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Jurassic Park (1993)
A blockbuster phenomenon 65 million years in the making!
Few movies have had as great an impact on me as Jurassic Park the first time I saw this back in the 1990s as a little kid. This movie was not just a summer blockbuster, it was a pop culture PHENOMENON! I remember fondly those good ol' days, and the EXPLOSION of dinosaur toys, books, movies, TV shows, everything following in the wake of Jurassic Park.
I recently had the pleasure of catching Jurassic Park once again on the big screen during the 20th Anniversary Rerelease. Let me begin by saying that Jurassic Park looks as beautiful and stunning on the big screen now as it did 20 years ago - even after so many years, even after Avatar and Inception and The Dark Knight, there is simply no experience that stacks up to seeing Jurassic Park on IMAX 3D!
I can speak at great lengths as to the fantastic visual effects and sound work behind the film, the excellent directing by Steven Spielberg, the amazing soundtrack provided by John Williams (which may or may not rival those of Indiana Jones and Star Wars!), or the inspired acting performances by Sam Neil, Richard Attenborough, and, of course, the iconic "Must Go Faster!" Jeff Goldblum. But no, instead, I will focus on what I consider to be the REAL strength of this film, and the main reason why people see it in the first place: why, DINOSAURS, of course!
Now, for a film starring DINOSAURS, actual dinosaurs only appear on screen for a total of 15 minutes. The brilliance of Jurassic Park is that, like Spielberg's JAWS, the entire movie is about the BUILD-UP to the dinosaurs, and about how we humans interact with them. Dinosaurs inhabited this planet for 150 million years, over 300 times longer than our species, Homo sapiens, has been around for. They were some of the largest and most magnificent creatures to ever grace Earth's natural history, and even after 65 million years of extinction, they continue to win the fascination and admiration of the human race the world over.
Unlike many other movies that portray dinosaurs as mindless man-eating monsters, Jurassic Park actually takes great care to point out that dinosaurs are just animals like any other animal alive today - even the scary carnivores like the Tyrannosaurus Rex have a certain quality about it that you can't help but feel awed and fascinated by it even while you're running for your life! In a way, MAN is the true monster of the film, as it is man who believes himself above nature, and when man interferes with the natural order of the world, chaos and destruction ensues. For a Hollywood summer blockbuster, Jurassic Park is far more cleverly written than it has any right to be, but a lot of that is owed to writer Michael Crichton, that master of original and inventive science fiction stories. Rest in peace, Michael Crichton.
Now, all that said, the science and paleontology behind Jurassic Park leaves something to be desired. The portrayal of living dinosaurs and of genetic engineering and cloning was highly scientifically accurate (or at plausible) for 1993. However, new discoveries since then have disproven many of the film's theories and assertions. For example, real life velociraptors were the size of a turkey and had feathers. More importantly, the very basis of the film is discredited: we now know that intact DNA cannot survive more than a few million years at most, even in optimal conditions for preservation. Sadly, at least for the time being, it seems like Jurassic Park the IMAX 3D experience will be the closest thing we can get to the awe and majesty of seeing real life living dinosaurs ...
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
The knight is darkest before the dawn, but I promise you the dawn is coming!
Christopher Nolan is the man who not only saved Batman from the dung heap of the Joel Schumacher days, but also elevated him to a new level such that The Dark Knight was able to overthrow The Godfather on IMDb's top 250, if only temporarily! And with The Dark Knight Rises, he delivers on his promise to give a fitting and emotionally satisfying conclusion to the story of Bruce Wayne that began with 2005's Batman Begins.
After 2008's The Dark Knight raised the bar for Hollywood blockbusters, one must wonder how TDKR could ever hope to outdo TDK. It doesn't, but don't let that convince you that this isn't still a good movie - it's just that TDK is near impossible to top, thanks to the superb performances delivered by Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart. But TDKR does indeed try, and in place of the Joker and Two-Face, brings us Bane and Catwoman.
Bane in particular had last appeared in 1997's epic failure known as Batman & Robin, where he was reduced to nothing more than a mindless but brutish henchman to the main villains. Here, he is returned to his comic book roots: a towering hulk of muscle and brute strength enhanced by his cunning and personal charisma, all played to a tee by Tom Hardy. Catwoman too receives a top notch performance as a femme fatale by Anne Hathaway, an actress as talented as she is gorgeous. And of course, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine return as well - I really can't say anything because the three of them are guaranteed to excel in just about any role you could throw at them.
Two more classic Batman characters appear unexpectedly, but I will refrain from naming them for want of avoiding spoilers. However, viewers will be pleasantly surprised by how well Nolan has been able to save one of them from the scrapheap of Batman mythology. I will conclude this review with a solid recommendation, but be warned! TDKR is best enjoyed only at the end of a session of having first seen Batman Begins and TDK - in that way, the viewer can truly better enjoy the conclusion that TDKR delivers, and how well it ties into those other two.
Gojira vs. Desutoroiâ (1995)
The King of The Monsters faces his strongest and most terrifying enemy yet!
The epic finale of the second Godzilla series concludes with Big G himself facing his toughest challenge yet! This is my personal favorite of the entire Godzilla series after the original 1954 film, and in many ways, this film does it's best to tie back to that film as much as possible, even explicitly tying the origins of Godzilla's new foe to the fate of the original King of the Monsters. Godzilla is at his largest, most powerful, and by far the most furious that he's ever been in the entire franchise, but he will be matched up against the nightmarish Destoroyah, one of the strongest and most terrifying monsters to ever appear in any film!
What follows is a fitting and powerful conclusion for the King Of The Monsters, the last dance so to speak. For Godzilla's days are numbered, as the same radioactive meltdown that is triggering his increased strength and fury is also draining him and will eventually kill him. With some of the best visual effects and creature designs of the entire franchise, and an appropriately epic score to match, G vs. D represents the best the series has to offer. If you must watch only one Godzilla movie, watch the original 1954 Japanese version. But if you watch two, then I urge you to consider Godzilla vs. Destoroyah with the original.
With this film, the Heisei series decisively came to an end, and Godzilla would enjoy a well earned and fitting retirement ... that is, until an American impostor pretending to be the original King Of The Monsters would rear its ugly head in a certain 1998 Columbia/Tristar film that shall remain nameless ...
Iron Sky (2012)
First we had Nazi zombies, now we have space Nazis!
I'll admit off the bat that I enjoyed this movie a lot and found it to be HILARIOUS, even in the subtle details. That said, this movie is ANYTHING but subtle - it explodes with larger-than- life characters and situations ... hell, the fundamental premise of this film is already verging on the insane: Nazis on the Moon! With giant space zeppelins! And still using 1940s guns, motorcycles, and vacuum tube-style computers to boot! Oh, and did we mention that Sarah Palin is the American President? At every point, just as you thought the movie couldn't possibly get more ridiculous, it does!
For these reasons, anyone watching this movie should take this advice: watch it and enjoy it for what it is - it's not a high mark for cinema by any margin, but it's original and creative and just too damn ridiculous to be forgettable! One thing to be warned though is that being the product of European film-makers, the film has a specific depiction of Americans (or at least what Europeans think Americans are like) that some Americans may take offense with. It's by no means worse than how Europeans are often depicted in American films, but as an American, this was definitely one thing that stood out for me. Just be open-minded, and remember that this is part of the film's purpose of embracing and accentuating the ridiculous.
Nazis have terrorized the movies, comic books, and video games for over seven decades years now. We've had Nazi zombies, Nazi dinosaurs, Nazi supermen, Nazi vampires, Nazi mecha, Nazi occultists, Nazi mad scientists, and even Nazi porn. But as far as I know, we've never had actual Space Nazis, and in that, Iron Sky wins points for an original idea. Combined with excellent visual effects (stunning for something shot on a shoestring budget) and a fantastic soundtrack courtesy of the one-and-only Laibach, Iron Sky is a fun movie to watch, if only for the sheer insanity of it all.
Pacific Rim (2013)
Destroy all Monsters!
It is my sincere hope that this movie proves to be a huge hit, because that will mean we'll get more live-action anime adaptations from Hollywood! Why do I say this? Because Pacific Rim isn't a direct adaption of any one particle anime series, but rather, a homage to the entire genre as a whole. And all of this from the man who brought Hellboy to the big screen, no less!
That said, the Human element in this was a little weak, the romance felt a little forced, and some characters felt too large for life. Case in point, in a movie that features 300ft robots and monsters duking it out and wrecking entire cities in their wake, the only element that felt really too excessive was Charlie Day's performance as the science fellow. The whole effect, ultimately, was the feeling of a comic book, but then again, this is exactly what the director intended, and exactly what we, the viewer, should expect.
As you may have guessed by now, I'm a huge geek for anime, manga, kaiju films, and Japanese culture in general, so this movie was everything I could have wanted, and then some! That is why I encourage you all to check it out! In the mean time, I'll be biding my time until another Japanese monster star makes a well-earned and highly anticipated return to the big screen next year. Until then, this is ugyenpeljor signing out.
Watchmen (2009)
Justice is coming to all of us, no matter what we do...
For such a devoted fan of the original comic book as myself, there is simply no word to describe the feeling of excitement that you get when everything you have ever known and loved about the legendary graphic novel comes to life on the silver-screen! It is difficult to compact 12 issues into a single 2 and a half hour movie without jeopardizing the integrity of the story, but Zack Snyder has managed to hit it right where it counts, and make it count! Where to begin? This movie merits so much in terms of the quality of acting, set design, visual effects, and writing. For starters, the acting was overall top-notch and superbly done. Jeff Dean Morgan and Patrick Wilson pulled off their characters of The Comedian and Nite Owl II perfectly and precisely to the book. Billy Crudup delivers a superb performance as the angelic yet apathetic Dr. Manhattan. And Matthew Goode does a surprisingly decent job as Veidt.
But all of them pale in the shadow of the incredible job of playing Rorschach done by Jackie Earl Haley. His is on a league of his own, equal in power and complexity to a similar role performed by the late Heath Ledger almost a year ago. I know it is not within the Academy's usual behavior to recognize comic book movies, the painful lesson learned from The Dark Knight's performance at this years Academy Awards. But know this: such a spectacular yet chilling role as this deserves only the best in recognition. The highlight? The famous opening monologue that first introduces us to this unique character: "And all the whores and the politicians will look up and shout SAVE US! And I'll look down and whisper NO".
Some of the supporting cast are also noteworthy, in particular, the roles played by Stephen McHattie and Matt Frewer, as the first Nite Owl and Moloch respectively. All-in-all, a very good job well done on acting.
The visuals are impressive to say the least, with Zack Snyder's realization of a dystopian New York City taken directly from the pages of the comic book. Everything is there, from the Gunga Diner to the Bernies' newspaper stand, to the infamous "WHO WATCHES THE WATCHMEN?" graffiti. A few of the designs from the comic book, most notably Nite Owl II's costume and Dr. Manhattan's martian palace, have been redesigned and enhanced for more effect in the process of translating page onto the bigscreen. And while Zack does indeed use a lot of slo-mo, he does not overdo it the way he did in "300", and does put it to good use, most notably, in the amazing montage of opening credits that introduces us to this unique world of an Orwellian 1985.
Overall, "Watchmen" is a fitting and very faithful adaptation of what is rightly "the most celebrated graphic novel of all time". My only remote complaint would be the choice of soundtrack cover in two scenes, but otherwise, Tyler Bates delivers a top-notch original score. For being only 2 and a half hours, this movie has just about managed to convey most of what the graphic novel is all about: a deep and multi-layered story that seeks to question what indeed is the role of the hero in a decadent American society. That said, I simply cannot wait for the extended 3 hour cut! To conclude, go watch the Watchmen! Graphic novel devotee or new to the series, prepare to have your mind blown away by a story that delves deeper in the horrors and ugliness of the human mind then any typical superhero movie would've dared to go. But be warned: this is not for the faint-hearted!
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Times have changed, and so has Indy...
Before I go on, I would just like to say that Indiana Jones IS my favourite film series, and that Last Crusade is my all time favourite movie of all time. Now, I just saw this yesterday with some friends of mine. I liked A LOT!!!
For me, it was essentially the same characters of the 1930's era originals repackaged in a 1950's era dressing. Anyone who complains about this movie should take a minute to realise that it's MEANT to be a totally DIFFERENT experience altogether. While the originals were made in the style of the 1930's adventure serials, concerning Nazis and lost treasures, this movie is deliberately meant to show that times have changed, and so has Indy. Therefore, it's style is that of 1950's B-movies, and focuses on the 3 most common pop culture phenomena back then: the Rock n Roll generation; the Red Scare; and UFO conspiracy theories.
Harrison Ford did not disappoint in his superb performance as the elderly Indy, and Shia was a highly enjoyable character to have, a street-smart version of Short Round. It was nice to see Karen Allen reprise her role from Raiders, and Marion is a lot less annoying and whiney then her 1936 counterpart.
I'm gonna miss the Nazis! The Russians may look a helluva lot smarter and more efficient then the Germans, and Cate Blanchett as Irina Spalko played a much more believable femme fatale then Alison Doody as Elsa Schneider in Last Crusade, BUT the Russians just don't seem to have the fanatism and villainous flare about them that the Germans had.
My only criticisms at the end of the day are the: 1) Overuse of CGI; (2) Highly romanticized end sequence; and (3) the lack of the Raider's March throughout the entire soundtrack except at the end. However, I'm hopeful that these shortcomings will be fixed for the DVD release, or at least for the Special Edition DVD Release.