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    Movie Review

    Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom chews up and spits out more dino chaos

    Alex Bentley
    Jun 21, 2018 | 4:12 pm
    Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom chews up and spits out more dino chaos
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    Judging by the massive box office totals for 2015’s Jurassic World, most moviegoers were either blind to film’s many faults or only cared about having another chance to see dinosaurs run amok. There’s likely nothing I can say to dissuade anyone from seeing the regrettable sequel, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but I’ll give it a shot.

    Picking up a few years after the cataclysmic events of the first film, the world is at odds over what to do about the remaining dinosaurs on Isla Nublar as the island’s volcano is about to explode. Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), now a dinosaur activist, is recruited to visit the island and help save as many as she can.

    Naturally, she needs the help of trainer/romantic foil Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), especially when it comes to tracking down Blue the velociraptor, which Owen trained. But it wouldn’t be a Jurassic movie without someone being greedy. A trip that was supposed to be about saving the dinosaurs turns into a cash grab that takes the group back to the U.S. home of Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), the heretofore unknown partner of John Hammond.

    The main problem with the Jurassic sequels, starting with The Lost World, is that none of them contains the wonder of the original Jurassic Park and each film has almost the exact same plot. One side is trying to protect the dinosaurs, the other is trying to exploit them, and the dinosaurs always wind up creating much mayhem.

    There’s nothing intriguing about the plots, and nuance is thrown out the window virtually from minute one. The first half of Fallen Kingdom, which finds our heroes trying to escape an actively exploding volcano, is patently ridiculous. Even for a science fiction movie where suspense of disbelief is required, director J.A. Bayona and writers Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow throw in situations so out there that an eye roll is the only appropriate response.

    The second half is slightly better, as the filmmakers try to make things fun on occasion. But they still hamper the film with too much seriousness and about five times too many dino ex machinas, in which certain favorable dinosaurs come out of the blue to save the day. That device was a great ending to Jurassic Park; it has been overused ever since and now stands as a testament to lazy writing.

    Pratt and Howard are agreeable enough leads, but they don’t offer enough to distract from the inane plot. Villain turns by Rafe Spall, Toby Jones, and Ted Levine are all way too over the top. Relative newcomers Danielle Pineda and Justice Smith are set up to be part of the team going forward, but there’s little that’s compelling about either one of their characters.

    Given the sequel culture we now live in, there are sure to be many other Jurassic World movies to come; in fact, No. 3 is already slated to come out in 2021. But unless they magically come up with films with interesting plots instead of re-creating the same dino chaos, the series is best left ignored.

    T-Rex and Chris Pratt in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

    Chris Pratt in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
      
    Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, Inc. and Legendary Pictures Productions, LLC
    T-Rex and Chris Pratt in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
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    Movie Review

    Stephen King film adaptation The Life of Chuck aims for the heart

    Alex Bentley
    Jun 13, 2025 | 1:20 pm
    Tom Hiddleston in The Life of Chuck
    Photo courtesy of NEON
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    Just like actors, once a filmmaker becomes known for a certain genre, it can be difficult to escape that pigeonholing. Writer/director Mike Flanagan has worked for 20 years in both film and television, and literally every project he’s done has been related to horror. He’s finally breaking out with The Life of Chuck, which is ironically based on a short story of the same name by Stephen King.

    Told in three chapters in reverse order, the film is almost impossible to describe without giving away its magic. The first section centers on Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a teacher grappling, like everyone around him, with what seems to be the world falling apart. He’s comforted to a degree by reuniting with his ex-wife, Felicia (Karen Gillan), but is also baffled by multiple ads touting the retirement of Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) after “39 great years.”

    The second section consists of little more than a slightly younger Chuck happening upon Taylor (The Pocket Queen), a drummer busking on a street corner, giving Chuck and a younger woman, Janice (Annalise Basso), the inspiration to start dancing. The final section goes back to the childhood of Chuck (Benjamin Pajak), where he’s raised by his grandparents (Mark Hamill and Mia Sara), discovers dance as an outlet, and wonders about various small mysteries.

    Flanagan finds a way to deliver a lot of story with relatively little effort. Using a wry narrator (Nick Offerman), a limited number of locations, and a series of great small performances, he creates an intriguing premise with few straightforward answers. The structure of the film is designed to confuse the viewer until just the right moment, and the revelation forces you to reexamine everything that came before.

    The biggest accomplishment by Flanagan is making what are essentially three short films and having each of them resonate equally. The film contains elements of science fiction, although the first section may hit a bit too close to home for some of those watching. All three sections, though, have a heartwarming bent to them that sells their central idea without becoming overly saccharine.

    To do so, each of the characters have to connect in a short amount of time. The casting of the film is crucial, and not only does that department succeed with the main roles, but a series of small roles are filled expertly as well. Carl Lumbly as a funeral home owner, David Dastmalchian and Harvey Guillen as parents of students, Matthew Lillard as Marty’s neighbor, Q’orianka Kilcher as Chuck’s wife, and Jacob Tremblay as a teenage Chuck are just a few of the recognizable actors that do yeoman’s work in their brief time on screen.

    Hiddleston is only prominently featured in the second chapter, but his performance there and in small glimpses throughout makes a big impression. Ejiofor is given the star turn in the first chapter and he absolutely kills, both in moments by himself and in scenes with Gillan, with whom he has great chemistry. Hamill, making a rare non-voiceover appearance outside of the Star Wars universe, and Sara, in her first notable role in 11 years, are also very memorable in the final chapter.

    The Life of Chuck is a film that’s filled with emotion, but the full impact of the story is not felt until the final moments. It has a mysterious journey that is initially frustrating, but the performances keep the film going until it gets to its satisfying payoff.

    ---

    The Life of Chuck is now playing in theaters.

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