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

MARSHALL

Chadwick Boseman     Dan Stevens     Josh Gad     Sterling K. Brown     James Cromwell     Kate Hudson

     It’s usually inspiring to hear about how someone has achieved greatness, especially when the odds are stacked against the person.  This dramatized account of Thurgood Marshall’s journey toward sitting on the U.S. Supreme Court is just such a story.  Starring Chadwick Boseman as Marshall, it starts when he is a lawyer for the NAACP sent to Bridgeport, Connecticut, to defend a black man accused of raping a wealthy white woman.  Right off the bat, the judge (Cromwell) rules against his serving openly as the defense because, he is licensed in Maryland but not in Connecticut.  His colleague Sam Friedman (Gad) has obtained some kind of allowance for him, but the judge refuses to honor it, saying he can sit in on the trial, but he is not to speak.  This means that Friedman—reluctant to participate at all because criminal law is outside his practice—must take the lead, with coaching from Marshall.

    The film is something of a thriller in its focus on a trial with conflicting accounts, misleading information, the back and forth questioning and arguments of prosecution and defense, the protests in the community that condemn the prisoner Spell (Brown) from the outset and threaten Marshall, a black, and Friedman, a Jew.  The most dramatic scenes are between Marshall and Spell and later on the testimony and questioning of the victim (Hudson). 

     This case, based on the real one, The State of Connecticut v. Joseph Spell, illustrated that prejudice and discrimination against blacks in the north was very similar to that in the South, and Marshall realized that the NAACP needed to shift its focus to civil rights in the north:  “We will have to spend more money on regular defense cases because these [cases for] teachers’ salaries…and university cases [which constituted their case loads at the time] will not continue to keep our name going”, he told his NAACP adviser (Daniel J. Sharfstein, 2005, “Saving the Race”, legal affairs).

     Boseman is very at-home with the character he plays, who can be cheeky, quick with the comeback, quietly reasoning, witty, or seething with anger.  He and Gad are very much in sync, despite their characters’ very different personalities.  Sterling K. Brown doesn’t see much action until he is actually on the stand, when he gives a fine performance.  Dan Stevens, James Cromwell, and Kate Hudson make a fine supporting cast.

     Director Reginald Hudlin’s work has been primarily as director and producer in television, but he does a good job with this film in adhering fairly closely to the original story and maintaining good pace and focus.  Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel is skillful in transitioning between indoor and outdoor scenes and sustaining a sense of mystery with lighting and close-ups of faces during testimony. 

A significant case for NAACP Attorney Thurgood Marshall in his ascent to the U. S. Supreme Court.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE PROMISE

Oscar Isaac     Christian Bale     Charlotte Le Bon   Tom Hollander   James Cromwell

    The Armenian apothecary Mikael Pogosian (Isaac) has aspirations to become a doctor. With his parents’ encouragement, he is betrothed to a young woman in their village.  Her dowry will pay for him to get his medical degree in Constantinople, which he calculates will be two years, after which, he will return and marry his sweetheart.  Hence, the title, The Promise; little does he know what (individual, country, international events) will threaten that pronouncement.

     He’s doing well in his studies and makes friends with a fellow medical student who introduces him to a couple of his friends and they begin sampling the nightlife.  Chris Myers (Bale) is an American reporter writing stories about the war, and his girlfriend, Ana (Le Bon) is a tutor for the children of Mikael’s uncle.  She is Armenian like Mikael, and that serves as a bond between them.  Against their will—certainly Mikael’s, but also because Ana is unsure of Chris—the two develop an attraction for one another, and the love triangle will be interspersed into the story, which is mostly about the persecution of the Armenians.

     This juxtaposition of the triangle and the sieges against the Armenians has been criticized by critics of The Promise; but I liked having a human interest story for relief from the extremely brutal, merciless attacks that constitute most of the plot.  The interactions among the three are deftly presented, and don’t follow the usual outcome of such relationships—something else I appreciated.  Although, granted, the passion shown between characters at times is unbelievable under the circumstances.

     When the Ottoman Empire joins the Central Powers against the Allies in WWI, they simultaneously step up their attacks on the Armenians.  Religious hatred, animosities, and purges had been occurring for centuries in the region, and the Ottoman leadership is now deciding to systematically get rid of all Armenians.  (One and a half million of them were massacred during this period of time.)  Through a chain of events, Mikael’s medical student friend is conscripted into the military and Mikael is put in a slave labor force building a railroad.  After a chance accident, he escapes and heads home to his parents, realizing that they are now in danger. 

     Much horror transpires, and Mikael, his family, and his friends are drawn together in a bloody conflict against the Ottomans.  Toward the end of the film, Ana responds to Mikael’s urge for revenge with “Our revenge will be to survive.” 

     This is the Armenian story, which is well worth the retelling, although it is a brutal, bloody tale.  Director Terry George and writer with Robin Swicord, bring forth an account of the fate of the Turkish/Kurdish Armenians in history that officials in Turkey are still loath to admit occurred.  The cast of Isaac, Bale, Le Bon, and Cromwell are superb in their renditions and in their sensitivity to portray victims of state government discrimination.  The music of Gabriel Yared and cinematography of Javier Aguirresarobe greatly support and enhance the qualities of this film.

Ordinary lives caught up in the drama of history.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland