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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17558 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 12:28 pm Post subject: The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) |
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I didn't care for this one the first time I saw it — largely because I was angry about the way they treated the character who worked so courageously to save the folks in the dangling trailer. Two T-Rex's tore him in half.
The movie had me rooting for that little bald guy and his heroic efforts — and then he became a wishbone for two nasty lizards. It sucked.
However, I watched the movie again recently and pretended the little guy went straight to heaven, where God reminded him that He'd sent an asteroid to smush all the nasty lizards 65 million years ago, so screw 'em.
He who laughs last, etc. etc.
Other than that one unfortunate scene, this is a really fine follow-up to the 1993 hit that resurrected dinosaurs in the virtual world, if not the real one. Jeff Goldblum works his magic charm and remains calm in the face of hideous circumstances, and Joanna Moore makes a fiesty heroine, waltzing around among grazing triceratops like she's at a cocktail party, hoping to strike up a conversation with that hunky guy near the bar.
Meanwhile, mean and evil capitalist have teamed up with mean and evil big game hunters, and the smart money is not on the dinosaurs — although we know that heads will roll before the conflict is over, and that's not a figurative reference . . .
As in the 1933 King Kong (the only Kong worth it's salt, in my opinion), half the movie is on the monster-filled island and the other half is in the urban jungle of San Diego, where momma T-Rex is going to eat every yuppie in sight if they don't give her baby back and then pay for a boat ride back home.
All in all, I must say this is a movie I would have worshiped if I'd seen it when I was ten years old in 1958 (except for being traumatized for life by nightmares about little bald guy being tossed in two directions at once), and since I've succeeded in never really growing up, I still think it's pretty terrific.
What do you guys think? _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Wed Dec 14, 2022 12:38 pm; edited 6 times in total |
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Krel Guest
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 4:28 pm Post subject: Re: The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) |
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Bud Brewster wrote: | I didn't care for this one the first time I saw it -- largely because I was angry about the way they treated the character who worked so courageously to save the folks in the dangling trailer. Two T-Rex's tore him in half. |
What really gets me is that the environmental terrorist that causes most of the trouble AND is directly responsible for getting at least one person killed gets off scot-free. The Hunter reacted a lot better than I would have if he had sabotaged my rifle and got my best friend killed. I would have kneecapped the SOB, and left him for the T-Rex.
And the poor little doggy that became a T-Rex snack, all for a cheap laugh. Okay, it was a funny scene. What I was really waiting for was the battle between the authorities and the T-Rex, and it never happened. The Police just turned tail and ran. Really respectful to the Police. I felt really cheated by this movie.
David. |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17558 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2017 11:30 am Post subject: |
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This trailer certainly makes it look like a terrific movie!
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________ The Lost World: Jurassic Park - trailer
__________ _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Fri Dec 11, 2020 10:08 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17558 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2018 12:13 pm Post subject: |
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What? No IMDB trivial items with witty comments from the The Bard of the Board, William "Bud" Shakespeare?
This movie has 169 trivia items, so I'm sure I can find a few that are worth sharing. Here goes nothin'.
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The two models of the T-Rex each weighed nine tons. Due to their weight, the crew constructed sets around them, rather than moving them onto sets.
Note from me: Ah, yes. Clever. These guys were "thinking outside the Rex."
Writer David Koepp said that when he was writing the script to this movie, he taped a fan letter next to his computer screen. The letter was from a viewer of Jurassic Park (1993) who complained he "waited too long" to show the dinosaurs in that film.
Note from me: I wish I'd written him a letter that said, "If there's happens to be a brave little bald guy who struggles valiantly to save the main characters in the middle of a storm while being threatened by two T-Rex . . . don't kill him. That would suck."
In the novel of "Jurassic Park", the characters of John Hammond and Ian Malcolm died (though Malcolm returned in the novel "The Lost World" (1997), explaining that "The doctors did excellent work."). In the film version, however, both characters survived, allowing them to return in this movie.
Note from me: Let me guess. The doctors cloned him.
The reason for Stegosaurus being in the film was because Director Steven Spielberg received "literally thousands" of letters, many of which came from children, inquiring why stegosaurus was absent in the first film. Conceptual artist for the first three films, Mark 'Crash' McCreery had previously expressed in the Jurassic Park Topps trading cards his regret that stegosaurus was not among the dinosaurs that appeared in Jurassic Park (1993)
Note from me: Behold!
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There was a special gadget developed for the movie: strobe lights in the theater. Theaters had to install strobe lights on the walls. The projectionists would put metal-markers on the film itself whenever there was a flash in the film, and that triggered the lights in the audience.
The problem: there isn't a single flash in the whole movie!
So, after installing the very expensive system, there was actually no "correct" moment to put the markers. In their despair, they put the markers during the storm-scenes. That resulted in either a cascade of strobes or almost none at all, so it was a different experience in different theaters. The audience was warned in advance, that there were strobe lights in the performance.
Note from me: Shades of William Castle's "Percepto!", those theater seats that were wired to vibrate the patrons' backsides and simulate an electric shock.
As a thank-you to Steven Spielberg, Industrial Light & Magic created an animation that features a pack of Compsognathus tap dancing wearing bow ties, top hats, and holding canes. It was included in Beyond Jurassic Park and on The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) Blu-ray.
Note from me: "Excuse me, sir. How do I get to Carnegie Hall?"
"Well, first you have to evolve for a few millions years . . . "
____ Compy Dance: Thank you to Steven Spielberg
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The man that is eaten by the T-Rex next to the video store (in San Diego) is David Koepp, one of the writers of the film. He is credited as "Unlucky Bastard".
Note from me: Eaten by the very dinosaur he created! I guess you could say that Mr. Koepp was just "getting into his work." (On second thought, let's not say that. )
Julianne Moore admitted that she did this film to pay off a divorce settlement, and to work with Steven Spielberg.
Note from me: Wait a minute. Ms. Moore owed her ex-husband money? Wow, that's proof that our species is evolving! _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Dec 06, 2022 3:31 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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Bogmeister Galactic Fleet Vice Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 575
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Posted: Sat May 11, 2019 2:25 pm Post subject: |
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________ The Lost World: Jurassic Park - trailer
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Sequel to Jurassic Park (1993): Spielberg returned for the 2nd film in the franchise, bringing back the characters played by Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough (as well as cameos by Arianna Richards & Joseph Mazzello).
Goldblum's Ian Malcolm is told by Hammond that there's a 2nd island. Ian, of course, has no intention of going there (remember, he was the the first to voice his apprehensions about all this in the first film), but Hammond also tells him that his girlfriend (Julianne Moore), a dedicated paleontologist, has already gone there.
So, away Ian goes, as well as his daughter, as a stowaway. The script for this one was way weaker than the first, having a forced quality about it. Besides retreading familiar ground, it throws in all these caricatures and cliches as characters. It's not good when the more entertaining one is played by Peter Stormare, as a sadistic member of the 'bad' group.
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That's the set-up here. There's the good group, led by Ian, and then there's the bad group, led by Hammond's nephew (Arliss Howard), the new head of the corporation. He's brought in a large group of experts, including a big game hunter (Pete Postlethwaite), to capture a bunch of the dinosaurs.
Things go wrong, of course; people are eaten and torn up on both sides, and they finally get a T-Rex, tying it down on a boat transport. But, by the time this reaches San Diego, things have gone wrong again, setting things up for the big setpiece of a large carnivore roaming the city streets. Even with some excitement generated — mostly via great FX — much of this was wrongheaded, even the title. I mean, The Lost World? How unoriginal can you get? Jurassic Island would have been a lot better.
______The Lost World - The InGen Team Arrives
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Jurassic Trivia: Despite a record-breaking opening weekend ($72m), this one ended up with only about two-thirds of the first one's total gross (this is all domestic). The weekend record held until 2001, when the 1st Harry Potter film busted it with just over $90 million. The next sequel, Jurassic Park III, arrived in 2001, without Spielberg, and then there was a long wait until 2015 for the 4th film.
BoG's Score: 6 out of 10
BoG
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17558 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2020 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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The basic premise for this franchise — the idea that dinosaurs can be recreated using an advanced scientific technique — is so intelligent that it's potential for new stories is practically limitless.
Here's just a few examples of the ideas I came up with.
~ A large portion of the endangered Amazon rain forest could be designated as a preserve and then populated by dinosaurs, both to give them a place to live and make them the protectors of this fragile and important ecological region.
~ In the far future, an exo-planet is discovered with a lush environment with ample vegetation — but very little animal life. Earth's scientists decide to populate the planet with dinosaurs and create a new Earth, circa 65 million years ago!
~ During an experiment with a time machine, a group of scientists accidentally destroy the Earth's environment 65 million years ago. They realize that they were the cause of the "extinction event" we've assumed was the result of an asteroid!
In a desperate effort to fix the problem they caused, these scientist repopulate the Earth with dinosaurs and then engineer the events which caused the evolution of mankind which resulted in our present-day domination of the planet.
What do you think, guys? _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
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Gord Green Galactic Ambassador
Joined: 06 Oct 2014 Posts: 2985 Location: Buffalo, NY
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Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2020 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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Of them all this one stands out as a great springboard....
Quote: | ~ In the far future, an exo-planet is discovered with a lush environment with ample vegetation — but very little animal life. Earth's scientists decide to populate the planet with dinosaurs and create a new Earth, circa 65 million years ago! |
The takeaway, at the end, is that they've given the dinosaurs a new chance....And "who knows?" where this will go in a few million years. It was a fluke of bad luck and chance that removed them from the Earth in the first place.
Maybe they'll outlive Humanity in the Universe...and evolve to become the true masters of Creation! _________________ There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child. |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17558 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2020 9:14 am Post subject: |
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That's a great follow up to the concepts, Gord. _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Mar 31, 2020 10:00 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Phantom Solar Explorer
Joined: 06 Sep 2015 Posts: 67
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Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2020 9:48 pm Post subject: Jurassic Disappointment |
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I can't say I actively hate this movie; just dismayed that so many opportunities were missed in favor of a cliche ridden script.
Spielberg throws another unnecessary kid into the mix. Anyone have a list of the number of children who have conveniently stowed away just to become a plot annoyance. Start with Fritz Lang's The Woman in the Moon (1929).
Pete Postlethwaite (damned if I know how to pronounce it) was a welcome addition to the movie.
Jurassic Park III reversed all the schmaltz and gave us a straight up adventure story, and this time the kid proved his value. _________________ What Is Essential Is Invisible |
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The Spike Astral Engineer
Joined: 23 Sep 2014 Posts: 266 Location: Birmingham. Great Britain.
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Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 6:50 pm Post subject: |
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Actually where you're going is the only place in the world where the geese chase you!
The Lost World: Jurassic Park is directed by Steven Spielberg and adapted to screenplay by David Koepp from the novel written by Michael Crichton. It stars Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Pete Postlethwaite, Vince Vaughn, Richard Schiff, Peter Stormare, Vanessa Lee Chester, Arliss Howard and Harvey Jason. Music is scored by John Williams and cinematography by Janusz Kamiński.
Four years on from the horrors of Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar, it transpires that there is a second dinosaur site on Isla Sornar. Dr. Ian Malcolm (Goldblum) is forced to head off to face the horrors once again when he learns that his paleontologist girlfriend, Sara Harding (Moore), is already on the island as a forerunner to a team John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) is assembling to document the dinosaurs in their habitat. Once there, though, the problems soon arise, especially when a team from InGen arrive with other ideas about the dinosaurs on their minds.
Given the massive success of Jurassic Park in 1993, a sequel was inevitable. What transpires is pretty much more of the same, it's very safe film making by Spielberg. Coming off of the emotional exertions of his last film, Schindler's List, few can deny that the director was entitled to wind down with The Lost World project, there was after all nothing safe about Schindler's, but although Jurassic 2 is a hugely enjoyable family blockbuster, a jazzy bit of hi-tech fun, it lacks the requisite brains to make it an inspiring sequel.
Formula follows the same path, humans in peril on the island, with some added and new dinosaurs (double T-Rex a bonus), and then the "twist" in the narrative sees some monster peril come to San Diego, King Kong style, for the finale. There's inter fighting between the good dudes led by Malcolm and the bad guys led by the weasel Peter Ludlow (Howard) who is Hammond's conniving nephew and current head of InGen. Family issues also feature, of course since this is Spielberg after all, while the dangers of tampering with science message remains as strong as ever.
Cast are ably led by a witty Goldblum, who is a reassuring presence carried over from the first film, and the tech-credits are as expected, very high. Some scenes soar, such as a sequence shot from under a pane of glass that starts to crack under the weight of a character, others not so, such as having Malcolm's teenage daughter turn into Nadia Comăneci for one credulity stretching scene. But all told it's an honest blockbuster purely aimed at the target audience who helped to see it make over $600 million in profit. Safe often pays, you see, and as sequels go it's one of the better ones in the 90s. It's exciting if intellectually stunted. 7/10 _________________ The quality of mercy is not strnen. |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17558 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2022 1:44 pm Post subject: Re: Jurassic Disappointment |
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Phantom wrote: | Spielberg throws another unnecessary kid into the mix. Anyone have a list of the number of children who have conveniently stowed away just to become a plot annoyance. Start with Fritz Lang's The Woman in the Moon (1929). |
It occurred to me several years ago that the reason I have a more positive attitude than some folks do when it comes to movies which either have kids as main characters, or movies that were obviously designed to appeal to young audiences, is because . . . well, I've been up to my ass in kids for most of my life!
I had two lovely children in the early 1980s, and I shared all my favorite sci-fi movies with them — which means I got to enjoy those movies through their young eyes.
By the time they were in their early teens I'd become a school teacher, spending my days with youngster who ranged year-to-year from 2nd graders to 8th graders.
I even shared movies like Robinson Crusoe on Mars with several of my classes. They always loved that one, surprisingly enough, despite Leonard Maltin once stating that it wouldn't appeal to today's young audiences!
So, even though there are skilled child actors (like Dakota Goyo in Real Steel) and not-so-skilled child actors (like Jake Lloyd in The Phantom Menace, whom the crew secretly referred to as "Mannequin Skywalker"), I tend to lean towards the positive side when reacting to actors who are still waaaay too young to drink or vote. _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
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