Keeping the Plates Spinning

I went back and watched the original Jurassic Park this week. I’d first seen it on the big screen with my wife sitting on one side of me and my son on the other. By the end of the movie, my hands were sore from being clutch so hard by my family. The movie holds up as a thriller even after multiple viewings. Part of its strength was how Spielberg held back the raptors until the last quarter of the film, copying his first major hit, Jaws. Beyond a shot of a malevolent eye, all the audience saw early on were the results of the raptor’s attacks, first on the gatekeeper and then on the cow.  With Jurassic Park: The Lost World Spielberg directed the only sequel of his career, and it was a decent follow-up to the original. But then there’s the third film rule – with only a few exceptions, the third film in a series is painfully awful. Jurassic Park III definitely succumbed to that rule.

Then in 2015, the story was resuscitated. Jurassic World postulated John Hammond’s dream becoming a reality – a full-on Disneyland of Dinos. This time the hubris that brings the venture down isn’t simply trying to recreate what was, but engineering what never should have been. In the end it’s the dinosaurs that have to save humans from their stupidity and cupidity – “More teeth.” The film was a mega-hit, grossing 1½ billion dollars worldwide. Now we have the inevitable sequel to the reboot, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. You’d have to be living in a cave not to have seen the teaser ads and tie-in promotions for the movie. They even had an “American Ninja Warriors” Fallen Kingdom tie in with stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, people in raptor masks, and an animatronic dinosaur on the course. But is it worth the hype? Sort of.

The movie has Isla Nublar and its dinosaurs on the verge of a new extinction due to a threatening volcano. Claire Dearing (Howard) is struggling to get government funding to save the dinos, but it’s doubtful the money will come through, especially after Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) testifies before Congress. Then a different savior for the animals appears in the form of Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell). Lockwood, a former partner of Hammond’s, lives on an isolated California estate with his granddaughter Maisie (Isabella Sermon), her governess (Geraldine Chaplin), and the lawyer who runs Lockwood’s businesses and charity, Eli Mills (Rafe Spall).

They’ve already mounted an expedition to the island. (We’ve seen this in a very effective prelude as a small submarine searches the island’s lagoon for the bones of Indominous Rex, the big bad of the first World film.) They need Claire’s help to locate the animals, especially the lone surviving raptor, Blue. But to get Blue, Claire must recruit Owen Grady (Pratt) to return to the island. Though their romance has fizzled, Claire manages to convince Owen to help. They head to the island along with former park technician Franklin Webb (Justice Smith), and paleo-veterinarian Zia Rodriguez (Daniella Pineda), where they meet the head of the operation, Ken Wheatley (Ted Levine). Anyone who knows movies know you shouldn’t trust the person who played serial killer Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs, though Claire and Owen don’t realize what’s happening until it’s almost too late.

Colin Trevorrow, the director and co-writer of the first World, did the script for this film along with his writing partner, Derek Connolly, and he also serves as producer. The director’s chair, though, was given to J.A. Bayona, who did The Impossible and A Monster Calls – both excellent films.

Bayona keeps the action flowing effectively, though at times it feels like the balance trick of keeping five plates spinning on sticks at the same time. It they were to stop the action, the movie would come crashing down. That doesn’t leave much space for character or emotional involvement. In the first World film, you had interesting interplay between Lauren Lapkus and Jake Johnson as park monitors Vivian and Lowery. In Fallen Kingdom, Justice Smith’s character is pretty much defined by squealing in terror, a sound so high-pitched it probably frightens dogs living near the theater. There is one major twist within the plot, but the surprise is it took the filmmakers until the 5^th movie to use something that’s been potentially there from the first film. (Bayona does slip in one memorable moment of pathos as the island comes to its end.)

All that said, the film does work as an entertaining thrill ride (likely coming to Universal Florida soon!). We may have seen the balanced plate trick before, but it still captures our attention, and the same could be said for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. It helps that Pratt and Howard have decent chemistry together, and Isabella Sermon is excellent in her role.

Fallen Kingdom does position the series for a third film, though I fear the rules will apply as they did with Jurassic Park III. Quitting while you’re ahead is a foreign concept to Hollywood.

Wondering About It

I first saw Jurassic Park seated between my wife and 10-year-old son shortly after it was released in 1993. They each grabbed hold of my hand during scary scenes and held them so tightly it hurt. But along with the scares, Jurassic Park also filled the audience with wonder. It was the first movie to use extensive CGI effects created by the geniuses at ILM. (It was also the first movie to “paint” the face of an actor onto another body, for the scene where Ariana Richards is dangling from ductwork with a raptor below her; a stuntwoman did the actual hanging.) The first sequel ignored the wonder factor for a more straight-forward action flick, and the less said about the third movie the better. The good news is that Jurassic World rekindles the wonder while keeping the excitement level high.

The script throws away the previous sequels. Two decades after John Hammond’s original park failed, an entrepreneur (and 6^th richest man in the world) to whom Hammond had given the rights for his work has brought the idea to fruition. Jurassic World has been operating safely for several years under the guidance of park manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard). There are references to the original park, with a John Hammond Imagination exhibit, the original park doors now used as a ceremonial entrance for the visitor monorail from the shore, and even a cameo by Mr. DNA. On the other hand, one of the technicians in the control room is wearing a “vintage” Jurassic Park t-shirt, to which Claire says, “Don’t you think that’s in bad taste?” The movie also gives a poke at how amusement parks are a corporate business, with Verizon sponsoring a dinosaur and the main street of the park featuring a Pandora Jewelry store and a Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville restaurant.

Our introduction to Jurassic World comes through the eyes of 16-year-old Zach Mitchell (Nick Robinson) and his younger brother Gray (Ty Simpkins). They’re sent there by their parents (Judy Greer and Andy Buckley) to spend the Christmas vacation with their aunt Claire. The tightly-wound Claire is preparing for the opening of a new exhibit featuring a genetically-modified dinosaur they call Indominous Rex, and she passes off showing the kids around the park to her assistant Zara (Katie McGrath), whom the boys soon ditch. The park’s owner Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan, who played the adult Pi in Life of Pi) has concerns about the new exhibit and wants velociraptor expert Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) to consult on the containment of the new beast. Grady is having his own problems with InGen, Hammond’s old company that engineered the dinosaurs and is now owned by Masrani. The company’s head of security, Hoskins (Vincent D’Orofrio), wants to weaponized the raptors. But then they discover that InGen’s R&D department (presided over by BD Wong in another nod at the first movie) has secretly bred an alpha predator extraordinaire.

Producer Frank Marshall and Executive Producer Steven Spielberg brought in Colin Trevorrow as director and co-writer for the movie. He’d only made one previous feature film, the indy time-travel themed film Safety Not Guaranteed in 2012. Jurassic World had been in development hell for a decade – production was originally announced in 2004 – but with the addition of Trevorrow and the casting of Pratt (who was actually picked before last year’s Guardians of the Galaxy made him a hot action hero) as well as Howard, the production got moving. Trevorrow manages an impressive balancing act to blend the CGI action with well-defined characters. He also builds the action at a good pace until the satisfying final confrontation that’s on par with the original movie’s finale.

Pratt shows that Guardians wasn’t a fluke. He is one of the very few actors today that would make me interested in seeing a reboot of Indiana Jones. Another wise casting choice was Howard. Her performance as Claire both balances and at times mirrors Pratt’s, and they have a good chemistry together. Ty Simpkins and Nick Robinson are excellent as Zach and Gray. There’s none of the annoying nature of Hammond’s grandkids in Jurassic Park, and the writers have given them resourcefulness and smarts that they embody believably. D’Orofrio is wonderfully effective as the human villain of the piece.

The first movie was a watershed moment in film history that changed the way films have been made ever since. It has also held up so it’s just as effective today when someone sees it for the first time as it was in 1993. With Jurassic World, you have a worthy successor to the first film, one that delivers the thrills, but also captures the wonder of it all. That is a major accomplishment.

100%

Screenwriters have had a love affair with cancer over the years.  Terms of Endearment, Brian’s Song, Dying Young – all feature a character who has cancer.  Another thing those movies share: a zero percent survival rate.  Is it any wonder that people view any cancer as a death sentence, since the message of almost every movie on the subject is “you get cancer, you die.”   Dying Young made no pretense of Campbell Scott’s fate.  He was toast right from the title card.

50/50 changes that.  Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) works for public radio in Seattle.  Recurring, strong back pain sends him to a doctor who has all the compassion of a warthog.  When Adam finally wades through the techno-babble of the physician with the help of Web-MD, he learns he has a rare form of cancer on his spine and has a 50% chance of survival.

Adam’s best friend and co-worker Kyle (Seth Rogan) focuses on the positive when he hears the news, pointing out that if Adam were a table game in Vegas, his 50% survival rate would be the best odds in the house.  Adam’s family and lover react less positively.  His mother, Diane (Anjelica Huston), is already dealing with the onset of Alzheimer’s in Adam’s father.  Discovering her 27-year-old son has cancer is a shock.  (In a sly nod at the previous movies, Adam tries to ease into telling her by referencing Terms of Endearment.)  Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard), Adam’s live-in lover, greets the news with brittle resolve to care for him, though it crumbles when she’s faced with driving him to chemotherapy appointments and hearing him retch in the bathroom.

50/50 came out of the experience of Will Reiser, a comedian who was also an associate producer on shows like Da Ali G Show.   He battled cancer with the help of his best friend, Seth Rogan.  Reiser wrote the screenplay and appears in a small role.  Rogan produced the movie as well as plays a fictionalized version of himself.  As with other Rogan movies such as Knocked Up, 50/50 is one of the funniest movies of the year (and definitely the funniest movie ever about cancer).  It also has poignant moments, and a true heart that puts it miles above the disease-of-the-week genre.

After his childhood gig on 3^rd Rock from the Sun, Gordon-Levitt moved into independent films, building a reputation with Brick and The Lookout.  He broke into romantic comedy territory (and broke out in song) in (500) Days of Summer.  Now, thanks to Inception and the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises, he’s even doing blockbusters.  In 50/50 he carries the movie with his restrained and honest performance.  When he lets the rage he’s feeling finally come out, it is all the more impacting and realistic.

While Gordon-Levitt is restrained, Rogan is outrageous, refusing to let his friend hide behind the disease and keeping him engaged in life.  He’s crude and coarse, and he’s the kind of fierce friend you’d want to have if you were facing a devastating disease.  Howard’s Rachael is at the opposite end of the friend spectrum.  She’s a self-centered artist who caves when Adam needs support.  With The Help earlier this summer and now 50/50, she is in danger of frightening young children and making dogs growl just by walking into a room, but Howard plays the character as it needs to be played.  Anjelica Huston is pitch-perfect as Adam’s kind of scary but deeply loving mother.

Three other roles shine.  During chemo, Adam is befriended by Alan and Mitch (veteran character actors Philip Baker Hall and Matt Frewer).  They bond while sharing “happy” macaroons and the older men help Adam through the chemo.  Adam is also assigned to a trainee counselor named Katherine (Anna Kendrick) while he undergoes treatment.  Kendrick was outstanding in Up In The Air last year, but she is even better in this role.  Katherine finds herself attracted to Adam as he works out his feelings about his life and the disease he’s facing, though she maintains her professionalism, knowing that is what Adam needs.  Their scenes involving the therapeutic nature of touch are especially well done.

Director Jonathan Levine has only a few previous credits, but he shows an assured hand in sculpting this movie, keeping the comedy in perfect balance with scenes of deep emotion.  Every note rings true throughout the movie.

If you are hesitating about seeing another film dealing with cancer, slice that hesitation out of your body and go see this movie.

A Serving of Courage, with a Side of Honor

The Help was written by Kathryn Stockett, inspired by her experiences being raised by a black maid while growing up in Jackson, Mississippi.  She set her story in the early 1960’s, at the flashpoint for the struggle for equality.  As has happened before with eventual bestsellers, the book was rejected 60 times before it was published.  (Margaret Mitchell endured over 100 rejections of Gone with the Wind.)  Once it was out, reviewers and the reading public embraced the story.

The movie version of The Help faced two hurdles.  First, it was a publishing phenomenon that spent over a year on the bestseller lists.  That pretty much guaranteed it would be made into a movie, though the end result of such films is always questionable.  For every Godfather, there’s a DaVinci Code, where plot holes that were acceptably small on the printed page become gaping chasms on a 40-foot high screen (and even Tom Hanks couldn’t act beneath that truly horrendous hairstyle).  The nadir of bestsellers-to-the-screen has to be Jonathan Livingston Seagull.  It made fewer dollars in the theater than the number of copies of the book that were sold.  Adapting a bestseller isn’t easy – not every movie can be Gone With The Wind.  

And that’s the second hurdle.  Hollywood’s history of major movies dealing with race relations is at best pathetic.  In GWTW Hattie McDaniel managed to project her inner pride so it shone through her performance, but the role would have been another flat stereotype without her ability.  (Look at the rest of the black characters in the movie.)  White and black audiences do respond differently to movies.  White audiences applauded Driving Miss Daisy all the way to an Oscar win, while black audiences cringed at the servile relationship.  Even at the end, they were a long way from equals.  Then you have Mississippi Burning, telling a race relations story from the viewpoint of two white FBI agents.  It had the same relationship to the civil rights struggle that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead had to Hamlet.

In The Help, Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone) returns to Jackson after graduating from Ole Miss.  She’s an aspiring writer and soon gets a job at the city’s newspaper writing a domestic advice column.  Skeeter is as domesticated as a wild stallion.  She seeks help from Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis), the maid of Skeeter’s friend Elizabeth Leefolt (Ahna O’Reilly).  But Skeeter also has a secret project in mind – a book telling the experiences of the city’s maids.  As Skeeter asks Aibileen, “How does it feel to be raising a white child while your own child is at home being cared for by others?”  Aibileen resists Skeeter’s overtures since she knows she could face beatings or even death for breaking the silence the maids labor under.  Then during a church service the pastor’s words convince her to bravely take a stand.  She’s joined in the project by Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer), a maid who worked for years for Missus Walters (Sissy Spacek) but whose employment has been co-opted by Walters’ socialite daughter, Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard).  After a run-in with Hilly over access to a toilet, Minny ends up working on the sly for Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain), a woman who’s considered white trash by Jackson society even though she’s married into one of the town’s prominent families.

I’m happy to report The Help cleared both hurdles with room to spare.  It has garnered support within the black community from such luminaries as civil rights pioneer Andrew Young and Tyler Perry.  Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of Medgar Evers (who was shot down in Jackson during the period where The Help is set) has said the movie captured the times.  It helps that the director, Tate Taylor, was brought up in Jackson and knew the subject intimately.  He’d been a friend of Kathryn Stockett ever since kindergarten.  The recreation of Jackson (filmed in Greenwood, Mississippi) is meticulous.  While it isn’t overtly shown, Taylor suffuses the film’s atmosphere with the potential for violence like a constantly simmering teapot, ready to boil over.  (In a pivotal scene where other maids volunteer to help Skeeter, Taylor cast his own childhood maid as the first woman to speak.)

With this movie, Oscar season has officially started.  Viola Davis is an exceptional actress.  Three years ago she stole the movie Doubt from Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams.  Here she takes center stage and delivers a seemless performance.  I was particularly touched by a scene where she explains why she’ll help Skeeter.  Davis speaks the lines with both pride and heartbreaking love, while a single teardrop escapes her eye.  Octavia Spencer was also an acquaintance of Stockett’s, and the author used her as a template for the brusque, blunt Minny.  Now she gets to inhabit the role, and does it beautifully.

When I reviewed Crazy, Stupid Love, I said that The Help would cement Emma Stone’s reputation as a quality actress.  In light of her performance, that is faint praise.  She is clearly one of the best actresses of her generation, be it in comedy or drama.  She dives into the raw emotion Skeeter at times displays, especially in regard to her own childhood maid Constantine (the excellent Cicely Tyson).  As Skeeter’s mother, Allison Janey provides a strong counterpoint for Stone to play against as a woman whose physical weaknesses are nothing compared to her spiritual ones, but who finally finds a moment of redemption.

I could go on about each one of the actors in this movie, for there is not a single weak performance, but that would be an extremely long review.  Still, I must mention Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly, the heavy of the movie.  That she hides behind a brilliant smile and perfect manners only makes her vindictiveness and hatred all the more devastating.  It is a breakthrough role for Howard and she does her papa Ron proud.

There is a moment near the end of the film that would have been the perfect Hollywood ending.  Instead, Taylor goes on and films the book’s final pages, an emotionally ripping scene that shows the gap still existing between the races.  It was the right way to end this movie, and is ultimately more satisfying.  I recommend that you see this movie because, once you do, you’ll be recommending it to all of your friends.