Jurassic World (2015)

This is the sequel to Jurassic Park we’ve been waiting for.  I enjoyed the last two but in many ways this is the real sequel.  First and foremost it’s really fun and exciting.  On top of that it reboots the story without it feeling like a remake.   Sure you have some of the same story points but it’s forgivable because of the amount of time that has passed since the first one and also because it’s really entertaining.  Then there are the new elements that seem to justify this film’s existence.  Here is a world where seeing a living dinosaur is no longer amazing but just a ho-hum experience.  Here is a world where using dinosaurs as a weapon might sound like a good idea.  What can I say, I didn’t know I’d enjoy this film as much as I did.  Congrats to  Colin Trevorrow and crew for delivering.  A-

Inside Out (2015)

I’m going to keep this short because you just need to see it.  This is one of the most inventive and playful looks at human development ever put on film.  Watching Riley and the Emotions in her head learn and grow is magical to behold.  It speaks truths everyone will be able to relate to while at the same time being funny, heartwarming and exciting.  This film goes to places emotionally that most animated film just can’t go.  This is not a “Herman’s Head” clone(yes, I remember that sitcom). This is a beautiful story told beautifully.  I loved it and cannot think of any other word but masterpiece to describe it.  Best film of the year so far.  A+

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

The concept of this novel is wonderful.  I’ve seen it done before but never with such commitment.  What if you could experience the many alternate lives of an individual over the course of a life time.   See every life decision they made or did not make.  See their countless deaths based on where they were or what they did.  That’s what you get to do with Ursula Todd, a British woman born in 1910.  What makes this book work isn’t just that Kate Atkinson crafts a webbing of wonderful characters but that you get to see how characters change or don’t depending on the actions or inactions of the central character.   I adored this book and its writing which is superb.  A-

The Americans (Season 2)

The continuing saga of secret Soviet spy family the Jennings is one of my favorites right now.  I love this cold war drama set during the ‘80s so much.   There are no cellphones or hi-tech Mission impossible kind of gadgets.   It’s just two spies working with their contacts to steal as much info they can to help their country, which happens to be the Soviet Union.  Like Walt in Breaking Bad, Elizabeth and Philip are hiding the truth from their loved ones, as well as in many ways going against their own hearts.  It’s thrilling to see two people do such vile things only to turn out to be fairly complicated and passionate parents.  As well as the Jennings, there is FBI agent Stan Beeman and his double-triple agent Nina Sergeevna to seem to be setting up the show for even more drama in later seasons.   And then there’s poor Martha, oh so naïve and yet so committed.   I have no idea how her story will end but I’m assuming it will not be good.  I can’t wait to see the newest season.   A-

The Wind Rises (2013)

Hayao Miyazaki’s last film from Studio Ghibli is a treasure of the art form.  A love story set before WWII between a young aviation engineer and a young woman suffering from Tuberculosis.  Looking into the making of this film I’ve learned this is a fictionalized telling of the life of Jiro Horikoshi.   Miyazaki had adapted this story earlier as a Manga.  In many ways it’s also a love story between Miyazaki and flight, for you can see through Jiro’s eyes the joy and excitement of designing airplanes for the future.   This adult film is a must see for anyone who loves animation.  A