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Jurassic Park III (2001)

A fun, flaw-filled adventure!

It pains me I can't rate this movie higher than a 6, as its my personal favourite dinosaur movie (because I watched it as a kid). Though this movie had a great concept, it ultimately failed to invest me in the story due to countless plot holes, boring & unlikable characters, and unfortunate lack of screen time.

The primary reason the story doesn't really work is because there is little to no character building. They introduce lots of new characters, but don't give them any clear personality traits or likeable qualities to make them memorable. This doesn't let you invest in the characters, and consequently the main story itself. Not only that, but reoccurring characters don't really change in the movie, or develop from their past selves. For example; Alan Grant was a great character in the first movie because not only was he an expert on dinosaurs, but he disliked kids, and through gradual development in the movie grows to become a protective father figure. In here, we start the movie with him firmly stating he will never step foot on the island again, and 15 minutes later he's off to be a tour guide. I get that he was never told they would land, but the fact he was convinced with one conversation and no concrete proof they had the means to follow through with their promises, is borderline stupid. The new characters they introduce also aren't given much backstoy or really anything to cling onto. They're just walking talking bags of meat to be fed to the dinosaurs. Can you name any of the mercenaries? I'd give you a gold piece if you can. They didn't even bother to give them stereotype personalities to have some kind of discerning traits. Then you have Amanda who is probably the most annoying character in any movie I've ever watched. Honestly Téa Leoni did a fantastic job acting a dumb blonde, because that's all she is. She has no interesting or helpful qualities, and doesn't change at all for the whole movie. Eric could have been an interesting character because he's smart and resourceful, but we aren't really told anything about him until his great rescue, and he doesn't do anything like that again for the whole movie. Because he doesn't show that kind of intuition again, he turns into "just another party member". The biggest shock I had after rewatching this movie, is that Alan doesn't really bond with Eric that much in this movie. The entire point of the first movie was that Alan grew to be a great parent figure, and that could've been shown in this movie but it just doesn't happen. The last two characters: Billy & Paul are probably the most likeable. Billy is the young naive Palaeontologist that looks up to Alan and just wants to help out to fund the dig. It's his decision to take up Paul & Amanda's offer, and it's his reckless decision to steal Velociraptor eggs to sell for profit. After Alan told him off, he was deeply hurt, but he wanted to change. He grew, and when he saw the opportunity for redemption, he bravely put his life on the line to save Eric. He's definitely the most well written character, and I'm glad the writers had the time to have at least a bit of character development in the runtime they had. Lastly you have Paul, who is deceives Alan to join the trip, but is empathetic when he's knocked out. He's unable to keep his promises, but listens to Alan's advice. He's a genuinely good guy who's gone to great lengths to save his son, which is admirable. Throughout the movie he's portrayed as a wimpy dad, but when faced with the jaws of the Spinosaurus, he has the courage to distract it to save his family. Paul and Billy are definitely my favourite characters, and it's unfortunate they're really the only ones I care about when watching.

Now let's go on a ramble about plotholes. Firstly, in the first scene of the movie, when Ben and Eric are paragliding, the boat crew are erased from existence when driving through a conveniently placed cloud of fog. Firstly, what even happened?! The boat appears to be wrecked and faint red smears indicates they died, but no bodies are visible. Also, what even killed them? If there were raptors perched on some rocks, how could they know to wait there? Even if they did somehow, they're in unpenetratable fog, they wouldn't see the boat, even if they had night vision goggles they couldn't wreck the boat and everyone on it in the 10 seconds they were in the fog. If it was an "aquatic creature" how did it kill everyone on board while the boat kept moving at a steady pace? Next, Alan REALLY believed some strangers he just met say they're rich, then came along to be a "tour guide" after the events of the first movie, even stating "There is no force on heaven or earth that would make me set foot on that island". I don't buy it. Next, so you're telling me Paul & Amanda's plan to find Eric, was to land and use a MEGAPHONE, on an ISLAND OF DINOSAURS, where MANY PEOPLE WERE KILLED, and hope for the best. I refuse to believe those two don't have even a drop of common sense, and the "skilled mercenaries" too. Next, Cooper standing directly in the middle of the landing strip as they were taking off was really dumb. Next, Paul and Amanda briefly leave the crashed plane when the Spino is lumbering toward them.... Why. Next, the T-rex they encounter leaves a gigantic carcass that could probably feed him for the next few months, to chase tiny humans. Next, Alan falls between treetrunks and the wood must be made of diamonds because a 7 - 10 ton T-rex doesn't crush it & Alan with it. Next, as much as I love Spino, his thin jaw is miraculously able to snap a T-rex's bus sized neck. Next, Ben's death is never explained, and nobody bothers to ask Eric. Also when Alan and Eric go to his makeshift bunker, he's had food and water supplies for 8 weeks? Next, when they're running from the Spino after their reunion, there's a conveniently human shaped hole for them to evade the Spino. Then when he breaks through the fence, conveniently there's a compound with a gigantic door for them to hide in. Next, when Billy "sacrifices" himself to save Eric, its kinda diminished when hes miraculously saved off screen. I'm glad he's alive, but it was out of nowhere. Also, when Paul does the same thing as he falls from a crane into flaming gasoline filled waters, he's completely uninjured. And during the raptor negotiation scene, I find it hard to believe the raptors aren't intelligent enough to hear where the sound is coming from. I could go further, but those are just the ones from the top of my head.

This movie has alot of flaws, but I think that's mainly because they had to cut corners with the lack of screen time. This movie doesn't suffer from any unnecessary scenes either, it just feels sloppy and rushed. It seems they had to focus on the main story, and couldn't flesh out the characters or let the narrative flow naturally.

The things I liked about the movie: The Spinosaurus was amazing. Sure it wasn't scientifically accurate, but hey all the dinos are hybrid monsters. I love how the Spino was intelligent and seemed to chase them with intent, it wasn't just hungry, that thing WANTED to kill them.

The acting was great, each of their characters even if blandly written felt real, and acted realistic for the situation.

The cinematography was really good, each scene felt natural and the sets were unique to highlight different parts of the island. This is the most primal we've ever seen the JP franchise go, and I LOVE the survival aspect of everything.

The music was also an unexpected hit, the suspenseful direction Don Davis went for perfectly encapsulated the aesthetic.

I also think there are some great moments & elements, notably; The Spino VS T-rex fight was EPIC.

Paul was such a wonderful PC dad.

The cellphone ringing from inside the belly of the Spino while he stares menacingly is TERRIFYINGLY AWESOME.

Seeing Pteranadons in JP for the first time is really nice, and they are just as scary as any other dino.

Billy's leap of bravery is definitely my favourite moment in the movie, and you can really feel how great the movie could have been if the writers had more time to add moments like that to all the other characters.

The Spino's swim through the river was a really clever way to reveal to non dino fans that Spinosaurus is a semi-aquatic animal.

And I will say, Paul & Amanda shouting "that's a very bad idea" at the end of the movie made me laugh a bit harder than I'd like to admit.

And that's about it. Is it worth the watch? I'd say yes. But think of it as more of an adventure dino flick, and don't compare it to JP1, you really can't.

6.8/10

• V.

Conspiracy 365 (2012)

Spectacular mystery thriller, luke-warm adaptation

I've always been an avid fan of the books and this show has pefectly encapsulated the firey teen-angst of the books with the looming mystery that lurks in the background. The story is phenomenal, however it's unfortunate the performance and quality of the show seems gimmicky. It's definitely done the book series justice, but you can tell this is seeping with B-grade people at the works. The books provide more details that add quite a fair bit to the story, however the pacing feels natural. Conspiracy 365 is a great teen series that is one of the best australian productions, and I'd reccomend it to young teens and the likes.