JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM

Chris Pratt     Bryce Dallas Howard    Justice Smith    Daniella Pineda    Isabella Sermon

James Cromwell     Geraldine Chaplain     Toby Jones     Rafe Spall     Ted Levine     Jeff Goldblum

     There is a lot going on in this movie, so pay attention. It’s a bit of a hodgepodge involving the threat of a volcano destroying the dinosaurs left on Isla Nublar (from the last Jurassic World); the reunification of Owen (Pratt) and Claire (Howard) and a bit of romantic tension; family issues among Benjamin Lockwood (Cromwell), his granddaughter Maisie (Sermon); her guardian Eli (Spall), and her nurse Iris (Chaplain); the trafficking of animals for use in genetic research and warfare; and, finally, the question of how important it is to save endangered species.

     Got all that?  OK, then hop on board for the set-up.   After the park closed in the last film, and the dinosaurs were left on their own, concern arises when a previously extinct volcano begins to erupt, threatening to destroy the dinosaurs’ world.  Lockwood is at the end of his life and wants to do something meaningful, so he has devised a sanctuary on his estate that is big enough for the animals.  He enlists the help of Claire and Owen in transporting the animals off the island to his sanctuary. 

     There is just one problem—a big problem.  His overseer Eli has let his “business opportunity” self and obsessiveness about wealth get hold of him, and has developed other plans—namely, breeding dinosaurs for specific purposes and selling them as exotic animals in the international market.

     All of this engages the audience emotionally (and audibly during the screening I attended), as they experience fears of animals and humans, outrage, compassion, excitement, and all the sentiments evoked in emergency situations.  It’s quite a contrast between these events and the dry exhortations of the congressman Ian Malcolm (Goldblum) urging Americans to accept things as they occur without trying to intervene.

     J. A. Bayona (The Impossible, A Monster Calls) has realized on film the Michael Crichton novel in a manner that is engaging, tense, and to some extent thought provoking.  After throwing out so many pointed issues, however, the ultimate resolution is left open, from the fate of the dinosaurs, to the future of the main characters, to the fate of the world as we know it.  Perhaps this is a good thing, in that it reflects succinctly our own times of upheaval.  But the last 20 minutes/half hour is a little bit too much overkill (pun intended); it should have been condensed.

Jurassic World:  Fallen Kingdom will immediately draw you in and keep you on the edge of your seat

Grade:  B                                                By Donna R. Copeland

A MONSTER CALLS

Lewis MacDougall     Sigourney Weaver     Felicity Jones     Toby Kebbell     Geraldine Chaplin     Liam Neeson

          Recurring nightmares can be transformed into a fable to guide a 13 year-old boy in coping with his mother’s terminal illness.   A Monster Calls—originally a novel by Patrick Ness and realized in a movie with the same title by Director J. A. Bayona—uses Conor’s (MacDougall) nightmares to help him accept the anger inside him and face the reality of his mother’s condition.  In the wonderfully artistic, animated film (Cinematographer Oscar Faura, Production Designer Eugenio Caballero and the special effects crew), the Monster (voice of Neeson) is a yew tree near Conor’s house which comes alive as a huge gnarly monster.  The yew tree is considered to have healing powers, but we also find out later that this particular tree is meaningful to Conor’s mother.  Conor is very close to his mother (his father is far away in another country), and they have a special connection in their artwork.

          The Monster is not a gentle tree, it comes crashing through Conor’s house breaking up everything in its wake with fiery eyes at exactly 12:07 am.  It will appear three times to tell him a story, and at the fourth time, Conor must tell his story.  Conor resists it with everything he can muster, which is not what he does with the bully at school.  That’s because he is not ready to acknowledge the anger inside.  But after his mother tells him after the Monster’s first visit that the yew tree has healing powers, he asks the Monster for help in making his mother better.

        Each of the Monster’s stories produces a strong reaction in Conor that results in destruction, anguish, and agonizing over their meaning.  The Monster’s answers to Conor’s insistent questions (“Who’s the good guy here!?”) involve paradoxes meant to help Conor evolve from his black and white view of people and the world to one that contains the complexities of life and human nature, e.g., “You meant it and you did not mean it.  Both are true.”

        An important component of the story is that after Conor’s acting out his anger in various ways, he is not punished.  Instead, when he asks in wonder why, he is told, “What could possibly be the point?”  Adults like his grandmother (Weaver), whom he detests, his father (Kebbell) and the head teacher (Chaplin) take it for granted that he is angry and needs to express it.  Kudos to these wise, insightful authority figures.

        A Monster Calls is in the genre of tales like “Hansel and Gretel”, where horrific fantasies are intended to teach principles that help children grow up.  It explicitly and forcefully shows the debilitating effects of cancer and its effect on the patient’s child/children, but it also offers an effective means for children to use to get through the experience.  Art has been shown time after time to be effective in helping children express their thoughts and feelings about illness, death, and loss.  This film beautifully presents a graphic representation of how/why that is helpful.

A raw, realistic look at terminal illness from a bullied child’s point of view, redeemed by a graphic illustration of what can help.

Grade:  A                    Donna R. Copeland