Jurassic World. A Review.

When the BBQ is covered in cobwebs and the river is much too cold to swim in, nothing else gives you that summer feeling quite like a big summer blockbuster. With 6 other friends I went to the beautiful Plaza Cinema, we got real ticket stubs, the air smelt like popcorn, and I was beyond giddy with excitement - Jurassic World was about to remind me why I’m terrible at football and beaches make me cringe, because for me the magic of summer is in the cinema. 

   Jurassic World is open, and operations manager Claire juggles vicious attractions and the potentially more vicious shareholders. As her two nephews take a self-guided tour, animal-trainer Owen Grady battles to prevent sinister forces abusing his research. Then a genetically modified monster gets loose and the dino-dung really hits the fan. 

   Bryce Dallas Howard is superb in the beginning of the film as Claire, operations manager at the park who itemises and organises every aspect of her life and career. Her arc is predictable, however, and I can only hope in the sequel that she is given more to do - I’d love to see more of the spark she shows when given the chance. The two young leads are impressive; Ty Simpkins was entertaining in Iron Man 3 and similarly manages to toe the difficult line between sweet and irritating again here. Nick Robinson (who is excellent in Kings of Summer, check my review here: Kings of Summer. A Review.) is unfortunately short-served on character development, he gives a solid performance as a sullen teenager, but is capable of much more. More often than not, the disgruntled older sibling is a female role, so while this is a male-heavy cast it was nice to see the reversal. Chris Pratt will have won over more fans who missed his excellent coming out party in Guardians of the Galaxy, shining in his comedy sequences and suitably daring in action (though it would have been nice to see him given a little more emotional material to work with). Ultimately the cast are all support acts for the main attractions, and so it is to their credit that they all leave a lasting impression unlike the central couple in the recent Godzilla. Films like Jurassic World sell tickets often because audiences think they want to see 2 hours of cgi monsters, however this is not really the case and for a monster movie to work there has to be a human cast that the audience care about. Jurassic World’s cast were certainly entertaining, with high quality even in some of the smaller supporting roles, creating a world in which dino-destruction actually matters. 

   Colin Trevorrow was best known for the popular time-travel indie Safety Not Guaranteed, then he inherited a behemoth of a film nearly ten years in production with a legion of fans and a mountain of expectation. Trevorrow has made the jump to blockbuster entertainment admirably, the film never feels out of his control. In contrast to the original, the setup is handled at a brisk pace, however Trevorrow still finds time for small moments of character that keep the audience invested - such as the billionaire CEO who insists on flying his own helicopter. Jurassic World could have relied simply on the branding and soundtrack, however it comes with a handful of its own tricks; the GM Indominus Rex is a horrifying thing, the park itself is well realised and peppered with satire, while the glass safari-spheres are fun on screen and provide some clever shots - one of which sold the film for me. Cinema has yet to produce cgi that will age anything like as well as the animatronics in Spielberg’s original, however the computer generated horrors in Jurassic World are plenty life-like enough to have you watching through your fingers. Jurassic World is a good looking film, which holds up when things begin to get truly frantic on-screen. 

   The original Jurassic Park is an amazing movie; it takes its time setting up, and was groundbreaking in its execution of cinematic action-horror. Jurassic World was never going to do that, and nor should it have been expected to - the cinematic landscape has moved on. Jurassic World deliberately comments on modern consumption of entertainment, we demand bigger and faster, however if Jurassic World’s makers had sought only to take the concept of the original and add a few bigger monsters it would have been a soulless husk of a film. Instead the filmmakers have made a modern film, one which comments on entertainment culture, militarisation, family ties, and more. It is the burden of the 21st century blockbuster filmmaker that the audience is as razor sharp and unforgiving as a hungry velociraptor; we want a film that is smart and iconic like the original, we want to be wowed by special effects, we want characters to cheer and jeer and care for. Colin Trevorrow’s solution was to use the aesthetic and brand awareness of the original, and put a modern spin on the classic theme of the dangers of playing God. It is not a perfect solution, some will argue he has leant to heavily on referencing the original, some will argue he does not imitate his predecessor  closely enough - evolution it seems is not an exact science. Jurassic World is a smarter film than many of its rivals, modern filmmaking technology makes it well worth seeing on a big screen, but most importantly it feels like a Jurassic movie should - equal parts wonder, humour, and terror adding up to a lot of fun. 

   I left the Plaza Cinema grinning from ear-to-ear, barely managing to contain my T-Rex impression. Jurassic World is already stomping through the box office, and deservedly so - because it did everything a really good summer film should; it was entertaining, it was made with quality, and best of all it has created a real summer memory which I will not soon forget. 

WHO: Chris Pratt, quickly solidifying his place as a genuine action star.

WHAT: Raptors in the dark. 

WHY: To smile, and laugh, to cheer, and to hide behind you hands.

WHEN: If the music in the trailer sends a tingle down your spine, it’s time to go to the cinema!

(Art from: http://sicktriceratops.com/post/108087377661/jurassic-world-fan-art-by-powersimon)

Once. A Review.

2015 is like an all you can eat buffet of blockbuster action, and I must admit I have a complete lack of self-control at buffets. After the brilliant jam-packed action of Avengers and Mad Max, what I needed was a palette cleanser - which is why Once was so refreshing.

Once is about a guy and a girl who meet each other on the streets of Dublin and bond through a mutual love of music. And that’s about it. While sparse plot can be the ruin of a film, it is a great strength for Once, it is a film which does not rely on coincidence or concept to keep you entertained, but rather uses its characters to tell a story - a novel idea. 

One of the most fascinating things about Once is that its two stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova were not professional actors, they were musicians. As such, they are in roles that they were born to play, people whose lives have not perhaps gone the way they had anticipated however who still see beauty through music. Hansard and Irglova give tender and raw performances, entirely believable and compelling without being over the top. They have real chemistry, having been friends prior to filming, in fact director John Carney quipped that instead of getting people to act like they knew each other he had to make them act like they had only just met. Carney succeeds in this challenge, as the onscreen relationship grows in a realistic manner, unfolding slowly. The film is cast wonderfully well, with smaller roles adding up to more than the sum of their parts; for example Hansard’s world weary father speaks volumes simply by supporting his son with a cup of tea. 

John Carney was determined to direct on a shoe-string budget, wanting the intimacy of a small crew. This was a brilliant decision which is evident in the organic quality of the final film, dialogue never feels forced, and there are no big stars or set pieces which distract from the message of the film. Carney talked about it not being important to have the best script, because it is a film ‘more about tone’, this meant a lot of improvisation on set which can sometimes ruin the pace of a film, however it adds to the overall feel of Once as a story about real people. There are times when the lack of budget is evident, some shots are frustratingly wobbly, and there is a lack of the more complex camera shots we take for granted in modern film. Ultimately however, the direction and filmmaking is in service of a film with a rugged and raw tone, which is part of what makes Once such a triumph. 

60% of Once is music, with most of the key emotional beats of the film being told through a musical performance. The musical numbers feel organic and integral to the plot, this was not a film with added music nor a musical with added plot, instead both elements work in tandem in an incredibly satisfying way. The music of Once is truly remarkable, it is stripped back and emotional, infused with folk and Irish influences with a modern twist. The signature song for the film, Falling Slowly, earned Hansard and Irglova a well-deserved Oscar and garnered more attention for this hidden gem of a film. Falling Slowly is talismanic of the film, not in a hurry but with an inevitable momentum, two well rounded characters falling slowly, hesitantly, defiantly, and perhaps lovingly together.

Steven Spielberg, master of spectacle and sentiment, said “a little movie called Once gave me enough inspiration to last the rest of the year”. Once is a wonderfully hopeful film, uplifting but never cynically so, it is not pitch perfect, but it is honest and will stick with you long after viewing. 

WHO: Marketa Irglova steals the film, incredibly watchable. 

WHAT: The music - sublime. 

WHY: It is a brilliantly charming film, and will leave you smiling. 

WHEN: When you need a break from visual effects and superstars.