Quick Reviews: Bullet Train, Westworld, The Sandman, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous
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Life has been challenging so I have not been keeping up with my reviews as well I should. To make up for it, I’m going to try and be more vigilant about doing quick reviews every Sunday/Monday to make sure I’m keeping up.
Bullet Train – A fun movie that was just one script element and one plot point too much for itself. Brad Pitt plays a journeyman contractor who finds himself on the worst train ride imaginable as he’s faced with every manner of assassin and plot possible. The MVPs of this movie were the brothers played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Bryan Tyree Henry, who brought such a fascinating energy and dynamic to the movie. I appreciated the slick design and excellent fights, but I think the movie does a disservice by trying to cram so much into the film (only about half of the flashbacks work and the water bottle moment in the climax is just a smidge too much). It slows down the movie much more than necessary during a fun battle.
Westworld (1973) – It was fascinating watching this movie after having seen every episode of Westworld so far. I had a lot of fun comparing and contrasting, and seeing how the show has adapted the same novel and movie. This movie FLEW by, not surprising given it’s run time but I was shocked at how simple it was, in comparison to the show, which has delved more deeply into the ideas given the time. Here we just have a park gone crazy and then an early template for the Terminator with Yul Brenner’s relentless stalking. It’s quite a fun thriller and worth the watch before the new leadership at WB decides to disappear that.
The Sandman – Having never read the comics but being aware of the long development history, I was interested to check out. I think there were some very high highs in the first season of this show about the King of Dreams trying to rebuild his kingdom after being imprisoned. I think it was a solid first season of the show with episodes 4-6 being the highlights of the season. I loved the work that Tom Sturridge, Gwendoline Christie, Mason Anderson Park, and Boyd Holbrook brought to the story. I will say the show throws a lot of characters, thoughts, and plot at you and not all of them stick. In crafting such a large ensemble and trying to maintain episode, half season, full season and series arcs, the show does buckle at times under the weight of all of them.
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous – The 2nd best thing to come out of the Jurassic Park franchise, this show aired it’s final season. I have to say that while I have thoroughly enjoyed the ride, the campers’ crusade to protect all the dinosaurs at the expense of their own lives often felt very grating, especially considering this was one of the longer seasons of the show. Many overall beats were repeated so it did drag a bit. I did enjoy seeing the growth of the characters made and that everyone got what they deserved at the end.
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