 


A new theme park is built on the original site of Jurassic Park. Everything is going well until the park's newest attraction--a genetically modified giant stealth killing machine--escapes containment and goes on a killing spree. [IMDb]










Nicole: Cassidy and I saw this during its theatrical release, but it took us this long to gather our thoughts about the complexities of this film.  

elizabeth: Huh? 

Nicole: That was sarcasm; I do believe you’re familiar with the concept… It’s been twenty years since the theater-going public traveled to the Jurassic world, and in that time one might reason that by now that people would know better – but I am often proven wrong. In fact, I’m pretty sure if there was an actual Jurassic World, people would plunk down wads of cash to go. So, another movie in the long-standing series isn’t that far-fetched as it may seem. 

elizabeth:  I wonder why one movie with an interesting theme is never enough. I think the people behind what gets made (again and again) are all about how they made buckets of money and greed sets in again. And again. I bet screenwriters secretly hate them unless they have sold their souls and just add a number after the title and then go to the bank.

Nicole: As a writer, I’d be totally cool with writing sequels, depending on the genre. It’s sometimes difficult to say goodbye to characters and places – just have to be careful not to jump the shark. No one wants to see and 80-year-old Rocky get beat up in the ring. So, the deal with Jurassic World is that people have apparently lost interest in the whole model of the prehistoric theme park (‘cause you know, you’ve seen one – you’ve seen them all). To re-engage people’s enthusiasm, the geniuses at work behind the scenes have been messing around with genetics and basically playing God. Their aim: to create a carnivorous hybrid dinosaur that will “wow” the public and garner them some greedy corporate sponsorship dollars. Oh, and BTW, mission accomplished. 

elizabeth: What ever happened to going on a picnic at a park and having a couple of frisky ants annoy you? At least ants won’t eat your children.

Nicole: I dunno; have you seen the size of some ants? Of course, everything that can go wrong quickly goes wrong. And, the only one who seems to realize the potential danger of situation is the film’s Indiana Jones-esque hero, Owen (played terrifically by Chris Pratt). Owen is what you would call a dinosaur whisperer, if there were such a thing (and really, thank God there isn’t. It’s enough to worry about the wild animals we do have, much less conjuring up a mess of pre-historic reptiles.) His antagonist is the rather vapid Claire (played by Bryce Dallas Howard – or Jessica Chastain… They’re really the same person. Come on, you know it – have you ever seen them together in the same room? No? See!) 



elizabeth:  You really do go on, don’t you? Chris Pratt was fine, but he was not as sexy as Jeff Goldblum was in the first movie. I like men who wear glasses. 

Nicole: Um, isn’t that what we’re here to do? And, you can’t compare Pratt and Goldblum. As much as I adore Goldblum, that’s like apples and the polar opposite of apples – I won’t even say oranges, because oranges are not opposite enough, but I digress. There’s some history between Owen and Claire – yes, romantic tension. Predictable. And, they are forced to battle that as well as the giant effing FrankenDinosaur the science division cooked up in the lab. Along the way, there’s the requisite chases, disasters, back-stabbings, and outlandish situations. And, yet, I totally enjoyed this movie. I did. It’s also really fun watching Cassidy scream out loud and squirm in her seat. Schadenfreude. 

elizabeth: Oh please. I was screaming because that lady sitting next to me would not get off her phone and I don’t look good in phone light. 

Nicole: Right, it just so happened your screams coincided with every tension-filled action sequence. As formulaic and predictable as it may have been, it was a fun two hours. A large part of that is owed to Chris Pratt’s performance. (I will be honest enough to say some of that had to do with the fact that his hot quotient is off the charts). His character instilled the right dose of sense of humor and commitment to the plot that this movie needed to draw in viewers. His co-star, however, meh. (Hollywood, there’s only so many more times you can get away with having the heroine run through rugged terrain in high heels and get away with it. Oh, and the fresh makeup, too. Yea, that’s realistic.) 

elizabeth: I would like to know the designer of her shoes because not once did she slip out of her 6 inch heels. I can’t do that and I used to walk around Manhattan in heels that high. BTW – dinosaurs would never survive in this city. There would be vendors selling mock versions of them on every corner.

Nicole: Yea, good point, I do need a pair of those heels. I think this movie will pale on the smaller screens. Part of its appeal is the sweeping digital effects, but if you have a large HDTV, you’ll probably enjoy it in that format. It’s definitely worth one trip to Jurassic World – repeated viewings… perhaps not. But, it’s a fine sendup nonetheless. 

elizabeth: Want to see a movie with Jeff Goldblum in it? 

Nicole: Always.

The Film Fatales give Jurassic World




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