Jurassic Park Trilogy

Jurassic Park Trilogy Cast and Crew

Director Steven Spielburg and Joe Johnston
Writer David Koepp
Composer John Williams and Don Davis
Cast Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenburough, Laura Dern, Sam Neil, Wayne Knight, Samuel L Jackson, Ariana Richards, Vanessa Lee Chester

Jurassic Park Trilogy Review

Jurassic Park
1993
In retrospect Jurassic Park has become anonymous with pop culture and great entertainment. In 1993 Steven Spielberg who had directed such classics as Jaws, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, and E.T. was at the helm of a new project that would define a generation that project simply called Jurassic Park. Written by David Koepp and adapted from the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton Jurassic Park Stars Richard, Attenborough, Lauren Dern, Sam Neil, Wayne Knight, Jeff Goldblum, Ariana Richards, Joseph, and Samuel L Jackson. The Film Begins with John Hammond (Attenabourgh) an entrepreneur who has built a theme park full of cloned dinosaurs. Hammond enlists the help of paleontologists Alan Grant (Neil) and Ellie Sattlier (Dern) along with Chaotician Ian Malcolm (Goldblum) to approve of the park before it opens to the general public but when coworker Dennis Nedry (Knight) shuts down the park to steal embryos chaos ensues as the dinosaurs break loose and cause havoc. Jurassic Park is the perfect example of Science trying to play god and the consequences it unleashes. The actors do an excellent job portraying real people in danger. The breakout star is Jeff Goldblum as Malcolm his wit and humor works well in this movie. The best Character arc in the film is the Sam Neil’s portrayal of Dr Alan Grant and his Relationship with Tim and Lex who only serve one purpose of developing Grant’s Character arc. Tim (Joseph) and Lex (Ariana) as characters are generic children bickering and doing unimaginable feats such as hacking, which diminishes the characters believability. The quality and cinematography work well in this picture laying out the feeling of wonder and awe in a jungle environment. The Score is amazing, John Williams has crafted yet another soundtrack people will remember. The Story is cohesive never boring its audience. Biggest Star is the dinosaurs itself mainly the special effects which for 1993 still hold up today. The dinosaurs look real and are character in themselves. Jurassic Park while the technology in the film is dated is still the Jaws of our Generation a science fiction action thriller that still holds up and one of the best films ever made.
The Lost World Jurassic Park
1997
In mid-1996 Steven Spielberg had come from a long break of filming Jurassic Park won awards and grossed almost a billion making it the highest grossing movie at that time. Shindler's List another film Spielberg directed also won him many awards that same year. Spielberg was exhausted but the fans wanted more insert the lost world Jurassic Park a sequel which conveys Spielberg’s lack of enthusiasm for this project so much that he had an amazing marketing team to overhype this sequel which hinders the film. People were expecting this to be bigger and it failed on many levels. David Koepp return to helm this sequel adapted from the sequel book by Michael Crichton once again. The film Stars Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Vince Vaughn, Richard Schiff, Pete Postalwhate, Vanessa Lee Chester, and Richard Attenborough. The film’s premise begins with Ian Malcolm going to another island of dinosaurs with Nick Van Owen (Vaughn) and Eddie (Schiff) to rescue his girlfriend who was sent to study the dinosaurs to preserve the island while ]another team sent by Ingen to capture the dinosaurs and bring them to san Diego for another park developed over there. The Lost World has been met with many criticisms but is a good sequel to Jurassic Park. It has great action, a decent story, and special effects that are on par with the original. The lost world’s many problems stem from many uninterested expositions and convoluted subplots Mainly Ian Malcolm’s daughter Kelly (Chester) a decent character and a performance that is good but is pointless and unnecessary it’s underdeveloped and overly contrived. With every Spielberg film there is an emphasis on children and Kelly like Tim and Lex has an ability on her own that is too contrived and worthless. Her presences is never a bother she is fun to watch but unnecessary. Vince Vaughn who does comedies now is more often the most awkward of the actors. Pete Postalwhate as Roland Tempo Shines through the screen is never given a complete arc and the rest of the characters are there to die. While the action is there it's never executed as in the original. Gone is the wonder and tension of Jurassic park and replaced with fast pace actions scenes in The Lost World. The soundtrack composed once again by John Williams has its moments it builds on this tone reminiscent of King Kong which the film conveys but fails to deliver the awe and wonder as in the original. The tone of the cinematography that The Lost World conveys is amazing it presents a sense of terror and is much more sinister. The Lost World Jurassic Park is a worthy sequel while never on par with the original it’s still a worth seeing even though it makes you wonder with the same team Spielberg had in the original why couldn’t he create something that was equal or better to Jurassic Park.
Jurassic Park 3
2001
In 2001 Steven Spielberg gave up his title as manager for the Jurassic Park franchise and turned it over to Joe Johnston for Jurassic Park 3 Which stars Laura Dern, Sam Neil, William H Macy and Tea Leoni seems like a below average attempt to revamp the franchise. Gone is David Koepp and replaced with two writers with no novel to base it on. The story is as follows The Kirby’s (Macy and Leoni) son is lost on site b and they trick Alan grant to go with them to the island but their plane crashes and they are left stuck trying to get off the island. As with most trilogies the third is the weakest while many fans are divided on this I myself thought this was the best of the trilogy when it was released, but to my dismay it has the weakest plot in the trilogy. The Story is also simple and never feels like a Jurassic park film maybe if this was titled something else it would fare better. Jurassic park had a story of science gone awry, Jurassic park 3 is a rescue mission plain and simple. The characters are irritating and forgettable mainly Tea Leoni. Much worse is the subplot or the main plot of Eric Kirby a child who can apparently hold out on island of man eating dinosaurs for 8 weeks. Why this needed Tim, Lex, and Kelly  were subplots that didn’t distract but Eric seems like another shoehorned kid character that is pointless in the franchise by now. Joe Johnston should have created a complex story with no children and more emphases on ingen. The action and length of 90 minutes shine great but it’s the only thing holding this movie together. Don Davis is the new composer tries to bring back the spirit of the original but sounds forced and below at least Williams created a new soundtrack for the lost world. Jurassic Park 3 is a super film on its own the action is the only thing holding it together with a story not yet put together well with forgettable characters and special effects while good don’t hold up as in the last two films, a lackluster end to a trilogy that started off as a classic.

        

Chronicle Review

In the creation of genre flicks, movies seem to stick to one pattern after another and the superhero and found footage films are no exception. Movies like X-men and Cloverfield follow the same pattern in all these types of projects that was laid down before i.e. Men develop super powers and decide to serve humanity or found footage with overdrawn scenes and questionable camera shots. Insert Chronicle a piece that holds the two genres of found footage and science fiction superheroes and does a fresh new take on it. Chronicle directed by Josh Trank and written by Max Landis the son of legendary filmmaker and music video director John Landis starring Dane Dehaan, Michael B Jordan, and Alex Russell, begins with 3 high school students one a social outcast and two regular popular teens who encounter a mysterious rock which gives them superpowers (telekinesis) the ability to move objects with their minds soon they begin filming their experience but the pressures of everyday life soon take a toll on them. Chronicle is neither a superhero film or found footage as a whole but an in-depth analysis on teen life and a realistic approach to fantasy. That is the gimmick about this film is its ability to take an old classic story about bullying and infuse it with superpowers and found footage. The story is engaging scene after scene will keep you glued to the story. The characters are interesting as they can be, the actors do a very good job at making you believe this is set in the real world as supposed to making it feel a total fantasy as in other superhero movies. One actor that stands out is dehaan who plays the depressingly tragic figure of Andrew, it’s not his fault life dealt him a bad card you feel sympathy for him. The others do great as well they play the typical high school students who for a while have fun and is believable. Andrew is neither a hero nor a villain but a perfect example of a flawed and tragic figure. Matt (Russell) is the middle man of the trio not only is he confused about who he wants to be in life but acts as the voice of reason. The exception of the cast goes to one actress who is the love interest for one of the main characters is there merely as a prop to progress the story further and it works just on a passable level as she is barely in it to establish her as a character. Now let’s talk about the camera work in most found footage films of the past it took a sense of disbelief on how they were getting all those cameras to film inside the story as found footage is a genre established by taking a character and taking everything he sees via camcorder of the phone. Every camera shot will make anybody fall in love with found footage films. But Chronicle does it perfect with each camera shot is justified as you proceed from one camcorder to an iPhone and beyond and is perfectly edited to make it believable, I would never suspend their disbelief. The special effects are fun to look at as the characters fly and do all sorts of tricks but to my disdain they are practical which is good but some scenes you can see the effects start to wear off especially 40 minutes into it but it never loses value or become terrible in this age of special effects it’s a relief to see something that’s not overly cgi. While Chronicle does suffer with a character that is just a prop and a character arc or treatment that is shorthanded the movie also suffers from a short length time it’s still a classic of this decade never boring you and putting a fresh twist in the genre with a stellar cast and great story this movie will have you coming back for more.

Back to the future trilogy

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Source: Back To The Future Trilogy poster

Cast and Crew

Back To The Future Trilogy
Director Robert Zemeckis
Executive Producer Steven Spielberg
Cast Michael J Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover, Leah Thompson, and Thomas F Wilson

Back To The Future Trilogy Review

In 1985 Robert Zemeckis wrote and Back To the Future which was released in the summer of that year. Back To The Future stars Michael J Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson, and Thomas F Wilson. The film which broke box office records, produced critical praise, and would produce two more movies released in 1989 and 1990 and as a whole produces great quality entertainment and an edge of your seat story.Michael J Fox would become a household name and an instant celebrity. The Delorean would become the next big time machine anyone would grab their hands on and the film would be qouted even till today.

Back To The Future
1985
What can be said about this film that already hasn't been said it's a staple of 80's pop culture and and culture in general, it has been referenced in movies, games, and tv multiple times. The film has defined Robert Zemeckis's career for awhile. Back To The Future has shaped a generation of people for almost 30 years. Back To The Future opens with Marty Mcfly (Fox) who is an aspiring musician and high school. Mcfly’s dysfunctional family consists of his father George (Glover) who is harassed by his boss and high school bully Biff Tannen (Wilson) and his mother Lorraine (Thompson) who is an alcoholic
When Marty’s crazy scientist friend Doc Brown (Lloyd) invents a time machine it sends Marty back to 1955 in which he must find a way to get back to his own time and get his parents back together changing the course of his own history. Back to the future is an excellent film a classic in its own right perfectly written with witty humor and characters fully developed. Back To The Future is the perfect time travel story it doesn't waste on explaining the illogical concepts of time travel but engages itself in a complete thrilling story. The story is also welded perfectly together each plot point is important to the story and keeps you focused on the movie. The Score is amazing and even though the effects a little dated they are still good to this day. The Performances in this film is excellent each actor is believable and brilliant adding to the layer of story and comedy. Michael J Fox which previously was the star of Family Ties Another 80's tv classic shines beautifully in 1980s pop culture. Michael J Fox's Character is an everyday hero who has average teenage problems and more, he is constantly up against people twice his size and many obstacles come his way such as figuring how to get back to his own time. Mcfly's wit and humur is what sells alot of this film and scenes with are always entertaining. Christopher Lloyd a veteran actor gives a top notch performance as the lovable Doc Brown, he is the wiser and eccentric of the cast and Thomas F Wilson performance as Biff will go down as one of the best on screen antagonists. The Only downside is its taboo subplot which is odd at first but disturbing on a different level but beside the point Back To The Future is a timeless family movie, a blend of Science Fiction and Comedy which can be watched multiple times.



Back To The Future Part Two
1989
In terms of sequels there are two results, either the sequel is subpar or almost on the same level as the original, rarely does it surpass the original on every. Back To The Future Part 2 falls in the latter of the two reaching the same level of entertainment as the first film. Zemeckis returned to direct the sequel as he had did in the original but none of the freshness of the original returns. The film is mostly comprised of the same cast, (Wilson opted out of the sequels) part two opens off where the first one ended as Marty, his girlfriend, and Doc, travel to the future (the year 2015) to prevent Marty’s son from making a mistake while there Biff in his aging years steals the time machine, also steals an almanac which Marty buys and gives back to his younger self in 1955 to change the course of history to his own will which creates a corrupted alternative timeline. Now doc and Marty must fix the timeline which leaves the film in a fantastic cliffhanger that rivals the end of the original. This Movie features the same top notch performance with actors playing there younger and older self especially Michael J Fox, a musical score as in the previous one, set pieces, a cameo of Elijah Wood who would go on to star in the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, and locations such as the environment of 2015 which displays a fantastic retro future of clothes, holograms, and hoverboards. The environment of alternate 1985 is a must see it's an analogy of Mad Max Meets Back To The Future and it's always fun to travel back to 1955 to see how every character would interact with each other. The story is amazing if only they would explore other timelines and the time travel element is played heavily and perfectly paced, the only problem is the story is too convoluted and nowhere near the epic pace or the grandeur of the original. It retreads on certain plot points and settings of the original but creating a story on its own that is engaging to warrant this sequel to be great not on the same level of the original but still a timeless excellent sequel that is referenced much like the original, a must see for anybody who loves the original.




Back to the future Part Three
1990
The phrase third is a charm rarely applies to trilogies and Back to the future three is a perfect example of an average but fitting end to a trilogy. While remaining at the awe inspiring end of part two Marty travels back to the 1885 to the Wild West to rescue the doc and return back home. This story features the same performance that doesn’t disappoint and is engaging in its own right. If Only the western theme while is fun but runs heavily in this movie was toned down a bit we would get a more solid movie. Gone is the time travel element and is replaced by the same element of the original which basically plagues part three. Part three is too much like the original with being stuck in one timeline and desperately trying to get back to 1985. None of the antagonists such as Wilson's protroyal as Mad Dog Tannen while good isn't as threatening in the previous two movies and the message while noteworthy contradicts the original. This is by far the weakest of the trilogy nothing else can said that already has been told about this movie, that makes anyone wonder why the trilogy ended on this note, but still a must see and a fitting conclusion.