This week at the movies, Jurassic Park and Evil Dead get extensive modern makeovers, and Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper start in an intense art house flick.
Jurassic Park 3D
Like everything, dinosaurs are totally better in 3D. At the time of its release in 1993, Jurassic Park, starring Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern as scientists, was at the forefront of moviemaking magic and special effects. And with Steven Spielberg at the helm, it was a bonafide Hollywood hit. Now it’s been released in 3D to give the T-Rex an even more impressively terrifying look.
Perfect For: It’s Spielberg, so it’s a family affair. See it for the first time, or see it again for kicks.
What the Critics Say: The 3D is fun, and the story about what happens when scientists mess with mother nature, holds up. Writes the Chicago Tribune: “The dinosaur effects, however, are absolutely stunning, and sometimes so natural that one even forgets to be impressed.” And says The Philadelphia Inquirer: “The earthshaking footfalls of these lizard-kings are palpable and terrifying. Spielberg's crew of dinosaur-effects artists has conjured up a Mesozoic menagerie whose realism outdoes anything in cinema history.”
Our Take: Seems to be better than whatever else for the family is on offer this weekend (G.I. Joe, we’re looking at you).
Evil Dead
Typical horror scenario for an atypical horror flick: five twenty-somethings find a weird book in a cabin in the woods, do what you are never supposed to do in horror movies (read the book and follow its nefarious instructions), and unleash a million demons that come and haunt them. The demons appear to be Linda Blair from the Exorcist on steroids, and the scary “Red Band” trailer will leave you unable to sleep at night. This is an update on the camp Sam Raimi low budget classic, which found the victims listening to an audiotape instead of reading a book.
Perfect For: People who find being terrified really fun; not for anyone under 18 (We’re tempted to say not for anyone under 21, it looks that scary.) And, of course, fans of the original.
What the Critics Say: In a total change of pace for both horror movies and remakes, the reviews are not bad, not bad at all. Writes Entertainment Weekly: “The new Evil Dead is not only made with an affectionate nod and a wink to the 1981 version, it's also the bloodiest, goriest, slapstickiest horror movie since, well, The Evil Dead.”
And Variety calls it, “The rare remake that likely will be enjoyed most by diehard fans of its predecessor.”
Our Take: Go—if you can stomach it.
The Place Beyond The Pines
Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling star in this art house flick about a small town thief (Gosling) and a local cop on his tail (Cooper).
Perfect For: Fans of Blue Valentine, the last flick directed by Derek Cianfrance, not to mention Gosling and Cooper, who both get rave reviews here.
What the Critics Say: Overly ambitious in parts, but generally very good. Rolling Stone calls it “a beast of a movie, an emotional roller coaster that threatens to go off the rails, and does.” Writes the New York Times: “If, in the end, the film can't quite sustain its epic vision, it does, along the way, achieve the density and momentum of a good novel.”
Our Take: We’re a sucker for an art house flick and for Ryan Gosling, so we say thumbs up.
