RECENTLY VIEWED: JURASSIC WORLD - REBIRTH

This weekend I dragged my kids to the latest Jurrassic World movie. Actually they wanted to go. I had seen every Jurassic Park/World movie in move theaters since the first one in 1993. Jurassic World Rebirth is a 2025 American science fiction thriller film directed by Gareth Edwards and written by David Koepp. A standalone sequel to Jurassic World Dominion (2022), it is the fourth Jurassic World film and the seventh installment overall in the Jurassic Park franchise. The film stars Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and Ed Skrein.

Work on the film began shortly after the release of Jurassic World Dominion, when executive producer Steven Spielberg recruited Koepp to help him develop a new installment in the series. Koepp previously co-wrote the original Jurassic Park film (1993) and wrote its sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). Development of Rebirth was first reported in January 2024. Edwards was hired as director a month later, and casting commenced shortly thereafter. Principal photography took place in Thailand, Malta, and the United Kingdom from June to September 2024.

Jurassic World Rebirth premiered on June 17, 2025, at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London, and was released in the United States and Canada by Universal Pictures on July 2. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some deeming it an improvement over the previous entries. It has grossed over $322 million worldwide against a budget of $180 million, making it the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2025.

I won't bore you or spoil the movie with plot details, but the film includes dinosaurs. The dinosaurs as awlays, are the main attaction in the film. What changed from the prior six movies is I did not care for the characters as much as I did in the prior six films. Scarlett Johansson was the lead in the film. I like her personally, but her character had not personality. Almost any actress could have been plopped down into her generic role. The standout actor to me was Mahershala Ali. He played Duncan, one of Scarlett's friends that came along on her mission. I hate to say this, and I have never said it before, but the franchise is getting tired. I will never stop watching these movies because I love them. Yesterday I rewatched the 1993 original film, and it was just so amazing. This most recent film is good, but the film is no longer amazing. I'm glad I went to see the film, but the movie made me a little bit sad. It made me think of some of the prior films in the series that really made me excited...

MY RATING: 8 out of 10

RECENTLY VIEWED: BACK IN ACTION

 The kids for a change did not need anything on a Saturday after dinner so my wife and I sat down to check out the Netflix film Back In Action. The movie is a 2025 American action-comedy film directed by Seth Gordon from a script he co-wrote with Brendan O'Brien. The film stars Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Andrew Scott, Jamie Demetriou, Kyle Chandler, and Glenn Close. The film was released by Netflix on January 17, 2025. 

CIA NOC operatives Matt (Jamie Foxx) and his pregnant fiance Emily (Cameron Diaz) are tasked by their superior and friend, Chuck (Kyle Chandler), to obtain the key called the Industrial Control Systems (ICS) - a device that can control any electronic system. They must get it from the Polish KGB agent-turned terrorist Balthazzar Gor (Robert Besta during his children's grandiose birthday party. Gor is the head of the terrorist organization named Volka. Chuck says that Gor could the key to trigger another catastrophe like the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Before embarking on the mission Emily had taken a pregnancy test and found that she was expecting a baby. Observing them through remote cameras, Chuck finds that Emily and Matt are now together.

Matt and Emily manage to steal the device and escape to a rendezvous point. However, on their flight home, the crew ambushes them for the Key as they are on Gor's payroll. Just before the ambush, Emily had told Matt that she is pregnant and that he is the dad. The duo manages to neutralize the flight crew, and the pilot is accidentally shot by a stray bullet. The plane hurtles to the ground and the duo barely escapes the plane crash. The plane crash lands on a mountain slope and slides towards a cliff, triggering an avalanche. There was only a single parachute in the plane and Matt wanted Emily to save herself, but Emily grab onto Matt as she deploys the parachute, saving them both. Realizing someone must have fed the flight crew information of their Key, the two decide to go off the grid. They give up their careers and their secret identities for a life together as a family.

Fifteen years later, the now married Matt and Emily reside in Atlanta under new identities while trying to care for their children Leo (Rylan Jackson) and Alice (McKenna Roberts). Emily has a side business selling custom puzzles on Etsy. Alice and Leo are now teenagers and don't really listen to their parents. Alice has doubts about her parents being truthful as she had heard Matt speaking to the AC repair guy in Russian, which Emily explains to their stint in the peace corps. Emily tries hard to connect with Alice, but she needs her own space and keeps pushing back.

Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz are sucked back into the CIA, so as you can guess they not only have to deal with getting killed but have normal family problems with teenagers. The movie really hit home with my wife and I as we try to figure out how to raise teenagers. Jamie Foxx was ill during the film, and he looked tired in some parts, but Cameron Diaz really shined. She has not appeared in a movie since 2014's Annie. The action is amazing, and there are some really good laughs. Critics were not kind to the film, but anyone that has teenagers will find a lot of good humor and lessons in this film. I highly recommend this film...

MY RATING: 9 OUT OF 10