Jurassic World (6/10): Leave it to Chris Pratt to rescue a franchise along with his raptor buddies.

“You just went and made a new dinosaur? Probably not a good idea.”

This review of Jurassic World is brought to you by Mercedes Benz and classy high-heel running shoes. After the success with his sci-fi indie film, Safety Not Guaranteed, Colin Trevorrow was given the reigns to direct the fourth installment of the Jurassic Park franchise. With the help of his collaborator, Derek Connolly, he co-wrote the script based on Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver’s story. It was a pretty risky move considering Trevorrow hadn’t worked on a big budget film before, but with all the product placement included here you can tell he was probably very restricted and controlled by the executives. But I’m not going to complain about that because if you think about it Jurassic Park also had tons of product placement and that is one of my favorite blockbuster action films of all time. Jurassic World tries to pay homage to the first film ignoring most everything that happened in the sequels and once the dinosaurs are set lose it succeeds in doing so. The set-up was probably unnecessary and by far the weakest part of the movie as most of the characters here were uninteresting and we could’ve done without the introduction of so many of them. Fortunately Chris Pratt shows up soon enough with his domesticated raptors and saves the movie from derailing entirely from its rather stupid plot. He’s the new Indiana Jones and he can make the dumbest screenplay seem cool and entertaining. He delivers the perfect amount of comedic relief and has some great actions scenes to carry the movie. The dinosaurs are spectacular as always and there were a couple of thrilling scenes, although Michael Giacchino’s score never matches the brilliance of the original (there is a cool piano cover of the original Jurassic Park theme however that delivers plenty of nostalgia to fans). Jurassic World doesn’t live up to the high standards set by the original which was a masterpiece, but it’s as slightly satisfying a sequel as the rest of the films in the franchise. I wouldn’t go as far as saying it is better, but Chris Pratt does make it a lot easier to enjoy.

So Jurassic World is set some 20 years after the events of the original film. John Hammond’s vision of a dinosaur theme resort has been functioning for over a decade now in Isla Nublar. Unfortunately the attendance rates in recent years has been dropping as the enthusiasm and novelty of seeing these live beasts has died down a bit. The owner of the resort, Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan), has ordered his scientists to genetically engineer a bigger and meaner dinosaur knowing that this will spark more interest. Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) is in charge of organizing and managing the park and one of her responsibilities is making sure this new dinosaur remains contained. Simon asks her to talk to Owen (Chris Pratt), one of the on-site staff members who’s in charge of conducting behavioral research on Velociraptors, and ask him to give his opinion on the safety of the creature’s new home. Owen had no prior knowledge of what these scientists had been doing and is not happy about the management’s decision, but before he has time to do anything the creature escapes and now they must alert the thousands of people who are at the park that a dangerous dinosaur is on the lose. Claire’s nephews, Gray (Ty Simpkins) and Zach (Nick Robinson), happen to be visiting the park and of course they don’t pay attention to the warning and are left stranded near the danger zone. Claire asks Owen to help her find them and thus the thrills begin. 

There are several other characters in this film that aren’t given much depth. It’s a shame because a talented cast including Vincent D’Onofrio, Jake Johnson, Omar Sy, BD Wong, and Judy Greer are entirely wasted. Johnson has some fine scenes and it’s cool he got to wear a Jurassic Park vintage t-shirt, but his character didn’t have much to do really. The entire plot revolving around D’Onofrio’s character felt recycled from the first sequel and was quite silly. Omar Sy, I love him, but he wasn’t given anything remotely interesting to do. The two kids in this film are as exciting as watching two brothers who don’t get along. I’ve already said that Chris Pratt is the saving grace of the film along with the dinosaurs, but he also has some great scenes with Bryce Dallas Howard as well. She’s perhaps the only other redeeming character in the film although at times it felt like she was trying too hard to be Jessica Chastain. It’s kind of hard to feel that same level of suspense we all got from the first film when there aren’t many characters to root for here. Fortunately the film doesn’t take itself too seriously and it ends up being a lot of fun and the less you sit down to think about it the more fun you will have watching the dinosaurs hunt down the visitors. I think that Trevorrow knew the premise was silly and used the genetically engineered dinosaur story as an allegory as to what the audience wants from a sequel: They’ve already seen the dinosaurs and are getting tired of them, so why not give them a more threatening one, and so he did.      

My Review: 50/50 (8/10)

¨A tumor? Me? That doesn't make any sense though. I mean... I don't smoke, I don't drink... I recycle.¨

50/50 was recently nominated for the Golden Globes in the Best Comedy category, and deservingly so, but it could`ve just as well been included in the Best Drama category because the movie manages to find a perfect balance between comedy and drama. 50/50 isn`t a hilarious movie, it really deals with some serious issues and it has its melodramatic moments, but it is difficult not to smile at this emotional movie. Director Jeremy Levine manages to put together a well crafted film that while at one moment has you holding out the tears, at the next has you laughing at the way some of these characters respond to the life threatening disease. It`s a very difficult film to direct, but Levine manages to make a great movie thanks to a good story, a smart script, and a great cast. This is Levine`s third film after debuting with the horror/comedy All the Boys Love Mandy Lane which I guess in a way was the beginning of this trademark for him in which he mixes up some genres. The script was perfect as well, managing the transitions from drama to comedy really well. Will Reiser actually wrote the script based on his personal life so I am sure this project was very personal for him, but it couldn’t have been done better by anyone else. Reiser was actually pushed to write the script by his friend Seth Rogen who actually plays the same part in the movie that he did in real life, since it was in Rogen that Reiser found the support to deal with the diagnosis.

Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is only 27 years old when his life completely turns around after being diagnosed with a rare cancer disease and only has a 50/50 chance of surviving. He seemed to have a perfect life working as a writer for a radio program, living with his beautiful girlfriend Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard), and always counting on his High School buddy Kyle (Seth Rogen) for a fun time. The diagnosis changes his life although at first he tries to continue being his normal self. Rachael and Kyle both decide to support Adam in their unusual ways, and Adam begins seeing a young therapist named Katherine (Anna Kendrick) that the hospital has assigned to him to deal with the situation. She isn`t very experienced and is actually a pretty bad therapist, but does her best to try to help Adam. Rachael doesn’t even want to accompany Adam while he is in chemotherapy and only drops him off in the hospital entrance. Adam makes some new friends in the hospital during their therapy sessions together: Mitch (Matt Frewer) and Alan (Philip Baker Hall) and introduced them to Kyle as well. As Adam`s relationship with Rachael begins to deteriorate he finds more comfort in his friends and his therapist. Adam also grows closer to his overprotecting mother, Diane (Anjelica Huston), who already has a lot on her plate taking care of his sick father. The story is really well written and makes for an entertaining film and some memorable characters.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a great actor although sometimes he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. He always chooses great characters and interesting roles to play. In 50/50 he is absolutely wonderful making his character very believable while responding to the terrible disease. Seth Rogen plays his usual self, although in this movie it makes sense that he does since he is actually playing himself and I am sure many of the things he says in the movie are really the things he said to Reiser in real life. Bryce Dallas Howard has to try to play a different role soon because she is being type cast into these sort of bad girlfriend roles. It would be good to see her play something other than being the villain. Anna Kendrick is great as always with her unique sense of humor, although she doesn’t shine as much as she did in Up in the Air, but of course she didn`t get enough screen time this time. Anjelica Huston is great as always. The cast really does a terrific job in this movie and I guess it`s because they had interesting characters to work with. The balance between the comedy and the drama is just perfect making this Levine`s best film by far. This movie has its similarities with another Seth Rogen film, Funny People, which I also liked, but I think 50/50 is much better crafted and balances the drama with the comedy much better than the previous movie (mainly because Funny People never really worked as well as a comedy, but 50/50 really does). I really enjoyed this movie and found the way it dealt with cancer and its characters was really well crafted. By all means don’t miss this great movie.

  

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My Review: The Help (7/10)

¨If you can love your enemy, you already have victory.¨

The Help has received a lot of Oscar buzz and I wouldn`t be surprised if it gets many nominations, but I was a little disappointed after watching the film since I had such high expectations for it. The Help is a good, solid movie, but it just didn`t live up to all the hype for me. Racial and segregation films like this one have been made before with much greater effects. This film felt a bit light at times, and reminded me a lot of Fried Green Tomatoes. I can`t help but think this film could`ve been much stronger considering the strong cast it had and the social issues it was pointing out. The film is based on Kathryn Stockett`s novel of the same name, and it was adapted for the screenplay by director Tate Taylor himself. This is Taylor`s second film, after having made a small film three years ago named Pretty Ugly People. Taylor, a relatively unknown has jumped to fame with his work in this movie, but considering the material I think a good director could`ve brought so much more to the story. In a way this seems to be a light drama which is touching a serious and dark period for many people. There are some funny moments, but the movie is really long and drags during some periods of time. I thought that the last half hour was probably the best part of the movie and you end up leaving the theater with a smile in your face. It`s a good movie with some terrific performances, but I just was expecting so much more.

The Help is a reference to the maids in Jackson, Mississippi during the 60`s when racial discrimination and segregation was really strong. Civil rights movements had begun, but separation between whites and blacks was still very much an issue. The movie centers around several Southern society girls and the relationship they have with their maids. Skeeter (Emma Stone) returns home after college to take care of her sick mother (Allison Janney) and gets a job at a local newspaper writing housekeeping articles. Since she has no clue whatsoever about housekeeping she decides to interview the maids. Skeeter is sad to hear that the maid she grew up with and was like a mother to her has left to Chicago, but realizes there might be more to it than her mother is telling her. Skeeter is the only single girl since all her friends are already married and have children. Her best friend Hilly (Bryce Dallas Howard) is president of a local society and has come up with the idea that every family should have a special and separate bathroom for their maids. This of course, because of fear that they will transmit some sort of disease to their children. Hilly is very cruel towards her maid Minny (Octavia Spencer) and one day in a dispute fires her. Minny then finds a job working for a very nice lady named Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain) who`s just arrived back in Jackson with her husband and live in a huge house. She is very disorganized, but Minny helps her get the house organized. Meanwhile, Skeeter realizes how terrible most maids are treated and decides she wants to write a book about the help, but written with the maids point of view. Skeeter begins interviewing her maid`s best friend, Aibeleen (Viola Davis), who has had a lot of experience working with high society white families. Hesitant at first Aibeleen then begins opening up and convincing other maids to tell their stories to Skeeter and the result might shake things up for the residents in Jackson, Mississippi.

The best thing about The Help without a doubt is the performance from the entire cast. Emma Stone does a great job as the lead character fighting for the rights of some of the maids which have been such a great help to her, but at the same time realizes that her friends will probably be upset with what she`s doing. She still speaks what`s on her mind and isn`t afraid to point out the things that are wrong. She is very courageous. Viola Davis is just excellent and will probably receive an Oscar nomination. She also has a lead role in my opinion and she is just good in every movie she`s in. She does a great job at repressing the anger she sometimes feels after suffering so much injustice. Her friend Minny, played by Octavia Spencer, doesn`t do such a great job at repressing that anger and sometimes explodes. Spencer really surprised me in this film; she does a great job and absolutely nails her role. She will get a lot more job offers after this. It`s hard to pick just one performance because everyone in this film does such an outstanding job. Jessica Chastain is excellent in this movie in her supporting role and perhaps gives the best performance of all. She is sweet and naïve, but also feels broken due to her incapacity of bearing children. It`s really sad considering she probably would be a loveable mother, unlike the rest of the society moms who can`t even pick up their own kids and leave it all to the maids. I can`t end this review without mentioning Bryce Dallas Howard who is just so good at being bad, mean, and cruel. She truly is scary in this movie and plays an excellent villain. The Help is a good movie, I just was expecting a little more from the story, but still go see it.

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My Review: Hereafter (6/10)

¨If you are afraid about being on your own, don`t be. You are not.¨

I´m a huge Clint Eastwood fan, but I have to admit that Hereafter is one of his weakest efforts. I expected a lot more from this movie which had Matt Damon teaming up again with him after Invictus, and it also had one of the best screenwriters working on the project. Peter Morgan has written screenplays for such great films as The Damned United, Frost/Nixon, The Queen, and The Last King of Scotland. Hereafter will definitely not rank among Eastwood, Damon, or Morgan`s best work. They are all very talented at what they do, but sometimes things don`t work out the way we expect them too. The movie begins with a lot of promise, but then it seems to drift all the way to the anticlimactic ending. Eastwood does take huge risks as a director, but this time it just didn`t work out for him like in his other projects. Hereafter tells three different stories about three characters that in some way or another have to deal with death. It`s not a bad film, I enjoyed Hereafter, especially the first half of the film, but I just hoped the three stories would have tied a little nicer than they actually did. The film lacked a climactic ending, and the most important scene actually takes place in the opening five minutes. This is my least favorite Eastwood film of the last ten years, and he has made plenty of them (Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers, Changeling, Gran Torino, and Invictus). I still think Eastwood, who is now 80 years old, is one of the brightest and finest directors in Hollywood so all his films are worth checking out. He tries to leave an important underlying message in all of his films, and in Hereafter he tells us that there is more to life after death.

The movie opens with a French journalist named Marie Lelay (played by Cecile de France known for her role in the French horror film High Tension) who is on vacations in the eastern shores of Asia along with her boyfriend and producer Didier (Thierry Neuvic). While Marie is out on the streets buying some gifts for Didier`s boys a tsunami takes place destroying everything on its path. Marie is swept away by the wave only to be resurrected by some local fishermen. During the incident Marie experiences some sort of afterlife, but she can`t explain it very well. She decides to take some time off from her job and begin writing about her experience. The film then jumps to San Francisco where we are introduced to George (Matt Damon), a factory worker who used to work as a psychic. He is a true psychic who can communicate with the dead, but for him it is a curse unlike what his brother Billy (Jay Mohr) thinks that it`s a gift. Billy wants George to become a psychic again because he is really good at it, but George wants to stay away from that life because he has learned death isn`t fun to be around with. He spends his free time taking cooking lessons where he meets Melanie (Bryce Dallas Howard) and an interesting friendship develops although his psychic abilities might get in the way. The third parallel story takes place in London and it centers around Marcus and Jason (Frankie and George McLaren), twins who have to take care of their alcoholic and drug addict mother. One day Jason suffers an accident and dies leaving Marcus on his own desperately trying to find a way to communicate with him. The three stories continue to develop until they overlap with each other.

Hereafter is a strong drama that really begins with a lot of promise, but as the movie continues to develop it starts to drag and the final connection between the three stories isn`t as strong to make the wait worth your while. The best part of the film is the opening scene with the tsunami. I liked the visuals, and the scene felt very real (especially after experiencing the recent tsunami in Japan and seeing all those real life images). Eastwood definitely hooks our attention with that opening, but then he loses us by the time we get to the final act because there is no climax. There is a lot to learn about life after death and this movie tries to explore it, but it doesn`t get to delve in too deep. The movie barely touches the surface of it and it focuses more on the drama and loneliness that each character goes through. By the end you feel like something was missing and that it could have had a more powerful ending considering the subject matter. When it comes to movies about death, I personally prefer films like Meet Joe Black, but I still don’t think Hereafter was as bad as many people considered it to be. It still works as a character driven drama and both Damon and De France give some strong performances. Eastwood still knows how to make good films, this one just isn`t up to par with the rest of his movies.

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