MovieMeditation’s Diary Reviews // “Come and meditate with me!”

→ in
Tools    





MovieMeditation presents...
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... viewing day count
240 .......................... 277

__________________________


October 4th

—— 2015 ——
JURASSIC WORLD
—— adventure ——
CINEMA REVIEWS

REWATCH

Hate finds a way...

So, was we ever going to get another classic with this one? No way. Was it going to exceed the original? Forget it. But even though it sounds ridiculous to expect such things, some people appearently did. This was never going to be as good as the first, but in my opinion, it is probably the best one since the original and definitely better than the third film. 'Jurassic World' joins the same category as the likes of 'Mad Max: Fury Road' and 'Terminator: Genisys', where it creates this updated universe and universally apealing entry to the franchise, which works both as a sequel and a remake. Of course, I'm sad there wasn't more animatronics, but honestly it took me no time to adapt and accept that fact. 'Jurassic World' works as an old concept updated to today's standards and it works wonderfully in my opinion...

It succeeds in capturing the magical and adventurous atmosphere, while paying homage and delivering something new as well. I saw it in 3D (again) and it is really one of those movies that works as "an experience". You are right there, in that park, you are having scary good fun and dinos and dellusional people are all over the place. I love it! And I really do recommend it in 3D, they did a great job here. Anyways, overall, I think people are too nitpicky about this. Just because it couldn't reach their unnaturally high standards or that it weren't made exactly after their head, it can still be a hell of a lot of fun.

Honestly, I can't believe those stupid complains... "not enough animatronics" I agree, but I still enjoy the movie and some places the CGI is stunning. Also, practical effects in big blockbusters is rare... "stupid nostalgia scenes" no, I think they worked well and it was a great way to bind the movies together. Just accept you loved the fact that they did it instead of complaining... "why did she run in high heels?" when I saw this in IMAX 3D I didn't have no damn time to notice any failed footwear of these characters, I really couldn't care less in a movie about dinosaurs going wild. It was stupid, maybe, but still a nitpick... "characters are plain" again, I'm here to see the dinosaurs and they are awesome!



-
too generous? meh, whatever...
__________________________

CLICK FOR PAST REVIEW
__________________________



Welcome to the human race...
What a terrible movie.
Counterpoint: DINOSAURS

(but yeah, this is not a good movie and I'm debating whether or not it's worth it to actually argue with MM's points)
__________________
I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.
Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0



MM, completely agree with you about Jurassic World! It was so much fun to watch in theaters and ended up watching three times myself. The Jimmy Buffett cameo still makes me smile:




Counterpoint: DINOSAURS

(but yeah, this is not a good movie and I'm debating whether or not it's worth it to actually argue with MM's points)
It's not. It's just one of those movies, man.

Is it cinematic art? Hell no. But it's freaking awesome.



Welcome to the human race...
It's not. It's just one of those movies, man.

Is it cinematic art? Hell no. But it's freaking awesome.
I'd contend that it's cinematic art, but I'd also contend that it isn't good cinematic art either. I'd still give it criticism even on the basis of it being "one of those movies", which is what it's apparently trying to be in the first place, and having rampaging dinosaurs only goes so far in making it awesome.



I'd contend that it's cinematic art, but I'd also contend that it isn't good cinematic art either. I'd still give it criticism even on the basis of it being "one of those movies", which is what it's apparently trying to be in the first place, and having rampaging dinosaurs only goes so far in making it awesome.
The point I was trying to make, was just that I enjoy the hell out of this movie. But do I have problems with it? Definitely. Could I criticize it for hours? Probably.

I'm not trying to defend the movie purely on the fact that "dinos are awesome" but that's the reason I enjoy it and have a fun time with it, that's all.



The point I was trying to make, was just that I enjoy the hell out of this movie. But do I have problems with it? Definitely. Could I criticize it for hours? Probably.

I'm not trying to defend the movie purely on the fact that "dinos are awesome" but that's the reason I enjoy it and have a fun time with it, that's all.
Would have enjoyed it a lot more with fewer scenes of that teenage boy entering "rape mode".



Welcome to the human race...
The point I was trying to make, was just that I enjoy the hell out of this movie. But do I have problems with it? Definitely. Could I criticize it for hours? Probably.

I'm not trying to defend the movie purely on the fact that "dinos are awesome" but that's the reason I enjoy it and have a fun time with it, that's all.
Pfft, you actually enjoy the movies you watch? Pleb.

But seriously, that is a fair point. I definitely know that there are problems with a lot of movies I enjoy (though not to the same extent as with Jurassic World, ho ho).



It's fine MM dude, I am a bit perplexed that someone as cinematically knowledgable as you would give a turd like Jurassic World
, but lord knows I've given some even weirder ratings. There is no problem with you having fun - I hope you weren't too offended by my comment.



the samoan lawyer's Avatar
Unregistered User
I'm with MM on this and I gave it the exact same rating. Hell, if it wasn't for nostalgic reasons towards Park, I'd possibly have them level par. Great craic.
__________________
Too weird to live, and too rare to die.



Yeah, to me I think Jurassic World was a combination of a lot of things for me and that's the reason for my rating of it...

First off, I had the lowest of low expectations when I went in. The trailers were sh*t and because of the third film I haven't exactly been craving for another sequel.

I watched it in IMAX and it is by far the most stunning movie I've seen in the format. The sense of being in that park was unmatchable - both in terms of the visual experience and the fact that we finally got to see a full functioning park.

And of course, the nostalgic factor plays a huge part of it. Jurassic Park was one of my first and most fond memories of a true movie adventure. Dinos were the bomb in my childhood days.

I understand the hate for Jurassic World, but not quite to the extent some are giving it. Nevetheless, people can hate all they want and I'll enjoy the film all I want... And don't worry, Swan, and whoever else. I'm not offended by any of this.

I know what I'm getting into giving this film such a high rating. Probably one of the highest ratings I've ever given for a part-guilty-pleasure type fun adventure film.



MovieMeditation presents...
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... viewing day count
241 .......................... 277

__________________________


October 4th

—— 1980 ——
CANNIBAL
HOLOCAUST

—— exploitation ——


Review has been served!
Enjoy...


Appetizer
Just hold on a minute, while I go out to empty this bowl of barf, quickly change my sheets, stop the bleeding from my finger nails, take a warm shower and then I will give y'all a review...

Oh darn, wait... I find it rather hard to write this review with both of my eyes scratched out while shaking more than an epileptic being electrocuted while riding off road during an earthquake.
Main course
Those were my first thoughts after I went through this violent and vulgar piece of cannibalistic cinema. A clammy and creepy compilation of both weird and wrong, working effortlessly as an explosive exploitation experience above and beyond the (un)usual. 'Cannibal Holocaust' is a documentary-style semi-pseudo experiment, in which people were in fact led to believe that the footage on screen was actually genuine, unseen and uncut material; featuring multiple murders and macabre dismemberments. All of the actors even signed a contract for them to disappear in a demanded time frame of an entire year, so the found footage would eventually fool everyone and find an audience through unsettling uncertainty. All of this was effective enough on its own, but the director wanted more than simply walk a thin line between reality and fiction and he wasn't just about blatantly blurring the lines between the two either. Apparently, all those things couldn’t quite cut it for him... What he needed was to cut even deeper in the darkest reality of things to successfully convince and cinematically castrate audiences right there and then within their seats…

Ink was spilled in the contracts, but blood was about to be spilled as well for the sake of a stark contrast. But is proving a point synonym with the approval of animal slaughter purely for the sake of cinema? The main message of the film is strong and relevant, but although the animal slaughter supports this message and arguably strengthens it, the killings completely contradicts with anything I would ever approve of despite of the reasoning. No animal should ever suffer for the sake of entertainment and the killings in 'Cannibal Holocaust' are mindless and meaningless, regardless of whatever message is used as an attempt to make it right in its own twisted kind of way. All these executions of actual animals are anything but empty or harmless, but a director working without a harness might as well end up as a victim to his own freedom and lack of limit or logic or restraint. But generating terror within the audience by displaying real life terror in front of the audience seems anything but clever and mostly come across like cheap and lazy attempts at creating some shock value and generating press talk.



I guess film often pushes the barrier into reality, but having the performers experience physical transformations or endure psychological terror is one thing, while having innocent animals with no voice of their own give their lives in gruesome ways to egocentric coldhearted individuals is something utterly different. I participated in an interesting discussion on the board about animal cruelty and cinema, which may not work as a direct support of my standpoint, but it is a nice extension to it. I recently rewatched ‘Apocalypse Now’, which made me relive the scene of a genuine cow slaughter. Now, I don’t like the scene and I don’t agree with it either, but there is a reason I have it “easier” with one than the other – at least in terms of the “ethics of cinema”, so to speak. Coppola may be wrong for putting it in his movie, but he is not the executioner. It is a cultural and spiritual ritual, carried out by people who are not part of the production in any way – neither did they do it for the camera, they did it for their culture.

Try to imagine the two examples as the main difference between a documentary film and a feature film. For the sake of the example, let’s say it is a documentary about halal slaughter. I don't support it in any way, but the filmmakers are simply documenting what is already going on, opposed to if they actually made a feature film and set up the whole slaughter themselves, with the execution being done by the production crew and purely for the sake of entertainment. Again, both of the examples are wrong since they both lead back to the fact that animals die in dreadful ways, but the methods and medium are different. The actual guilt doesn't lie with cinema and entertainment if you are simply documenting culture. That said though, Coppola and Deodato did in fact use the slaughter to generate the same exact effect for their film. In that way, you could say both are just as wrong or just as right, the only reason I’m madder about one than the other, is the fact that Deodato used innocent animals as just another prop in his movie; like a cheap tool, a simple shortcut or a fast gateway to generate terror with the audience. For the lesser example, only one of these killings was used efficiently for a scene, while the other was a monotonic and mindless way to keep on pushing forward the same exact single-minded message, which didn’t even have enough relevance for the amount of killings or reason for the amount of minutes. For the better example, only one of these animals was doomed to die... the other wasn’t.



An interesting but ultimately pointless discussion I guess, since I really don’t like any of the scenes containing genuine animal cruelty, but as stated earlier it is an interesting extension to the review as well as being something that actually made me think and feel beyond the usual boring bullet points of a movie review. The animal torture may be the main reason for my relatively low score, but even though I didn't really want to witness animals getting killed, I still felt like I had to watch the original version of the film, as it was intended and envisioned. I can't fully criticize the film without the fatally important elements either, which is also the main reason for its infamous reputation after all. However, since I saw potential in this film I will now mimic a momentary memory loss so that the positives get to shine without being overshadowed by a singular yet obviously potent part of the film. All the animal killings aside, this film did in fact convincingly create artificial authenticity through its docu-dramatic approach, which definitely made you wonder what part of it all was genuine. Pretty much everything from the people impaled on poles to the rapes and raids throughout all seem very real… and considering the animal slaughter, there may be more life loss than life-like situations in this film…

Dessert
The film is first and foremost set up well and the investigation plot running parallel with the center story kind of adds to it all and comes together nicely in the end. I think this is a really good genre film, but unfortunately it made the mistake to take a misstep into reality. In many ways, the art of cinema is to substitute life and bring the audience into something they can believe in for a little while, whether factual or fantasy-like. A few films really do test the barrier between what is real and what is not, but there is a limit to everything and that limit is also often individually imagined, which is why there are people out there who made this film and there are people who this film is made for. I won’t call this my last supper with these cannibals, but for me to eat it up I will have to go for the cruelty-free cut next time…



Bite me.

__________________________




20000% agree with you on the animal cruelty.
( -_-)
__________________
Movie Reviews | Anime Reviews
Top 100 Action Movie Countdown (2015): List | Thread
"Well, at least your intentions behind the UTTERLY DEVASTATING FAULTS IN YOUR LOGIC are good." - Captain Steel