Whenever I tell someone that I love movies I always get the same question, “What’s your favorite movie?” I have given plenty of answers to that—“I really don’t have one,” “It all depends on my mood” or the generic answer of “Casablanca.” As great a movie as I think it is, it is not my favorite (easily top 5 though). It has taken me a while to really come up with an answer—a true answer—to that question, but now I think I have it.
“So Matt, seeing as you love movies so much, what is your favorite movie?”
“Without question, it would be Jurassic Park.”
The short answer to the “why” would be because it is awesome. The long answer is:
Over winter break I bought the “Jurassic Park” trilogy. I quickly watched all three and tossed the third movie in to my closet in hopes of forgetting it ever existed (if only). As I watched the first, I was reminded of how much I loved it.
For me it started when, my parents bought the VHS copy from McDonalds in some deal—I think they also got “Field of Dreams” and “Back to the Future too. I was, by their standards, not old enough to watch a PG-13 movie, so I had to wait. When I did finally get to see it a few years later, I loved it.
While rewatching “Jurassic Park” on DVD I was shocked at how well it has held up in the 17 years since its release. Today it would have been all computer-generated dinosaurs. Back then the combination of practical puppets and CG dinosaurs was top notch. Even today they look amazing and I think it really shows what can be done when effects are used…well, effectively.
So besides the fact that it keeps its effects charm almost two decades later, what makes it my favorite movie? I did a post a few months back about movie moments. For me a great movie is made up of great moments. “Jurassic Park” has some of the most memorable in movie history. You have only to look to when Drs. Grant and Sadler arrive on the island and see the brontosaurs for the first time, it is stunning.
See what I mean? It is at that point that you know you are in for a ride.
There are plenty more, the T-Rex attack, the two kids hiding from the Velociraptors in the kitchen, I could go on. There are so many moments that make the movie’s two hour running time just fly by.
This choice is not one made to make me look better. It is easy to pick a classic movie and seem smart. I have watched plenty of classic movies and enjoyed them greatly, but none has reached the status of “my favorite movie.” There were times early on in my love of film that I would have felt required to use movies like “Casablanca” as my favorite. They are seen as amazing pieces of cinema by so many. 
I say “Jurassic Park” because I have never been bored when watching it. There are times when watching “Casablanca” that my mind wonders. “Jurassic Park” is entertaining and riveting. I soak up every single second of it with the same wide-eyed joy I did when I watched it for the first time.
I say that this is my favorite because it is just a damn good movie. It is a fun blockbuster but it is done really well. Sure there are a few things I take issue with in the movie—like how no one can hear the T-rex eat the goat or approach the main complex in the final scene—but that does not take away from my pure enjoyment of the movie. 
I cannot say that “Serenity” is my favorite because I know I am a fanboy and that my vision is clouded and my judgment is impaired—like beer goggles, but you know, for movies.
“Jurassic Park” is a movie that is where it is on my list because of the simple fact that it is a great movie. I do not like it because I feel I have to because of the pressure of being a movie geek, or because I have a connection to the material in some way. I like it because I do. I put it at the No.1 spot because I can and it deserves it. Do I really need any other justification that that?
“Threequals” are a tough thing to write about. They are also tough to make good. “Spider-Man 3” sucked. “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” sucked. “Shrek The Third” not all that good. Even “Return of the Jedi” is not that good as a standalone movie. It takes something special to make a “threequal” work. Basically, it takes Pixar. 
When Andy (voiced by John Morris) is getting ready to go to college, he has to decide what to do with all this old toys. Through a mix up in boxes, Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen) and all the rest of the toys get shipped to Sunnyside Daycare. They are greeted by Lotso (Ned Betty) who tells them that they will be taken care of and will never have to suffer the loss of their child growing up ever again. The toys soon learn that not all is sunny at the day care center and fight to get home to Andy before he leaves for good.
I do not know how many times I can say it-Pixar rocks. I have either liked or loved every movie, except “Cars” since they released “Toy Story” over 10 years ago. They know how to do it right. Their movies have heart, humor and are great stories that are told with care and expertise. If you have liked any other Pixar movie, then chances are you will enjoy this one as well. 
There is really not much to say besides: see this movie. One idea I have read was that PIxar has taken a lot of chances with their previous movies (“Wall-E” “Up” “Ratatouille”) and this seemed more of a safe movie. I have to agree and even more so when the next two years will bring “Cars 2” and “Monsters INC 2.” As much as I would love to see those movie or even a sequel to “The Incredibles” (Please?!), I liked the risks they took with the other movies. Still, don’t let this movie pass you by.
10 out of 10 (yea, its that good)
Rated PG
103 minuets
I was going to write something about the finale of “Lost.” In fact, I had a 254 word start a few days ago. Now though, after reading some of the backlash from “The End,” I have some thoughts of my own to share.
One big thing I keep reading is that there are still unanswered questions. My simple, one word response is- “So?” There is nothing wrong with that as far as I am concerned. The show has always had questions surrounding it.
Maybe some expected to have their every question answered by 11:30 p.m. on that finale Sunday. That is why they hated the ending or how the show handled the ending. I went in to Sunday’s finale knowing that there were still going to be questions and I came away loving the ending. I have not watched it again yet, but I just might do so after this, so I might still be in awe of it all, but I doubt it.
I have spent a lot of time thinking about/theorizing with friends/reading about the finale and the show in general. It is an amazing ending and was one I never saw coming, but now feels like it was the perfect ending to the show.
Having everything explained would have been worse ending. I loved that there were things left unsaid. I liked that I still do no completely understand everything. For me, it means that “Lost” will live on. Fans can still talk about and theorize about the show even though all the episodes have aired. When I go back and rewatch the show on DVD, there is a very good chance I will pick up on clues and answers I don’t know at this point.
Think about it. If “Lost” really had provided answers to all the questions it asked, wouldn’t that have been the most un-“Lost” way for the show to end?
When Monday morning comes I will be facing a whole new world. It will be new and scary. It will be a dark world full of unknown dangers and things that go bump in the night. I will be stranded at sea with no hope of rescue. It will be as if I have crashed on a mysterious island full of “others” polar bears and a black smoke monster. It is something I have not had to face for a very long time. It is my life after “Lost.”
The last new episode before the series finale aired last night and it was bitter sweet. I love this show and will continue to for as long as I live. Last night thought, I had a thought as I walked up the steps to my friend’s apartment. I don’t want to watch the finale. It means that there will be no new “Lost” ever again. Yet, I am dying for answers to questions I have had for many years. Come 11:30 p.m. on Sunday night, “Lost” will be over.
Don’t get me wrong. I will still watch the show on DVD and theorize with my friends about just what the hell is going on, but it will be different. For the past 5 years (I did not get into the show until season 2) I have been there every week, eyes glued to the screen, mind racing with theories, anger and confusion flowing through me mixed with wonder and amazement. Now what do I have to fill the void caused by the absence of “Lost?”
Looking at the current television climate, not much. “Lost” has truly changed my television viewing habits. It has raised my expectations of what a TV show can be. To be honest, nothing has come close to matching it. I have stopped watching more shows because they did not give me what “Lost” did. I have loved being immersed in the fandom. At one point I listened to four weekly podcasts about the show, now because of time constraints it is down to two. I have visited websites and read countless articles dedicated to the show. There is nothing I am currently watching that merits this kind of attention. 
So come Monday morning things are going to be different. I trust the writers enough to know that the finale will be amazing. Whether I like it or not, it is guaranteed to be something worth watching. I have faith that I will be satisfied with the ending—there is very little in the show I have not liked (Nikki and Palo, the episode with Bai Ling.) They would have to try very hard to mess it up now. I know that on Monday morning, some fans will be angry, some will be glad with how it ended up. One thing if for certain, we will still be theorizing and I would not have the show end any other way.
I love summer. The weather is great, I go back to day camp and my responsibilities are minimal. It is also a hell of a time to be a movie fan. The summer movie season kicked off Friday with “Iron Man 2.”
The world knows that Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is Iron Man and that is posing some problems for Stark. The U.S. government wants to get their hands on the suit of iron. They feel that the technology is too great for one man to have and are worried about what will happen if other countries were able to replicate it. Stark refuses to give them the Iron Man suit.
While racing in Monaco, Stark is attacked by Ivan Vanko (Micky Rourke) a Russian wielding the same technology as the Iron Man suit. He has added a electric whip on each arm and uses them to devastate Stark.
Meanwhile Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell,) a competitor to Stark Industries, wants to bring down the arrogant Stark. He enlists Vanko’s help in improving Hammer’s very own suits of armor in hopes of using them to embarrass Stark.
I am going to be honest I hate that plot synopsis. There is a lot going on in the movie and there are a ton of characters that it is damn near impossible to write a good enough plot summary.
So let’s start there. I did not like how over blown the movie was. There is way too much going on. And this is coming from a guy who watches “Lost.” There were a bunch of characters that I just did not care about. 
So that is the bad. The good?
Robert Downey Jr. is awesome as Tony Stark. He is arrogant, but he is also brilliant and dedicated to helping people. Stark goes through some growth in this sequel. He discovers that the very thing keeping him alive (he has an electromagnet in his chest to keep shrapnel away from his heart), is also killing him. He has to find a new way to keep himself alive. He is faced with his own mortality and starts to self district, but is forced to pull himself out and face the bad guy.
The first one was better. While there are some elements to the first in this one, something is missing. I am not sure what it is, but I was not as satisfied with his as I was with the first. Don’t rush out to see this unless you have seen and love the first. It is good, but not great.
7/10
Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some language.
124 min
