Jurassic World

I cannot describe how thrilled I was to hear that a new Jurassic Park movie was coming out. Twenty-two years after the original was released, Jurassic World premiered, and practically on the same day as well. I was so excited to see the movie, even though we saw it at 10:30 p.m. opening day. I have to say that I was not disappointed. Jurassic World was an incredible movie and instantly one of my favorite movies of the year.

For those of you who haven't seen the movie yet, stop reading and go see it. Seriously, right now. I'd go myself and I've already seen it in theaters twice. And if you're going to see it, do it in IMAX 3D. You will not be disappointed. I can't explain enough how wonderful this movie is. It's an instant classic for my family, not the least of which is because it's a Christmas movie. We do love Christmas movies.

So, a quick rundown of events before everything goes wrong. Zach and Gray are going to Jurassic World for a week. Their parents see them off at the airport (with a lovely statement of foreshadowing: "If something chases you, run"). Their Aunt Claire works at the park, and we soon learn she is actually the operations manager of the park. She is really the main character of the movie but more on that later. Claire is promoting a new dinosaur that the lab created called the Indominus Rex. She brings Owen in to inspect the paddock and everything goes wrong from there. The Indominus escapes and wrecks havoc and kills people. During all this, Zach and Gray were missing so Claire and Owen search for them. They all come together again and Owen, who works closely with the Velociraptors, attempts to use the Raptors to track the Indominus. Of course, it doesn't work and the Raptors turn on the humans. But everything works out in the end, one way or another, and most people are able to escape the island alive.

First of all, I loved the nods to the original movie. Obviously the theme plays a huge part in the movie. It's very sentimental and they clearly use it to their advantage. It works perfectly during the parts that are a link to the original movie. One such moment is when Zach and Gray discover the old welcome center. It's completely overgrown and wild but so recognizable still. Inside, they find the old welcome banner, a pair of night vision googles, and the old park vehicles. There are also other less obvious nods. The T-Rex in the park is the same one from the original movie. Yes, she's still alive and still kicking (or killing). And of course, the whole flare scene is obviously a mirror image. It's such an iconic scene; how could they not repeat it?

Now, for the characters. The younger brother, Gray, is me. Really he's probably all of us. His complete awe and excitement about everything dealing with the park is exactly how I would react if I was in his place. Dr. Wu, the main scientist, actually dies in the book and I was a little disappointed when I first read the book that he hadn't died in the movie. I was really hoping he would this time. Instead, he's evil and doesn't die. He's creating dinosaurs like the Indominus, dinosaurs that are dangerous and deadly. They plan to use such dinosaurs as weapons in war, which doesn't exactly work when the dinosaurs eat you instead. Wu gets away with a case of samples, strongly hinting at a sequel. As far as the owner goes, Mr. Masrani is infinitely better that Hammond. Hammond in the movies is bad enough but in the book he's even worse. Mr. Masrani actually tries to do the right thing once he realizes that the Indominus is a threat. Unfortunately, he is killed in a helicopter crash.

I can't really talk about Owen without also discussing the Raptors. I know some people were hesitant when it was alluded to that the Raptors had been trained and "domesticated". However, for years people have been training wild animals and using them in circuses and the like. Lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!) are popular circus animals and also capable of eating your face. So why not train Raptors? They will always be wild animals and never be domestic but that doesn't mean they can't be trained. And honestly they were totally awesome and Owen's relationship with them was brilliant. Of course, part of what made Owen so great was that Chris Pratt played him.

As for the rest of the dinosaurs, they were wonderful and magical as always. The baby dino petting zoo was a brilliant touch, and my sister is totally scarred because one of the Pterodactyls tried to grab one of the Triceratops. One of the saddest moments was definitely watching the Brachiosaurus (or whichever long-neck it was) die after being attacked by the Indominus. It was so sad and heartbreaking. The Indominus was pretty cool, despite the whole murdering people thing. I was glad to see they made her able to camouflage, as the main villain dinosaur in the Jurassic Park sequel book can camouflage. And overall, the Indominus was absolutely terrifying.

Lastly, we come to Claire. She is really the main character throughout the movie. She is the person who goes through the biggest change in character. Claire begins the movie as very structured and focused, the perfect businesswoman. She is more worried about her career than being a mother, and more worried about numbers and stats than about feelings. But between watching the Brachiosaurus die and loosing her nephews, Claire grows as a person. I know some people find her outfit (skirt and heels) ridiculous but as a businesswoman that's just how Claire would dress. And Bryce Dalls Howard actually wore those heels and did all that running in them. I personally find that impressive because I know I'd break an ankle. So if Raptors can be trained, then why can't a woman run in heels?

Simply put, I loved Jurassic World. Even though I've seen it twice in theaters I would go see it again in a heartbeat. It was fun and terrifying and had a lot more blood than the original. I grew up with Jurassic Park and cannot remember a time when I didn't watch the movie. The sequels are good, but Jurassic World easily rivals the original. It's an adventure only 22 years in the making, instead of 65 million.

In Remembrance of Sir Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee recently passed away. It should not have been a surprise; he had just celebrated his 93rd birthday after all. But somehow it's always shocking to learn that someone has passed, regardless of their age or health. And for someone who had lived a full life and been an incredible actor, it's especially disheartening to hear of his passing.

Lee was born in 1922, right after the end of World War I. His early history is rather fascinating. His mother was a Contessa, he met various Kings and Princes from multiple countries, and he became the step-cousin of Ian Fleming, author of James Bond, through his mother's second marriage. By the time World War II was starting, Lee was an adult and old enough to fight. He volunteered to fight for the Finnish in the Winter War of 1939 but the volunteers were kept away from the fighting. However he did eventually see action, in South Africa and Italy. He was a part of RAF Intelligence and what would become the SAS. When asked about what he did, he often remarked that he was part of Special Forces and would let people draw their own conclusions. Lee did assist with searching for Nazi war criminals and saw some of the concentration camps. 

"I've seen many men die right in front of me - so many in fact that I've become almost hardened to it. Having seen the worst that human beings can do to each other, the results of torture, mutilation and seeing someone blown to pieces by a bomb, you develop a kind of shell. But you had to. You had to. Otherwise, we would never have won." 

It was after the war that Lee began pursuing an acting career. For a while it was a struggle for him; at 6'5" he was frequently taller than the leading actors. But as we all know, his career eventually took off. Lee was a brilliant actor, and an even better villain. From Dracula to Count Dooku to Saruman, most of his roles were as the villain. And while it may have been typecasting, he was perfect for it. His deep, distinctive voice lent itself wonderfully to dark characters. Throughout his career, Lee appeared in over 200 movies (the exact number is somewhere around 280). He worked with many icons over the years: Peter Cushing, Tim Burton, Vincent Price, Peter Jackson. Many who have worked with Lee have expressed recently how deeply they will miss him and how special he was as a person. 

And he was special. Of the people who worked on The Lord of the Rings, Lee was the only person to have ever met J.R.R. Tolkien. He was a huge fan of the books and read them almost every year. Not only was Lee an actor, at one point he wanted to do opera. He may not have, but he did release a few metal albums, mostly about Charlemagne but also a few metal Christmas songs. He lived a long life and accomplished many things. It's sad that he has passed but he will be remembered fondly by his family, friends, and fans. 

"I don't want to sound gloomy, but, at some point of your lives, every one of you will notice that you have in your life one person, one friend whom you love and care for very much. That person is so close to you that you are able to share some things only with him. For example, you can call that friend, and from the very first maniacal laugh or some other joke you will know who is at the other end of that line. We used to do that with him so often. And then when that person is gone, there will be nothing like that in your life every again."

Lee on his friendship with Peter Cushing