— jurassic park —

***WON 3 OSCARS***

John William’s motif for Jurassic Park is ever so present in my mind as I write this post, there is an instant recognition to it, a comforting tune in amidst all the insanity that takes place in Jurassic Park! FilmMunch would like to welcome you to the Jurassic Series!

Most of you have noticed that I am particularly excited about Jurassic World, and you can even listen to 9mins of the new score by Michael Giacchino on an earlier post. It is interesting to note that John Williams is not performing the score, even though he did so for the first 3 films in this ‘jurassic’ saga. From the preview, we can rest assured that Michael has the skills and an already amazing repertoire to, finger-crossed, live up the John William’s, Welcome to Jurassic Park motif!

Growing up, Jurassic Park was a family favourite, and I can not recall how many times I watched the film, on my much adored VHS copy. It was only till recently, that I revisited the ‘Park’, this time in all it’s amazing Full HD glory, Remastered! This film is wonderful, and full of many iconic moments. Steven Spielberg has always garnished us with suspenseful and intriguing opening scenes. He loves opening sequences, you can tell this from the first 2 Jurassic’s and even with the Indiana Series, opening scenes are key to the progression of his films, a perfect appetiser if you wish.

The film is almost flawless when it comes to it’s editing. There are many great examples of Jurassic Park’s use of clever editing, but I’d like to focus on only two scenes. The opening sequence is full of suspense, and by having a forklift move a secretive box into an enclosure, we are instantly intrigued, the mystery of what is inside already haunts us! But, the moment that really puts you at the edge of your seat is when the camera cuts to inside the box, looking out, we are at the POV of the mysterious beast, and he/her/it is peeping out, observing! Add the amazing sound effects, for which this film won an Oscar, you really start to feel fright, even 22 years after it’s original release.

Another most iconic moment is again, close to the beginning of the film. They have just landed at the helipad, and Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) along with Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) are about to be amazed by the very first dinosaur they have ever seen. The score establishes a foreboding tone, we see first the face of Dr. Grant, what is he seeing that is so horrific!? The camera cut’s to Dr. Sattler, she too has this horrified look! And then, the amazing cut to the first CGI of a Brachiosaur. The score doesn’t skip a beat, and the iconic tune hits, it’s enough to bring a full grown man to tears, it’s beautiful. John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) then says the most memorable words, “welcome to Jurassic Park!”

Jurassic Park won another Oscar for Best Visual Effects, and it’s well deserved. The amazing use of computer generated animation and animatronics brings these fascinating beasts to life. Turns out that there are about 14minutes of computer animation, which took months, literally, to be able to achieve the final product. Combined with amazing animatronics, those dinosaurs, look real! So real, that they foster fear, especially the infamous T-Rex. The action sequences, combined with Indiana Jones inspired adventure really make this film entertaining. It’s hard not to love this film, and no doubt there are millions of fans eager to see the Park re-open. I am sure most FilmMunchers are nervous at the same time, and are hoping that Jurassic World can live up to it’s original counterpart.

Many have said that there isn’t enough sub-text to this film, that it’s purely for entertainment purposes. Although for the most part, that is true, we can glean some interesting messages from Jurassic Park. The message that greed for money is wrong is clear in this film, it only leads to problems, big problems. In addition we live in the modern age, and technology is constantly developing and evolving. It’s essential to keep technology in it’s right place, it is here to facilitate life, perhaps not create it. These issues are ever so relevant today, artificial intelligence, is every day becoming more and more, less of a sic-fi idea, so what will we do, when, as according to ‘Dr. Chaos’ (Jeff Goldblum), “life finds a way”?

Jurassic Park is essential viewing, and sets the bar very high for what’s to come!

Jurassic Park Trilogy available for purchase here.

TRIVIA COOKIES: Samuel L. Jackson is in this film! Re-wactching it recently, it was a shock to see him! So is Newman, from Seinfeld!

This film is based on a fiction novel by Michael Crichton, entities, Jurassic Park.

Jurassic Park was released on June 11th 1993, Jurassic World will be released on June 11th 2015, exactly 22 years later!

— odishon —

“A true masterpiece if ever there was one,” says Quentin Tarantino as he’s pointing out Takashi Miike’s Audition. FilmMunch agrees!

Recently I mocked the Horror/Romance genre when reviewing Rec3. I would like to withdraw that mockery, because the genre has a leader, that is worthy of praise, Audition. Watching this film made me feel frightened and uneasy, in the best of ways. At the conclusion of the film, I couldn’t help but smile, but have a feeling of shock at the same time.

The story is madness. The story telling techniques are genius. In particular I recall one of the most shocking and at the same time frightening scenes I’ve ever witnessed. Mark Cousins, in his Story of Film documentary had ruined this moment for me, because he also praises this scene in one of the episodes. I knew it was coming, and even though I had this knowledge, it still came with such impactful force, that I jumped, literally! I won’t ruin it for you, because here at FilmMunch, we do not approve of spoilers, just trust that if you enjoy a good scary movie, this is the one to watch.

The actress Eihi Shiina gives her all in this role. There is a blankness to her method, making her high points more explosive! Subtleties to her approach give us a sense of uneasiness. A sense that something bad is going to happen.

To illustrate how intense and possibly disturbing this film is, when it was played in a number of Film Festivals, some people literally walked out, and in one instance someone even needed medical attention. What makes this film so wild is that we see a female that has gone rogue, but there is an enjoyment to her sadism, and this is what is truly frightening. How is is possible for anyone to find delight in cruelty!?

If ever I had a criticism for this film, it would be the pacing. The film is just shy of a 2 hour runtime, and the first half of the film takes a while to move and develop, but at the same time I understand now why the director chose this. He was building something up, a moment of shock and horror. So give the film time. If you’re a fright night enthusiast, this is for you!

Ôdishon available for purchase here.

TRIVIA COOKIE: Richard Gray, Australian bron director has taken on the project of remaking this film. I must admit that I am not necessarily excited by this, but I will try and remain optimistic. At the very least it will hopefully expose the original to people who haven’t heard about it yet.

— suspicion —

***NOMINATED FOR 3 OSCARS, WON ONE OSCAR***

Raw cinematic art. Suspense thriller at its best. Alfred Hitchcock’s Suspicion is yet another example of how great a visionary he was.

Suspicion would be the movie that put, Alfred Hitchcock’s name on all the publicity material thereafter. It was a huge success at the box office! It was also the only movie that Hitchcock directed in which one of his leads actually won an Oscar. And interestingly enough, it was strongly thought at the time that Joan Fontaine’s win was only a ‘consolation’ win for her previous’ year nomination, for her role in another of Hitchcock’s movie, Rebecca. Regardless I think that both leads, Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine deliver great performances.

Crazily enough Joan Fontaine and her sister Olivia de Havilland were the first sisters to be both nominated for an Oscar, and the first ones to be nominated on the same year! Guess what year it was? 1941, the year that Joan Fontaine won for her role in Suspicion! There was a strong dislike between the two sisters, and the race for an Oscar win in 1941 only made this mutual dislike worse and their jealously only escalated. Sadly they never reconciled.

Back to Hitchcock…

What I love most about this film is its evolving nature. The feel of the movie goes from jolly to pensive, and then to outright Hitchcock-ian thriller! You can hear as the score subtly changes in undertone, until it hits, and you remember that you’re indeed watching a Hitchcock. Notwithstanding, you are constantly presented with the ‘master’s’ best. Cleverly shot angles, the astounding use of shadows, as seen in the still above, and knife sharp editing, all key elements that add to the suspicious nature if this film.

One of my favourite shots are when Hitchcock presents to us a ‘creepy Cary Grant’, and you feel as if he is creeping up behind you. A very clever was of introducing the main suspect into scenes, he does this more than once during this cinematic jewel.

There was dispute over the films ending, Hitchcock wanted a darker version of events, but it was thought best for the Cary Grant image, plus his fan base, that he be somehow redeemed. The way we see the movie now, is perhaps not entirely the way that Hitchcock may have wanted it, nonetheless, it’s a solid end.

If you haven’t seen this film, I strongly recommend you munch on it. The entire film, from beginning till the final scene, is constantly building suspense and intrigue, it will have you full of Suspicion!

TRIVIA COOKIES: In a key scene, Alfred Hitchcock used a nifty trick to enhance the visual elements of the shot. He used a glass with a battery operated light bulb, to draw attention to it, to add suspicion, did he add poison to the glass???

As per tradition, Hitchcock immortalises himself with a cameo, in case you missed it, he is the man by the post box, with the hat.