Jurassic World (2015)

Directed by Colin Trevorrow
Written by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly, based on characters by Michael Crichton
Starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Irrfan Khan and Jake Johnson

Twenty-two years after the events of Jurassic Park, Isla Nublar now features a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World, as originally envisioned by John Hammond. After 10 years of operation and visitor rates declining, in order to fulfill a corporate mandate, a new attraction is created to re-spark visitor's interest, which backfires horribly.

I think the most apparent thing about this long awaited sequel is the CGI. Compared to the CGI effects in the original three, the creatures look more cartoony. Don't get me wrong, the CGI is top-notch, but without a plethora of practical animatronic effects, the entire film seems like a video game.

On top of that, the acting and writing from a good portion of the characters is sub par and at times, hard to watch. The performances are either over the top or seem forced.

Despite all of the flaws, "Jurassic World" succeeded in bringing the kid out in me. I watched in awe as dinosaurs and lab created monsters caused massive amounts of death and destruction. It was if I time traveled back to my 4-year-old self and re-watched the original for the first time.

Perhaps nostalgia played a big part in my opinion of this movie. If that is the case, I don't care. It was a fun, action packed movie that sets an example for what summer block-busters should be. With seeing the park open and fully functional, it added an extra dash of excitement seeing everyone's dream park realized.

And they also (briefly) explain why the dinosaurs don't have feathers in their park. Which they would if they were real.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Furious Seven (2015)

Directed by James Wan
Written by Chris Morgan, based on the characters by Gary Scott Thompson
Starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson and Michelle Rodriguez

Deckard Shaw seeks revenge against Dominic Toretto and his family for his comatose brother.

Ludacris is not just the name of an actor in this movie. It is also the single most correct word to describe it. Ludicrous. Physics? Thrown out the window, along with the cares of everyone involved. But it achieves the most important thing when it comes to action movies. It is fun as hell.

Filled with laughable one liners and scenes of terrible etiquette (i.e. Vin Diesel wearing a wife-beater to his wedding when his bride wore a gown. Apparently he didn't get the "formal memo"), the movie has more explosions and gun shots than it does lines of dialogue, and that is perfectly fine.

Yeah. Bring the army to your home town and let them destroy it. Good plan.

From a human standpoint, the tribute to Paul Walker was great. But from a film standpoint, not so much. It felt more like the actors saying goodbye (which it was) than it did the charters (which it should have been). There was nothing about the way Paul's character arc ended that signified his team should have been sad. It's like being sad that your friend got out of a war zone alive and wasn't going to be shot at anymore. It didn't make sense.

This movie is not good. The film snob in me can't allow me to say that. However, I enjoyed the crap out of it, regardless of it's terribleness. It was a high octane thrill ride worthy of the big screen. But I'm sorry Mr. Diesel, if that is your real name! (It's not. It's Mark Sinclair) This movie will win no awards worth mentioning.

My Rating: 5/10

Enjoyment Rating: 7/10