Jurassic World

Colin Trevorrow, 2015

IMDB

3/5

Basically any boy who grew up in the early nineties saw Jurassic Park. It can easily be considered the millennial generation's Jaws. It's now been 22 years since the original film hit theaters. So Jurassic World is trying to do two things. It's trying to satisfy original generation who grew up with the original, because they are certainly going to the be the ones accompanying the easier-to-please younger generation of kids who already have dinosaur posters on their walls. And who knows, maybe some of these kids have caught the original on cable or figured out how to operate daddy's VHS player. Long shot. I know. Okay, well to be fair it's also on DVD.

One of the immediately pleasant things that you notice with Jurassic World is that it's very self-aware of it's own cultural existence. There are satirical elements at work; displayed by the corporate forces trying to get increased park attendance, clearly poking fun at the whole trying to get movie audiences back in seats to the franchise. It blankets the franchise with a very modern touch. Just like in our own real-life world, the corporate entities are everywhere you turn. There is now a Starbucks in the park. Guys in suits are looking for any possible surface to plaster a logo to create a new revenue stream. Also gone is any of the old school corporate etiquette. We notice quite quickly that the modern day Jurassic Park is a corporate environment where low-totem guys like Lowery (Jake Johnson) can mouth back to their superiors with no real punishment.

Jurassic World ultimately succeeds in what it sets out to accomplish. It revitalizes an old franchise and gets people in seats hoping for some new terrors in questionably secure confinement. There are some eyebrow-raising moments, like when two kids are able to quickly fix a 20 year old Jeep covered in vegetation and get it running in what seems like a few minutes. There are some worn-out themes, like Bryce Dallas Howard's character as the cold corporate woman that we have seen so often in cinema. Because of the attempts to sort of one-up itself in the story and in real-life by creating something new for audiences to see, it actually morphs into more of a monster movie and less of a dinosaur movie. That's okay, because the characters are developed enough that you have some moderate investment in them and you still get some of the classic Jurassic Park touches. If you go into Jurassic World with the right expectations, you will probably walk away from it satisfied enough. It doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, it goes down easy. Especially for someone who was raised on the originals and wants a dose of dino-nostalgia. 

Jeff, Who Lives At Home

Jay & Mark Duplass, 2011


3/5

          Jeff (Jason Segel) is running an errand for his mother, who he still lives with (surprise) when he gets caught up in a chaotic whirlwind of too-real marital drama involving his brother Pat (Ed Helms) and his wife Linda (Judy Greer).
          This comedy is directed by brothers Jay and Mark Duplass (The League). In the beginning of the film, they do one of those introductory scenes where you see photo-shopped photos of all of the actors in the film at various points in their lives. I wonder if there is a GO TO graphic designer in Hollywood who excels at making these. While the film at times feels like paint-by-numbers comedy, there is a noticeable sense of smart writing and impressive acting. Segel and Helms fit into their roles really well as brothers, and the real moments between them feel authentic. Segel is particularly impressive in his role as the introspective loner who is on his own path to enlightenment. His eyes are open, and he's looking for answers. Susan Sarandon really displays her natural acting chops - there's a hypnotic effect to her acting that I have really come to respect. That being said, although she provided some veteran acting to the film, I wondered while watching: was her character even necessary? Shouldn't the film just be focused solely on the dynamic of the two brothers? The film effectively examines an interesting concept of a brother who hasn't left the nest, and is living life on his own terms and own pace is ironically the one who is together mentally. The brother who is out of the house and married may live up to society's standard but is actually impulsive and not in touch with his own emotions.
          While the writing and acting are the most impressive elements of the film, the cinematography is not. Jas Shelton's camera work is guilty of having too much shaky-cam and erratic close ups. I think the scenes would have been better served by medium shots where you can see the two parties conversing. In a film where there doesn't seem to be an emphasis on style, there should have been room to let the actors breathe in the shot.
          I wonder how much of the relationship between Jeff and Pat is loosely autobiographical of the two Duplass brothers. With the over-saturation of horrible comedies out there nowadays, there are refreshing features to this film and I am curious to see what the Duplass brothers do in the future.