THE DANMAN CAN

Parts of this one are great. Other parts not so much. Téa Leoni spends most of the running time screaming. I actually think this one ranks as good as The Lost World . Neither one comes close to the original , but neither one is a "turkey". Much as I enjoy Mr. Goldberg , I don't think he carried the second film as well as Mr. Neill does here, returning to the series after being absent from the second film. I especially like the practical shots of the Spinosaurus - just badass.

I remember liking this one more, even 5 years ago or so. It's still fun and has some standout scenes, but overall pales in comparison to the first film. The digital f/x in The Lost World actually look worse than the first film, but the animatronics are still great. Is it just me or does Julianne not look intense enough?     I felt this way during parts of this one too, Jeff . Pete , without your character this film would probably only earn **1/2 from me. R.I.P.

Maybe it's because I watched The Woman In Black  (2012) alone with all the lights off, turned my phone volume off and really invested my attention into it or hopefully it's because it's just a really well made ghost story, but I found this extremely creepy. The premise is simple, there's very little dialogue and there's a fair amount of "jump scares" (really good ones though), but it's all handled very precisely and with mood and atmosphere.

Jurassic Park (1993) is pretty close to the perfect adventure film (in my opinion only Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981) tops it). Amazing suspense (I still get tense during the T. Rex/glass of water scene). Fantastic f/x that still largely hold up today (the melding of practical/animatronic/digital is brilliant). Even a healthy dose of horror now and again (severed limbs, human and animal). Great character archetypes with witty dialogue. Minimal heartwarming moments (for Steven Spielberg ) and handled perfectly. I have vivid memories of seeing this in the theater, multiple times. "Welcome...to Jurassic Park." Where it all began. How many times has the stunned reaction shot been recycled since?   Dr. Ian Malcom: If there is one thing the history of evolution has taught us it's that life will not be contained. Life breaks free, expands to new territories, and crashes through barriers, painfully, maybe even dangerously, but, ah, well, there...

Finally got around to seeing this and I was impressed. Soderbergh is always good, and most of the time, as in this instance, he's great.