Jurassic World Rebirth (what to expect)
Scorecard, Watchlist Worthy, New Pod Drop
The first time, the entire crew was able to attend the scorecard movie of the week. The entire New Mexico Drew Schrimsher crew made it a Florida-family outing, the Harrisons took their desert rats with them to their favorite NM theater, and Josh, Sarah, and our favorite Colorado Costco Membership-slinging employee all went to, but of course, an AMC theater to watch the latest installation in the Jurassic World Universe.
The dinosaurs were rowdy enough to set off the fire alarm mid-movie, causing the Coloradoans to leave the theater for a moment.
But all finished the movie, and we have thoughts!
Here’s what we have for you this week:
Concession Stand Scorecard: Jurassic World Rebirth
Watchlist Worthy: RYAN GOSLING AND SPACE (AGAIN BUT BETTER)
New Pod Drop: 28 Years Later, Best of 2025 & The 21st Century So Far
This week’s movie - Jurassic World Rebirth
Letterboxd Description:
A new era is born.
Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, covert operations expert Zora Bennett is contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure genetic material from the world’s three most massive dinosaurs. When Zora’s operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized, they all find themselves stranded on an island where they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that’s been hidden from the world for decades.
Best Watched With
Jonathan Bailey fans, a paleontologist, and anyone who owns a Jurassic Park shirt.
End credit thoughts
Sarah
For all Jurassic Park super fans, this is the mirror of Jurassic Park III, with flavors of JP II. I think the final dinosaur was kind of embarrassing. I know it’s supposed to be a mutant, but it was so crazy looking, it was almost silly. The T Rex is always the star of the show, and I will die on that hill. The ocean scenes did feel new and fresh, especially tracking the mosasaur and then being surrounded by Spinosaurus at sea.
I loved the score! Should’ve known it was Alexandre Desplat, but I really loved how they weaved in the original score too.
New Mexico Drew
The Chris Pratt era of this franchise has beaten any hope out of me for something great. Maybe that's why I had no expectations other than a fun genre movie. One that follows a formula, has all the obvious/necessary characters, but does it all in an exciting way. That's what this movie does. The cast is good, with Jonathan Bailey being the standout. The score is great, the dinosaurs are fun, and there was at least one more "how many ways can humans be chased by a T Rex" left in the jar, which was the highlight of the movie.
The CGI was shockingly bad, and the green screen shots felt like they were out of a Spy Kids movie.
There are dozens of things wrong with this movie, but it gets just enough right to make it a fun, popcorn summer flick. My six-year-old son's review (that could easily work for the Blu-ray cover) was
"It's very exciting. Cool. "
Josh
The good: No more Owen Grady/Claire Dearing storylines.
The score includes the classic, tried-and-true John Williams sound you have heard throughout every Jurassic Park and World movie. But Alexandre Desplat added his sauce, paying homage to the G.O.A.T. JW and making it his own.
The world still feels grand, that beckons awe, reverence, and reasonable amounts of fear. The movie deals with the ocean, which I do not mess with. That’s their home, not mine. If you get eaten by the sea, that’s on you. And the jungle, which I do not mess with because 1) I’m allergic to the earth and 2) I’m 5’5”, so I don’t mess with environments that have creatures, bugs, or leaves bigger than me.
The not good: The CGI was a major disappointment. The dinosaurs were giving a beautiful scenery, only to be a coffee stain on a new white T-shirt. The actors did the best they could with what they were given. If Jonathan Bailey, ScarJo, and Marhersala Ali are starring, I’m watching regardless. The biggest let down was the big bad. It felt uninspired and unimaginative; simply xenomorph rip-off mixed with a beluga (not a spoiler, it’s in the trailers) but scaled 100x. The size was scary, but I couldn’t get behind.
Jurassic Park stans: IMAX it. You know what you’re getting into. I’m the lone crew member who wouldn’t pay $20 (another reason to be an AMC A-List Stubs member. Enjoy mid dinosaur action movies, what feels like for free).
Eric & Kelly
A motley crew of mercenaries embarking on one last mission in memory of their fallen friends, a secretly evil doctor, an illegal secret mission to an abandoned lab, terrible CGI—this movie had ALL the tropes.
We enjoyed the movie, but it had its faults. A truly rough screenplay made the first 1/3 a tough watch. Scar-Jo and Jonathan Bailey are a good time on screen, and anything with Mahershala Ali is worth watching. BUT the stranded family who becomes attached to the dangerous mission was the best part. This family had some of the more tense and heartwarming scenes, and the Dora-esque daughter had a beautiful bond with * ****** **** ****, which was awesome on camera.
We truly struggled with the CGI in like 50% of the movie. It was almost as if there had been little to no improvement since the first movie that came out three decades ago. Other moments were fine, and some scenes (since it was filmed on location) were gorgeous, but DAMN. Can't we get a little more practical effects, por favor?
Anyways—a fun watch in theaters. If you're a fan of the other 159 movies simply because you like dinosaurs and secret missions to abandoned labs, you will like this movie and should watch it in theaters. A nice summer blockbuster.
Follow us on Letterboxd for our individual movie ratings:
@justjoshperez
@ericharrison
@kellyharrison
@newmexicodrew
Project Hail Mary by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU READ THE BOOK—NAY, LISTEN TO THE AUDIO BOOK—BEFORE WATCHING THE TRAILER!!!
Then watch the trailer and get ready for this absolute banger of a Let’s Save The Earth And All Humanity But There’s A Slim Chance We Actually Will Succeed movie. Starring Ryan Gosling doing what he does best: Being Ryan Gosling.
He could play this same role in 1,000 movies and I will watch every single one of those 1,000 movies.
Listening to the audiobook, I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. But I saw it all over TikTok and the world wide web, so I had to dive in. The story is great. The characters have depth. And the emotions were palpable.
This is the kind of movie I want to get every single one of my friends to fill a movie theater with just us and we’ll stay in the parking lot talking about it for twice as long as the run time.
Easily added to my watchlist
-JP :)
Letterboxd Description:
Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction… but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.
Also Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller:
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs (2009)
21 Jump Street (2012)
22 Jump Street (2014)
28 Years Later, Best of 2025 & The Century So Far: Spoilers #57
🎧 Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
🎥 Watch this episode on YouTube
Josh, Eric, and New Mexico Drew discuss their recent activities and dive into a lengthy conversation about their favorite movies of the 21st century. The discussion moves from amusing personal anecdotes, like Drew's sweaty mishap at a work event, to thoughtful insights on the impact of certain films.
Key highlights include a deep dive into the movie '28 Years Later' with spoilers, favorite movies of 2025 so far, and their top ten list for best movies of the 21st Century.
10:31 28 Years Later Discussion: Spoilers
33:52 Favorite Movies of the Year So Far
45:09 Top Movies of the 21st Century
Tune in next week for | Superman
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