Day 175: The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

So, you have survived being on an island that was full of Dinosaurs like the T-Rex that could kill you. What is the one thing that you definitely do not want to see or hear about again? Well, I can guarantee that it’s not about another island full of Dinosaurs which is exactly the problem in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Mr. Hammond (Richard Attenborough) is sick and is about to lose his company to his snot nosed nephew Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard).  So, he contacts Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) in hopes that he can go to an island that also contained Dinosaurs called The Lost World before his nephew does.  Unfortunately, they both arrive at the same time with the nephew coming with some big game hunters, but it ends up turning into a rescue mission. The film also stars Julianne Moore (Boogie Nights) as Sarah, Vince Vaughn (Old School) as Nick, Pete Postlethwaite (The Town) as Roland Tembo, Peter Stormare (22 Jump Street) as Dieter, Richard Schiff (Man Of Steel) as Eddie, Thomas F. Duffy (Independence Day) as Dr. Robert Burke, Thomas Rosales Jr. (No Country For Old Men) as Carter, Camilla Belle (10,000 BC) as Cathy Bowman, and the film was one again directed by Stephen Spielberg. 

It is always tough to repeat the success or the magic of a first film when you are planning to do a sequel. There is the mentality that sequels are never better than the first films and I would say that is true with this one. While I actually really liked the film, I didn’t think that it was better than Jurassic Park. The film had it’s cool moments with the Velociraptors in the compound, but the sequence in Jurassic Park with them is better and scarier. The only thing I will give this film credit for is that they made the T-Rex’s a little more bad ass and they actually eat humans in this one. I just thought that this film was a little more cartoonish at times if that makes sense at all to anyone whereas the first film was very serious. Jeff Goldblum was well Jeff Goldblum so what more could you ask for from that. I have to say that I didn’t know that Vince Vaughn was in this film and I was very impressed with his performance because he just nailed it perfectly. The late Pete Postlethwaite was just absolutely amazing as the big game hunter excited about his new game that he is hunting who kind of has a change of heart as the film goes on or at least he reassess what he wants to do. This was a decent sequel for a great franchise and all I have to do is watch one more film and I am caught up. For a final grade, I am going to give this one an A-. Check it out on Netflix right now as we speak.

Day 173: Jurassic Park (1993)

Haven’t you ever wondered what Dinosaurs were really like millions of years ago? For quite some time, we haven’t really known anything substantial about them, we can only really speculate as to how they were by studying their bones. What if you were given the chance to see how they act in certain environments or how they feed daily? Wouldn’t you love the chance and ability to see that for yourself? In the film Jurassic Park, Mr. Hammond (Richard Attenborough) builds a Jurassic theme park on a deserted island off the coast of Chile that he plans to open to the public that contains dinosaurs. The only problem is that he needs to convince a lawyer and some paleontologists that the park is indeed safe for the public. While on a preview tour of the island, something goes terribly wrong and some of the carnivorous dinosaurs are set free to roam and hunt on the island. The film stars Sam Neill (Event Horizon) as Grant, Laura Dern (Wild) as Ellie, Jeff Goldblum (Independence Day) as Malcolm, Bob Peck (The Kitchen Toto) as Muldoon, Martin Ferrero (Heat) as Gennaro, BD Wong (Jurassic World) as Wu, Joseph Mazzello (The Social Network) as Tim, Ariana Richards (Tremors) as Lex, Samuel L. Jackson (Avengers: Age Of Ultron) as Arnold, Wayne Knight (Seinfeld) as Nedry, and the film was directed by Stephen Spielberg (E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial). 

I have to be honest in saying that I have no idea why it took me 23 years to see Jurassic Park. Well, I am lying with that statement because to be honest when I was 11, Dinosaurs didn’t really interest me enough like they do know. The film is another brilliant look in why man should never play God for anything! I don’t care what it is or what idea we come up with, but we should never play God. If the movies have taught us anything is that it usually ends in disaster. Which is evident with the film I watched today which is simply brilliant. I only have one question for all of you out there and that is am I evil for wanting Lex to get eaten by the T-Rex in one my favorite scenes of the whole entire film? She does everything you are not supposed to do when a T-Rex is approaching your vehicle and that is do not make noise and do not flash a light in it’s face. The film has everything from a Dilophosaurus to a Velociraptor and those sequences alone with those creatures are worth seeing. The action sequences are amazing, the dinosaurs themselves are amazing, but the CGI is totally obvious in the beginning part of when they first arrive at Jurassic Park when Grant sees the Brachiosaurus. The cinematography is amazing with all the shots of the island and the dinosaurs that inhabit it, but other than the CGI thing, the film was absolutely amazing and enjoyable. I cannot wait to see the rest of the series in the coming future. I am going to give Jurassic Park and A for a final grade.