“The Lost World” is one of the very few movies I’ve seen more than once in theaters, and gladly it was a rich experience every time. “The Lost World” doesn’t hold up as well as the original film since the 1993 film ventured in to the realms of gene splicing, DNA research, and the philosophy of man vs. nature, and natural selection. When natural selection chooses to snuff out the most primal animals of nature, we stand no chance when they’ve been revived and refined with modern predators. “The Lost World” however is a much less sophisticated and much more raucous sequel.
Tag Archives: Steven Spielberg
Jurassic Park (1993)
Eighteen years ago, Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park” was nearly the movie of the decade. It was a film that sparked the imaginations of millions and garnered one of the more fascinating and exciting films of all time that re-defined CGI for the twentieth century and started a trend among filmmakers. “Jurassic Park” remains one of the most memorable movie going experiences of my life, and paved the way for Spielberg as my favorite filmmaker of all time, and it fueled my interest in dinosaurs. The sight of the halos of water still sends chills up my spine. As a plot device it’s one of most simplistic yet ingenious signs of doom ever created, and as a calling card for the infamous T-Rex, it’s still damn effective.
But is it still dynamic eighteen years later?
Our Top Ten Favorite Movie Toys
Toys can mean a lot of things to popular culture and fiction. They can be props, they can be used to sell things, they can entertain, they can impress, they can exploit, and they can become symbols for greater things. The sled in “Citizen Kane” was a toy but a huge symbol for something key to the development of its main character, in “Winnie the Pooh” they were characters facing the blossoming adolescence of their keeper Christopher Robbins, in “Inherit the Wind” Henry Drummond likened religion to a toy rocking horse with a gold coating and a rotten center, in “Poltergeist” a clown doll became an instrument for evil, in “Wall-E” our robotic hero collected toys and mementos that reflected on a world he was never a part of but wishes he would have been, and even in cult classics like “Monster Squad” protagonist Phoebe’s teddy bear became a last gift to her friend Frankenstein as he was doomed to a life in Limbo and torment.
Toys can do so much for the world, and they’ve become a link for our nostalgia and our childhood reminding us a childhood we wish we had and a childhood that we had that we enjoyed until we had to grow up and move on to bigger more mature things and responsibilities. In honor of “Toy Story 3,” we count down the “Our Favorite Movie Toys” from all of cinema and describe why we love these fragments of film that made us laugh out loud, cry our eyes out, and shiver in fright.
What are some of your favorite Movie Toys? Let us know in the comments!
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Two-Disc Special Edition) (2008)
So I keep coming back to that same question over and over: Was “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” really all that bad, or were more Lucas retractors just exaggerating because they grew up and Spielberg’s story didn’t? And I keep coming back to that same answer: No. “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” really isn’t a bad movie; in fact it’s one of the better Indiana Jones entries I’ve seen that’s been grossly skewered by fans as the “Phantom Menace” of the Indiana Jones franchise, when really, it’s not bad. It’s actually quite good.
Our Top 10 Cinematic Heroes
Last year, AFI posted their acclaimed list “The Greatest Cinematic Heroes and Villains.” Taking great umbrage with their many choices, I decided to sit down and think about it. Who were my Ten Cinematic Heroes? Who were ten people I’d strive to be, or would want to be in a perilous situation? I’m one of those weirdos who really always side with the heroes. Whether it’s an epic science fiction film, or swords and dragon fantasy film, the heroes have always appealed to me. Comics, Video Games, Cartoons, it’s always about the good guys overcoming an obstacle and or villain who wants to take over the world, or just plain ruin their life.
A hero isn’t always made, a hero is often a figure of circumstance, an individual who blossoms from a horrible situation, or someone who just decides they have to do the right thing against everyone else’s frustration. A hero is one who is willing to lay it down and sacrifice just to help someone they love, or possibly someone they’ve never met. They rarely ever get a pat on the back, or a reward, nor is their decision always justified, but they do what’s right, and that’s enough. These are my top 10 Cinematic heroes.
Poltergeist (25th Anniversary Edition) (1982) (DVD)
Who directed this movie? Was it control freak egomaniac Steven Spielberg (Still my hero, Stevie!), or poor sap semi-talent Tobe Hooper? The debate continues, and I could care less. For me, “Poltergeist” is still one of my favorite horror flicks of all time, and it’s a wonderful combination of both directors’ styles. For the Spielberg nuts, there’s wonder and magic and epic nightmarish fantasy, and for the Hooper fans, there’s the horror, the terror, the frantic energy in the climax, and that great scene of the face being torn from its bone in the mirror. This is a wonderful demented bastard child from two great directors, and “Poltergeist” is simply still a great piece of filmmaking.
Animaniacs/Pinky and the Brain, Volume 2 (DVD)
Fans of my Volume 1 reviews, stand at attention, rejoice, and testify, for we are here with reviews for Volume 2 of “Animaniacs” and “Pinky and the Brain,” the gorgeous collections for animations fans, and fans of the series. Guilty on both counts, suckas. So, for this time around, “Animaniacs” and its spin-off really seem to come into their own. Where as the first volume was more of them feeling their oats, the writing team really exercises the comedy for this go around, particularly with “Animaniacs.”
For all the grief animation gets, “Animaniacs” is both a show for adults and children. While we have mallets, and anvils, we also have funny one-liners set to a “Moby Dick” spoof, and inside jokes referencing the likes of Groucho Marx, Milton Berle, and the great Madeline Khan whose own personality is reflected in an episode of Rita and Runt as they stumble on a Frankenstein scientist who looks an awful lot like the late comedienne a la Mel Brooks.