Great Movie Re-Watch

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

David Koepp

Starring:

Jeff Goldblum

Julianne Moore

Pete Postlethwaite

Arliss Howard

Richard Attenborough

Vince Vaughn

Blurb:

A research team is sent to the Jurassic Park Site B island to study the dinosaurs there, while an InGen team approaches with another agenda.

Thoughts:

I wasn’t as much a fan of The Lost World as my partner was. He liked the added aspect of the dinosaurs winding up on the mainland, while I thought the movie dragged on too long. I think that’s a complaint I have with a lot of movies as I get older. Some of them I’m all for the added length, but a lot of them could do with some tighter editing.

Jeff Goldblum was, of course, awesome. Vince Vaughn felt random, but that’s because The Lost World was early in his career and it’s not the route he took with his later movies. So it was odd seeing him in a serious roll. I didn’t like Juilianna Moore’s character as much as the previous female role. She was a bit stupid for someone who was supposed to be so smart. Walking around with blood on her jacket? Come on woman.

The ending was one of those that dragged on too long. There was the obvious ending of them getting off the island, but then they did the extended wind up on the mainland. The mainland stuff was fun and for the most part I liked it, but I wish they’d gotten rid of some stuff on the island to make it shorter.

Also, how dare they kill Toby from the West Wing!

It wasn’t until I was writing this blog post that I realized the movie came out in ‘97 and not ‘95 like I had it listed in my excel spreadsheet, so it will be posted out of order. Mistakes happen so I’ll let it slide. I’ll try to check before watching from now on, though.

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Toy Story (1995)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Toy Story (1995)

Director:

John Lasseter

Writers:

John Lasseter

Pete Doctor

Andrew Stanton

Starring:

Tom Hanks

Tim Allen

Don Rickles

Jim Varney

Wallace Shawn

John Ratzenberger

Annie Potts

Blurb:

A cowboy doll is profoundly threatened and jealous when a new spaceman figure supplants him as top toy in a boy’s room.

Thoughts:

I did not watch Toy Story. I’m fourteen years older than my younger brother and he went through a phase where we watched this and Toy Story 2 every single day. Then both of my kids went through a similar phase. I have this god damn movie memorized. I have watched it more than any other movie. Still, I don’t hate it, but I’m not going to watch it when I can close my eyes and watch it from start to finish.

Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

Director:

John McTiernan

Writers:

Jonathan Hensleigh

Roderick Thorp

Starring:

Bruce Willis

Samuel L. Jackson

Jeremy Irons

Blurb:

John McClane and a Harlem store owner are targeted by German terrorist Simon in New York City, where he plans to rob the Federal Reserve Building.

Thoughts:

This may be controversial, but Die Hard with a Vengeance is my favorite Die Hard. Obviously, the first one is a classic and I love it. The second one, though, is a complete rehash of the first, and while that’s fine, it’s a bit boring. The third one, with the addition of Samuel L. Jackson, cranks things up a notch, for me. I love the added attitude and humor that he brings. It is a bit longer than it needs to be, the first one has it beat there, but I’ll deal with it.

There are a number of plot holes in this film, but that’s always the case with action movies. Since the dialog makes up for it all I’m able to keep that from causing me to enjoy the movie. It’s fun to point them out while watching, but that just enhances the watching experience.

It would be nice to see Jackson’s character in the following movies, but I completely understand why his character wouldn’t want to have anything to do with John McClane. Zeus would not put up with McClane’s self-absorbed ass for long.

I’m halfway through the 90s, but I don’t believe I’ll make it through them by the end of the year. Christmas is coming and I have holiday movies to watch.

Jumanji (1995)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Jumanji (1995)

Director:

Joe Johnston

Writers:

Jonathan Hensleigh

Greg Taylor

Jim Strain

Starring:

Robin Williams

Bonnie Hunt

Kirsten Dunst

Bradley Pierce

David Alan Grier

Blurb:

When two kids find and play a magical board game, they release a man trapped in it for decades – and a host of dangers that can only be stopped by finishing the game.

Thoughts:

A lot of people remember where they were when they found out that Robin Williams died. I don’t. However, I feel a deep sense of sadness when I see him in a movie. He was such an incredible man. Even with that sadness, he can still make me laugh.

Having read the Jumanji book the writers of this movie took a lot of creative liberties and it worked out wonderfully. I love the concept of getting stuck playing a scary game. Something that the newer version doesn’t have is the effect that these things have on the real world. Seeing how others who had no idea what was going on reacted was great, but even better was seeing how the world was changed by the disappearance of Alan. I loved that and wish there was more of that in the remakes.

Jumanji is another movie that I watched a fair amount when I was growing up. I still can’t watch when the spiders are on the screen, but it’s still one of my favorites.

Alan is such a whiny ass that getting sucked into the game was probably good for him. As much as that sucked for him.

The special effects still look good and I think that’s because so much of it wasn’t CGI. I wish there was less CGI in films nowadays. I’m getting old lol

Star Trek Generations (1994)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Star Trek Generations (1994)

Director:

David Carson

Writers:

Ronald D. Moore

Brannon Braga

Starring:

Patrick Stewart

Jonathan Frakes

Brent Spiner

LeVar Burton

Michael Dorn

Gates McFadden

Marina Sirtis

Malcolm McDowell

William Shatner

Whoopi Goldberg

Blurb:

With the help of long presumed dead Captain Kirk, Captain Picard must stop a deranged scientist willing to murder on a planetary scale in order to enter a space matrix.

Thoughts:

Generations is my first Star Trek movie during my re-watch. When I was growing up it was my favorite. Data finally having emotions was so funny. Add to that he actually cursed and how could a child not love it? As an adult, I realize that Data just seems wrong in this film.

The Next Generation tv show ended before this movie came out and it seems to be a hand-off from one generation of movie actors to the next. You get to see the chaotic good Captain Kirk and the lawful good Captain Picard work together. They make a good contrast, though, I will always prefer Picard.

As I mentioned Data has emotions in Generations. After years he decided that the emotion chip that could potentially destroy him might be a good idea. All because of a joke he failed to execute. As a viewer, I thought his joke was hilarious, but the rest of the crew was not amused. If this was a TV episode I could easily see that one part of the story taking up two episodes. In this case, though, it was just a side plot.

This is the movie that created my love for Klingon women. I’m not going to go into it.

All in all, I thought Picard’s character was nailed. It was a bit disappointing not to see more of the crew interacting, but you can’t have everything.