Jurassic World: Film Review

Jurassic World: Film Review

Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio, Irrfan Khan, Jake Johnson, Omar Sy, Dinosaurs, BD Wong
Director: Colin Trevorrow

Welcome to Jurassic World.

A world 14 years in the making, a world where logic and cell-phone coverage are dramatically intermittent, a world steeped in a reverence and nostalgia of its past. And a world where once again reason fails to win over corporate greed and dinosaurs threaten our very existence.

In the latest, the fourth addition to the Jurassic Park series, we find ourselves on Isla Nublar, now a fully functioning dino theme park, living the legacy of Richard Hammond and yet still fighting the corporate greed of attracting a new range of visitors and sponsors to the site.

When the nephews of park manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard, initially heroic and always in high heels) head to visit, she finds herself having the worst day possible, thanks to the escape of a new genetically modified dino hybrid, the Indominus Rex. Setting out onto the island with the help of the Doctor Doolittle of the Dino world, Owen Grady (a slightly moodier and serious but still wise-cracking Chris Pratt), she tries to track down the kids.

For its first 30 minutes, Jurassic World is a blast.

It's bathed in a nostalgia of the kind of goosebumps you felt the first time you saw the dinosaurs on the big screen way back in the 1990s, when the T Rex roared through the speakers and the screen shook when that foot first slammed on the muddy ground.

It's a film which has a character admit early on, rather cannily, that "no-one's impressed by a dinosaur any more" before then showing off the very latest CGI Dino-tomfoolery while blasting that iconic and still effective John Williams riff through the screen. It also riffs on how corporate greed for the continual pursuit of the dollar is crippling their industry, messing with the very eco-sphere and apathy that haunts theme parks' owners everywhere. It even has a funny warm tech guy (New Girl star Jake Johnson) who has an original Jurassic Park T Shirt on as well as that CGI DNA Strand from Hammond's original presentation. It's horrendously self-aware and beautifully aware of what to stir within you to set you off reminiscing.

But then the cliched characters and everything-goes-to-hell-at-a-convenient-moment-plot really kicks in and you have this horrible feeling of deja vu. A B-plot about the army wanting to take on Grady's trained raptors presents itself and everything old which felt new again is suddenly old in terms of story and dialogue as the B-movie schlocky creature feature kicks into gear.

Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the writing of the women of Jurassic World, which feels like it's come from the Jurassic Era of Hollywood screenwriters. Bryce Dallas Howard's Claire goes from strong ball-buster to shrieking wreck who has to be rescued all the time; her one moment of self-empowerment is ripped away thanks to Grady's acknowledgement of her achievement and she's back to the sidelines; equally, the nephew's mum is simply more than a worrying sort who sends the kids away and then frets as the inevitable plays out. It looks very much as if Joss Whedon's Twitter criticism of the script is spot on  and certainly it's hard to step away from the overall nagging feeling that the women don't do well in this world that's clearly here just for the ride and thrills and nothing else.

Pratt brings his usual charisma to the role of Grady, though it's somewhat steeped in more dour seriousness than we're used to - but don't fret, there's still quippery to be had and there are still plenty of signs that this guy's groundedness and everyman charm show no signs of wearing off.

However, it can be argued, thanks in part to a Deus Rex Machina, that this cheesy lined, cornball flick is saved by the creatures themselves - even the Raptor Squad that Pratt's character has trained up. Most of the moments the dinos are on screen - from the Indominus Rex to the raptors racing through the forest to the Sea-World-esque creature soaking the viewers are incredible; a nod to previous creature features (via a Viewmaster early on) shows the series respects and adores its roots -even if it bastardises them somewhat with a dino that's had its DNA mangled by the mad scientists in the lab. A scene where Grady and Dearing are out in a clearing is a nice nod to a certain scene with a Triceratops from the first flick and gives the production a chance to use an actual creature rather than another CGI interloper.

Ultimately, Jurassic World brings exactly what you'd expect to the table in terms of story and spectacle - it's a world where dinosaurs both literal and metaphorical roam triumphantly, content to bathe in the glory that once was. It's a spectacle and a blockbuster alright, but it's a hollow one that feels like it's just managing to stay one step ahead of extinction.

Rating:

Taken 3: Blu Ray Review

Taken 3: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by 20th Century Fox Home Ent

Liam Neeson returns as Bryan Mills, who finds his life is once again thrown into disarray by violence and mobsters in this latest outing.

Mills is forced on the run and becomes the hunted (The Fugitive anyone?) after he finds his ex-wife murdered in his own house. The police, led by Forest Whitaker's Inspector Franck Dotzler, are closing in, but Mills is determined to clear his name and protect his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace).

The geriaction franchise promised this time around that nobody would be Taken again - and that it would be a different story.

But this time around with the hook of the series removed, Taken manages to feel flat, soulless and completely formulaic.

Neeson manages some warmth as the gruff but softly spoken and exhausted Mills; and in a nice touch, he appears to show his weary age during some of the fight scenes giving this latest slice of preposterousness a touch of much needed grounded reality. In fact, his is the sole reason to watch.

The problem with Taken 3 comes in those who orbit around Mills; every single cop - aside from Dotzler - is a complete dunce who lack the basic skills to even remotely do their job competently. Even Whitaker's Dotzler is majorly underwritten - a genius detective who spends his time looking left and right, while twirling either an elastic band or handling a white knight chess piece; he's less an enigma, more a barely fleshed-out cliche.

Equally director Megaton has hardly made things enticing to watch - choppy brisk editing during action sequences using a bevvy of cameras and an abundance of over-shaky cam means that you can't actually focus on what's happening without the director's ADD kicking in and showing you 17 different angles simultaneously rather than showing us something impressive.

Formulaic and lacking any real tension, the flat Taken 3 even finally resorts to having someone taken (again) - but in between you'll have to endure Neeson's talking to a stuffed panda (the SNL sketch Mark Wahlberg talks to animals springs to mind), Neeson's dispatching of relationship advice or talking puppies.

Believe it or not, the seeds for a fourth Taken (T4ken anyone?) are sown, with a potential new generation of Mills' family siblings possibly facing threat, but when all is said and done, the uninspired, unexciting and over-long Taken 3 is quite simply Taken The Mickey.
Rating:

New The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 Official Teaser Trailer

New The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 Official Teaser Trailer

There's a brand New The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 Official Teaser Trailer just released.

It follows the first image from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 which was released last week.

The Theory of Everything: Blu Ray Review

The Theory of Everything: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Ent

The Theory of Everything (complete with Oscar nominations for Redmayne and writer and Kiwi Anthony McCarten) is the story of Stephen Hawking, an extraordinary life and the love between Hawking and his wife Jane (the also Oscar-nominated Felicity Jones).

Starting with Hawking's life at uni, the story weaves in love with Hawking's attraction to the apparently opposite Jane (she believes in a God, he doesn't) before threatening to derail this love story with the crippling diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease.

Fresh from Golden Globes success for Eddie Redmayne and now an Oscar nomination, The Theory of Everything is already starting to gain critical mass as it circles the front-runner for awards season.

It's easy to see why - the prestige biopic has an unbelievable lead who transcends and transforms into the role of Stephen Hawking so easily that you barely notice any more that it's Redmayne. (It's a similar transformation which Daniel Day Lewis achieved in My Left Foot way back when)

Which is a good - and bad - thing here.

From Redmayne's initial appearance as the Austin Powers-like Oxbridge boy through to the chair-bound Hawking, he's a commanding presence, pulling in some of the more mischievous elements of the physicist (a sly wit, an obsession with Penthouse) and giving more than he ever could with just a few facial twitches or movements. There's no denying the commitment to and transformation of the role here and no taking away from the fact that Redmayne's performance will be hard to beat this year.

Equally, Felicity Jones brings a subtlety as Hawking's wife Jane. Hers is a turn of quiet compassion, growing frustration and aching sympathy as Jane deals with every blow that comes her way during this relationship piece. In fact, it's really a film of two halves with the first half being Hawking's story and the second being all about Jane as she fights an attraction to a helper and a growing chasm in her marriage.

But curiously, the performances are perhaps the two elements that shine out in what really is a well-polished but incredibly ordinary movie; it has a warmth and heart but doesn't have the emotional pull that you'd expect or hope for when studying such an inspirational life as it goes through all the emotional moments like a checklist.

The beats of the story follow the well-worn and predictable path of telemovie fodder (there's good news and then the next shot sees something bad threaten to derail it all) as it treads the path of convention. This is not necessarily a bad thing given how beautifully shot and framed it all is, but in among all the loveliness and transcendant performances, the slavish mawkish elements of the script and storyline (replete with piano music here and there) unfortunately conspire to try and ground two stellar performances in tropes that you've seen all too often. (Though a sequence where Stephen's trying to talk to Jane at the end and be his most honest is heartbreaking given that it can only be done through a computer)

While not packing quite the emotional pull you'd come to expect, The Theory of Everything is buoyed by two terrific performances that helps elevate the prestige and beautifully shot flick from the predictably sentimental story.

Rating:

Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection is on its way

Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection is on its way

From the groundbreaking storytellers at Naughty Dog, comes the genre-defining epic that revolutionised adventure storytelling, rebuilt by Bluepoint Games with the power of the PS4 system.

Experience one of the most revered game series of all time as you follow the perilous journey of Nathan Drake across the globe, from humble beginnings to extraordinary discoveries. Meet an unforgettable cast of characters as Drake puts life and friendship on the line in a race against ruthless enemies to uncover unimaginable treasure. 

UNCHARTED: The Nathan Drake Collection includes the single-player campaigns for UNCHARTED: Drake’s Fortune, UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves, and UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception.
 
Unparalleled Story – Play as Nathan Drake across a trilogy of thrilling, white-knuckle adventures. Experience Drake’s relationships with those closest to him, as he struggles to balance adventure and family.
 
New Trophies – Brand-new trophies created exclusively for UNCHARTED’s debut on the PS4 system.
 
Photo Mode – Freeze gameplay at any time and take control of the camera to capture your most memorable moments from the trilogy to share with friends directly from your PS4 system. Utilise graphical filters, camera controls, and other options to customise your shot.
 
UNCHARTED 4: A Thief’s End Multiplayer Beta – purchasers of UNCHARTED: The Nathan Drake Collection will receive exclusive access to UNCHARTED 4: A Thief’s End multiplayer Beta while the Beta is available.

Man Up: Film Review

Man Up: Film Review

Cast: Lake Bell, Simon Pegg, Rory Kinnear, Ophelia Lovibond, Ken Stott
Director: Ben Palmer

Once again, it's back to a Britain and a romantic comedy where the slightly loopy and utterly unhinged live, but are forever charming thanks to the exploits of that foppish Hugh Grant.

Bell, donning an English accent, is Nancy, a 34-year-old romantic mess of a woman whose continual lack of success during set-ups by her friends fuels her neurotic lifestyle. After yet another unsuccessful mismatch, and compelled by a complete stranger (Ophelia Lovibond) on a train to do so, inadvertently ends up on a blind date with 40-year-old divorcee Jack (Spaced star Simon Pegg).

Deciding not to correct Jack's perception that she's his younger date, and going against her own character, she rolls with it - and finds that life's great rollercoaster has offered her a chance at happiness. But, when the truth comes out over that one night, what next for both Jack and Nancy?

Man Up has a degree of madcap quick cutting banter between the two leads which wouldn't be out of place with any of Edgar Wright's previous outings with Pegg.

Though to be fair, it's Bell who assumes the usual Pegg loser role as she borders nigh on unlikeably neurotic and in need of becoming a weak-kneed woman railing against the ineptitude of her own life, but who comes up short when challenged with rising up and fighting to the top of the cliff of her own failure.

Thankfully, the writers realise this early on, and gift Bell a rounded role that sees her getting the audience on side. It's helped in no small way by the camaraderie and rapport that she shares with Pegg's Jack, who appears confident but then channels the typical rom-com stylings, haunted by failures past made brutally present by Olivia Williams as his ex. It's these scenes when they're together that convince us of this relationship, see us champion it and watch in horror as life threatens to pull it apart.

While some OTT stereotypes still linger in the script (as personified by Kinnear's stalker whose lunacy veers from cringeworthy to downright injunction-worthy and feels drastically out of place), it all culminates in a finale that embraces the very best of what makes those awfully sappy Brit rom-coms come together - hint, a speech delivered by Pegg would have once been given by a certain Hugh Grant.

But somehow, against all the odds, Man Up manages to work - it's charming, but not exactly perfect and realises that it's two smartest assets are Pegg and Bell; time spent apart from these two during the film drag, but when they're together, the sparkle lifts the humdrum into the eminently watchable.

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Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation trailer

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation trailer

Here is the trailer for MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION, ahead of its release on the 30^th July.

With the IMF disbanded, and Ethan (Tom Cruise) out in the cold, the team now faces off against a network of highly skilled special agents, the Syndicate.  These highly trained operatives are hell bent on creating a new world order through an escalating series of terrorist attacks.  Ethan gathers his team and joins forces with disavowed British agent Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), who may or may not be a member of this rogue nation, as the group faces their most impossible mission yet.