A Feminist Look at Jurassic World

I gave my review of Jurassic World. It wasn't terrible, but it was hugely disappointing. And the most disappointing thing was the script. And, yet, I want to talk in a little more depth about a curious aspect of that script. See, it passes the two major current tests for feminism. And it had a couple other pro-femme moments. But was it a feminist movie?

(Note, I tried to keep it as spoiler-free as I could, but there were some specific scenes that needed to be referenced.)

Jurassic World

Starting with an apology. Sort of. Yes, I know that I'm three weeks late on this one. But, hey, I was out of the country. I seriously contemplated going to see it in Denmark, because how cool would that be. Fortunately, I didn't waste my vacation time on this.

Short version: The effects were spectacular. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard were both really good. The direction and cinematography were both good. But the script was a godawful mess. And that reduced what could have been a really good movie down to something I wouldn't mind having on in the background while I work.

And Seen Again

We just got back from a Disney Cruise. One of the perks of cruising with Disney is that you get to see a bunch of Disney movies for free. (Well, as free as "included with your $1000 a day vacation" can get.) This time around, it happened to include the premiere (*cough* actually called Prem-EAR *cough*) of Inside Out (reviewed here). But I wanted to cover a few of the others I had a chance to see (or at least see most of).

Inside Out

Short version: This movie easily lives up to the Pixar standard. It is a fairly obvious and standard plot, but executed with grace and style that gives it fresh appeal. The characters are wonderfully sketched out, especially considering that they are intentionally one-dimensional. And, yes, you will cry. If you don't, you're a monster.

Go see it. Now.

Tomorrowland

Short version: It's a classic Disney movie. Which means that it has a fantastic message, but a bit of a Pollyanna view. Great messages for young girls, but a very limited racial mix. The effects are amazing. The acting is superb (except, weirdly, for the evil robots). There are some really fun park references, but not enough for my taste.

Go see it, unless you hate happiness.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Short version: If you want to see it, you definitely need to see it on the big screen. The action and effects just cry out for it. Do you want to see it? That entirely depends on how you feel about intense, violent, dirty action movies. Because make no mistake, this movie will have you gripping the armrests.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Short version: Duh. I've been waiting MONTHS for this. I saw it twice this weekend. It was everything I could have hoped for. Get off your ass (Steve doesn't like that sort of language) and go see it. Now. You can read the rest later.