#isla johnston

[mediademon]

The Queen's Gambit (2020)

Openings

#the queens gambit #thequeensgambitedit #the queens gambit 2020 #anya taylor joy #netflix #netflix original #tvedit #netflix series #tvgifs #the queen's gambit #isla johnston #moses ingram #elizabeth harmon #beth harmon #tqg #tqgedit #netflixedit #miniseries #miniseriesedit #netflixminiseries #*mygifs

[xxxcultcinemaxxx]

#beth harmon #queens gambit #the queens gambit #anya taylor joy #isla johnston

[letterboxd-loggd]

The Queen's Gambit (2020) Scott Frank

March 5th 2024

#the queen's gambit #2020 #scott frank #anya taylor-joy #marielle heller #thomas brodie-sangster #moses ingram #harry melling #isla johnston #jacob fortune-lloyd #limited series

[inmyveinsbookblog]

In My Veins - Charlotte Helen Campbell

Alexis and Charlie’s oldest daughter.

#in my veins #alexis campbell #charles campbell #charlotte campbell #adelaide kane #tom hiddleston #isla johnston #my books #my characters #my gifs #my edits

[monsterintheballroom]

Isla Johnston, who played a young Anya Taylor-Joy in The Queen’s Gambit, Game of Thrones mainstay Alfie Allen, with Downton Abbey’s Penelope Wilton are also on the roll call for the production, which began shooting last week in Ireland.

#okay penny in a horror movie....maybe playing a nun...interesting #penelope wilton #olivia cooke #isla johnston #alfie allen #downton abbey #game of thrones #visitation

[beautifulfaces-icons-and-gifs]

Isla Johnston on The Queen’s Gambit Season 1

as Young Beth on The Queen’s Gambit (S1 E2)

Information on beautifulfaces

Like or reblog

#Isla Johnston #icons: Isla Johnston #Isla Johnston icons #Isla Johnston as young beth #Isla Johnston on the queen's gambit #Isla Johnston the queen's gambit #the queen's gambit #the queen's gambit season 1 #the queen's gambit season 1 episode 2 #the queen's gambit s1 e2 #icons

[heartlandians]

Heartland 250th Episode - Red Carpet Screening

#heartland #event #2023 #CIFF #calgary international film festival #250 episodes #shaun johnston #michelle morgan #amber marshall #chris potter #horse #spartan #sign #lyndy twins #baye mcpherson #ava tran #isla spencer #long post

[liminalmemories21]

9 Books To Read in 2024

tagged by @jesuisici33. Thank you!

In release date order:

1- Holly Black - The Prisoner's Throne

After the shocking events of The Stolen Heir, Prince Oak is in deeper trouble than ever before. As his situation grows more precarious, Oak is desperate to find a way out, before all of Elfhame is caught in the coming storm.

I love pretty much anything Holly Black writes, but I particularly love the Folk of the Air series. I'm a sucker for a good dark faerie court drama.

2 - K Ancrum - Icarus

Icarus Gallagher is a thief. He steals priceless art and replaces it with his father’s impeccable forgeries. For years, one man—the wealthy Mr. Black—has been their target in revenge for his role in the death of Icarus’s mother. To keep their secret, Icarus adheres to his own strict rules to keep people, and feelings, at bay: Don’t let anyone close. Don’t let anyone touch you. And, above all, don’t get caught.

Hi yes, I am predictable.

3 - EK Johnston - Pretty Furious

In the small town of Eganston, Ontario, five good girls have had enough. They’ve experienced the best of what their community has to offer, but they’ve seen the darker side too. Together, they’ve decided that it’s time for a reckoning and that justice is their privilege to give.

If you have not read her earlier novel Exit Pursued by a Bear, go read it. It is so angry, but also so beautifully about healing and friendship.

4 - Leigh Bardugo - The Familiar

Set in the Spanish Golden Age, during a time of high‑stakes political intrigue and glittering wealth, The Familiar follows Luzia, a servant in the household of an impoverished Spanish nobleman who reveals a talent for little miracles. Her social‑climbing mistress demands Luzia use her gifts to win over Madrid’s most powerful players but what begins as simple amusement takes a dangerous turn. Luzia will need to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even the help of Guillén Santángel, an immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.

I like most things Leigh Bardugo writes, so curious about this.

5 - Tess Sharpe - The Girl in Question

Four teens. Three henchmen. Two thousand acres of remote forest. One very bad man. And a whole lot of new secrets to unearth. The unmissable, thrilling follow-up to The Girls I've Been.

First go read The Girls I've Been. Then Five Times We Almost Kissed. Then Barb Wire Heart. Tess Sharpe is such a fantastic writer - and the heart of her books is always people making the best choices they can when none of the choices are good or easy. Also, Barb Wire Heart is kind of like if S2 of Justified had been about the women.

6 - Anna-Marie McLemore - Flawless Girls

The Soler sisters are infamous in polite society—brazen, rebellious, and raised by their fashionable grandmother who couldn’t care less about which fork goes where. But their grandmother also knows the standards that two Latina young ladies will be held to, so she secures them two coveted places at the Alarie House, a prominent finishing school that turns out first ladies, princesses, and socialites.

Younger sister Isla is back home within a day. She refuses to become one of the eerily sweet Alarie girls in their prim white dresses. Older sister Renata stays. When she returns months later, she’s unfailingly pleasant, unnervingly polite, and, Isla discovers, possibly murderous. And the same night she returns home, she vanishes.

I will read anything they write. No questions asked. They're books are always so gorgeous and lush.

7 - Kristin Cashore - There is a Door in This Darkness

Wilhelmina Hart is part of the infamous class of 2020. Her high school years began with the election of Donald Trump and they ended with COVID. Now Wilhelmina, like so many of her peers, is in limbo, having deferred college because of the pandemic. Compounding the national trauma of 2016 to 2020, Wilhelmina has wrestled with the devastating loss of one of her three beloved aunts shortly after the 2016 election. This is a loss she felt so keenly that she’s spent the last years deep in her personal depression, only obscured by the seemingly endless waves of national trauma. Now on the cusp on the most consequential election in living memory, Wilhelmina may have found a door in her darkness and perhaps the courage to pass through it, if she can decipher the bizarre messages that keep appearing in her life.

I love Kristin Cashore's Graceling novels, so I'm curious about this.

8 - Jennifer Lynn Barnes - The Grandest Game

Seven tickets. An island of dreams. The chance of a lifetime.

Welcome to the Grandest Game, an annual competition run by billionaire Avery Grambs and the four infamous Hawthorne brothers, whose family fortune she inherited. Designed to give anyone a shot at fame and fortune, this year's game requires one of seven golden tickets to enter. With millions on the line, those seven players will do whatever it takes to win.

Is this series a little silly? Sure. Is it a lot of fun. Yes. Kind of like a grown up Westing Game.

9 - Margaret Owen - Holy Terrors

third book in the Little Thieves series - which on the surface is a heist story about what if the protagonist of the Goose Girl was the servant not the princess. And at it's heart is about recovering from trauma and loss, and learning how to let yourself be someone different. 

tagging @lemonlyman-dotcom, @ladytessa74, and @strandnreyes

#book recs

[beautifulfaaces]

Masterlist - Female Ginger

 2000s

Abby Donnelly

Beatrice Kitsos

Bebe Wood

Darby Camp

Ella Ballentine

Francesca Capaldi

Isla Johnston

Larsen Thompson

Liliana Mumy

Lilly Dreesen

Maggie Elizabeth Jones

Sadie Sink

Sadie Stanley

Sophia Lillis

Summer Fontana

90s

Abigail Cowen

Alexia Fast

Alina Bobyleva

Alina Kovalenko

Annie Thurman

Bonnie Wright

Carmen Solomons

Dakota Blue Richards

Debby Ryan

Elizabeth McLaughlin

Ellie Bamber

Emma Kenney

Georgie Henley

Georgina Sadler

Helena Barlow

Janet Devlin

Jeni Ross

Jordan Clark

Juliette Angelo

Katherine Barrell

Katie Stevens

Lily Newmark

Liv Hewson

Louisa Connelly-Burnham

Mackenzie Lintz

Madelaine Petsch

Madeline Brewer

Madison Lintz

Madisen Beaty

Molly Quinn

Poppy Gilbert

Rachel Hurd Wood

Rosie Day

Shannon Purser

Sophie Turner

Swantje Wördemann

Tavi Gevinson

Zoe de Grand Maison

80s

Alex Paxton Beesley

Amanda Righetti

Amy Manson

Amy Wren

Annette Lober

Ashley Bell

Barbara Meier

Breeda Wool

Brittany Allen

Brittany Snow

Cinitia Dicker

Danielle Kind

Diana Gómez

Emily Tyra

Emily Wilson

Evan Rachel Wood

Genevieve Angelson

Haley Strode

Holland Roden

Holley Fain

Holliday Grainger

Jade Ramsey

Jane Levy

Jessica Keenan Wynn

Jill Morrison

Josefine Preuß

Joy Nash

Julianne Hough

Juno Temple

Karen Gillan

Katie Leclerc

Lindsay Lohan

Lily Cole

Marcella Lentz-Pope

Maria Burghardt

Meg Steedle

Nicole LaLiberte

Palina Rojinski

Rose Leslie

Sarah Hay

Tuppence Middleton

Vanessa Bayer

Vanessa Lee Evigan

Zena Grey

Zoe Boyle

70s

Amy Adams

Antonia Holfelder

Chelah Horsdal

Clare Grant

Darby Stanchfield

Elisabeth Gelabert

Erin Chambers

Katherine Parkinson

Isla Fisher

Jessica Chastain

JoAnna Garcis Swisher

Lauren Ambrose

Marielle Heller

Nathalie Boltt

Rebecca Mader

Sabrina Grdevich

Sarah Rafferty

Sasha Alexander

60s

Alex Kingston

Amy Yasbeck

Andrea Sawatzki              

Connie Britton

Julianne Moore

Kate Walsh

Lea Thompson

Marcia Cross

Molly Ringwald

Rebecca Stab

Susan Walters

Tilda Swinton

50s

Annette Bening

Chloe Webb

Dana Delaney

Ellen Crawford

Laura Innes

Patricia Bethune

#masterlist #masterlist female ginger #2000s fem ginger #90s fem ginger #80s fem ginger #70s fem ginger #60s fem ginger #50s fem ginger

[cleoenfaserum]

JURASSIC PARK in TANDEM-1/1 with WESTWORLD TANDEM-1/2.

The first tandem I am going to bring to you on this Crichton adventure are Jurassic Park (1993) directed by Steven Spielberg and West World directed by Crichton, both films based on Crichton's novels.

Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction action film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the first installment in the Jurassic Park franchise, and the first film in the original Jurassic Park trilogy, and is based on Michael Crichton's 1990 novel of the same name, with a screenplay by Crichton and David Koepp.

The film is set on the fictional island of Isla Nublar, off Central America's Pacific Coast near Costa Rica, where a wealthy businessman, John Hammond (Attenborough), and a team of genetic scientists have created a wildlife park of de-extinctdinosaurs. When industrial sabotage leads to a catastrophic shutdown of the park's power facilities and security precautions, as all hell breaks loose... (Wikipedia)

IMdB RATING: 8'2 TIME 2'06'06

869-1 https://ok.ru/video/7399022266931

After the film's enormous success, Spielberg asked Crichton to write a sequel novel, leading to the 1995 book The Lost World. This, in turn, was adapted as the film The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Released in 1997, it was directed by Spielberg and written by Koepp. Another film, Jurassic Park III, was released in 2001, under the direction of Joe Johnston, with Spielberg as executive producer. It featured an original script that incorporated unused elements from Crichton's original Jurassic Park. A fourth installment, Jurassic World, was released in theaters in 2015. Spielberg again produced, with Colin Trevorrow directing a script he wrote with Derek Connolly. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the fifth film in the franchise, was released in 2018, with Spielberg as producer once more and J. A. Bayona as director. A sixth film, Jurassic World Dominion, was directed by Trevorrow and released in theaters in 2022.

AUDIO BOOK:

869-2 https://youtu.be/2asawsyzxIA

869-3 https://youtu.be/iN_6vSFfRuM

The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a 1997 American science fictionaction film. It is the second installment in the Jurassic Park franchise and the second film in the original��Jurassic Park trilogy. A sequel to 1993's Jurassic Park and loosely based on Michael Crichton's 1995 novel The Lost World, the film was directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by David Koepp. Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough.

After the original novel's release and the first film's success, fans pressured Crichton for a sequel. Following the book's publication in 1995, production began on a film sequel. Filming took place from September to December 1996, primarily in California, with a shoot in Kauai, Hawaii, where the first film was shot. The Lost World's plot and imagery is substantially darker than Jurassic Park. It makes more extensive use of CGI to depict the dinosaurs, along with life-sized animatronics.

See the Cast of 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' Then and Now (screencrush.com)

IMdB RATING: 6'5

869-4 https://ok.ru/video/4346300533462

Spielberg expressed disappointment with the film, stating he had become increasingly disenchanted with it during production. It earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects. A sequel, Jurassic Park III, was released in 2001. (Wikipedia)

THE AUDIOBOOK

986-5 https://youtu.be/q1da7CdP8cw?list=PLPwAXYANvU8o9RUXHnDvSkv9LgbMV3hB0

The Lost World (Part 02) by Michael Crichton - Read by George Guidall

The Lost World (Part 03) by Michael Crichton-Read by George Guidall

The Lost World (Part 04) by Michael Crichton-Read by George Guidall

The Lost World (Part 05) by Michael Crichton-Read by George Guidall

The Lost World (Part 06) by Michael Crichton-Read by George Guidall

The Lost World (Part 07) by Michael Crichton-Read by George Guidall

The Lost World (Part 08) by Michael Crichton-Read by George Guidall

Jurassic Park III is a 2001 American science fiction action film directed by Joe Johnston and written by Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor. It is the third installment in the Jurassic Park franchise and the final film in the original Jurassic Park trilogy, following The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). It is also the first film in the franchise not to be directed by Steven Spielberg, as well as the first not to be based on a novel by Michael Crichton; however, the film features characters and ideas by Crichton. 

The plot follows a divorced couple who deceive paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant into helping them find their son, who has gone missing on Isla Sorna. (Wikipedia)

IMdB RATING: 5'9

869-6 https://ok.ru/video/6836757072619

#Youtube

[adamwatchesmovies]

A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish (2019)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established...

Sometimes people exaggerate and say that trailers give away too much, that from the clips shown, they can tell you what the entire movie will be. When talking about A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish, saying that the advertisements reveal too much is a simple fact. Showing any clips from this teleportation pod experiment gone wrong tells you everything you need to know. It’s a generic Christmas-themed rom-com mashed together with the Cinderella fairytale. You could write this plot in your sleep.

Katherine "Kat" Decker (Laura Marano) dreams of becoming a singer-songwriter. Unfortunately, her father’s recent passing has left her in the care of her evil stepmother, Deidra (Johannah Newmarch) and her stepsisters Joy (Lillian Doucet-Roche) & Grace (Chanelle Peloso). They force Kat to work at a Christmas-themed entertainment park. There, she befriends Dominic "Nick" Wintergarden (Gregg Sulkin). She has no idea he’s the son of a billionaire.

If you weren’t convinced before, this settles it. Cinderella doesn’t work in modern times. Kat has access to the internet, to a friend who is willing to help (Isabella Gomez as Isla), to a cell phone, to school counselors, to the police, etc. There is no reason she couldn't escape the enslavement she suffers under Deidra's rule. Her stepmother and stepsisters are so cartoonishly cruel they even capture Kat being mistreated on film. It would be easy to get sent away to a better home if Kat had any motivation to do so. Or maybe she's just dumb. She’s just a few months away from turning 18 and still she doesn’t understand that her stepmother hates her and that the rest of the family will do all they can to make her miserable. How else can you explain the obvious traps she walks into or her inability to keep secrets from them? I don’t want to blame the victim but at a certain point, it’s you that’s the problem, not them.

This fifth (?!) installment in the A Cinderella Story franchise dispenses away with all the magic normally associated with the fairytale. Consequently, Kat's beautiful dresses are whipped up out of nowhere while the rom-com clichés are taken to the extreme. At its core, Cinderella is about two things: a rags-to-riches story and a couple who fall in love without knowing each others’ identity. As part of the modernization package, Kat and Nick meet well ahead of the "royal ball" but for them not to know each other, neither of them ever sees each other without the costumes they wear at work. I guess you might excuse Kat for not recognizing Nick. He’s got a beard and Santa hat on. How he doesn’t recognize her, I don't know. At least Superman puts on a pair of glasses when disguised as Clark Kent. Kat wears elf ears and a hat. No one in the world wouldn’t recognize her.

Now I get to talk about the musical aspect of this picture. When people aren’t singing, you’ll be so bored you’ll wish a fairy would show up and turn you into a pumpkin just so you wouldn’t have to keep watching. Writer/director Michelle Johnston makes 15 minutes feel like ten times that many. When the music kicks in, you’ll want to be turned into a vegetable to avoid dying of embarrassment for the performers. All the numbers are obviously auto-tuned and badly lip-synched, the lyrics haven’t an ounce of creativity and the choreography makes you wonder how desperate the actors must’ve been to agree to this.

If we went in-depth with every offense this film commits, we’d be here until the stroke of midnight so let’s rapid-fire through a few: the token non-white characters who are only there so the film isn’t as white as a fresh Christmas morning; the nonsensical plan by the villains to take Kat’s place at the ball, the ridiculous final music number - complete with perfectly choreographed, spontaneous dance moves; the picture’s fixation on a snow globe that ultimately serves no purpose; Nick’s useless friends that are only there story-wise to crowbar a third act breakup between him and Kat. I know this movie’s for little girls but there are literally dozens of adaptations of Cinderella out there. You could throw a dart at a board and find a more suitable piece of entertainment. This is 86 minutes of torture. (July 2, 2021)

#A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish #movies #films #movie reviews #film reviews #Michelle Johnston #A Cinderella Story #Laura Marano #Gregg Sulkin #2019 movies #2019 films

[mogkiompmovieguide]

The Beach Bum

Harmony Korine, U.S, (2019)

Harmony Korine a passé une grande partie de sa carrière cinématographique à guider son public dans les profondeurs de l’enfer dans des films comme le pathétique Gummo, le cauchemar schizophrène Julien Donkey-Boy, et son opus millénaire surréaliste, drame décalé de 2007, Mister Lonely, sur une communauté de sosies sociopathes.

Dans son dernier film, The Beach Bum, l’artiste, écrivain, poète, réalisateur Korine a peut-être enfin trouvé ce qu’il cherchait depuis le début : un peu de paradis.

Le récit et l’intrigue ne se suivent pas, comme dans aucune des œuvres de Korine, encore moins dans The Beach Bum ; son récit du poète hédoniste bizarre Moondog (Matthew McConaughey) sa quête pour finir son grand roman américain pour l’amour de son épouse, Minnie (Isla Fisher), se déploie doucement comme des nuées de fumée d'herbe qui s'évaporent de la bouche grisonnante d’un écrivain cramé / vagabond céleste. Korine est heureux de laisser son film naviguer, se prélasser dans des moments particuliers, se remémorer elliptiquement le passé, ou éclater brièvement dans le futur. Si Trash Humpers s'adressait à un public adepte de cringe et found footages absurdes, il pouvait être comparé structurellement à morceau délétère de Brainbombs mélangé au Rock lo-fi et maladif de Daniel Johnston, The Beach Bum est plutôt un disque de Jimmy Buffett repris par les Butthole Surfers. Le paysage change en cours de conversation, et le film supplie un écrivain de sortir le mot "hallucinogène" pour décrire sa relation au temps et à l’espace. C’est une approximation agréable, dynamique, joyeuse, avec un Moondog bouillonnant d’une histoire à l’autre, sans jamais ruminer.

Vêtu de robes à fleurs ou d'une chemise jaune canari surdimensionnée mal boutonnée, McConaughey puise facilement dans l’attitude hippie-dippy de Moondog. Rien à voir avec le réel surréaliste, clochard, Louis Hardin, le célèbre viking de la 42eme rue et compositeur de génie aveugle errant à travers les rues glacées de New-York.

Ici Moondog est un pitre Gonzo, défini par un goût pour l’excès enraciné dans la bienveillance et un véritable désir de trouver le peu de bonne vie qui lui reste à offrir. Il navigue autour de Key West et Miami, flottant presque dans les airs, il ne trébuche pas comme un crabe sur terre. Il jette des bières et brûle les fumes comme un pro, se frotte à Snoop Dog et Martin Lawrence, Whack le fana des dauphins (propriétaire d’un perroquet bourré de coke), émettant un rire de hyène infusée d’euphorie et de bonté naïve. Le personnage se dandine, prêt pour la suite, même lorsqu’il décide d’aller en cure de désintoxication.

La marque inhabituelle de Korine de film abrasif et provocateur (il a été le premier réalisateur américain à prendre le "Vœu de chasteté" et faire un film Dogme 95 - le manifeste danois appelant à une approche de retour à la base à la forme), il emploie de véritables armes à feu, et sème les détritus pour signifier un rêve américain atrophiant. Pour ceux qui connaissent son travail, la première dizaine de minutes de The Beach Bum va déstabiliser, une comédie, le film est imprégné d’une tendresse et d’une sentimentalité réfléchie. Mais bientôt, une extase gorgée de soleil se répand dans la cinématographie saturée de Benoît Debie, tout comme une manière détournée d’explorer le processus créatif de Moondog.

Peu importe si la poésie du Moondog est bonne, selon les normes conventionnelles. La façon dont il négocie son art (il est souvent, à juste titre ou autrement, appelé un génie) se fait en évitant les tropes d’artiste-film et autre subvertit ; la qualité sinueuse du film ne cède jamais à la trajectoire typique de montées-et-chutes pour Moondog et son œuvre. Au contraire, il lui permet de se délecter de sa méthode, de se livrer à "l’excès total" pour débloquer ses jus créatifs. Le meilleur ami de Moondog Lingerie (Snoop Dogg) lui offre une souche d’herbe très forte qu’il appelle "le serein blanc-bec ." Moondog fume, il baise, se saoule, écrit ; rincer, répéter. Mais contrairement à d’autres portraits d'artiste dépeints comme 'jeunes' génies, Moondog sait que l’horloge tourne, à la recherche de son héritage. Aussi déterminé qu’il soit à compléter son livre, il est moins obsédé par sa propre pertinence ; il valorise les plaisirs sensuels de base plutôt que la richesse.

Korine offre des moments à Moondog pour réfléchir aux conséquences de ses actions. Ce n’est pas vaniteux, il y a une insolence dans la brève détermination du personnage à se repentir; il ne se débarrasse pas de l’excès, la transformation émotionnelle qu’il est invité à subi le libère, et devient une ode touchante à l’amour et l’art. Le film de Korine est un baume inhabituel mais nécessaire, un guide sauvage et merveilleux pour trouver la compassion et la beauté dans les endroits les plus étranges : la Floride.

Moondog et Minnie jouent la ballade pop existentielle de Peggy Lee "Is That Only There Is?" en dansant, en fumant en buvant le corps et les émotions de l'autre, leur passion, offrant une sorte d'euphorie que les drogues ne peuvent que substituer. Cette combinaison vertigineuse, drôle et émouvante ; leur amour l’un pour l’autre offrant une sorte de high que les drogues ne peuvent qu'accompagner, sans en restituer la vraie nature. Cette combinaison vertigineuse, drôle et émouvante d’un amour pour le processus créatif, et l’amour pour les corps autour d’eux, suggèrent que Korine a finalement trouvé dans ses films le Ciel que ses personnages ont toujours poursuivi. Un rêve américain présenté comme perverti, et en décomposition, mais éclaboussé par un rayonnement néon, trempé dans le soleil, l’étreinte brillante de corps, de plaisir et d’art de The Beach Bum se ressent comme un paradis.

Le film > ICI

[deadlinecom]

[creativejamie]

The Queen's Gambit Explained: What's Up With the Ending?

The Queen’s Gambit Explained: What’s Up With the Ending?

America, mid fifties. Nine-year-old girl Beth Harmon (Isla Johnston) and her mother get into a terrible car accident. Mother Beth dies, the girl remains alive. Since she has no relatives – the girl’s father left the family long ago – Beth is given to an orphanage in Lexington, Kentucky. Beth is very reserved, as if out of this world. However, at the orphanage, she makes friends with a…

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[ultrahpfan5blog]

Retrospective Review: Jurassic Park III (2001)

I was not a fan of this movie when I had watched it as an 11 year old in 2001. I didn't like that Alan and Ellie weren't together, I didn't like that the Spino defeated the T-rex, I didn't like the new characters, and I didn't like how short it was. So it was a fairly pleasant surprise when I watched this film after a long while and I ended up quite enjoying it. Its definitely 3rd best in the JP trilogy, but its certainly not as bad as I remember it to be.

I think what works for the film watching it again is its brevity. Unlike the previous two films which dealt with themes of man trying to play god with science and how that backfires, or corporate greed leading to terribly misguided actions, this film is very straightforward. This is a Dinosaur action movie. The film essentially just puts characters on the Island and then its one Dinosaur set piece after another with the thing story strand of the group of characters trying to rescue a stranded kid from the Island. I think if this film had stretched the same content to 2 hours like the other movies, then it would have felt too long and drawn out. The film does the necessary setup quite quickly. It establishes the reason the boy is stranded on the Island, though I still am not sure what exactly happened to the people on the boat in the opening scene because the film never explicitly explains it. Then it establishes where Alan Grant is and his financial situation in the research and it doesn't take long for the two parents to hoodwink Alan and his student Billy, off to Isla Sorna. Once the characters are on the island, the action is non stop.

There are some pretty good Dinosaur action sequences. The first Spino sequence is fairly terrifying. I like the final Spino sequence in the river, with the fire. That's probably the best of the Spinosaurus sequences. I think my favorite overall Dinosaur sequence is the Birdcage scene with the Pteranodons. That is probably the best staged action sequence in the film and that's the portion of the film where the CGI/animatronic blend is at its best. The film also has an interesting thread about Raptor intelligence, which is carried forward in JW films. That's the one element of the film which has carried on in the franchise. Whereas TLW didn't really use the Raptors other than as monsters in the 2nd act climax, this film uses them in a bit specific manner. I quite liked the Alan and Billy dynamic in the film. Its always great to have Alan Grant but I did feel that Billy was pretty identifiable, even if he makes a really stupid mistake. The film actually takes away from his noble sacrifice in the Pteranodon by bringing him back inexplicably at the end. I also think Eric was decent. Resourceful and not one who has to be constantly rescued, barring in one scene. Also was nice to see Ellie back, albeit briefly. While I was sad that Alan and Ellie weren't together, I did like how their was still a closeness between them.

The film definitely has a fair share of issues. Certainly this is the most thinly plotted of the Jurassic movies so far. There is no real story based impact of this movie to the rest of the franchise. There is no connection to InGen and no real conversation about how the rest of the world is dealing with the revelations of TLW barring one lecture scene. It does make the film feel a bit empty. Also, from a technical standpoint, its obvious that Joe Johnston was not as smart as Spielberg when it comes to presentation of the Dinosaurs. Whereas Spielberg knew his limitations with CGI and used shadow and darkness expertly to make the Dinosaurs seem real, almost all of the Dinosaur sequences in this movie are in broad daylight and the CGI definitely shows. The Spino animatronic also looks like an animatronic with limited movement in some sequences. It just doesn't look as scary as the T-Rex. The film also makes the Spino seem like the boogeyman, chasing the main characters across the Island. They also perhaps take the Raptor intelligence angle a bit too far at times. The two parent characters are also a bit annoying, especially Tea Leoni's character, who basically screams a lot during the movie.

In terms of performances, Sam Neill back as Alan Grant is an obvious highlight. He plays an older and wearier version, but you still feel his intelligence and knowledge of the creatures. William H. Macy is solid as the father, though the character is a little annoying initially but Macy is innately likable and he gets a bit of a hero moment towards the end. Tea Leoni grates on the nerves a bit. Alessandro Nivola is solid as Billy, as is Trevor Morgan as Eric. The film doesn't really offer much scope to anyone else.

Joe Johnston does a decent enough job directing this film. Its obvious that he doesn't quite have the mastery of Spielberg, but then again, who does, but he wisely keeps the pace of the film tight. Stand Winston's animatronics and ILM works is strong for the most part. Its essentially a fairly breezy and enjoyable 92 minutes or so, but its just not particularly memorable. For me, this ranks around a 6.5/10.

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[mae-martin]

For a time, I was all you had. And for a time, you was all I had. We weren’t orphans. Not as long as we had each other.

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