Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

I really enjoyed the first Jurassic World film, yes some of the things were a bit silly and it was a bit of fan service but I still enjoyed it and thought it worked quite well. The second one took a bit of a dip in quality and the whole idea that there is a secret lab underneath a massive house did seem a bit silly. It did end with a cliffhanger and the potential for this final could have been about how we were dealing with the dinosaurs. This final part of the trilogy (whether it's the final Jurassic film is doubtful) was delayed because of the pandemic although how much of that is why this film was a huge disappointment is probably going to remain a mystery.

The main problem with the film is that it feels like three movies in one. You have the Claire/Owen storyline then there is the original trio’s storyline with the return of Dodgson and then the meshing of the two. This means that it feels like they are throwing a lot at the wall to see what sticks. Dodgson is portrayed as some sort of Steve Jobs type person but feels a bit half hearted despite the best efforts of Campbell Scott. Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt are ok but after being the lead stars in the previous two films, they do feel like afterthoughts because the return of the trio was more interesting to people like me that wanted to see them back one more time and more Jeff Goldblum that we saw in Fallen Kingdom. Goldblum does feel like he is happy to be there but Sam Neill looks like he wants to be anywhere but in the film. That's a shame but at least Jurassic Park III wouldn't be the final film he would be in.  Isabella Sermon doesn't really add anything to the story apart. She comes across as a whiny teenager and was irritating. I don't know how much of it is Serman’s fault but she was not really needed. DeWanda Wise got the short end of the stick. Despite her best efforts she just gets drowned out and even in the action scenes it does feel like she is going through the motions.

It’s not a bad film by any means but it definitely the weakest of the JW trilogy but it's not the worst of the entire franchise. I think that they didn't know how they were going to end the trilogy which is something that they should have thought about when they wrote the first one even if 100% guaranteed that they would make more than one. It’s directed well enough but the overall feel of the film is that it doesn't quite know what it wants to be and everyone is just running around trying not to get eaten by dinosaurs. 

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Everything Everywhere All at Once was the first film I saw at the cinema this year and I went to see it on my birthday so it was a treat to myself. To try and describe what the plot is quite difficult. To borrow a phrase from Doctor Who, its all a bit timey wimey. Michelle Yeoh plays Evelyn who is swept into a plan to try and save the universe. That's about as much of the plot as I can follow because this isn't for the sort of people that like to be spoon fed the plot to them. This requires you to pay attention to the film.

It’s great to see Ke Huy Quan play Waymond Wang. It's just great to see Short Round in anything and he gets to play two versions of Waymond. One is the husband who isn't thought of very highly and is a bit walked on by Evelyn and the other is a Jackie Chan inspired hero. The fight scenes he is involved in are great fun to watch. To be fair the fight scenes that both of them are in are pretty good and it's not surprising that Yeoh is as good as she is. The only thing that was missing from the film was Jackie Chan and then you’ve got the holy trinity and this film would have been epic.

The film has some great supporting cast members. In particular James Hong who plays Evelyn's father Gong and like Quan, he plays the part like an old man and then changes into someone more aware of what is going on. Jamie Lee Curtis who played Deirdre who at one point has sausage fingers in one of many barmy moments in this film. Curtis has come a long way from Halloween and this isn't the sort of role that you would expect someone like her to take but it shows that she was willing to take a risk. 

The editing is superb as it manages to deal with multiverses and all the toing and froing and yet kept me interested in what was happening even though it was difficult to keep track. In fact it is pretty much pointless trying to keep up with what is going on because so much madness happens that it doesnt follow a traditional structure. To be able to somehow make the film work is a credit to the editor for keeping the strangeness in but not alienating a good chunk of the audience.

There are some crazy moments throughout the film including when some of the characters are trying to shove a certain item up their backside and then take part in a fight scene like that. There is no way that this would have been allowed in a Disney or Universal film. Only A24 would allow this to make it into the final story. The second half of the film is very hard to follow but the joy of the film is that it's still entertaining to watch. Things happen and nothing really happens except that by the end, Evelyn has grown as a person. 

Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of the weirdest films that I have seen for quite some time. But I was completely engaged by what I was watching. The performances were all really good with Yeoh and Quan being the best but there wasn't a weak link in the film. The only thing that stops this film from being a five star film is that due to me not following what was going on all the time and what it meant means that it just misses out but I think that the fault is with me and not the film. When all we are getting are superhero films it's nice to have a film that tries something different and due to the directors this is a gamble that pays off.