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Jurassic World: Dominion (2022)
Jurassic World: Dominion (2022)
2022 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
8
6.5 (16 Ratings)
Movie Rating
After having the film halted and its release delayed by the Pandemic, “Jurassic World: Dominion” has finally arrived and closes out the new trilogy in a spectacle of action and visual splendor.

Picking up a few years after the events of “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”, the dinosaurs have escaped into the wild and now mingle with and at times endanger society.

A multi-national company has been leading the way with a reserve to study the animals and their quirky leader Lewis Dodgson (Campbell Scott), promises the goal is to discover medicines that will benefit all of society.

At the same time, various concerns have arisen such as gigantic Locust swarms that threaten the food supply and activist Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) is convinced that Dodgson and his company are behind it. Desperate to find answers, she seeks the help of Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Dr. Ian Malcom (Jeff Goldblum) to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), find their lives disrupted by the poaching of a unique dinosaur and a genetically unique young girl named Maisie (Isabella Sermon) and this puts them on a path to recover them both which takes them into the illegal world of dinosaur sales and on a collision course with Ellie and her team.

The old and new cast faces numerous dangers along the way before they unite for a rousing final act which effectively combines the original and new trilogy and cast very well.

Director Colin Trevorrow takes his time getting the story up to speed as the early part of the film is heavy on characters and set up before getting to the action but once it starts, there is an endless parade of dinosaurs old and new to endanger the cast and keep the tension moving.

While people may be able to find fault with elements of the plot, pacing, and dialogue, the cast is very effective and it is nice to see the cast from the original series being given a much larger role and how elements from the first film are addressed which have been a point of debate for fans.

The visuals are impressive and there is no end of snarling, biting, and deadly creatures mixed in with favorites old and new while people may want more depth or variation, the creatures are the focal point of the story and the film provides plenty of what fans have come to expect.

The formula of gathering the cast and endangering them with an array of dinosaurs does not change much aside from the locales and creatures involved but fans of the series know what they are getting and “Jurassic World: Dominion” gives fans what they expect and does it well.

DeWanda Wise and Mamoudou Athie are nice additions to the cast and Isabella Sermon appears to be a breakout star in the making. It will be interesting to see how long Universal waits before returning the franchise to cinemas as they have mentioned taking a break following this film, hopefully, it will not be as long as the break between “Jurassic Park 3”, and “Jurassic World” as it will be interesting to see what the next summer event film in the series will offer.

4 stars out of 5.
  
    Meadow

    Meadow

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    Tabletop Game

    Meadow is an engaging set collection game with over two hundred unique cards containing hand-painted...

Split (2016)
Split (2016)
2016 | Horror, Thriller
James McAvoy (0 more)
Contains spoilers, click to show
I didn't realize this was an M. Night Shyamalan film when I watched it. In true M. Night Shyamalan fashion, you get a surprise twist at the end and find out that Kevin (James McAvoy) exists in the same world of hero and villain, David Dunn (Bruce Willis) and Mr. Glass ( Samuel L. Jackson) from Unbreakable.

James McAvoy had to play several different characters in this movie, as Kevin has 23 different personalities, some not so nice, and others, pure evil. A few of these personalities kidnap and hold 3 girls hostage and you watch as they learn the gravity of their situation and try to plan their escape. One of their captor's personalities is a kind and simple soul, Hedwig, that the girls try to exploit to help them escape.

All the while, Kevin is seeing a therapist to try to keep his darker personalities in check. But a new, more terrifying 24th personality begins to emerge and take over. It is this 24th personality known as the Beast that catches the attention of Dunn and Mr. Glass, along with the rest of the world. The Beast is superhuman, able to scale walls and seemingly invulnerable.

Of the 24 personalities, only a handful are fully developed characters portrayed in the movie. It could not have been an easy role, but McAvoy does it so well, that you believe the different personalities. I have long been a fan of McAvoy's and he does not disappoint in this film.
  
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ClareR (6054 KP) rated The Unravelling in Books

Feb 23, 2022  
The Unravelling
The Unravelling
Polly Crosby | 2022 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I absolutely adored this thoughtful, beautiful story of a young woman, Tartelin, going to live on the island of Dohhalund as an assistant to Marianne Stourbridge, and elderly lepidopterist.

Marianne is a difficult woman to get to know: she’s short tempered, doesn’t really want to share any of herself with Tartelin - and she has a lot of secrets to share.

Tartelin is mourning the death of her mother. She’s a young woman, alone in the world. She probably chooses the job with Marianne because it’s somewhere so different from her childhood home and her mother’s art studio.

I do think that Dohhalund goes some way to helping Tartelin begin the grieving process. It sounds like a stark, beautiful place. At one end is a military base, and at the other is Marianne’s house and land. Her family had lived on Dohhalund for generations, until the military had ordered them to leave. After her return, it’s evident that many of the buildings have started to fall into the sea. This reflects to some extent, Marianne’s physical and Tartelin’s mental states. Both women are deeply affected by what has happened in their pasts.

This is such an emotive, beautifully descriptive book. It’s a slow burner, a story of friendship and love, where secrets are revealed, people are reunited and new friendships forged.

This gorgeous book had me in tears by the end, with characters I really cared for. As the Pearl Women in the book often said: “The sea is made up of unspeakable sadness”, and whilst this novel was sad, there was also hope.
Highly recommended (as is Polly Crosby’s first book “The Illustrated Child”).