Chris Pratt

  • Review: ‘Onward’ is infused with magic and emotion (Includes first-hand account)

    Growing up, there’s a subconscious pressure to have a mom AND a dad. Yet, in spite of what most sitcoms tell you, the majority of households don’t consist of that dynamic. Some parents separate or suffer untimely deaths, while others may be same-sex. There’s no “traditional family” anymore as families come in all shapes and sizes. But that doesn’t mean a kid won’t still feel the stress of not having a mom and dad at home, creating a longing that may be impossible to fulfill. In Onward, a teen wants nothing more than to spend a day with the father he never met.

  • Review: ‘The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part’ gets literal for the win (Includes first-hand account)

    Playing is fun and that never changes. But when you’re a kid enjoying your toys, at some point you become aware that you’re doing all the work… which leads to the question, what if they were alive? This idea resulted in countless movies and TV shows featuring children’s toys in their native lands or even their playroom at night when it’s safe to be themselves. The more cynical point of view deems these extensions as little more than a marketing ploy, which isn’t entirely wrong, but they’re also generally pretty entertaining. In The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, actions in the real world threaten the existence of Bricksburg.

  • Review: ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ must find a way to rise again (Includes first-hand account)

    Many people are fascinated by dinosaurs as they’ve fostered their interest from childhood into adulthood with the help of TV shows, science exhibits and movies. They are mesmerized by their enormous size, likeness to contemporary beasts and thorough extinction of their pre-evolutionary form, which leads to an unquenchable curiosity of what it would be like to see them in person — or even live amongst them — beyond the obvious blood-curdling fear. Thus, Steven Spielberg‘s dinosaur theme park was destined to be an immediate hit and is now in its fifth iteration, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

  • Review: ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ makes a big and powerful statement (Includes first-hand account)

    The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been laying the groundwork for this epic crossover for years. First, post-credit sequences included unrelated characters; then they began to interact with individuals from other storylines; and finally, those characters began to appear in each other’s narratives, including a movie featuring unparalleled in-fighting. Now, all of this preparation is culminating in possibly the greatest — and most ambitious — superhero movie to date. A villain that’s lurked on the periphery for some time is ready to make his big move in Avengers: Infinity War and it’s going to take everyone in the MCU to stop him.

  • Review: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2’ is awesome like your fave mixtape (Includes first-hand account)

    Taking a chance on a lesser known Marvel property paid off in spades a few years ago when the studio introduced mass audiences to the Guardians of the Galaxy. A flawless cast endeared viewers to these previously unfamiliar characters and the old school soundtrack had them grooving in their seats, all while writer/director James Gunn‘s script entertained, engaged and left everyone wanting more. With the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, their calls have been answered with glorious humour, action and dancing.

  • Review: ‘The Magnificent Seven’ updates the Western for modern audiences (Includes first-hand account)

    The Western is one of the most well-defined film genres, but that also opens it up to some great opportunities for genre-bending narratives. Clint Eastwood was an icon of the Old West movies, yet one of his best pictures turned the genre on its head: High Plains Drifter centred on an anti-hero determined to teach the townspeople as much of a lesson as the hooligans tormenting it. In the same sense, remakes can reimagine the original stories and provide them with different meanings or outcomes that are better suited to contemporary audiences. The 2016 version of The Magnificent Seven makes some changes to the key characters as well as the attitudes of the victims.

  • Review: ‘Jurassic World’ forgot to cultivate its entire realm (Includes first-hand account)

    Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park was a monumental release. Based on the book of the same name by Michael Crichton, the pair created an epic action-adventure-science-fiction picture that wowed audiences with its incredible special effects and grand story concept. For those two hours in 1993, dinosaurs became real. Now more than 20 years later, Hollywood has once again decided to reach back in time for its latest movie idea, recreating the fantastic park for a new generation. However Jurassic World may impress audiences fresh to the series, but fans of the original franchise will likely be less dazzled.