MOVIE REVIEW: Jurassic World vs. Inside Out

Oh snap.  My first movie review is a double feature.  Both of these movies made a splash in the month of June so I want to take the time to point out what I think are the pros and cons of each one.  So here we go!!

JURASSIC WORLD

Jurassic World is set two decades after the original Jurassic Park.  The theme park is in deep financial doo-doo, evidenced by the embarrassing amount of product placement within the park that the movie itself pokes fun at.  Anyway, they need more money, so they concoct the biggest, baddest dinosaur ever so more people will start coming to the park to see it.  And guess what?  It escapes and starts eating people.  I'm sure you're shocked.  But don't worry, the heroic Chris Pratt and his overwhelming attractive lady friend Bryce Dallas Howard are off to save the day.  Yaaay!

Ooohh my gosh... I can hear the dump trucks full of cash rolling up to Universal Studios.  I've heard this movie has already hit the billion mark worldwide?  Not surprising, I guess.  Jurassic Park is one of the biggest blockbusters in movie history.  The visuals were also killer.  Like, wow.  You can watch Jurassic Park even today and it looks real.  Really fantastic work from Steven Spielberg and Stan Winston (you might want to look up that guy).

Although it wasn't a remake, I like how Jurassic World paid so much homage to the original Jurassic Park.  The original theme was in there a couple of times (thank goodness), and I love how you saw the original headquarters and Jeeps of Jurassic Park deep in the jungle, and the final battle at the end was pretty awesome.  Don't worry, I won't spoil it for you. ;)

With that being said... I feel like I paid five bucks just to watch people get eaten by dinosaurs for two hours.  Granted, that's kind of what the original Jurassic Park was, but the original had better acting, better tension, a bigger sense of awe, and better visual effects.

YES. Better visual effects.  I said it.

Why?  Because Jurassic World had so much CGI (computer-generated images).  The reason the original Jurassic Park still looks good is because they used as many practical in-camera effects as possible, such as puppets and animatrons.  So what you see on screen is real.  It wasn't concocted on a computer screen after principal shooting wrapped up.  Yes, the original used CGI, but very sparingly--a last resort.  I only noticed one use of practical dinosaur effects in Jurassic World, so it was kind of disappointing.  I know it's not going to look near as good twenty years from now.  I wish a bigger emphasis would have been placed on it.

Overall, I thought it was a good movie.  I'm glad I went on "Five Dollar Tuesdays" because if I spent the full nine bucks on my ticket, I would have been even more disappointed.  I guess a smorgasbord of prehistoric creatures devouring my own species just doesn't sit with me as entertainment, especially when the visual effects the movie leans on so heavily are all fake.  Whatever.

I'll give Jurassic World a 6/10.


INSIDE OUT

Inside Out follows a girl named Riley who, with her parents, moves halfway across the country for her dad's job.  More importantly, the movie is about the emotions inside her head: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust... each personified in a brilliantly vibrant way.  As we watch Riley live day by day with this new change, we watch how the emotions work their different roles to eventually help her cope with it.  And does it make you feel super warm and fuzzy at the end?  Yes.  Yes it does.

I had seen trailers for the new Pixar movie before it got released, but didn't know when it was hitting theaters until the day before.  I read soaring reviews, and I consider myself a Pixar fan, so I went the next Tuesday so I could save a few bucks on a ticket.

First off, the opening short film, Lava, is one of the most adorable things I've ever seen.  I won't spoil it for you, just go YouTube it or something.  The whole things was in song!  Ukelele!  About a volcano falling in love!  Like... what?  Go watch.  You're welcome.

To be honest, I was ever-so-slightly-just-barely disappointed by Inside Out too, but that's only because other critics made me think this film was going to be a phenomenon.  Was it?  I don't think so.  But is it one of Pixar's best?  I think it's definitely up there with Toy Story 3 and Up.  Yes, it was a fantastic film.

In a box office that's so commonly dominated by remakes, sequels and CGI-infested action films--sometimes fitting more than one those descriptions... thanks, Jurassic World--it was nice to have something that was such a colorful, vibrant, clever and ingenious breath of fresh air.  Inside Out presented me with a creative vision of how brain functions work, giving your emotions each a personality of its own that try to work together... and sometimes don't.  It was a totally original idea, which is what Pixar is really good at.  Thank you, Pixar, thank you!

The characters were fantastic.  I will never, ever forget Bing Bong the imaginary friend--those of you who have already seen the film feel where I'm coming from.  But this movie does everything a film should do--it entertains you, gives you something to think about, and helps you feel a broad spectrum of emotions like excitement, amusement, sadness and relief.  Did I cry?  No, but I got really close.

Pixar has something really special on their hands with Inside Out.  Go watch it!  Stop telling yourself that it's a kids movie and go watch it for crying out loud!  It's by far the best movie I've seen so far this year.

I'm giving Inside Out an 8/10.


So yeah!  That's the verdict.  If you were forced to pick one or the other, I would tell you this... if you're more fascinated by watching people get eaten by massive dinosaurs, Jurassic World is right up your alley.  If you want to watch a film that makes you feel enriched and entertained, turn to Inside Out instead.

Just saying.


-Aaron