Film: Jurassic World: Rebirth

I don't think there's anything wrong with going back to where it started. After the wildness (and I don't mean in the wildlife sense) of the second trilogy Rebirth goes back to basics - we have people stranded in a jungle with dinosaurs going after them. That alone makes this more of a Jurassic Park film than at least two from the Pratt era.

The structure of the movie has pros and cons. On the one hand, it's almost like a video game, with three separate levels almost treated as the independent set pieces that they are. On the other hand... the plot is as thin as that of a video game.

Overall though, I liked Rebirth. It was a solid dino movie, not a patch on the original, but making its way back to the place that made the first so special. 

Film: F1®: The Movie

Yes that is the full certified title, but I have to be honest, this wasn't the puff piece I was expecting it to be. I'd be cheating if I described it as "Top Gun on Wheels" but the parallels are undeniable, even when you discount the makers of the film. Speed? Check. Fabulous set pieces? Check. Charismatic washed up old guy coming out of retirement? Check. Female interest that has very little to do with the film? Check.

I liked Top Gun and indeed this was close to being an enjoyable movie - I even found myself laughing out loud at the charms of Sonny Brad at times. The issue with it was how it had been poisoned by the very subject matter it was trying to film - F1 is a very technical sport and much of its nuance can't be told just by an action scene alone. And so we had a constant level of narration and real time exposition which would have been only mildly annoying until I realised how essential it was... at which point it became really irritating.

So yeah, it was fun enough but not really the summer blockbuster it wanted to be. One for the home I think.