Vulture asked Mark Ruffalo if he thought he was as tough as Jason Statham.
“I mean, do you really need to ask that question? It’s Jason Statham. He’s like a featherweight. He’s got nothing on me! Clearly,” said Ruffalo.
This conversation started last week when Statham called out the Marvel Cinematic Universe in an interview with i400Calci while he was promoting his new film Spy.
“I could take my grandma and put her in a cape, and then put her in a greenscreen, and then have stunt doubles come in and do all the action. Anybody can do it. I mean, they’re relying on stunt doubles, and greenscreen, and $200 million budget, it’s all CGI-created. So to me, that is not authentic. I’m inspired by old, real star guys that can really do it,” Statham said.
I don’t think Ruffalo cares too much about what anyone is saying, as he’s busy trying to educate the world on climate change.
Anyway, we are all in it together. We have to do it together if we have half a chance. Act up! Speak truth to power. #SunlightRevolution
It may not invoke the same sweeping sense of awe and majesty that the original Steven Spielberg-helmed classic Jurassic Park did when it first bowed in theaters over two decades ago, but Jurassic World, the latest film to carry on the saga of the ill-fated dinosaur theme park, brings enough fun and thrills to stand proudly with the rest of the series and potentially carry it forward. It’s a summer blockbuster through and through — light on character development and plot, heavy on action, chases, and “wow factor” — but in all fairness, so were its predecessors, and it’s best to keep that mind when you head to out to see it.
Or better yet, don’t keep it — or anything else — in mind at all. Just sit back, turn off your brain, put on those 3D glasses, and enjoy the ride.
Twenty-two years after billionaire entrepreneur John Hammond (played by the late Sir Richard Attenborough) attempted to open his original Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, Jurassic World stands proudly on the island as the spiritual successor to his vision. A fully-functioning luxury resort a la Walt Disney World, complete with hotels, a Downtown Disney-like main street, monorails connecting all parts of the island, petting zoos and other interactive exhibits, the park hosts 20,000 tourists a day, and has made the scandal of the first park’s failure to open all but a bad memory. Owned by yet another somewhat eccentric billionaire, Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan, Life of Pi), who earnestly believes himself and everyone he employs at Jurassic World as caretakers of Hammond’s dream, the park, now in operation for a decade, is a success, but is beset by the same primary challenge that faces other modern theme parks and resorts: how to keep attendance up, crowds cheering, and vacation packages selling.
That challenge, as well as the responsibility of overseeing just about all of the park’s day-to-day operations, falls to Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), the capable and career-minded administrator of Jurassic World. Because she’s tasked with tracking daily attendance numbers, year-to-year profitability reports, potential corporate sponsorships of new attractions and other high-level paper-pusher tasks, she has little time for things that fall outside of her job description, like entertaining family when it shows up on her doorstep. Her nephews, moody Zach (Nick Robinson), 16, and dinosaur enthusiast Gray (Ty Simpkins), 11, children of Claire’s soon-to-be-divorced sister Karen (Judy Greer), get shipped off to the park for a week-long vacation, and no sooner have they arrived that Claire sends them off into the park with VIP passes in the care of an uninterested assistant.
Claire’s more pressing crisis of the day is dealing with Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), an ex-Navy animal behavior specialist studying the potential for forming and maintaining working relationships with velociraptors in a remote area of the island. Masrani wants Grady to assess the safety and security of the paddock for the park’s latest upcoming attraction, the impressively-named “Indominus Rex”, the park’s first genetically-modified hybrid dinosaur. That security, of course, proves to be woefully lacking, as ol’ Indominus proves to be exactly what he was designed to be and more: an alpha-predator with intelligence and capabilities far more lethal than what was anticipated. The Frankenstein Beastie’s escape sets off a chain reaction of catastrophes across the island as it closes in on the park’s densely-populated areas, while Owen, Claire, and the park’s “Asset Containment Unit” (lots of paramilitary security types in body armor with big guns that you know won’t make a darned bit of difference) attempt to trap the monster and keep Zach, Gray, and the thousands of other tourists on the island from becoming an all-you-can-eat buffet 65,000,000 years in the making.
In many ways, what director Colin Trevorrow (2012’s Safety Not Guaranteed) endeavors to achieve with Jurassic World the film mirrors what the film’s character Masrani hopes to accomplish with Jurassic World the resort: to honor the vision that sparked its creation and to properly care for and carry forth its legacy. Give Trevorrow (who also co-wrote the final draft of the film’s screenplay) a great deal of credit, as he’s able for the most part to craft a fun thrill ride of a film that avoids recycling and repackaging the scares of its predecessors while still utilizing enough of the iconic images that came before to evoke just the right amount of nostalgia.
Yes, the film’s script follows a fairly predictable disaster-film formula, complete with requisite first act character introductions and establishment of the potential threat. But woven into just about every shot in that first half-hour or so are a multitude of visual cues taken from Spielberg’s 1993 film, all with John Williams’ unforgettable theme music in the background, that audiences who fondly recall that first adventure will instantly recognize. Reminders of Hammond and other characters from Jurassic Park pop up in places both expected and unexpected, and together they bring a “wow factor” of their own, a genuine feeling of excitement at returning to that place and seeing it be even more incredible than even its original creator conceived. That nostalgia-fueled excitement only adds to the sense of dread audiences should feel as the film foreshadows it all going wrong. In their own ways, Masrani, Claire, and everyone else at Jurassic World who believe they’re in control are repeating the same mistake audiences saw Hammond make all those years ago. Every time you hear one of the characters refer to a dinosaur as an “asset”, you know that character is most likely going to pay for it, along with everyone else on the island.
As for those characters themselves, well, just as they were in Spielberg’s film, they’re relatively static and archetypal. Chris Pratt brings credible intensity and testosterone to his performance as Owen, but if you’re a fan of his comedic work or even his Marvel Studios work in Guardians of the Galaxy, you may find yourself wishing he’d crack a little more wise throughout the film to lighten things up a bit. Bryce Dallas Howard also stands out here, as she delivers a solid turn as the one character in the film given any real development in terms of where she is emotionally and philosophically from the film’s start to finish, and also a female lead not relegated at any time in the film to “damsel in distress” status. Vincent D’Onofrio, who has been popping up in heavy roles a great deal as of late — Marvel’s “Daredevil” series on Netflix and Run All Night with Liam Neeson earlier this year, just to name a few — is capably despicable here as the film’s primary non-dinosaur antagonist; and BD Wong, playing the only returning character from the original film, gets a chance to chew a little scenery as well as play an instrumental role in pointing out where the franchise might be headed next.
But let’s be honest here for a moment. Just as Godzilla last summer and Pacific Rim the summer before that, Jurassic World isn’t being eagerly anticipated for its human characters — if anything, audiences are there to see those characters get chased, stepped on, and/or eaten. What folks are really coming to see are the dinosaurs, and the film does certainly provide lots and lots of shots of those. Special effects technology has certainly come a long way since the 90’s, and while the original Jurassic Park‘s landmark dinosaur effects still hold up under scrutiny and inspire the proper sense of awe, the advantage of motion capture technology simply lends this production a great deal more flexibility in terms of the action they can deliver on screen. Is it all as impressive as it was 20+ years ago? For most who know the previous films and all that’s come down since, probably not — we’ve all just seen too much in the intervening years, and too much done really well.
But while you may not be blown away by what you see in terms of the prehistoric animals on screen, that does not mean you won’t enjoy it, especially when it comes time to see the series’ most familiar ones take center stage in the action. Put it another way: if you’re there to see T-Rex roar, velociraptors tear through the jungle in search of prey, and flights of pteranondons swoop out of the sky and gobble up screaming, fleeing tourists, you won’t leave Jurassic World disappointed.
In fact, you’ll most likely come away looking forward to more.
Jurassic World
Starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D’Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Omar Sy, BD Wong and Irrfan Khan. Directed by Colin Trevorrow.
Running Time: 124 minutes
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of science-fiction violence and peril.
I have to remind myself that there is nothing to get upset about until this teaser comes to fruition, but in this case, the thought of a world without Marge and Homer together is a little sadder because we live in a world where Marge picked Homer. Marge picked Homer with his mini golf job and his onion ring wedding ring. Marge picked Homer after he tried to gamble Christmas back and came back with Santa’s Little Helper. Marge picked Homer, and she loves in a way that she knows everything about him; she knew to find Homer with his new friend, EARL, because she knew he would be on foot because he thinks public transportation is for losers, she knew he would go west because the town slopes down that way, and she knew he would be at the lighthouse because he loves blinking lights like the one on the waffle iron (or the guy on the walk sign). Marge picked Homer, and when she stopped that car on prom night he hugged her, and kissed her, and he’s never been able to let her go. If you never wanted someone to love you like Marge loves Homer, you were watching a different show than the rest of us were watching.
Like Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters, Homer gave everyone who did not fit in, everyone who ever screwed up, and everyone who was still working on themselves the hope that someone wonderful would love them, tolerate their strange ideas, support their bizarre adventures, and go along with things like impulsive [possibly cursed] trampoline acquisitions. Homer works because Marge loves him, and because Homer loves Marge even more than that. In a recent episode Marge and Homer are trapped beneath tornado debris and Homer, saying it may be the last thing he will ever write, writes “Save Her First” on the window so rescuers know to get Marge. Homer is a buffoonish oaf; this character only works because once his antics, his overreactions, and his moments of selfishness recede from the main plot, Marge is there and reveals that Homer is good, kind, and worthy of such unrelenting love. We can love Homer because Marge loves Homer. You don’t need fairy tales or romance novels to tell you there’s someone out there for everyone; you simply need Marge and Homer.
Home and Marge gave us a form of hope all of our fairy tales and rom coms simply could not. Marge Simpson gave every eccentric, every clown, every person who was accepted in society as a novelty the hope that someone had a heart so big and wonderful it could hold them and all of their eccentricities. They gave all of us the hope that we would find someone willing to love us in spite of our love of chili cook-offs, someone ready to testify in our favor when a seafood buffet did not deliver on the promise of “All You Can Eat,” and someone who could always find the silver lining in dark clouds by wanting to see us in our Mr. Plow jacket instead of dwelling on a failed business venture. It gave us all the hope we could find someone who pushed us to be the best possible person we could be who held us accountable to stop swearing, stop drinking, be a better parent, and be a better partner. Everyone wants someone who loves them for all of their weird habits, who pushes them to be a better person, and who can see how hard they’re working when the rest of the world has given them a massive eye roll. When you find that love, you give the same undying support, kindness, and love and support their quest to become a cop, do everything you can to make their pretzel business a success, and treat them to spa days to help them relax because you know how hard they work. Marge and Homer showed us that life has a lot of obstacles and a lot of struggles, but if you can find someone who loves and supports you through the days when you’re not at your best, life is a lot smoother.
Understandably, The Simpsons needs to do something major in order to maintain visibility in the prime time cartoon genre. Whereas they used to be the only game in town, shows like Family Guy, American Dad, and Bob’s Burgers have come for a piece of the pie The Simpsons used to own. On top of that, The Simpsons are losing their longtime audience because fans find the show stale. However, if Marge left Homer we would understand because at some point the final straw comes that breaks the camel’s back. Marge leaving Homer makes sense because she is the one who has put up with so much bullshit. Homer leaving Marge betrays Homer’s character because when you find that unconditional love, the love that forgives you when you’re wrong and loves you when you get excited about fireworks and pushes you to be the better person they see within you, you sacrifice all else and “Save Her First” if it’s the last thing you do. Marge loves Homer for all he is, and Homer loves Marge with every cell in his body. A world without Homer and Marge, a world in which Homer and Marge separate, is a world that is sadder because in a world of sad realities, Homer and Marge are something wonderful to hold onto and remind us that when the world falls down, there’s always a reason to get back up.
Tonight during the NBA Finals, a new 60-second TV spot for Spectre showed off some action.
Here is the Spectre Tv Spot:
There are so many things to be excited about with Spectre this fall. Sam Mendes is back as director, and Christoph Waltz is on board as the new villain. All signs point to another solid 007 entry for Daniel Craig.
Hello again, comic friends! I hope we’re all enjoying the Summer of Crossover Mania! Take a break from superheroes, mutants, and alternate universes and throw these titles from Dark Horse Comics in your pile when you pick up your new books this week.
Harrow County – Cullen Bunn, Tyler Crook
Somehow, Cullen Bunn read all of my laundry list of problems with AHS: Coven and decided to give me a present. This issue stands as a thorough introduction to this spooky universe that has a sordid history that involves witches. The present day story line is about a young girl, isolated from the world in the country with her father, who longs to leave her farm on her eighteenth birthday. The people in this community hold a dark secret, and the girl, Emmy, feels the dark past of the community all around her. She follows her paranormal instincts throughout the book and encounters a mysterious child who leads her to a gruesome cliffhanger that will leave you excited for the second issue. Bunn, as always, is at the top of his game and remains one of my favorite writers in comic books. The artwork feels like a children’s book but twists and turns in frightening ways. This book is perfect if you like Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, witchcraft, Cullen Bunn, and creepy stories in general. (Also, you’ll like this if you were expecting something better from Coven; if you have some grievances to air about Coven, please let me know. We’ll have a minute.)
Age of Reptiles: Ancient Egyptians – Ricardo Delgado
Dinosaurs make me understand what the universe meant when it created metal guitar solos. Most days, the only things I care about are dinosaurs and Star Wars. Dinosaurs are the coolest thing that ever existed and ever will exist. Hollywood could make thirty Jurassic Park movies and that still would not be enough because I want to live in a house made entirely out of Jurassic Park movies without ever having to repeat a title. Basically, not enough things involve dinosaurs. Dark Horse Comics, however, continues with its Age of Reptiles series and helps make life better by adding more dinosaurs to it. Age of Reptiles: Ancient Egyptians is wonderful. Whether you’ve read the other Age of Reptiles titles or not, this book is unique and beautiful. The story revolves around a Spinosaurus in Cretaceous Era Africa. This isn’t like Land Before Time with anthropomorphic dinosaurs talking to each other and having adventures and learning emotional lessons. This is a story about a dinosaur in a world of dinosaurs having a dinosaur life. The beautifully-drawn story unfolds like a nature special with no narrator; the action in the comic book moves the narrative. This book is amazing, and I cannot recommend it enough. This book is perfect if you like dinosaurs, dinosaurs, comic books beyond the realm of superheros, dinosaurs, wordless narratives, and being hypnotized by stunning art. This book is also the perfect way to get ready for Jurassic World this weekend.
Dinosaurs and witchcraft dominate the indie comics spotlight this week, so I hope you enjoy these books as much as I did. If you’re enjoying an indie book I haven’t touched on yet, let me know in the comments below! Happy reading!
Marvel announced Tuesday, that Walking Dead alum Jon Bernthal has signed on to be the Punisher in the second season of Netflix’s Daredevil.
“Jon Bernthal brings an unmatched intensity to every role he takes on, with a potent blend of power, motivation and vulnerability that will connect with audiences,” said Jeph Loeb, Marvel’s Head of Television. “Castle’s appearance will bring dramatic changes to the world of Matt Murdock and nothing will be the same.”
Bernthal is said to have a big presence on the series.
The Punisher is a vigilante who uses lethal force to deal with crime.
James Guiliani spoke with Matthew Sardo about his new book “Dogfella” and how everything in his life has lead to this moment.
ABOUT JAMES “HEAD” GUILIANI AND “DOGFELLA”
How did an addicted ex–con on the verge of suicide become a caring member of the community? With a little help from a Shih Tzu named Bruno.
James “Head” Guiliani, a confidante of the Gotti regime, was arrested and jailed on a weapons charge. After his release, he fell back into alcohol and drug addiction—until, one day, he came across an abandoned, abused Shih Tzu in the street. He rescued the dog, whom he lovingly named Bruno, and, in the process, turned his own life around.
“Dogfella” recounts the story of Guiliani’s life, from his involvement in street gangs and the infamous Gotti crime family to his incarceration and eventual redemption through animal welfare. Guiliani’s new career has led him to save pit bulls from a dog-fighting ring and drive through six-foot snowdrifts to reach 200 cats stranded at a Long Island sanctuary.
“In this funny, touching tale, a wise guy barks back at his addictions by rescuing a Shih Tzu named Bruno. Guaranteed to warm every animal lover’s heart.”— Bruce Goldstein, author of Puppy Chow is Better than Prozac
ABOUT JAMES GUILIANI
James Guiliani is the fifth of six kids born to a religious, working-class Italian American family. He turned to petty crime in high school and was the enforcer for mob boss John Gotti of the Gambino crime family by his mid-twenties. After serving time both in prison and in odd jobs, he now spends his days caring for and rescuing animals with his wife, Lena.
The first teaser for the finale of Lionsgate’s blockbuster franchise is here.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay part II is directed by Francis Lawrence and stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Claflin, Elizabeth Banks, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Wright, and Stanley Tucci.
Expect tidbits surrounding Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice to leak out from time to time all the way to March 2016. Today, we have an official synopsis of the film, describing what most can figure out from the teaser trailer.
The synopsis, according to the report on Collider, has been released ahead of the Las Vegas Licensing Expo, which starts tomorrow:
“Fearing the actions of a god-like super hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.”
Most of these details can be figured out from the less-than-subtle teaser trailer. The only thing we are waiting on here is a confirmation of the “new threat.”
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters in March 2016.
We are still a few weeks away from the release of the fifth Terminator film, Terminator Genisys, and it seems the studio and PR department is already in spin control. The trailers have gotten progressively more convoluted, increasingly spoilerific, and no matter how much nonsense they throw into these previews, nothing seems to be helping the negative buzz surrounding what looks like a DOA tentpole for Paramount.
Time to bring in James Cameron.
The latest trailer, or featurette, for Terminator Genisys features Cameron endorsing the film and calling it the “third Terminator movie,” therein trying to erase Rise of The Machines and Salvation from our collective memories. Nice try, Cameron.
Here is the Terminator Genisys featurette:
So many things stick out here. At first, Cameron seems flattered that Terminator Genisys is mimicking his films, then he goes into his interpretation of characters like Sarah Connor. His interpretation. Then, after calling this one the third Terminator film, he goes on to say “if you like the Terminator movies, you’ll like this one.” Yeah, except maybe half of the existing films, right?
Cameron also confirms that the trailers have ruined what could have been a nice surprise, the fact that John Connor is a bad guy. The hero of three of the first four films is now a villain, and that’s just okay I guess?
If James Cameron wants to endorse Terminator Genisys, that’s fine. I still don’t buy it. There can be all sorts of motivations for Cameron doing this PR plug for a movie in which he has no involvement, but let’s not get into conspiracy theories. Let’s just point out the fact that Terminator Genysis basically erases not only the last two films, but the entire story told in the first two classics. “Hey, remember Terminator and Terminator 2? Yeah, those never happened.” What?!
The synopsis for Terminator Genisys does nothing to clear up this mess either. Maybe the biggest surprise of the summer will be the fact that Terminator Genisys is a good movie, and it certainly has potential to be entertaining in the least. But I have never had less confidence in a film going in, and this endorsement feels less like praise and more like a desperate attempt to remind everyone who made the first two superior films in the first place.
