The Radical Child

 

Follows the eponymous animal criminals, with main character Mr. Wolf attempting to go good after performing a good deed, although he constantly finds himself torn between old and new ways. I didn't care much for the toilet humor but did really appreciate the animated style that at times appeared between 2-D and 3-D, and it was an enjoyable film overall.

The Lost World by Michael Crichton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The first and only literary sequel to the late Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park opens with mention that the late twentieth century experienced a significant growth in scientific interest regarding the subject of extinction, with 99.9% of all species that ever existed meeting the fate. In the prologue that follows, chaos theorist Ian Malcolm notes that too much change in any given area is just as destructive as too little, with one of his students entertaining the notion of a “lost world” where dinosaurs still exist. Also sharing the belief that dinosaurs still exist is Richard Levine, although despite his own experiences, Malcolm denies the InGen incident of the previous novel.

Similar to how he divided Jurassic Park, Crichton organized its sequel in specially-named sections, in this book’s case “configurations” that show more complex shapes as the novel progresses. The First Configuration opens with Levine and his partner Marty Gutierrez going to Costa Rica, the former obsessed with past scientific history. On a beach they discover a carcass that leads Levine to speculate its species, although soldiers order its incineration. Levine ultimately travels to an island whose cliffside he climbs, after which he discovers three-toed footprints. In the meantime, seventh-graders Kelly and Arby work for Dr. Thorne, who finds that Levine is in danger.

The Second Configuration opens with Thorne, Arby, and Kelly visiting Levine’s apartment, where they discover he had purchased an InGen computer. Crichton notes the changing history of the public’s general perspective of dinosaurs, first as the “terrible lizards” that caused them to get their name, then as “gentle giants” in the latter portion of the twentieth century. Animal expert Sarah Harding, working on the African savannah, gets a call from Dr. Thorne and joins the other characters in the Americas. Furthermore, Ian Malcolm’s office is broken into, with further mention of the Biosyn Corporation’s goal to exploit dinosaurs for commercial gain.

The Third Configuration begins with the expedition party heading to Isla Sorna, where dinosaurs have appeared, off the coast of Costa Rica, with the group arming themselves in case they encounter the carnivorous among the allegedly-extinct animals. Arby and Kelly manage to stow away on the trip, and find more than they bargained for when they think they glimpse a tyrannosaur. In the meantime, the adults find and enter a derelict manufacturing plant, analyzing its computer database, with the mastermind of reviving the dinosaurs, Henry Wu, receiving mention, along with John Hammond, who had before the resurrection of the dinosaurs had done so for the extinct equine quagga.

In the Fourth Configuration, experts Lewis Dodgson and George Baselton discuss whether to publish their discoveries and go to Isla Sorna themselves, ultimately selecting the latter option. Crichton occasionally injects factoids into the novel regarding things such as the long necks of giraffes and that after great environmental cataclysms, extinction of affected species tended to occur millennia or even millions of years afterward. Sarah Harding in the meanwhile is en route via ship to Isla Sorna, although storms cause her to go overboard and fight for her life. The subsection ends with the science assistance Eddie stealing an infant tyrannosaur.

The Fifth Configuration begins with said purloined dinosaur baby receiving medical treatment for its injuries, with Thorne yearning to take Arby and Kelly to a part of the island known as the “high hide” to view the creatures safely. Dodgson eventually reaches the island and comes under attack, seeking shelter in an abandoned shed. As the infant t-rex receives treatment, one of its parents approaches the interconnected series of trailers, which consequentially come under attack, with those within finding themselves fighting for their lives. A helicopter to take the expedition members to safety is around five hours away, with the party making it a point to leave the island.

The Sixth Configuration commences with Sarah and Kelly escaping the dinosaurs on a motorcycle, the two attempting to impede the animals’ progress by shooting at them, although among the other members of the party, Thorne and Levine find themselves without firepower. The escapees reach an abandoned worker village, where they find brief solace from the danger, not to mention food, with Dodgson serving as something as an antagonist in the novel. The raptors continue to prove the greatest danger to the humans, with the tyrannosaur having its share of the action in the final moments.

Overall, The Lost World is just as great a classic among dinosaur-related fiction as its predecessor, with countless moments and characters not present in the film adaptation and general explicit direction on how the story advances, and plenty of good action. Ian Malcolm continues to prove to be an awesome character, entertaining the idea of intellectual diversity in addition to other kinds as a form of survival for the human race. As with the first book, however, it’s generally up to the reader’s imagination as to how the characters look, and Crichton could have picked an alternate name for his story since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used it (such as Beyond Jurassic Park), but otherwise, this sequel is highly recommended.


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Like Spider-Man: No Way Home explores the concept of alternate Marvel universes, with a few surprises that might or might not have been spoiled for certain individuals, given some familiar faces from the various Marvel Comics franchises.

Cute? Yes. Funny? Only on occasion.

The fifth chronological Episode of the Star Wars franchise, second of the Original Trilogy, opens with the Rebel Alliance driven from their base on Yavin IV to the frozen planet of Hoth, with the Empire attempting to track them down, and Darth Vader particularly interested in Luke Skywalker, and given the iconic plot twist that’s been misquoted, imitated, and spoiled to death (which itself imitated a major plot twist in Frank Herbert’s Dune, played straighter in The Rise of Skywalker), it sort of brings to question why Obi-Wan, before his death, didn’t suggest that Luke not use his surname, although admittedly, Luke Skywalker is definitely a badass name.

The Empire succeeds in putting the Rebels on the run again in the battle on Hoth that follows, although it really seems they didn’t have the most intelligent designers when it came to its military technology, given the relative sluggishness of the Imperial Walkers across the snowy terrain, and there are other questionable plot decisions such as both sides of the war constantly forgetting that space is three-dimensional, with the Rebel Alliance facing the “problem” of getting past the Empire’s ships when they could have very easily just flown to another part of Hoth’s airspace and gotten away thence, given that we don’t see a whole lot of Imperial star destroyers above the planet.

The Force ghost of Ben tells Luke to find Yoda on Dagobah, mentioning that he was “the Jedi Master who instructed me,” which the prequel trilogy would contradict with Qui-Gon Jinn as Obi-Wan’s instructor then, and which the Legends timeline slightly rectified by noting that he trained under Yoda as a youngling before his apprenticeship to Qui-Gon, and the forthcoming series about Kenobi might fill in some of the holes the film series, as a whole, leaves. Luke does find Yoda on Dagobah and begins training, despite the diminutive Jedi’s insistence that training as part of the Order began at a young age.

There’s further a lack of indication as to how much time elapses during Luke’s training and Han Solo, together with Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and Threepio, aboard the Millennium Falcon, being chased by the Empire, given the ship’s disabled Hyperspace drive. They do find their way to the planet of Bespin, where Han rendezvouses with his old friend Lando Calrissian, and conflicts arise that ultimately result in Han’s carbonite freezing and being taken to Jabba the Hutt by enigmatic bounty hunter Boba Fett, a fate Darth Vader wishes upon Luke to take him to Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine.

And I think that during Vader’s initial conversation with his Sith Master, where he’s told Luke is Anakin Skywalker’s son, replacing the holo of the monkey-faced actress with Ian McDiarmid was a cosmetic change for the better. Luke continues his training on Dagobah, and, when he receives instruction enough in the Force, senses his friends are in danger on Bespin. Yoda warns him about the “dangers” of breaking from his training to go help his friends, but given the remainder of the events in the Original Trilogy, Luke actually did better than bad by doing so, given the recruitment of Lando into the Rebellion.

John Williams’ score is also notable, beginning with the main theme during the opening crawl, which combines elements from Dukas’ “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” and Tchaikovsky’s “Marche Slave.” Darth Vader’s theme further sounds like a sped-up version of Chopin’s funeral dirge mixed with the Mars Movement of Gustav Holst’s The Planets suite. Other notable music includes the theme of the Cloud City of Bespin, and the soundtrack as a whole is definitely memorable, with that at the end, fusing elements from themes throughout the film, led me to watch them from start to end.

Han serves as comic relief as well, given things like how he addresses Leia and terms Threepio “the professor,” Solo and the Princess forming something of a romantic relationship. Leia, though, somewhat sucks at insults, given her notable “scruffy-looking nerf herder” line, when just stopping her at “Why you stuck-up, half-witted…” would have sufficed. Regardless, it’s definitely an iconic film, just as much so as A New Hope, but certainly does have its issues, and despite many considering it infallible today, it actually got “average” reviews after its original release, and I can understand. The film has definitely aged very well, though, doesn’t scream “1980,” and is like its precursor a bucket-list movie.

The third Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man film finds the titular superhero back in New York City after his secret identity of Peter Parker is revealed in a near-death video by villain Mysterio propagated by the media, among it being Daily Bugle host J. Jonah Jameson, brilliantly portrayed by J.K. Simmons (the first live-action actor to play the same character in different film franchises), reimagined as a Rush Limbaugh-esque commentator. Spidey seeks help from Doctor Strange to make his identity secret again, although the spell is botched, unleashing a can of interdimensional whoop-ass that ties the MCU with Sony's prior Spider-Man film franchises. Could have been really bad, given the concept (which was actually Sony's idea), although the final product definitely strikes a line among being humorous, excellent fanservice, somewhat bittersweet towards the end, and an overall enjoyable movie. I definitely look forward to how the multiverse concept is further explored in the MCU.

Film combining computer-generated animals with live-action, about how slacker Fred O'Hare ultimately becomes the first human Easter Bunny, with the role at the film's beginning held by a lapine voiced by Dr. House Hugh Laurie, and his son E.B. is reluctant to succeed him in the role, escaping to Hollywood in hopes he can become a professional drummer, even passing with flying colors an audition hosted by David Hasselhoff. Also has other notable performers such as Simpsons actor Hank Azaria voicing the renegade chick Carlos, along with Big Bang Theory actress Kaley Cuoco. Definitely not a masterpiece, but was in my opinion definitely one of the best Easter films.

Sort of takes artistic license regarding some of the animals (like giving rabbits such as Thumper button noses and pawpads), but it's definitely a classic.

Thought this would be a good film to watch on Disney+ on the days until Mardi Gras. Disney's last (so far) 2-D animated film, it takes place in 1920s New Orleans and focuses on Tiana, who kisses a frog claiming to be a prince and turns into a frog herself, with the two struggling to become human again. Sort of sugarcoats the South at the time (though I don't think America's War Between the States really did a whole lot of good when it came to Northern/Southern and white/nonwhite relations, despite the head Lincoln gets from biased historians), but it had some good music and endearing characters like Louis the alligator.