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Sarah Harding
Author
A Whole Lot of History
Book
In 2002 - along with Cheryl Cole, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding and Nicola Roberts - Kimberley Walsh...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2071 KP) rated The Lost World (Jurassic Park, #2) in Books
Dec 15, 2019
Scientific Theories Disguised as Fiction Make Desire to Read This Novel Extinct
This book picks up a few years after the original Jurassic Park disaster. It turns out that that the rumors of Ian Malcom’s death were greatly exaggerated, and he has recovered thanks to Sarah Harding. While none of the survivors of the Jurassic Park disaster have talked about what happened, there are rumors. And those rumors aren’t helped by the reappearance of weird creatures on the Costa Rica coast. In fact, wealthy scientist Richard Levine has come up with the theory that there is another island with dinosaurs on it, and he is obsessed with finding it. And it isn’t long before he, Ian, Sarah, and others are heading to the second island to study the dinosaurs, learn more about how they lived, and hopefully learn why they became extinct. Will the scientists be able to prove their theories? Or will some stowaways and other uninvited guests ruin their plans?
I listened to an abridgement of this book over 20 years ago, and I remember thinking this was a decent if unnecessary sequel. I decided it was time for a relisten and this time, a listen of the full book. Turns out, I enjoyed the abridgement better. There is too much time spent rediscovering that the dinosaurs are out there again and trying to locate them. Then, once we arrive, we get lectures, mostly from Malcom and Levine, about how dinosaurs lived and theories about why they became extinct. While there are some suspenseful scenes early on, it’s not until the final quarter that we get the scenes the movie has made famous. And those scenes? Nail bitters even if you know what is going to happen. The ending is much better than the movie’s ending as well, not that this is a high bar. Diehard fans will enjoy this one, but the casual fan has no reason to pick this book up.
I listened to an abridgement of this book over 20 years ago, and I remember thinking this was a decent if unnecessary sequel. I decided it was time for a relisten and this time, a listen of the full book. Turns out, I enjoyed the abridgement better. There is too much time spent rediscovering that the dinosaurs are out there again and trying to locate them. Then, once we arrive, we get lectures, mostly from Malcom and Levine, about how dinosaurs lived and theories about why they became extinct. While there are some suspenseful scenes early on, it’s not until the final quarter that we get the scenes the movie has made famous. And those scenes? Nail bitters even if you know what is going to happen. The ending is much better than the movie’s ending as well, not that this is a high bar. Diehard fans will enjoy this one, but the casual fan has no reason to pick this book up.
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) in Movies
Feb 5, 2020
Ian Malcolm Should Have Left Them On the Island
Thoughts before watching The Lost World: Jurassic Park as a twelve-year-old in 1997: “Oh man, I can’t wait to check out all this dino action! Raptors for life!” Thoughts before watching The Lost World: Jurassic Park as a thirty-five-year-old in 2019: “Why the hell are they going back to the island? These people clearly have a death wish!” Yes, the sequel to one of the greatest movies ever made sees a return to the dinosaur madness as a special team led by Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm goes on a mission for Jurassic Park’s creator John Hammond (Richard Attenborough).
Acting: 10
Jeff Goldblum has a way of captivating any screen he’s on. He has charm, wit, and an erratic nature that’s absolutely hilarious. He has a strong cast backing him up with guys like Vince Vaughn and Julianne Moore helping to run the show.
Beginning: 10
Strong start as we see there are still idiots out there that don’t know how to stay away from these islands. The movie is immediately entertaining while also letting you know it’s going to be a different kind of movie than the first. Definitely piqued my interest.
Characters: 6
One of my biggest issues with the entire movie. I’m honestly surprised I didn’t score it lower. For the most part, I hated these characters outside of Ian Malcolm. I almost wish he had left the rest of them to stew on the island by themselves. Julianne Moore’s character Sarah Harding was obnoxious and pretty annoying. Then again, I can say that for a lot of the characters including Malcolm’s daughter Kelly Curtis (Vanessa Lee Chester). At times, it really made it hard for me to enjoy the movie.
Cinematography/Visuals: 9
The dino special effects were taken to new heights in this one. I particularly love the extra work they put into the velociraptors showing off their incredible jumping ability and rogue-like stealth. I also appreciated the multitude of dinos you get in this one as well from the stegosaurus down to the tiny compies. I can’t remember their names, but my particular favorite dino was the one with the bone head. His hard skull could crash through just about anything. I enjoyed watching it wreak havoc on a number of doors and people.
What bothered me just a bit was the choice of a darker color tone throughout the movie. It was almost as if they were trying to purposefully differentiate from the first by doing this. It takes some getting used to, but ultimately didn’t kill the movie for me.
Conflict: 10
Entertainment Value: 10
Memorability: 4
Pace: 8
Plot: 4
What a stupid story. Who in their right mind after hearing all the craziness that went down at the original park would ever go back to face off against these dinos? Rescue mission my ass, not this guy! Had they followed the book, I feel it would have been a lot more believable.
Resolution: 9
Overall: 77
Let’s be honest, no way this movie was going to match the first in any way. Jurassic Park set an amazing standard that is just hard to follow. However, I will say that, while not perfect, The Lost World: Jurassic Park does have its moments that make it a decent enough watch.
Acting: 10
Jeff Goldblum has a way of captivating any screen he’s on. He has charm, wit, and an erratic nature that’s absolutely hilarious. He has a strong cast backing him up with guys like Vince Vaughn and Julianne Moore helping to run the show.
Beginning: 10
Strong start as we see there are still idiots out there that don’t know how to stay away from these islands. The movie is immediately entertaining while also letting you know it’s going to be a different kind of movie than the first. Definitely piqued my interest.
Characters: 6
One of my biggest issues with the entire movie. I’m honestly surprised I didn’t score it lower. For the most part, I hated these characters outside of Ian Malcolm. I almost wish he had left the rest of them to stew on the island by themselves. Julianne Moore’s character Sarah Harding was obnoxious and pretty annoying. Then again, I can say that for a lot of the characters including Malcolm’s daughter Kelly Curtis (Vanessa Lee Chester). At times, it really made it hard for me to enjoy the movie.
Cinematography/Visuals: 9
The dino special effects were taken to new heights in this one. I particularly love the extra work they put into the velociraptors showing off their incredible jumping ability and rogue-like stealth. I also appreciated the multitude of dinos you get in this one as well from the stegosaurus down to the tiny compies. I can’t remember their names, but my particular favorite dino was the one with the bone head. His hard skull could crash through just about anything. I enjoyed watching it wreak havoc on a number of doors and people.
What bothered me just a bit was the choice of a darker color tone throughout the movie. It was almost as if they were trying to purposefully differentiate from the first by doing this. It takes some getting used to, but ultimately didn’t kill the movie for me.
Conflict: 10
Entertainment Value: 10
Memorability: 4
Pace: 8
Plot: 4
What a stupid story. Who in their right mind after hearing all the craziness that went down at the original park would ever go back to face off against these dinos? Rescue mission my ass, not this guy! Had they followed the book, I feel it would have been a lot more believable.
Resolution: 9
Overall: 77
Let’s be honest, no way this movie was going to match the first in any way. Jurassic Park set an amazing standard that is just hard to follow. However, I will say that, while not perfect, The Lost World: Jurassic Park does have its moments that make it a decent enough watch.