#Middlebury
Chris Pratt in “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” (Universal Pictures photo)
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” (PG-13) – The dinosaurs of the lost Jurassic World – or what remain of them – are in jeopardy from a volcanic eruption, and the U.S. government is not inclined to step in to save them. Enter Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), one-time operations manager and now dinosaur activist, who gets a suspicious lifeline from Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), former partner in cloning of the paleontology park. The offer: He’ll re-home the dinos if Dearing goes to get them. The gang’s all back, as Claire recruits Owen (Chris Pratt), alpha male and all-around hunk, to help get Blue, the last remaining velociraptor, to safety. There’s a ton of action and some interesting twists, but also a vague unfortunate fading feeling of a franchise that’s gone too far.
“Billionaire Boys Club” (R) – In real-life 1980s glitzy Los Angeles, a group of overprivileged and wannabe-overprivileged young men got themselves all rolled up in a Ponzi scheme, which, when it played out – as they usually do – left several young men murderers and accomplices to murder. Ansel Elgort and Taron Egerton star as two of these young men. Well-cast white-bread looks and confident wardrobe choices aside, I found it hard to like the film despite my affection for the actors – it’s slick hedonism of the get-rich-quick variety, with no discernible sympathetic characters, despite an attempt to present them as such.
“Damsel” (R) – Dandy Samuel Alabaster (Robert Pattinson) is ready to cross the great American West of the 1870s in search of his kidnapped fiancee, Penelope (Mia Wasikowska), a sure-minded woman whom he intends to marry on the spot – after he presents her with a gift of a tiny horse named Butterscotch. He enlists the help of “Parson” Henry (David Zellner), a drunkard looking to turn a new leaf, and the pair set off on a grand adventure, with surprises and revelations along the way. Slapstick Western? Quirky take on traditional tropes? The Zellner brothers’ “Damsel” is mostly cute and thoughtful, with only brief moments of self-awareness in which it tries a little too hard to be zany. High-fives for the opening sequence featuring a sermon by an old preacher played by Robert Forster.
“Siberia” (R) – Keanu Reeves plays Lucas Hill, a diamond merchant who goes to St. Petersburg, Russia, to sell a dubious batch of rare blue diamonds. His partner is murdered, and while he waits for the deal to play out, he is engaged in a game of seduction with the owner of a small cafe, played by Ana Ularu. It’s billed as a romantic thriller, or maybe a crime drama, but there’s never any steam, only impenetrable cold.
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(c) 2018 King Features Synd. Inc.
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