Steven Spielberg adapting Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One sounds like a match made in heaven. King of the blockbuster, master stager extraordinaire, the rare filmmaker who deftly blurs the line between live-action and special effects. The novel itself has a filmic syllabus ranging from John Hughes, Stephen King novels turned movies, and late ‘70s & ‘80s sci-fi horror, so ideally Spielberg’s the one to navigate Cline’s vast pop culture terrain. He either inspired or directly had a hand in producing this nostalgic crop of cinema. So, why doesn’t Ready Player One feel like homecoming?
Continue readingTag: Steven Spielberg
‘The Post’ – Spielberg at His Most Politically Urgent
In the pantheon of Steven Spielberg’s body of work, a film like The Post probably wouldn’t make the Top 10. There are so many others to consider his best, or representative of the filmmaker himself. And yet, I keep coming back to The Post more so than others for one simple reason: how urgent the movie feels since its release in 2017.
Continue readingJurassic World
Some people never learn from the mistakes of others. Thank God, otherwise Jurassic World would never have seen the light of day. Director Colin Trevorrow fulfills Hammond’s grand vision of a fully operational park. And my, is it spectacular. Trevorrow has cooked up one of the best summer blockbusters this season, one that’s sure to please fans of the original while welcoming new attendees with open arms. What more do you want? It’s freakin’ dinosaurs! Continue reading
Revisiting Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park stands boldly and proudly as a monumental classic. As a franchise, however, it’s somewhat of a disappointment. With each subsequent outing, the filmmakers lost the essence of the original and hurled the franchise towards extinction. It would take the better part of a decade to even muster the courage to try again. Gearing up for Jurassic World, I’ll be looking back on the first three films to see how we ended up here, and why the series deserves to breathe life again on the big screen. Welcome back to Jurassic Park. Continue reading