Jurassic World (2015)

Toilet Review: Is it as good as the first one? No. Would I still watch this one? Sure!

From the get go in this movie there is something nostalgic about it. Whether its the setting, or the characters or even the slow plinky plonk of the now infamous John WIlliam’s tune on piano, there is something comforting about this movie. It’s like discovering a band you once listened to but forgot they existed.

This time around, John Hammond’s dream has become a reality and the park draws thousands of visitors every year. We follow two of them in the shape of brothers Gray and Zach. Gray is the overexcited younger one who is just delighted to be there, and Zach is the older, more jaded teenager who’s main role on the island seems to be to keep an eye on his dorky younger brother. They are to meet their aunt Claire who seems to second in command who is just too busy to meet them. She is under pressure from investors to come up with more interesting attractions, and in desperation turns to her scientists to provide genetically enhanced dinosaurs, which they duly deliver.

You might be wondering where the golden boy Chris Pratt fits into this, and to be honest. I was too. He doesn’t show up until maybe a good half hour in. He seems to have some sort of talent with training animals that he picked up from the Navy, which isn’t really ever explained, as is relationship with Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard).

But enough of the plot, down to what I liked.

One of my favourite parts of this movie is the relationship between Gray and Zach. It doesn’t feel forced or contrived. The scenes seem to evolve naturally, and we can see how Zach changes from the bored older brother to the concerned older brother who is willing to protect his kid brother through anything. I just thought the whole scene after they dragged themselves out of the lake was fantastic when Zach pulled Gray to him.

In terms of our main leads, they honestly could have been swapped with other actors and I wouldn’t have known. I love Chris Pratt and he was fabulous in Guardians of the Galaxy but in this, there doesn’t seem to be any personality to his character at all, and I can say the same of Bryce Dallas Howard.

The movie certainly didn’t do anything that I wasn’t expecting. It was something that I enjoyed watching, the characters were enjoyable but beyond that? I’m not sure. Given the absolutely staggering opening weekend it had, I’m sure we will definitely see more of Chris Pratt in his role as Owen.

Three Colours: Blue (1993)

Toilet Review: A pretty little movie about loss and about how we move forward beyond it.

This is one of those movies that I have wanted to see for an absolute age. It is held in such high regard by so many, especially those that are a fan of French cinema or the ever awesome director, Krzysztof Kieślowski, perhaps one of the best directors the world has seen, and someone deserving of far more praise than he gets.

The movie focuses on Juilette Binoche’s character, Julie, in the aftermath of a car accident that claims the lives of her husband and her young daughter. We see how she manages from day to day and attempts to move on with her live, in whatever small way she can. Be it moving home or trying to complete her husbands work, or more, we see her anguish and hatred of the world from the perspective of a woman who has lost everything.

Each of the actors in this does a fine job but it is Binoche who steals the show. Her grief can be felt so acutely that I was having trouble remembering this was a movie. It is a simple story with so much to offer. It is shot beautifully and the colour palette, softened hues of blue and grey, offer so much to the tone of the story.

I could wax on and on about how much I loved this movie, but I’m not going to. Just see it. Do it, and thank me later.

The Master (2012)

Toilet Review: Definitely not about Scientology. No sir-ee. Definitely not.

After Phillip Seymour Hoffman died in February this year, all the blogs I follow, all the news articles I read about him, praised him as an actor and cited “The Master” as one of his greatest movies. So, two years after the movie came out and five months after he passed away, I decided to watch “The Master” to see what all the fuss was about.

Primarily for that reason, and all because one of my favourite actors is in this, Joaquin Phoenix. He portrays Freddie Quell, an alcoholic veteran, recently returned from World War Two. Freddie is angry and aimless, and seems to have no direction in life beyond drinking himself silly. His direction-less anger seems to waiting for something. Something that even he doesn’t know what he is waiting for. One drunken night, he stumbles across Lancaster Dodd, an enigmatic and charismatic leader of a new philosophical movement called “The Cause”. He “helps” Freddie through exercises called Processing. To say any-more would spoil the plot, but suffice to say, things to do not run smoothly from here on out.

Seymour Hoffman does a great job portraying Lancaster Dodd. He is menacing and righteous and I would have a hard time picturing anyone else in this role. However, I’m not sure I would heap the accolades that have been heaped on this movie. Sure, it’s fine, and it’s interesting, for the most part. But a lot of the movie is slow, really slow, and it was saved more than once by the awesome Joaquin Phoenix.

Check it out if you want to see how people can become involved with questionable movements, and how they can get out.