My review of “Jurassic World” (2015), with Bryce Dallas HowAreYaDarling

“Jurassic World” (2015) was raptortastic and T-Rexific.  It was also fun in another way, but I can’t think of a pun for “Indominus Rex.”  I’d give it an 8 out of 10.

Seriously — this was a fun monster movie.  (I, for one, maintain that these are horror-sci-fi movies at heart, and not the family adventure films that others seem to take them for.  Even the theme music for this entire franchise seems to insist that a zippity good time was had by all, after dinosaurs devour adults and traumatize lost children.)

The kid in me thrilled to this movie’s great special effects and abundance of monsters.  Those raptors are the coolest movie monsters since Aliens and Predators.

The action sequences were good.  Did anyone else think the initial attack/ambush was an homage to the initial attack/ambush in “Aliens” (1986)?  They have the heart rate monitors and helmet-cams and everything.  I kept waiting for Corporal Hicks to yell, “DRAKE, WE ARE LEAVING!!!”

The aerial attack by the winged dinosaurs was outstanding.  (I don’t know the difference between pterodactyls and pteranodons.  Besides, one of them looked like it had a T-Rex head, and I’m not sure that was even was a thing.)  The plight of one plucked victim was pretty damn creative and horrifying — I think that entire sequence was an example of some pretty inspired horror filmmaking.

And all of those things are good, because I honestly don’t think this film has much going for it without them.  This really is … pretty much the same story as “Jurassic Park” (1993).

Smart people do stupid things.  I got a “C” in biology freshman year, but even a guy like me immediately doubts the wisdom of the Raptor Recruiting Plan.  I also have no military experience, but I know what “cover” is, and I know what a “kill zone” is, and I wouldn’t rush from the former to stand stationary in the latter.

Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas HowAboutADrinkLater are both very good actors; this movie’s script has them rattling off humorous lines that are typical of a mediocre sitcom.  The character concept for Pratt’s hunky-extreme-sportsman-naturalist raptor-whisperer is kind of silly.  Bryce Dallas HowDoYouJustKeepGettingPrettier plays another stock character — the uptight corporate princess who needs to be taken down a notch.  Their banter is like the dialogue of a lackluster episode of “Friends,” and it insults the viewers’ intelligence.

The movie’s two most interesting characters are the two young brothers.  Their dialogue was actually touching — this movie would be far better it had focused almost entirely on them.  (And, yes, that is young Ty Simpkins from “Insidious.”)

I keep seeing articles on the Internet alleging that the technology depicted by these movies will soon be possible, but I pretty much don’t believe anything I read on the net anymore.  Because I totally bought into that Mars One fiasco, and now I feel like an idjit.

vuljydbeefmco0ezptwh

Jurassic-World-Bryce-Howard-IG

“There can be no originality without loss, without tragedy.”

“The suffering of the hour translates to the art of tomorrow.”

—  Dennis Villelmi

“A word of sorts on my craft,” by Dennis Villelmi

11053473_10204511136879262_8670554188344622460_n

1 AM distant storms.

Anyone ever see lightning outside and think of the Dean Koontz novel of the same name?

Damn, that was a fun book.

Lightning_cover

Phil?

11391187_10153007040147499_1642111829815646086_n images

And some see Phil Spector.  Even if they don’t want to.

** FILE ** Music producer Phil Spector is shown in Superior Court Monday, in this May 23, 2005 file photo, in Los Angeles. Jury selection will begin in March, 2007 in the murder trial of Spector, who's charged with killing actress Lana Clarkson in his suburban mansion, a judge said Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2007. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
** FILE ** Music producer Phil Spector is shown in Superior Court Monday, in this May 23, 2005 file photo, in Los Angeles. Jury selection will begin in March, 2007 in the murder trial of Spector, who’s charged with killing actress Lana Clarkson in his suburban mansion, a judge said Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2007. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

“To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day …”

Thank you, Jaine Sirieys, for sharing this!  🙂  (Nobody crack that “Why so Sirieys?” joke, because I sprang that one on her already, and she’s heard it before anyway.)

She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
— To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.

from William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”

Elisabet_Ney_-_Lady_Macbeth_-_Detail

Photo: “Elisabeth Ney – Lady Macbeth – Detail,” by Ingrid Fisch at the German language Wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

So … it’s “Found Friend Friday,” then.

I’m smiling tonight because I just reconnected with one of my coolest friends in New York — artist Margaret Eigner.  I’ve seen Margaret in action; it’s amazing what she is able to sketch at the drop of a hat.  She’s also an extremely intelligent person, with a seemingly instinctive understanding of Constitutional issues.  If you aspire to be a civil libertarian, then you can learn a lot from a friend like her.  (I know I have.)

Below is one of her latest drawings.  (It’s untitled.)  She says she’s considering a webcomic — if she posts it, then I’ll be following it and linking to it here.

11393150_886649641373842_5814216612501669088_n

“Iphigenia at Brauron,” by Francis James Franklin

If the story of Iphigenia interests you, then so will the essays of blogger and independent author Francis James Franklin.

He has what looks like a truly inclusive knowledge of Greek mythology, as well as a visible love for it.

His observations about Iphigenia can be found here:

Iphigenia at Brauron.

Christopher Lee reads Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.”

Rest easy, Christopher Lee.

I honestly had no idea that the newly passed thespian had so strong a following among modern horror, fantasy and science fiction fans.  Many, many people are lamenting his loss today.

The poet Dennis Villelmi (who else?) posted this incredible performance by Lee of that old Gothic chestnut, Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.”

This might be the best rendition of the poem that I have ever heard.  Yes, that includes even the well loved reading by James Earl Jones and the reading by Christopher Walken (which was played straight and was quite good, despite his vocal idiosyncrasies).  Seriously, this might be my favorite.

This is a perfect example of Lee’s legendary talent.

Constructive feedback?

This was an actual comment on one of my blog posts tonight:

“Put your big girl panties on and DEAL WITH YOUR FEELINGS, man. :p”

“Houseguests,” by Stanley Anne Zane Latham

Here is another evocative piece by Stanley Anne Zane Latham —  “Houseguests.”  This poem currently appears in a publication in India, “Poets And Artists Unplugged Anthology.”  SAZL was kind enough to let me also run it here.

Houseguests

Staying up with skeletons. Reorganizing drawers.
I require napkins between the spoons, not touching.
You said the plates *here* by the dishwasher –
I said *there* by the table.

          Señor Tom Johnson was a name we called the cat.
          His business always elsewhere. He sauntered
          proverbial. Nuestra casa es su casa.

You never left your hammer out like this,
lounging idol near the jam. The confused photograph,
framed for hanging, waits on the seat cushion,
the warm nail rolls and rolls pressing creases from my fingerprints.

          We never interfered. Sam and Jessica quarreled
          into a car that sped down the rainy highway. One
          did not return. The other we helped pack the turtle,
          and load the moving van.

You’d never leave your hammer in the jam like this.
The spoons are not touching. The kettle wails. The wall
is papered in what if, if only, even though, and it
doesn’t matter, with a brush of best intentions.

          How are you? After your funeral, my mother poured
          milk from a glass pitcher into a clear glass glass.
          They mean well, my mouth mouthed
          in the maw inside my head.

One plate sleeps by the dishwasher. Not stacked.
Pitcher, hammer, spoon. Things I can grasp.
If you’re going to hang around here all night,
I whisper, at least stir some honey
into this tea.

© sazl 2013

11407203_640387662763249_3945657625972888817_n

Nurse Your Favorite Heresies in Whispers