Jurassic World: Dominion (2022)

After the events in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, dinosaurs have mostly become a part of nature again worldwide.  There are instances of illegal breeding and even giant locusts.  Wait, what?  Giant locusts?  What's this?  Yes, the big issue now is that giant locusts - the size of cats - are wiping out crops that aren't grown with a particular seed brand.  Wow, that's not suspicious.  Now to catch up with all our characters.  Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) is still working as a dinosaur-rights activist.  Owen (Chris Pratt) is a cowboy - maybe a dinoboy - as he wrangles dinosaurs.  Together, Claire and Owen have adopted Maisie (Isabella Sermon), who they have kept sequestered in a forest cabin far from town.  Elsewhere in the world, Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) visits Alan Grant (Sam Neill) at a dig in Utah.  She has been in contact with Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), who has invited her to the BioSyn compound in Europe.  Excellent, now our story can begin.

A band of mercenaries have found the remote cabin and absconded with Maisie and Blue's baby raptor.  Oh, yeah, Blue lives in the nearby forest and visits from time to time.  Claire and Owen contact Franklin Webb (Justice Smith) who now works for the CIA.  Of course, he does. He gives them the skinny on where Maisie might be headed and tells them not to get involved.  So, they are on the next flight to Malta.  Duh!  In Malta, programmable raptors chase after Owen as he rides a motorcycle through the streets.  Meanwhile, Claire browbeats Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise), a freelance pilot who flies a hunk of junk, into helping recover Maisie.  As she happened to witness Maisie's arrival and departure from Malta, she agrees.  Convenient.  Off to the BioSyn Institute in Europe!

During all this, Ellie and Alan have arrived at the BioSyn Institute and meet Lewis Dodgson.  Dodgson was a very minor character in the original film as the guy who gave Nedry (Wayne Knight) the phony shaving cream can to store dinosaur DNA samples.  Wow, nice callback.  Next, they reconnect with Ian.  Ian suggests that Ellie and Alan go to a restricted level and get a sample of locust DNA.  Okay.  What was wrong with the DNA from the locusts caught earlier in the film?  I must have missed that.  Also, why hasn't Ian gotten it?  Of course, it turns into a fiasco.  Luckily, the number two man at BioSyn, Ramsay Cole, is on their side.  What?  Why didn't HE get the sample?  This is just one clumsy effort to bring back the original trio for a swan song in the series.  And why again are we having giant grasshoppers in a dinosaur movie?

Out of the blue, the movie introduces Maisie's mother, Dr. Charlotte Lockwood (Elva Trill).  Though she died more than a decade ago, it turns out that she was good friends with Ellie and made plenty of home movies that demonstrate how she was a genetic scientist who was deeply involved in the dinosaur project.  Also, she was born with a genetic defect that was going to cut her life short but she really wanted to be a mom so she impregnated herself with a clone of herself - that would be Maisie - but not before correcting the genetic defect.  Well, of course.

Dodgson proves to be a Bond-like villain who had a lair that conveniently self-destructs with alarming ease.  The astonishing incompetence is baffling.

The movie is really odd.  Why are dinosaurs running around in the snowy forests of the northwest?  Reptiles are not fond of the cold.  Are these warm-blooded dinosaurs?  Did I miss that?  More likely, the makers thought it would be cool to have dinosaurs trudging through the snow.  Sigh.  Along that same line, Europe seems like a terrible place to have a dinosaur sanctuary.  There just aren't any remote tropical islands anymore.

The movie hits all the standard tropes of a Jurassic Park/World film.  In many cases, it just repeats some old ones as an homage to the original.  Yeah, okay.  Whatever.  This is a long (2 and a half hours!) movie that has way too many characters and an extremely weak storyline.  Skip.

The Pride and the Passion (1957)

1810, Spain

Napoleon has defeated Spain and placed his brother, Joseph, on the throne. During their retreat, the shattered remnants of the Spanish Army abandon the largest cannon in their possession. Royal Navy Captain Anthony Trumbull (Cary Grant) lands in Spain with plans of retrieving the giant cannon, both to aid the British efforts against Napoleon and to keep it out of the hands of the French. With the Spanish Army in disarray, he finds himself bargaining with a shoemaker turned guerrilla leader, Miguel (Frank Sinatra). Miguel agrees to assist the captain in recovering the gun, but insists it is used to liberate Avila before it can be transported to the British. Trumbull reluctantly agrees. There follows a series of adventures as Miguel's band of guerrillas battle French patrols and recruit help along the way. More importantly, Miguel's girlfriend, Juana (Sophia Loren), falls in love with the dashing British officer. Will she stay with Miguel or leave with Anthony? This is the most important question of the film.

The story is ludicrous. The idea that these guerrillas can haul this titanic gun across the countryside while not being noticed by French cavalry patrols is silly. That the French did find them in a canyon at one point and proved unable to capture the gun was unbelievable. When the gun is finally emplaced before the walls of Avila, the French just look on in amazement but don't take any offensive action. Nope, we'll just wait here on the walls. When the wall is breached, do the French have cannon ready at the breach to mow down the Spanish guerrillas? Nope.

The love triangle is no more engaging. Miguel is hard to like and Anthony is Cary Grant! Despite some great headliners in the cast, none of them give a noteworthy performance. Sinatra is bland and boring, doing little more than reading his lines off cue cards. He is not helped by a script that has him moping about Juana's growing attachment to Anthony. Some alpha male you are, buddy. Grant is similarly hampered by a clunky script that sees him lovestruck and perhaps joining this silly campaign just to stay near Juana. Though Sophia Loren did not speak English at the time and had to deliver her lines phonetically, she gets the best role here. Of course, she is the object of everyone's affection. Exactly why this woman is following the guerrillas is unclear, but she often feels like the 3rd in command.

Mediocre. Skip.

Mr. Inbetween (Season 1)

Ray Shoesmith (Scott Ryan) is a criminal, a hitman, who otherwise has the regular problems of an average working Joe.  He's divorced but has visitation with his daughter.  He has a girlfriend who works as a medic.  He has a best friend - also a criminal - who he constantly bails out of troubles of his own making, often humorously.  He attends meetings for anger management because he 'bashed a bloke.'  Of course, he saw nothing wrong with bashing the fellow, who fully deserved it.  Such a view does not impress the counselor.  Though Ray comes across as an amiable, even friendly, guy, woe to those who provoke his ire.  He is a cool customer when conflict arises.  Not only does Ray face threats of death with equanimity, but he has more tricks up his sleeve than even professional rivals can counter.  He recognizes that he is a criminal, but he also knows the 'work' will get done with or without him.  He has a strong sense of honor, frequently protecting innocents, but having no compunction about punishing the guilty.

The show takes place in Australia, which apparently has a bigger criminal underground than one would expect.  In any case, Ray is never short of people who need killing.  One curious thing is that Damon Herriman plays his primary employer, Freddy.  He had done so well in the role here that he got an almost identical role in The Bondsman with Kevin Bacon.  Scott Ryan is spectacular as Ray.  He has a unique face, putting him in the category of Steve Buscemi or Willem Dafoe.  Not a typical leading man.

The first season is only 6 half-hour episodes.  It has a terrific conclusion that got me wanting more.  Good popcorn fun and recommended.

Defund NPR & PBS

There is no shortage of media in the United States today.  When I was a kid, there were 7 TV channels and PBS.  That was a lot.  I remember visiting my grandparents and they only had 4 channels.  In those days, you could argue that the government should subsidize some programming that would not be aired on the limited stations.  That is not true now.  We have a glut of programming on a vast array of topics.  Niche programming abounds.  If you can't find your thing on TV, the internet - YouTube, Hulu, Rumble, and so on will have it.  Government-funded media was always questionable and is now just wasteful.  Any programming that has a sufficient audience will find private media to air it.  There is no reason for the American taxpayer to subsidize programming for anyone.

Taking Chance (2009)

It is April 2004 when the story opens with an ambush in Iraq.  It is only the audio over a black screen.  Back in the US, Marine Lt. Col. Mike Strobl (Kevin Bacon) is a number cruncher at Quantico.  His job is to review troop allocations and make recommendations.  Casualties are high in Iraq, but Lt. Col. returns to his wife and kids every night.  He's safe while other Marines were giving their lives.  While reviewing casualty reports, he notes that one Marine was from Colorado, near the town where he himself had grown up.  The Marine was PFC Chance Phelps.  Strobl volunteered to escort Chance home.

The process of returning the deceased to their relatives is very particular.  Honor is due the deceased at every stop on the journey home.  Strobl stood at attention and saluted as Chance was loaded into the plane and when he was removed from the plane.  He had to retain Chance's personal effects (a watch, a medallion, dog tags) on his person at all times, not even allowing them to pass through the X-ray at the airport.  He was moved that others joined in his respect for Chance along the way, offering thanks to him as an escort and condolences to Chance's family.  Strangely, the hero of the film is Chance and Strobl comes to know him by taking Chance home.

The movie is a powerful tearjerker, a somber reflection on the sacrifices made by a young man still in his teens.  Kevin Bacon is outstanding in the role, showing deep feelings despite maintaining a mostly stoic expression.

Highly recommended.

The Bondsman

Hub Halloran (Kevin Bacon) arrived at an abandoned motel to catch one of the Earl brothers.  It turned out that the brothers knew he was coming and set a trap.  They killed him!  To his great surprise, he awoke with a slit throat.  Why wasn't he dead?  Then the phone calls started from Pot O' Gold.  He was back from the dead for a purpose: he was now a bounty hunter in the employ of the devil.  His Pot O' Gold supervisor, Midge (Jolene Purdy), explained that Hell is basically a prison and sometimes there are escapes.  Escapees possess humans.  The only way to send them back is to kill the human they have possessed.

Hub isn't a lone wolf in his efforts.  His mother (Beth Grant) is his boss and she finds out about his new job when he does.  Of course, his mom is more interested in why he went to Hell rather than his new job of demonslaying.  Hub is coy on that subject, declaring it a mistake.  Hub's ex-wife, Maryanne (Jennifer Nettles), stumbles upon him in action against a demon and joins his efforts.  He roped his teenaged son, Cade (Maxwell Jenkins), into serving as a lookout on another instance.  Ex-con and Maryanne's boyfriend, Lucky (Damon Herriman), knows something dark is happening and wants to protect Maryanne and Cade, whatever measures that might require.

Though Hub accepts his new role, he thinks there must be a loophole, a way to get out from under his misdeeds.  He spends a lot of time plotting against Lucky rather than hunting demons that are clearly working as part of a greater plan.  His mother tells him that pride is what led him to Hell and he still hasn't mended that.

The series is available on Amazon.  It is only 8 episodes long and each episode is only 30 minutes.  Yeah, this is easy to binge in a single sitting.  The gruesome deaths of demons and their victims is often over the top, reminding me of Death of a Unicorn.  Good popcorn fun!

The Woman in the Yard (2025)

Ramona (Danielle Deadwyler) lives on a farm with her two children, Taylor and Annie. The family is recovering from a tragedy; David (Russell Hornsby), Ramona's husband, died in a car crash. Ramona is still wearing a brace on her leg and uses crutches to navigate the house and yard. On this particular day, Taylor reported that the power was out. Worse, her phone is dead. To add to their troubles, there is a strange woman (Okwui Okpokwasili) in the yard. She is veiled and dressed entirely in black. She even had a chair to sit on. Curious, Ramona confronts the woman.

"Today's the day," the woman stated. She even said that Ramona had called her and she had now come.

Rattled, Ramona returned to the house and locked all the doors. However, as the day wore on, the woman came closer to the house despite never seeming to move. Her shadow cast farther than it should and in directions it shouldn't. The explanations for the woman and the background of the family are revealed as the story unfolds.

The initial reaction to the strange woman in the yard was inexplicable. Taylor is a teenager who is both taller than and more mobile than his mother, but she sequesters him in the house like he was a toddler even before a threat is revealed. The family has 2 cars, one that was wrecked and the other won't start. How have the kids been going to school since the accident? Do they go to school? Is it a weekend? Is it summer break? The powers of the woman are related to her shadow. Somehow, Ramona knows this. How? Ramona is an artist, though she hasn't been doing much painting since moving from the city.

Though it has several jump scares and a few hair-raising instances of terror, the movie proved to be merely so-so. Skip this one.