"Bingo! Dino DNA!": Can OG JP be Cloned in 2025?
PLUS We review THE SHROUDS and EYE FOR AN EYE; Australia's new genre-themed studio start-up; trailers for THE RUNNING MAN, BUGONIA and DOWNTON ABBEY; and, those three unforgettable words from SIRAT.
I can’t overstate the influence that Steven Spielberg’s JURASSIC PARK had on me. It left me pondering the magic of the medium as much as CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (my equal-favourite Spielberg experience), just a bit more than JAWS or RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. I was 25 when JP came out, but with each viewing (including seven in cinema) I revert to that child whose room was a shrine to dinosaur obsession.
But not even the depths of my fan-love allowed me to overlook the shortcomings that have plagued efforts to build a franchise out of the brand. I didn’t love Spielberg’s own sequel THE LOST WORLD on the first couple of viewings, but like his other darkly-hued follow-up INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, I’ve found more to admire over time. And I will cry loudly, proudly, publicly here - I love Joe Johnston movies and I love JURASSIC PARK III!
My devotion wasn’t so blind that it could withstand JURASSIC WORLD, the reboot travesty that I likened to the genetic freak-creatures at the centre of its stupid plot. “Borne of the same DNA as its ancestors but morphed into something both hideous and ridiculous,” I cunningly observed in December 2015, when I called it the worst moviegoing moment of my year.
The director Colin Trevorrow, whose SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED I adored, spoke of the original film with an affection that I understood. But his instincts failed him again, with the 2022 monstrosity JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION, “a bloated 2½ hour plod that is unforgivably dull and irreconcilably misjudged.” Ignore both and instead watch Trevorrow’s 2019 short BATTLE OF BIG ROCK, a thrill-a-minute triumph that remains some of the best dino-action the franchise has to offer.
In 2018, Spanish director J.A. Bayona divided critical opinion with JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM (literally - an RT rating of 48%). For us dino-die hards, it came closest to recapturing the visual thrills and propulsive storytelling of Spielberg’s original, as well as featuring a genuinely moving moment that caught fans off guard - the brachiosaur death, as Isla Nublar burns.
Most observers agree that while the thrill of bigscreen dinosaurs remains undeniable, the shoehorning of that asset into a serviceable plot remains elusive. It is a testament to Steven Spielberg and contributors David Koepp and the late Michael Chrichton that their 1993 collaboration, with its precision casting and groundbreaking effects, remains a ‘lightning in a bottle’ movie moment; a film with a sense of adventure and discovery that is unlikely to be recaptured in its purest form ever again.
Or is it…?
Simon Foster, Editor: SCREEN-SPACE
BREAKING REVIEW! JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH
(Dir: Gareth Edwards; starring Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Luna Blaise). Big Pharma (repped by Rupert Friend) needs three different types of dino-DNA to forge ahead with new heart medicines, and it’s gonna take a nerdy scientist (Jonathan Bailey), a soldier-for-hire (Scarlett Johansen) and a salty ol’ boat capt’n (Mahershala Ali) to go deep into the equatorial tropics to get it. To pump up the emotional stakes, a father (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), his two daughters (Luna Blaise; Audrina Miranda) and a teen slacker (David Iacono) face their own peril, as both parties make their way across a jungle island crawling with prehistoric threats.
There is a sense that director Gareth Edwards has been waiting for the call from Universal and Amblin since 2010, when his debut film MONSTERS announced his arrival. That perfectly-executed creature feature introduced us to what Edwards does best - cinematic scale. And in a film about giant alpha predators, his finely-attuned sense of immensity brings with it menace, which makes for great adventure movie-watching. We also know from his helming of ROGUE ONE, the second best STAR WARS movie ever, that he understands innately the skill of melding fan service and storytelling. JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH isn’t quite the home run it might have been in Edward’s hands; the first act is a bit clunky, it runs a bit long. But it also has many moments of popcorn-cinema grandeur. More than any instalment since Mr. Spielberg’s original, Edwards taps that giddy sense of excitement the franchise has always promised but rarely delivered. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
MONSTER PICTURES, HEAD GEAR FILMS & WHITE HOT PRODUCTIONS TO LAUNCH MONSTER PICTURES STUDIOS
MELBOURNE: Monster Pictures, in partnership with Head Gear Films and White Hot Productions, have launched Monster Pictures Studios, a full-service film studio designed to deliver bold, commercial genre features.
Backed by a rolling development fund, the studio is positioned to fast-track premium horror and genre films. The first project is Sandra Scibberas’ SEVEN SNIPERS (pictured, above), a character-driven action-thriller starring Radha Mitchell, Tim Roth and Ryan Kwanten. Also slated are Matt Day’s survival thriller KILLING BREED and Sean Byrne’s home invasion pic HANDYMAN.
HEADLINE MAKERS
UKRAINIAN DOC SPOTLIGHTS RESISTANCE AND NATIONAL IDENTITY: Crimean Tatar activist Leniie Umerova and human rights defender Liudmyla Huseinova feature in PEOPLE OF FREEDOM’S COLOR, which previewed for dignitaries at Kyiv’s National History Museum, this week. (READ: ZMINA / WATCH the post-screening discussion)
WHAT KILLED ELIO? BTS ON THE PIXAR FLOP: Studio tampering, a mass exodus of key creative talent and the erasure of queer- and enviro-themed content left a small boy’s space adventure tarnished (READ: The Hollywood Reporter)
DEFIANT SCREEN ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRATES FIRST DECADE: One of Australasia’s most respected independent all-rights film distributors, the Sydney-based team have repped local releases for Jason Momoa, Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis, Nicholas Cage, Gerard Butler, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Megan Fox. (READ: Defiant)
NO CHOICE WINS GRAND JURY PRIZE AT DANCES WITH FILMS INDIE FEST: Both a cause-driven film and intense horror-drama, Nate Hilgartner’s debut feature delivers a powerful message about the crucial political issue of access to abortion (FOLLOW: No Choice / Instagram)
HERSHEY BIOPIC HEADING TO POST AFTER PENN LOCATION SHOOT: Mark Waters (pictured, left) has wrapped principal photography after seven weeks shooting in the chocolate empire’s home state of Pennsylvania. Finn Wittrock stars as Hershey, while Alexandria Daddario (centre, in pink) plays his wife, Catherine “Kitty” Hershey.
MORE FILM REVIEWS
THE SHROUDS (Dir: David Cronenberg; starring Vincent Cassel, Diane Kruger, Guy Pearce and Sandrine Holt). The Canadian master of elevated horror offers further intellectualising on themes of death, grief and corporeal fragility. A valid companion piece to past masterworks such as VIDEODROME (which melded new technology and old flesh) and THE FLY (which examined the power of love in the face of physical deterioration), THE SHROUDS tells the story of entrepreneur Karsh Relikh (Vincent Cassel), a widower who has built a virtual graveyard, complete with in-coffin cameras that allow the grieving, including himself, to share in their late loved one’s deterioration. A convoluted plot about Russian hackers, Chinese gangsters, Karsh’s nerdy brother Maury (Guy Pearce) and sexy, neurotic sister-in-law Terry (Diane Kruger) only serves to mute the emotional heart of the narrative (written by Cronenberg after the death of his wife from cancer). THE SHROUDS is perhaps as much ‘Canadian’ as it is ‘Cronenbergian’; it is elegant and reserved, with a sense that there’s a lot going on beneath its veneer that becomes a bit of a chore to decipher. Not a classic from his brilliant mind, but much to ponder. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
EYE FOR AN EYE (Dir: Colin Tilley; starring Whitney Peak, S. Epatha Merkerson, Golda Rosheuvel, Finn Bennett and Laken Giles) Having survived the car crash that killed her parents, late teen Anna (Whitney Peak, strong in the lead role) heads to the Everglades home of her blind grandma, May (S. Epatha Merkerson). But Florida proves a land of shifting realities, dream realms and a folkloric nightstalker, known as ‘The Sandman’ (terrifyingly realised by the production design team, based on Elisa Victoria’s graphic novel source material). A convincingly-staged, stylistically-polished entry in the dreamworld genre, where it sits comfortably alongside such works as Joseph Ruben’s DREAMSCAPE, Neil Jordan’s IN DREAMS and (yes, of course), Wes Craven’s NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. Coming from a music vid background, first-time feature director Colin Tilley is a talent to watch. ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
LATEST TRAILERS
THE RUNNING MAN (Dir: Edgar Wright; starring Glen Powell, William H. Macy, Lee Pace, Emilia Jones, Michael Cera, Colman Domingo and Josh Brolin) Television’s top-rating show The Running Man is a deadly competition where contestants must survive 30 days while being hunted by professional assassins. Working-class father Ben Richards is convinced by the show’s producers to enter the game and his defiance, instincts, and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favorite—and a threat to the entire system.
ROOFMAN (Dir: Derek Cianfrance; starring Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, Peter Dinklage, Juno Temple and Lakeith Stanfield) A former Army Ranger and struggling father turns to robbing McDonald’s restaurants by cutting holes in their roofs. But when he falls for a divorced mom, his double life begins to unravel....
DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE (Dir: Simon Curtis; starring Simon Russell Beale, Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Raquel Cassidy, Brendan Coyle and Michelle Dockery) The Crawley family enters the 1930s, and Mary finds herself at the centre of a public scandal that means the entire household grapples with the threat of social disgrace.
BUGONIA (Dir: Yorgos Lanthimos; starring Jesse Plemons, Emma Stone and Alicia Silverstone) Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.
WHY WE LOVE MOVIES…
“God, I begged you to get therapy.” - TOOTSIE (1982) With his reputation as an actor in tatters, Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) decides to become an actress called Dorothy Michaels - a career development that his agent George Fields (Sydney Pollack) did not see coming…
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
SIRAT (Dir: Oliver Laxe; starring Sergi López, Bruno Núñez Arjona, Stefania Gadda, Joshua Liam Herderson, Richard 'Bigui' Bellamy, Tonin Janvier and Jade Oukid) Co-writers Oliver Laxe and Santiago Fillol follow one fearlessly unpredictable development after another in a script that spins a surreal road-trip narrative from the pairing of a distraught father and some nomadic rave dancers.
And if SCREEN-SPACE isn’t enough Simon for you…:
LISTEN to me co-host the weekly film and TV podcast SCREEN WATCHING with Dan Barrett, of Always Be Watching notoriety;
WATCH/LISTEN Dan and I reflect on the films of 1987 in our fun retro-podcast, BEST MOVIE YEAR (available to watch on our YouTube channel)
FOLLOW my curatorial efforts as Festival Director of the SYDNEY SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL.