Jurassic World Review

(Please read the following in an epic movie trailer voiceover guy type of voice)
...In a world, with way too many reboots and sequels... comes... another reboot/sequel....! /end epic voice.

WHY must some idiot in Hollywood dig up some franchise, that was popular many years ago, in hopes that there is still a shiny penny they can squeeze out of it?  In nearly every case, the remake/sequel has no heart and no soul, and can be rated anywhere from, meh, to sucks.  Why can't anyone do anything unique or create a new franchise... like Guardians of the Galaxy???  If you're curious, read my review for that here.

Okay, now that I've gotten that out of my system, let's review a movie.  Which one will we talk about today?  Wait, seriously... Jurassic World???  Ugh....

So many years after Steven Spielberg poached a lot of dinosaurs in Jurassic Park (allegedly), someone again decides to make a theme park out of living dinosaurs... because it worked so well the first time.  And now that the public has become bored with the concept, a brilliant team of scientists, (led by the clear winner of the George Takei lookalike contest, B.D. Wong), they suddenly decide they need to make a bigger and badder dinosaur, that could never possibly escape from his pen.  From here, I think you can figure out the rest.

I was content on waiting for the blu-ray version of this, partly because of my rant above on sequels/remakes, and partly because this was just released in theaters, and the last thing I wanted to do was watch a movie with a bunch of people.  Because the one thing I hate more than remakes is... people.  But after being reluctantly dragged to see this, I'm really happy I spent too much money on it, because... it was good! 

One big concern I had, was the director.  Seriously, who is this Colin Trevorrow guy, and what has he done before???  Well, not much of anything really.  But he proved you don't have to be Steven Spielberg to make a good dinosaur movie, (and for the record, this is much better than Spielberg's sequel, Jurassic Park: The Lost World, by miles).  Trevorrow gave us some very nice homages to the original movie, and a few other decent visuals.  I particularly loved how you could read a lot of emotion in some of the dinosaur's eyes.  And for the win, he avoided my two pet peeves:  There was very little shaky cam, and there was plenty of good lighting/colors (even at night).  Bravo sir!  

It also helped that the entire cast was really good.  Huge thumbs up to Vincent D'Onofrio, and I'm eager to see the inevitable Wilson Fisk/Star-Lord memes from this movie.  But I think the success of Jurassic World, is largely due to Chris Pratt.  I'm not saying his performance was Oscar worthy, but I'm really starting to think he made a deal with the devil.  How else do you go from being the fat ass on television in Parks and Recreation, to suddenly being the guy many women swoon over, and starring in two of the biggest grossing movies of all time in less than a year.

I mean, seriously....

Okay, if I really nitpick, (and you know I do), some plot points are a bit too convenient and painfully obvious.  Don't expect the same terror or intensity as the original Jurassic Park.  At the end of the day, this is just a simple monster movie, and it doesn't take itself too seriously.  But it's easy to overlook because Jurassic World really is a lot of fun!  It does have a decent sense of humor at times, and seriously, how can you go wrong with a raptor posse???  

And lest you think I didn't notice, we also get our share of Bryce Dallas Howard...

Grrrrrrrr....
Deeesher

Guardians of the Galaxy Review

The year was 1968.  The first ATM machine was installed in the US, the first Big Mac was sold, and 911 was invented (all totally unrelated... probably). And Marvel Comics, who had only recently brought you The Incredible Hulk, Spider-man, Fantastic Four and X-Men, decided to create a sci-fi story set in the year 3007.  It revolved around a group of unusual heroes from different planets, gathering together to battle the evil race of lizard creatures who had taken over their home worlds.  It was called, Guardians of the Galaxy!

And it has very little to do with the 2014 Marvel movie release of the same name!

I know what you're saying, "WTF, Deeesher?!?"  First, watch your language.  And second, Marvel created a huge universe of characters, and sometimes over the years... things change.  The movie is more closely related to the 2008 Marvel comic, called Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 2).

If you're into "reading", like some of the kids do today, this book really is a lot of fun, with great unique characters and interesting storylines.  And in the tradition of Marvel comic book movies, (not to be confused with Sony, Fox, OR especially Warner Bros. comic book movies), they nailed it again! 

Imagine being eight years old, and your life on modern day planet earth sucks.  Then suddenly aliens kidnap you, take you to space, and you get to grow up and essentially become Han Solo.  You get to fly around in spaceships, meet strange aliens and visit different planets.  That's the life of Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord.  Cast perfectly by the actor who was born to play him, Chris Pratt.

Not enough fun for you?  I could go on about how awesome and unique the entire cast of characters are, but I would just be rambling (more than I normally do).  Maybe I should talk about what a great sense of humor the movie has, but still knows when to be serious.  Maybe I should say something about how solid the story is, and how well it connects with everything else in the Marvel universe, both movies and comics.  And yes, it does have connections to other Marvel movies as well as hidden easter eggs from the comics and movies that I am eager to freeze frame.  And to be clear, some things are a bit different from the comic, but I have always said, if you are going to change something from the source material, make it a good change... and it is.

I could also talk about what a great job director James Gunn did, creating a beautiful galaxy you want to explore and live in.  I could say things about how the action scenes are well shot and you can see what's happening *gasp*!

If I wanted to say anything bad about this movie, I don't think I could.  BUT... if I want to be nitpicky, as beautifully as it was created, there were no visually over the top moments.  For example, in a movie like Avengers, we have a few great scenes that Joss Whedon created that felt epic.  James Gunn did a fantastic job, and Knowhere, for example, looked amazing!  But... I don't know.  Maybe I should just shut up now.

Many people have compared this movie to the feelings they had seeing the original Star Wars: A New Hope.  I can easily agree with this comparison, especially since I don't see JJ Abrams doing anything with that franchise to impress me!  This is the type of movie that can be made when they have respect for the fans and source material.  So please, promote good things, (since it seems too rare these days), and go see Guardians of the Galaxy!

Then we can have conversations about who is hotter, Gamora (Zoe Saldana) or  Nebula (Karen Gillan)

Deeesher