One of my favorite moments in movies

There are some scenes that  no matter how many times I watch it - I get chills. It's been almost 30 years since Dead Poets society came out. I used to cry when I watched it. Part of it was because I was kind of a mess. Part of it was feeling for the characters who could never be themselves.



I cried because I understood Neal's suicide - what was the point of living if you couldn't be who you were really were?



But this small scene maybe explains why Neal didn't get it right - that the human spirit can't be crushed.

Or maybe I'm just sentimental for the 17 year old boy who saw this in awe.

Dewey's Movie Reviews: Jurassic World

Okay, everybody knows this movie is making money faster than it can be printed, but is it any good?  

Yes, yes it is. 

 I was never that big of a fan of the original Jurassic Park--parts of it were too sentimental and over-engineered for me.  But I was keen to see what director/co-writer Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed) would do with the franchise.  His idea?  Make a true sequel to the first film.  The park has become a going concern, a working (and safe) tourist destination.  But like all theme parks, there are stockholders to please, and the thrills need to get bigger and bigger (if you think this plot point is a satirical barb aimed at summer tentpole films, you would be correct.) 

 So, with the bottom line (and with a military arm of the In Gen Corporation in play), they have created a brand new dinosaur by use of transgenics--modifying and combining DNA from different sources to create a brand new animal--Indominous Rex.  

Park Director Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) is dealing with getting the I-Rex ready for display (they call it an "asset"), at the same time her nephews Nick and Gray are visiting the park.  Claire does not have time for them, and pawns them off on her assistant. 

 Meanwhile, animal trainer Owen (Chris Pratt) has had success training the deadly Raptors to obey his commands, and to treat him as the pack leader--a development that excites the military liason (played by Vincent D'Onofrio.)  Owen is skeptical about using the Raptors as soldiers, and he is really skeptical when In Gen asks him to check out the genetically engineered I-Rex.  

Before he can get a good look at the beast, the big monster tricks everyone, and suddenly chaos (and a really toothy, bad attitude, genetically modified dinosaur) is loose in Jurassic World.  Claire has to find a way to save her nephews, and the nearly 20,000 other guests at the park, as the I-Rex sets off a deadly chain of events.  Sure, we have seen this kind of thing before, but Trevorrow and his screenwriters have approached the "and then things get worse" credo with a great deal of wit, invention, and childlike enthusiasm.  

Anyone who ever had dinosaur figures and had them fight would have a lot in common with the filmmakers.  Pratt reinforces that he is a movie star--Owen is manly, fun, and fairly serious (he has some jokes, but he plays it pretty straight--and his performance here will do nothing to dispel those Indiana Jones rumors.)  Claire is more than just the corporate, cold businesswoman--she cares for her nephews (eventually) and has as many bad*** moments as Owen.

  I just had a blast with this film--it dodges a lot of what made the first film not work for me, and it shows such great command of action, and suspense (and some really horrible deaths--how did this get a PG-13?)  At the end of the day, a good summer film should be fun, but not insult your intelligence.  Jurassic World succeeds on both counts, as it is much smarter and fleet of foot than some are giving it credit.  

Grade:  A-

Deweys Movie Reviews: Ex Machina

And here is another story with robots, but very different. 

Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) is a young programmer at a huge tech corporation, and he wins a company contest--the prize being a weekend with the company's founder--Nathan (Oscar Isaac)--at his remote, isolated home.  Nathan is a tech genius, and it is like getting to hang with Steve Jobs and Stephen Hawking at the same time.  

Nathan is a bit of a drinker, and a little eccentric, and he drops a huge bomb on Caleb: He has been working on artificial intelligence, and he has a robot that he wants Caleb to meet.  As Caleb and Nathan debate and kick around the concepts of artificial intelligence, and the nature of humanity, Caleb understands that he will be running a Turing test on the robot--to determine if she has a personality, and is "human," and should be shown to the world (or if she should be scrapped as a flawed prototype.)  

Yes, the AI is a "she"--Ava (Alicia Vikander)--and she is a marvel.  A lithe figure that is part human (her face has perfect symmetry) and robotics (like she had rolled out of an Apple lab), Ava presents an alluring and otherworldly presence.   Caleb sits down with Ava, and he is drawn to her, and she to him.  He has many sessions to determine her emotional intelligence, and he marvels at her ability to draw beautiful pictures. 

 Meanwhile Nathan keeps running mind games on Caleb, and soon he begins to doubt his boss' intentions.  Rolling power blackouts effect the house, and Caleb has to make a decision on how much of a prisoner he wishes Ava to be. 

Writer/director Alex Garland has made a fascinating science fiction film here, steeped in intelligence--you have to keep up with the film; not just for the philosophical and technical debates of Caleb and Nathan (and Caleb and Ava), but in the plot twists, as everyone is hiding their true motivations and true intentions.  The film counts down to an inevitability, and I was somewhat let down by a more conventional ending than I was expecting, but movies don't get more intelligent and challenging than this one.  Gleeson is a fine young actor, doing great work here, holding his own with the force of nature played by Isaac (who may be my favorite actor right now.)  Vikander has a tricky role as Ava, and she nails it.  

Ex Machina is not a light exercise in cinema this one, but an incredibly rewarding one to the viewer looking for something more meaty than the average fare.  Grade:  B+.

Dewey's Movie Reviews: Tommorowland

Apparently, I was too much of a sucker on this one--as I fell for it hook, line and sinker. 

I consider director Brad Bird to be one of those genius filmmakers whom has yet to make a bad film--so I was pre-disposed to like this one.  Add to Bird's resume, that I was in the mood for a hopeful futuristic movie, using as a launching board the famous Tomorrowland section at Disney (Land and World), and with the participation of co-writers Damon Lindelof (Lost) and Jeff Jensen (Entertainment Weekly) and George Clooney, how could I not be on the movie's side?  The filmmakers took as their remit that we have fallen too much in love with dystopia and post-apocalyptic fiction, and where has the wide-eyed, hope-for-the-future, we-can-fix-this-world drive gone? 

 Inspired by Walt Disney's vision of a great big beautiful tomorrow, Tomorrowland tells the somewhat convoluted story of a group of dreamers that built--in an alternate dimension--a city of the future, where new technologies and new solutions could be created outside of the normal capitalist (and governmental) systems.  Young Frank Walker attends the World's Fair, determined to win the inventor award for his jet pack (which does not work exactly right.)  When the officious Nix (Hugh Laurie) rejects his jet pack design, a dejected Frank is given a special pin by Athena (Raffey Cassidy) a young girl who appears to be Nix's daughter.  This pin--when Frank rides the "It's a Small World" ride--transports him into Tomorrowland, where he perfects his jet pack, and joins Athena in inventing many wondrous things.

And then something goes wrong, and Frank is thrown out of Tomorrowland.  

Many years later, a fellow young dreamer--Casey Newton (Britt Robertson)--is fighting the forces of entropy in her own way.  Her father works for NASA and he--an engineer--is tasked with dismantling the launch pads; the space program is over.  Casey chooses to sneak onto the base to sabotage the equipment, and set back the attempts to take down the launch pad.  These actions put her in hot water with the authorities (and her dad), and then Athena--still appearing as a young child--gives her a pin like the one she gave Frank.  Whenever Casey touches it, she is shown visions of Tomorrowland (the special effects and editing here are awesome.) 

 Consumed with the promise of Tomorrowland, Casey finds herself pursued by killer robots, and Athena places Casey in the path of an older, very bitter Frank (Clooney.)  Frank has given up--not with inventing things--but on the future.  But Casey has a mysterious effect on his countdown clock (countdown to what?) and he takes a chance on her, helping her escape the robots, and making their way to Tomorrowland.  Can he and Casey save the future?  And why was Frank banned from Tomorrowland in the first place? 

 I have heard commentary that the structure of this film is a bit off, but man, scene to scene, this movie shows such imagination, drive, and wit, that I didn't care.  Bird and his co-writers have a very definite take on our fascination with dystopia, and roundly embrace optimism.  Clooney is very good as the embittered but still open to hope Frank, and Robertson perfectly embodies Casey's optimism and intelligence.  Cassidy is a standout as Athena--I won't reveal her role in the story, but Athena is a wonderfully funny and--eventually--touching presence.  I guess people were not in the mood to get lectured about the world, and our dour attitudes, but I found the film to be bracing, fun, and hopeful.  

Sue me; it worked for me.  

Grade:  A-

Dewey is a friend of mine who regularly shares his movie reviews - they are printed here with his permission!