Tag: Sam Neill

Jurassic World: Dominion (2022) | REVIEW

(L-R) Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, Isabella Sermon, and DeWanda Wise in Jurassic World: Dominion — PHOTO: Universal Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Colin Trevorrow — Screenplay by Emily Carmichael and Colin Trevorrow.

Jurassic Park came out the year I was born. I grew up watching that masterpiece and Steven Spielberg’s sequel, The Lost World, over and over again. Heck, despite Joe Johnston’s Jurassic Park III not being particularly good, I still think about that movie all the time and have a lot of fun with it. So, why did this Jurassic Park fan not bother watching Jurassic World: Dominion when it was released theatrically or even review it until this point? Honestly, despite the fact that I liked 2015’s Jurassic World on first viewing and reviewed it favorably, I thought Fallen Kingdom was a low point for the film series and that it made decisions that took the franchise and turned it into something far less interesting than it should be. However, I was hopeful that said film’s ending would signal an interesting sequel, given it opened up dinosaurs to the entire world, but when I heard the negative word-of-mouth upon Jurassic World: Dominion‘s release, I felt incredibly deflated and had no desire to go and see it. That said, now that Gareth Edwards has released his attempt at a Jurassic Park sequel — with Jurassic World: Rebirth — I thought now was a good time to rip off the band-aid and finally review Dominion, which I, honestly, thought was a catastrophic attempt at a sequel.

Continue reading “Jurassic World: Dominion (2022) | REVIEW” →

Possession (1981) | CLASSIC REVIEW

Isabelle Adjani as ‘Anna’ in the famous/infamous subway scene in Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession.

Directed by Andrzej Żuławski — Screenplay by Andrzej Żuławski.

Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession is the kind of European horror feature whose reputation precedes it. A highly regarded Cannes award-winning film, Possession is a film that, before I finally watched it, had been on my watchlist for quite some time. I had seen stills and clips from it beforehand, all of which indicated to me that this was a special film whose impact was felt in several films that came after it. When I finally saw it, I was somewhat overwhelmed by it, and I mean that in a good way. Below you’ll see my initial reaction to the film, with which I do discuss elements of the film quite openly, so if you have yet to see it, then tread carefully.

Continue reading “Possession (1981) | CLASSIC REVIEW” →

REVIEW: The Commuter (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – Lionsgate

The following is a review of The Commuter — Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra.

A couple of months ago, when I was getting ready to write about the box office potential of the January 2018-releases, I noted that I had grown tired of the endless supply of Liam Neeson action films. It isn’t that the films are egregiously bad, and they are in no way, shape, or form detrimental to the power of cinema — but each time Neeson has starred in another action film, it almost always felt like a tired retread of Taken.  Continue reading “REVIEW: The Commuter (2018)” →

The Collection #2 – Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park - Collection

  • Jurassic Park (1993) – Directed by Steven Spielberg.

The Collection is a monthly opinion piece, which features a single film, trilogy, or the like that I consider to be one of the best of all-time – a must watch film or franchise. A new entry in The Collection will be highlighted and revealed on the third Monday of every month. This month I’m adding to The Collection with Jurassic Park, arguably the most visually impressive film of the 1990s. Continue reading “The Collection #2 – Jurassic Park” →

Ranking Jurassic-Characters

Jurassic Ranking

The following is a ranking of the top 10 characters in the Jurassic Park-Franchise

Seeing as Jurassic World is breaking all of the box office records none of us thought could be broken by a fourth entry in a franchise that has been silent since 2001, I decided to make my own list of the very best characters in the Jurassic-Franchise.

Do note that no dinosaurs will be mentioned, as they – quite frankly – would dominate any list that included them. Don’t worry, no significant spoilers for Jurassic World will be revealed in this post – just in case someone out there didn’t see the blockbuster. Continue reading “Ranking Jurassic-Characters” →

CLASSIC REVIEW: Jurassic Park (1993)

Universal Pictures poster for ‘Jurassic Park’

The following is a Classic Review of Jurassic Park. 

Way back in 1990 the late, great Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park novel was released, three years later Steven Spielberg had directed its cinematic adaptation, and suddenly it was one of the most celebrated blockbusters in cinematic history. The film would eventually spawn sequels, and the franchise has become a healthy part of western pop culture.  Continue reading “CLASSIC REVIEW: Jurassic Park (1993)” →