Jurassic World

If there was a film to come even close to the new dawn of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in terms of sheer, massive fan hype , it is another return to a classic, well-loved franchise. So, after having finally watched this one (again on DVD - so conservative I know) here is my brief take on Jurassic World.

I don't know really what I was expecting; I knew it would probably not stand a kin and equal to the original (or even the original trilogy of films) and I guessed quite a radical change in direction was probably needed in terms of revamping the core concepts for a new generation.

In a sense I was right, this is certainly not Jurassic Park the original - more like a very select list of cherry-picked elements taken from the trilogy before it, which someone has tried to turn up to 11.

I say tried to turn up to 11, because to me the effect was very hit and miss.

No doubt about it, this is certainly a massively action-packed, popcorn-flick thrill-ride; and if that is all you want then fine. And whilst the visual effects are stunning too within all the action, the sheer volume and bombardment of the audience with them does result in cheapening the whole thing come the end of the film. Maybe we are just used to the infinite possibility of CGI magic these days, but not once when seeing all the effects of Jurassic World, though I admit they were impressive, was I ever shocked or blown away at all.

Also, one of the major plot movements in this latest film is the idea of a massive, technologically innovative consumer theme park centered on dinosaurs now being a reality (following on of course from when we got to see the beginning kernels of the idea way back in 1993). Whilst I fully understand and appreciate why they did this to move the franchise along and drive this particular film, I think it has backfired. To present us with these creatures on such a massive and encompassing scale renders them almost unremarkable, not at all threatening, and with no element of mystique at all. Gone are the senses of awe at the T-Rex or the chills of the terrifying velociraptor. The personable, and chillingly real threat and reaction to these dinosaurs which the original films worked so hard to develop and build upon is gone. To up the ante in Jurassic World the whole antagonistic premise was that of a very far-fetched genetically modified "super-dinosaur", which was completely predictable and to me struck completely the wrong tone. The lack of true personable reaction, and as I say the mystique and intrigue of dinosaurs in a Jurassic Park series film is something I was extremely dissapointed with.

Another major plus point of the originals was of course the human actors, who even in such adventurous settings still gave great performances.

In Jurassic World, gone are the likes of Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and the late great Richard Attenborough . Whilst we got a surprise return from B.D Wong (who sadly I do not think was covered in glory upon his return, in terms of writing and performance) to tie us to the original Jurassic Park, the new principle cast was all knew.

Continually rising star Chris Pratt just about managed to pull off the lead role for me, with a new raptor connection which whilst intriguing, was still very far-fetched. So too by the skin of her teeth did Bryce Dallas Howard for my liking, though she did seem to sadly fit more into a "token female" stereotype than an individual character in her own right. Whilst this pairing did just get through without too many negatives I feel, I would doubt whether or not they can carry that on into another film, as Neill and Goldblum did before them.

So yes, just good enough story, stunning visuals, and some good performances, but to me nothing to redefine anything noteworthy, and especially not resulting in the revamp or even duly deserved continuation of the franchise itself. Pure unstoppable Jurassic Park fans may well have been raving at every second, but to me as an individual film first and foremost and the latest in a franchise second; despite being being enjoyable I feel there is definitely considerable improvement to be found in this new Jurassic World.

Strictly Come Dancing 2015

Slightly later than billed in previous years, here is my brief round up of the most recent Strictly season. Yes, the final quarter of 2015 was all about Strictly, or at least that is what it seemed like on the Beeb. 

Broadly speaking, I enjoyed my third year proper watching the ins and outs of the glitzy dancing world that is Strictly Come Dancing. A lot of the classic elements were there, and there were some nice added surprises like there are every year, but sadly there were also a few flies in  2015's ointment that seemed that much more noticeable to me, the result being quite a blunting of the usual Strictly edge.

Let's start with the big positives: namely the dancers themselves and this year's crop of celebs. As usual they were a right mixed bunch - with everyone having a favourite. Again to me there were the lows of the Strictly cast such as Iwan Thomas (who I found very arrogant very quickly and who I feel deserved to go first) Anthony Ogogo (again slightly arrogant but who also didn't have much in the way of personality, or sadly ability) and Jamelia (who was bright and bubbly enough on the face of things but also came off as quite conceited). Happily however, the sour grapes were definitely in a minority amongst a cracking bunch, whose highlights for me included the brilliantly charming gentleman that was Jeremy Vine, the ever-smiling Carol Kirkwood,  the insanely likable Ainsley Harriot, the demure northern lass done very good indeed Anita Rani, and the worthy winner Jay McGuiness. Oh yes, by and large the latest Strictly cast did not disappoint.

Back too were Tess and Claudia to host proceedings. Previously I have made no secret of how much I adore and admire Claudia Winkleman as a hostess, as she seems to be the perfect blend of sass, lunacy, beauty and charisma, and yet again she did not disappoint. This year however her counterpart, Tess Daly seemed to forget all manner of individuality and flare. The amount of cringe-worthy puns and one-liners week-on-week was startling and nothing but awkward. Based on this last series I would move for Claudia to take over main hosting and Tess to be relegated to the gallery pieces. The former seems ideally suited and the latter seems to have descended into the mindset that all you need to host one of the BBC's biggest prime time shows is to look pretty and to be ever-trying to find inspiration by rummaging through Brucie's back catalogue.

As the hosts returned, so did the judges. Here too there were some quite unannounced and unappealing changes and segues into the bitchy. Actually the most predictably true to form of the foursome was Craig Revel Horwood, who was his usual dry, acidic self but still with a certain likability. He was backed up by Darcey Bussell who was her usual languid, dainty yet slightly sassy self, by and large. But in the case of Len and Bruno, something was definitely going on. I have always smiled when Bruno Tonioli starts wafting and waving about the set in his usual exuberant manner; this is what we as audiences like about Bruno. However he seemed to be trying to outdo Craig in the sassy criticism, yet he just came across as self-absorbed and cruel (hearing Craig actually say - "that was nasty Bruno!" was a particular highlight). It was almost as if a producer had lent into his ear and said - "actually try to offer a bit more camp venom, maybe no one will notice".

An then there's Len. Again I have got on with the image Len Goodman presents; OK his cockney, lairy cheeky chappy persona grates a bit but his reign as the godfather of ballroom is always without question. Yet again, it seems like a producer has encouraged him to just be antagonistic for the sake of it. I disliked the obvious arrogance of new Italian dancer Giovanni from the start (as did many others I think) but I also disliked the out-and-out fashion in which Len tried to combat it early on. Also Len's constant bemoaning of his age, of the apparent lack of fixing on Strictly (not helped by the likes of contestants like Jamelia) left a rather sour taste throughout the series.

Indeed for me, what is generally a very loveable family show was often marred throughout this last series by the never ending waft of "controversy", scandal and nastiness that seeped in through the cracks and rapidly became obvious out in the open.

Yes there were many highlights, not limited to the superb dancing on offer, the brilliant music, showbiz glamour, and Anton getting into a final! But whilst the Strictly core was still just about tangible, there was a lot that stood out for the wrong reasons for me, and I really do feel that next time Strictly needs to reel it in, get back to basics and stay focused on the business of entertaining the public come the weekend.

RIP Alan Rickman

1946-2016

RIP David Bowie

1947-2016