Out in cinemas this week: A magical teapot provides money--at a cost!; and the most famous dinosaur resort ever has been remastered for 3-D.
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The Brass Teapot (2012)
Is this one of the signs of an economic downturn--that you end up with movies that are pointedly about economic necessity and the ends to which it drives us? This festival-touring indie originated in a short story from Tim Macy, who adapted it into a comic book and a screenplay, first for a short and then for a feature film, which helps expain its episodic feel and the extent to which it might seem longer than necessary. The interesting thing is that if you had asked me a week ago to name a young actor who might pull off the high concept of inflicting pain on himself appealingly to resolve looming money problems, I might very well have picked Michael Angarano. And if you had mentioned the high context itself in isolation, I would have asked if it was a long-forgotten Outer Limits episode, which might have been a more comfortable home for it than a full-length feature film.
The story: A couple finds a mysterious, magical brass teapot which makes them money but at a surprising price. After realizing the teapot's powers, John and Alice must decide how far they will go to fulfill their dream.
Starring: Juno Temple, Michael Angarano, Alexis Bledel, Alia Shawkat, Bobby Moynihan.
Directed by: Ramaa Mosley.
Written by: Tim Macy.
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Jurassic Park 3D (1993)
Has it been 20 years? In a way it seems longer: the number of science-fiction milestones with surprising, arresting, blood-stirring visuals on the scale of Jurassic Park, with its gorgeous, sunlit dinosaurs and rich environment of menace, arising in the interim have been few. It's been long enough that the novelist who created this world at the height of his powers, twenty years after his first experiments in techno-leisure gone awry, is dead, and a fourth movie in the sporadically revived franchise is currently in preproduction. It's important to remember -- quite apart from the fact that after-the-fact 3D processing often produces questionable results -- that in remastering and converting this film to 3D, Spielberg has essentially created a new, or alternate, version of this Oscar-winning film (for effects, sound, and sound effects) that will look and feel different. Many fans who have the key scenes of this classic indelibly imprinted on their brains will be inclined to feel that the post-hoc 3D remastering has ruined a masterpiece. If you go see the 3D version, just be aware it's not the Jurassic Park you know. But then, unwanted transformations are dictated by chaos theory, right?
The story: Huge advancements in scientific technology have been able to create an island full of living dinosaurs. John Hammond has invited four individuals, plus his two grandchildren to join him at Jurassic Park. But will everything go to plan? Especially when one of the parks own workers attempt to steal the dinosaurs embryos, and have to shut down all the electricity in the process. It's now a race for survival with everyone located all over the island.
Starring: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero, Joseph Mazzello, Ariana Richards.
Directed by: Steven Spielberg.
Written by: Michael Crichton and David Koepp, from the novel by Michael Crichton.
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