Good2Go Reviews

Jurassic Park III (2001)

Improving upon the JP franchise

[9/10 · 18 July 2001]

The "Jurassic Park" series of films are so shallow and yet so much fun. Obviously, when you throw together dinosaurs and humans interacting with each other and chasing each other, you tend to find big audiences young and old. JP3 is no different in its deliverance of non-stop action and is a step in the right direction of the franchise. In the latest installment, we find Téa Leoni and William H. Macy as rich parents looking for their son who wound up on Isla Sorna because of a parasailing accident. Both actors are so much better than the overrated Vince Vaughn and Julianne Moore from "The Lost World." The special effects are spectacular, although the story line is a bit rushed at times (the film clocks in at about 90 minutes). Director Joe Johnston has a knack for good popcorn movies. He did wonders with `Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,' `The Rocketeer,' and `Jumanji.' Yet, he does much better with true-life human dramas as he did with `October Sky.' JP3 has a lot of action, chase sequences and such, but you can't help but feel like it's the popcorn that's filling you up, and not the movie. The editing is a bit choppy in places as it was hard to follow some of the darker chase sequences such as when the Spinosaurus attacks the group on the riverboat. Still, I left the theater feeling much more satisfied than when I saw JP2. Jeff Goldblum's Ian Malcolm is sorely missed, but at least we get to see Sam Neill and Laura Dern reprising their Dr. Grant and Sr. Sattler roles. The franchise has come full circle

Semper Fi (2001 TV Movie)

Semper Fi needs to spend a little more time at boot camp

[5/10 · 18 April 2001]

This TV pilot showed various males and one female character going through the rigors of Marine Corps recruit training. I can understand why no network wanted this trash for a weekly series. As a former Marine, I was very disappointed in the way the recruits were portrayed. It was very unbelievable in many aspects, including the order in which some of the training took place (In real training, recruits qualify on the rifle range before going to the gas chamber and rappel towers, unlike how it was showed in this movie). Considering the power behind this production, it was shocking to see these glaring errors. I mean, come on, only one recruit knew his general orders?! All of their recruiters should be fired! Nearly 90 percent of the recruits I went down to recruit training with knew all 11 general orders before they arrived at Parris Island for training -- including me. Steven Spielberg executive produced this debacle, and former Marine Capt. Dale Dye's involvement makes it even more amazing how poorly this was put together. Both Spielberg and Dale were together on the masterful Saving Private Ryan, yet there was no saving these privates-to-be. Despite my reservations about its accuracy, I rated Semper Fi a five out of 10 stars simply because it was fun to reminisce about being at Parris Island again and seeing the drill instructors, the squad bays, and other memories of my three months at PI. OOHRAH! To get a more realistic portrayal of boot camp at PI, check out Full Metal Jacket. It takes place in the 1960s, but it's much more accurate than this hokey mess.

The Haunting (1999)

deBont brings life to a house ... as the movie arrives DOA.

[1 December 1999]

I'm not sure what it is about director Jan deBont that makes him want to animate the lifeless. I'm not talking about dead people walking again. That's been done before. I'm talking about buses. I'm talking tornadoes. And now he brings Hill House to life. In "The Haunting," deBont makes a large mansion breathe, crumble, scream, cry, and -- with the help of Phil Tippets' special effects team -- treat you to some eye candy you'd never find at a movie theater consession stand. I admit, what we see on screen in terms of eye-popping fun is a sight to behold. But other than that, the movie is lifeless. There are few scares and even fewer surprises. Liam Neeson is wasted as a fear researcher(!) and Catherine Zeta-Jones turns in a poor performances as a member of a trio of insomniacs temporarily residing in the monstrous abode I was especially disappointed with film editor Michael Kahn. In his realm, he's done magnificent work splicing together such action heavy flicks as deBont's "Twister" and Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" and "Jurassic Park." Unfortunately, here, he did some stunningly poor chopping, having characters suddenly appear when you thought they were at the other end of the cavernous residence of evil just seconds ago. One saving grace is Lily Taylor's performance as a single mother-wannabe. She is believable and plays off terror convincingly when all else around her is not so frightening. And, finally, what was the deal with Todd Field's character. This fine actor has been slowly making a name for himself since the 1980s, most recently starring in Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut." In this movie, he appears for a total of about 10 minutes at the beginning and then is written out of the script when he has to bring an early casualty to town for treatment. Maybe that's a good thing. At least now Field won't have to put "The Haunting" down on his resume. His role, along with this movie, will be completely forgotten long before deBont brings "My Pet Rock: The Movie" to the big screen.