Film Review – Jurassic Park III

I know that most people really don’t like this Jurassic Park film, but I have to admit, I quite like it. Admittedly a lot of that revolves around the fact I like Sam Neill as Dr Grant, but I also really his relationship with Ben Kirby, the kid they go to the island to rescue.

The plot in the film though I will admit is quite thin. It essentially revolves around the very noble attempts of the Kirby’s to rescue their son from Isla Sorna, however the entire operation is being conducted by a group of highly incompetent adults, that even Dr Grant’s assistant Billy jeopardises when he steals raptor eggs.

Honestly, the best thing about the film is that Dr Grant gets on extremely well with Ben, who together actually know what they are doing and manage to keep the majority of people alive. It is a great character development for Dr Grant. He is notable in the first film for not liking kids but is willing to protect them, but I think what he has realised is that he has a low tolerance for people doing stupid things. Ben isn’t stupid, and had managed to survive on Isla Sorna alone for weeks. Dr Grant has a great deal of respect for him, and a whole lot less for the ‘adults’ he’s comes with.

Considering there isn’t much plot there is a theme to the film, and echoing the second film, it revolves around protecting ones family. The Kirby’s are determined to the point of being deceptive and downright stupid to find their son, and the raptors are persistent and deadly in trying to retrieve their eggs. I never did understand why they thought Mrs. Kirby took them in the final scene, but the development from the first film of showing raptors as highly intelligent animals is great.

Certainly not the best of the Jurassic Parks films, but its still worth a watch.

Film Review- The Lost World: Jurassic Park

I really love The Lost World. I know it gets a lot of criticism but I really enjoy watching the film. I think in part that is because I really like Jeff Goldblum, but it is also because like the first film the dinosaurs just happen to be there, and it is the humans that cause all the problems. The contrasts are a lot more extreme as well.

In Jurassic Park it was about making money by recreating a wondrous ‘lost world’ from the past. In The Lost World though it is more explicitly about making money by exploiting the wonder that science was able to create. Isla Sorna is very much an ecosystem recreated by science that has been left to fend for itself. It’s less of a lost world and more of undisturbed one. An ecosystem that had grown and developed, and has produced ready to exploit creatures for InGen to use to make profit.

It is the conflict between leaving ‘The Lost World’ of the dinosaurs in peace and the desire to make money from what science has created. The harsh treatment of the animals by the InGen group and hunter, Pete Postlethwaite, is very much a reflection on some people’s desire to be the dominant species on the planet, with very little respect for our natural attributes that allowed us to develop as we have. It also reflects the complete lack of understanding that we are just one part of this world not the only part.

The truly great thing about the movie though is that yet again the dinosaurs don’t make the distinction between good and bad humans. They just act on instinct, and in this film the instincts of the T-Rexs, both mother and father, is to protect their young. Julianne Moore and Vince Vaughn were helping their baby who had been injured by other humans, because of compassion. The dinosaurs don’t necessarily know that though, and act to protect their young from threats. It results in many of the bad guys ending up getting eaten, but it also results in decent character’s losing their lives as well.

Overall I really love the film and I highly recommend it as it is great escapism.

Film Review – Jurassic Park

The first of the Jurassic Park films is just a cult classic. I must have been about ten before I saw it for the first time though as I don’t think my parents were all that sure how I would react to it and I didn’t really have that much interest in it. I was one of those kids that much preferred to read books and watch nice unfrightening films like Disney and Back to the Future.

By the time I was ten though I was regularly watching things like Star Wars and Star Trek. Somebody at school must have mentioned the film though and were shocked that I hadn’t seen it, so I must have asked if we could watch it. (This is also how I ended watching American Pie for the first time, and was the last time I took a recommendation lightly and watched something because ‘just because I had to because popular culture demanded it.)

I absolutely loved Jurassic Park from the very first I saw it, probably because it really wasn’t the film I was expecting it to be. I think I had it in my head that all that would be happening would be a bunch of people running away from dinosaurs. Now admittedly that is a significant part of the plot, but what I really fell in love with as a kid was the wonder on Sam Neill’s face the first time he saw one of the herbivores. It was the wonder of that lost world (pun intended) that made me realise what the film is all about.

It is part of the human desire to recreate the past and display for public viewing. Jurassic Park is essentially an odd combination of museum and zoo. And like a museum there is a great deal of explanation of how it was done. Most people could probably credit Jurassic Park with sparking an intense curiosity about dinosaurs; I know many people who were already in their dinosaur phase (and are still in it) when they first saw the film and loved it because of the dinosaurs.

I loved it because it made genetics and science interesting. I love science, though I never pursued it academically, and this film was one of the first times I’d seen the possibility of what science could do for the world. I mean, not re-create dinosaurs, but that science is a powerful tool that needs to be respected and contained, but allowed to explore and be creative in order to better the world we live in.

Beyond that though the dinosaurs are really cool, and I love that at no point in the film are the dinosaurs portrayed as evil or malicious. They are very much just acting on natural animal instinct; they aren’t complex characters, though they aren’t simplistic either, especially the raptors. It is only the humans that are conflicted about what they had done and the consequences of their actions, though knowing what happens in the sequels, I know that they don’t learn from the mistakes made.

Jurassic Park is a cult classic and a must see. I also highly recommend Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton as well. The book is fantastic, though they are differences between the film and the book, it was thrilling to read from start to finish.

Film Review: Back to the Future – Part 3

On October 21^st 2015 when I went to the cinema to see the trilogy some people who had come, left after Part 2 had finished, and for the life of me I have no idea why. I will admit it isn’t the greatest of the trilogy, but in the grand scheme of film making, it is a great film, and seeing it in the cinema, the arena in which it was made to be seen, made me appreciate it a lot more.

I love seeing Hill Valley of 1885; it’s the saw of development of a place that the historian within me really loves. I especially love how the Town Hall is at the centre of everything that happens in Hill Valley, and seeing the iconic clock arrive is one of my favourite threads that tie the entire series together. That clock in particular is at the heart of the first film, and seeing it brand new, seeing it destroyed and then seeing the effort to preserve it is the perfect symbolism at the centre of a time travel story.

The story in the third part less about time travel and more about the characters of Doc and Marty; one who is discovering a part of life away from science (love) and the other who is maturing into an adult who won’t let himself be goaded into doing stupid things. It is also about their friendship and how far they are willing to go for each other.

The Doc has always gone the extra mile for Marty, and now in the third film, Marty is returning the favour to try and save his friend. And he does; he might not be able to get him Back to the Future, but he saves his life, which means the Doc can go on and have a loving marriage with Clara. It is a brilliant end to their story and their friend. Through the power of time travel their friendship goes from strength to strength, and they both develop into better people of having done so.

The only heart wrenching thing is the destruction of the DeLorean at the end of the film, and then the hope of more when the time travelling train arrives. I wouldn’t want another film though and I’m very happy that Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis are very firmly stating they will never make one. I am very much of the generation used to sequels and remakes, and while I like some of them and love others, there are plenty of times I very much just think that money rather than creativity is driving Hollywood. A sequel would ruin Back the Future, and I think my heart would actually break if that happened.

So while Part 3 might not have all the cool effects of Part 2, or the more complex storylines of Part 1 and 2, Part 3 is a great send off for Marty and Doc Brown, and well worth a watch.

Film Review: Back to the Future – Part 2

Back to the Future: Part 2 is easily my favourite film of the trilogy. I still get excited as you are flown through the clouds of the opening credits with the theme movie blasting away. There are many reasons why I love the film, one of course being that they went to the future.

This is of course is now technically the past. I blogged on the day, about Back to the Future being my first fandom, I was euphoric on the day (and for about a week afterwards) that the future had finally arrived.

The reason I was so excited was because Back to the Future: Part 2 has always been a massive influence on me and how storytellers use their imaginative force. I’ve never really been interested in wondering whether the filmmakers ‘predicted’ the future. I have always watched the scenes in 2015 with keen interest because of the creative energy that went into transforming the Hill valley of 1985 into the Hill Valley of 2015.

Until Lord of the Rings came out, the Back to the Future trilogy had been the only films I had been interested in learning about how they had been made. I absorbed the behind the scenes material related to the films. The majority of this came from books about the films, especially Part 2, which I would then watch again specifically to see the level of detail that had gone into the film making.

And then Part 2 was what introduced me to that classic science fiction storyline, the alternate timeline. As a kid I really hated the alternate timeline because it is just horrible, and I used to be relieved when they went back to 1955 to fix it.

As an adult now though I understand a lot better the horror that was created because of one man’s ability to fuel his greed and his lust of power, and just that has a knock on effect for everyone around them. Biff Tanner has access to an unlimited source of wealth for 30 years, and what he does with it is terrible, because with it no-one has the ability to say no to him and get away with it. Biff Tanner is a monster; he doesn’t tolerate Lorraine saying no to him, and older Biff give him the power to make sure she can’t. He is the representation of everything that is wrong in our society and the perfect villain, because there is nothing redeeming about him what so ever.

But what’s truly masterful is the brilliance of the script in executing such a complex storyline in such a short period of time. The film very much is a three act film; the wonder of the future of 2015, the horror of the alternative Hill Valley in 1985 and the desperate efforts of the trying to fix it in 1955. The story is masterfully produced, and the film has had a great deal of creative effort put into it, especially the first two acts. The direction of the three, where it is intercutting with the first film is time travel storytelling at it’s very best.

The film is a masterpiece in time travel storytelling; the first of the trilogy is brilliant, but the second is even better.

Film Review: Back to the Future

The Back to the Future trilogy will always be near the top of my list of favourite films, though I will admit for the longest time I wasn’t all that keen on the first film of the trilogy. I fell in love with the films when I was a kid, and the second and third films were always the ones that I looked forward to the most. However, as an adult I have a great deal more appreciation for the film and this comes from having developed as a writer.

As a kid I wrote prose, and while I still do, I write scripts now as well and Back to the Future is a masterclass in how to write a great script. I hadn’t realised just how good it really was until I attended a scriptwriting course and the first few minutes were shown as an example of how a film doesn’t necessarily need to start with dialogue straight away. The scene panning through the Doc’s garage giving hint and clue to his life and the story is just spectacularly brilliant. (Thank you Gavin Williams for pointing this out to me)

And then there is one of my favourite scenes in the entire trilogy, when the Doc conducts the first time travel experiment, and explains how the time machine works. Now normally this sort of information dump explanation for the benefit of the audience would signal to me lazy writing, but for one simple fact; Marty is taping the explanation. He is specially doing it for historical record and then it later becomes a vital plot device to help the Doc of 1955 fix the time machine and get Marty back to 1985. In one simple move, the audience knows what’s going on, the characters know what’s going on and the quality of the film isn’t comprised by a tacky information dump.

Also an as adult I have a much greater appreciation for the nuances of the relationship that Marty has with his father. Marty wants his father to be a strong and confident father figure, and he doesn’t have that; George is still bullied by Biff as an adult and that has probably had an effect on Marty’s own self-esteem. It explains why he had such a good friendship with the Doc, who is a confident father figure who helps boost Marty’s own confidence.

One of the most noticeable changes that occur because of the time travel is that Marty returns to a George who is a confident adult. I had never realised before that is because Marty gives George some of the best advice I’ve ever heard:

‘If you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything.’

That one great bit of advice transformed George, and helped him develop as a person into someone willing to stand up for himself when he encounters those that would otherwise try to keep him the place they see fit for him to remain. It is a beautiful if subtle development. I used to watch the film because I thought the time travel was cool. I now love watching it because of George McFly’s character development.

I love the film, and if you’ve never seen it before, make sure that you do, because this iconic film is a must see.

Back to the Future – My First Fandom

88 miles per hour!!!

I am such a massive geek, I have been planning for months to celebrate Back to the Future today on October 21st 2015. I was originally planning on even having the post release at precisely the when in California when Doc Brown, Marty and Jennifer arrive in Hill Valley at 4:29pm Pacific time. I am that big a geek; at least in planning.

In reality, I could not wait a moment longer to celebrate October 21st 2015. I’m such a big fan that I can’t even say 21st October as would be the British convention; Christopher Lloyd’s voice in my head just won’t allow it. And now you know just how serious I am about these films.

If you’re not as massive a fan as I am then quite frankly I don’t mind you judging me but Back to the Future has a place in my heart that no other fandom could ever compete with, because you can only have one fandom that was your first fandom. The trilogy has been for years before the good folks of the web even thought to coin the word fandom. Before Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate SG-1, Doctor Who, Narnia, Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter (and many others) found places in my heart and began to inspire me as a writer, I had Back to the Future.

I grew up with a four box VHS set of the films, with the then little known joy of extras included on the fourth tape. I was obsessed with watching the films and the extras for years. I’m fairly certain I actually wore the tapes out I watched the films over and over again. I know I wore the spine of my Back to the Future Behind the Scenes book away to nothing because I read it so much. I love the films and I have never got bored watching them. As a massive fan I cannot believe that we have finally reached the future of those films.

Back to the Future is seriously important to me and this chance to celebrate something so important to me is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Harry Potter and Star Wars was set in the past; Star Trek the future beyond my lifetime; Stargate SG-1 was contemporary. I haven’t found the road that goes ever on and leads to Middle Earth just yet, the Doctor hasn’t materialised in a unmistakable wheeze of an engine fighting its handbrake, and the back of all my wardrobes have stayed firmly solid.

Seeing the day they travel forward to in Back to the Future 2 has been an easily attainable goal for most of my life. I have grown up with this date burned into my brain. Admittedly part of my celebrations include going to the dentist (which was not what I had envisioned) but it also includes finally being able to see the films as they were originally intended to be seen; at the cinema.

I’ve seen Back to the Future at the cinema when it was re-mastered for it’s 25th anniversary, but Part 2 and 3 have always been a home viewing experience for me and I am so excited. There is nothing quite like seeing a film at the cinema. I was lucky enough be the right age to have never seen the original Star Wars trilogy before the extended versions were launched in the 90s. I got to see them for the first time in the cinema. I was at precisely the right age to see the Lord of the Rings in the cinema (on many repeated visits as well). I now live close to a great cinema that likes to do showings of classic films.

Needless to say, I think the last time I was this excited about going to the cinema to see a film was probably when Return of the King was released. I mean I’ve been excited about films in the meanwhile, but Back to the Future is on a whole other level beyond even Lord of the Rings, which in my mind comes closest to competing in terms of my passion for it and its influence over me.

Because there is a universally acknowledged truth about the Back to the Future trilogy; the storytelling in Back to the Future is a perfect master class in how to do it right. The scripts don’t waste a syllable in making sure that the story is being driven forward; the character’s are engaging the audience’s attention whilst also conveying important plot points. The inter-cutting of Back to the Future and Back to the Future Part Two was executed perfectly. The small details of Hill Valley evolving from a town founded in the 19th Century, into a town of 1950s America, 1980s America and finally (and always most excitingly for me) a town of 2015, the future. The trilogy is just perfection.

From 1885…

The trilogy has always been a fantastic inspiration on me as a person and as a writer. I’m academically a historian; one of the things that I loved the most about the films is the changes you can see in Hill Valley from a social history perspective; things like clothes, transport, the physical development and changes in the town itself. What I hadn’t realised until very recently that I trained as a historian and I specialised in social history, because like in the creation of Hill Valley in Back to the Future, the reconstruction of history from a social perspective is infinitely more interesting than political or military history ever will be. I know that whenever I was studying the change of one place, like my home town I was thinking about how Hill Valley changed over time as well.

…to 2015

As a writer, Back to the Future being suitable for kids meant it has been something I watched very young and loved, and it opened to door to many others obsessions over the years (helped along by my parents own interests) in science fiction and fantasy. I love time travel stories, but because of Back to the Future I also firmly believe that you have create characters the audience wants to invest in who go on a fabulous journey. Admittedly Back to the Future is a very feel good film, and I do now tend to write much darker stories, but I hold to the principle that if you don’t have brilliant characters and great plot then you’re not telling your story in the best way possible.

Two great characters, their friendship and that clock at the centre of their story.

Back to the Future will always have a special place in my heart, and I love that I have been able to dedicate today’s post to celebrating something that quite genuinely means so much to me. I have quite a lot to say about the films as well, and I will write reviews about them in the near future, but today I didn’t want to be so clinical about something so brilliant, I wanted to share a piece of my heart and it’s very rare what you have a specific time that you can do that with so much meaning.