There’s a definite sense of self-awareness to Jurassic World. Here’s a movie that knows exactly what it is and where it fits into the grand scheme of things. It knows its audience and for the most part knows what its audience wants. It feels like a film made by fans for fans. Which, when you … Continue reading Reviews: Jurassic World
Review: Jurassic Park III
So, The Lost World was a bad movie and Steven Spielberg wisely abandoned the franchise after that. However, about four years later and after a lot of wrangling, Joe Johnston stepped in and delivered Jurassic Park III. This is kind of an odd film. There’s definitely a sense of increased cheapness about it; like the … Continue reading Review: Jurassic Park III
Christopher Lee RIP
I've belatedly learned that Sir Christopher Lee, the last of the great classic horror actors, has died at the age of 93. I don't have the space or the knowledge to give an adequate summary of Mr. Lee's long and very full life. He was one of the most prolific actors in history, appearing in … Continue reading Christopher Lee RIP
Review: The Lost World: Jurassic Park
You know something has gone horribly wrong with your action-adventure movie when you’re left thinking how much better it would have been if they had just cut out the ‘heroes’ entirely and made the entire movie about the ‘villains.’ The story: four years after the events of Jurassic Park we find Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) … Continue reading Review: The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Bogatyrs
Here is a rather famous painting by the Russian artist Viktor Vasnetsov of three famous bogatyrs: characters from Russian literature akin to knight errants. On the right of the painting is Alyosha Popovich, the youngest of the three, who is known for killing a monster named Tugarin for insulting him at a feast. On the left is Dobrynya … Continue reading Bogatyrs
Reviews: Jurassic Park
Note: This is a review I wrote a couple years back for the 3D rerelease of Jurassic Park. With Jurassic World coming out this week, I thought I'd present my reviews of the previous three films over the next few days. Enjoy! As a life-long dinosaur nut, I’ve of course seen Jurassic Park more times than I can … Continue reading Reviews: Jurassic Park
I’m Back!
So, I haven’t blogged for a long time now. I wish I could say that I’ve been too busy, but the truth is, I’ve been too distracted. Some of that has been with actual work, most with just trying and failing to get myself to live the kind of life I want to. The short … Continue reading I’m Back!
Dueling Nights, Or the Internet Amateur Outdoes the Celebrity
As you know, I’m a big Minecraft fan. Now, something most non-Minecraft people don’t know is that the Minecraft community (for lack of a better word) loves to come up with songs about the game. Usually these are parodies of popular songs, but occasionally we get original ones. I’m serious; there are a lot of … Continue reading Dueling Nights, Or the Internet Amateur Outdoes the Celebrity
Heavy Metal Goes to War
My tastes in music, as I’ve mentioned before, are very eclectic. I love Country, but I also enjoy some rock and heavy metal (I’m particularly a fan of Mr. Alice Cooper, but that’s a story for another day). Sabaton is a Swedish heavy metal group that I particularly enjoy. Their shtick is songs about war … Continue reading Heavy Metal Goes to War
Inspiring!
So, my sister, Masha, has nominated me for “Very Inspiring Blogger Award,” which is surprising and very gratifying. Apparently, I’m supposed to give seven things you might or might not know about me. Without repeating my first 7 Quick Takes post. I have a very old soul and an oddly extended memory. That is, I … Continue reading Inspiring!
Serpent's Den 