The Wonder

Year:  2022

Director:  Sebastián Lelio

Screenplay:  Emma Donoghue, Sebastián Lelio and Alice Birch, based on the novel The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

Starring:  Florence Pugh, Tom Burke, Kila Lord Cassidy, Niamh Algar, Elaine Cassidy, Dermot Crowley, Josie Walker, Ciarán Hinds, Toby Jones

Running Time:  103 minutes

Genre:  Period drama

1862: English nurse Elizabeth Wright (Pugh) travels to a remote rural village in Ireland to investigate a young girl, Anna O'Donnell (Kila Lord Cassidy) who, according to her family, has not eaten for four months, and yet still appears to be in good health.  

Based on Emma Donoghue's 2016 novel, The Wonder is a dark and powerful psychological period drama. Its slow moving, meditative pace with bleak, windswept vistas of moorland and dark, cramped interiors, cast a powerful spell.  The film's message of belief and the stories that we tell ourselves and each other is hammered home a little too much, including a strange prologue in a film studio emphasising to the viewer that, yes, we are being told a story.  It is also about the dangers of belief, and even in this day and age, it is unusual to see a film that has such a strongly secular message.  However it also deals with how much people need stories and need something to hold on to.  Elizabeth has previously lost her baby and has been abandoned by her husband, she is also traumatised by her experiences nursing the sick and injured in the Crimean War, and copes with her trauma and despair by taking laudanum and also pricking herself with pins.  The O'Donnell family and the village itself are still suffering the after effects of the Great Famine, and feel like they need a miracle, as well as living in a devoutly religious and patriarchal society, cut off from much of the rest of the world.  Florence Pugh gives a powerful performance as the skeptical, grieving nurse.  Kila Lord Cassidy is very good as the "fasting girl", and her real-life mother, Elaine Cassidy, plays her character's devout mother, paralysed with grief for the loss of her teenage son.  Niamh Algar plays the taciturn and slightly sinister elder O'Donnell daughter, and Tom Burke plays the charismatic newspaper reporter who originally came form the village, and is immediately convinced that Anna is faking, but also understands the way the villager's minds work.  While some of the film's more offbeat touches don't always work, it is a beautiful, dark and troubling film, with fantastic performances. 

  Florence Pugh and Kila Lord Cassidy in The Wonder

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Year of Release:  2018
Director:  J. A. Bayona
Screenplay:  Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly, based on characters created by Micheal Crichton
Starring:  Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rafe Spall, Justice Smith, Daniella Pidella, James Cromwell, Toby Jones, Ted Levine, Isabella Sermon, B. D. Wong, Geraldine Chaplin, Jeff Goldblum
Running Time:  128 minutes
Genre: Action, science-fiction

Three years after the events of Jurassic World (2015), the island of Isla Nubla has been more or less abandoned and left to the cloned dinosaurs.  However an imminent volcanic eruption threatens to destroy the island and the dinosaurs.  Despite strong opposition, a charity, headed by Jurassic World's former manager, Claire Deering (Howard), hope to save the dinosaurs.  Claire is contacted by a representative of millionaire Benjamin Lockwood (Cromwell), a partner of the founder of the original Jurassic Park.  He wants Claire to help find the dinosaurs and relocate them to a safe island, where they can live out their lives in peace.  Claire agrees and recruits the aid of former dinosaur trainer Owen Grady (Pratt) to help.  However, once on the island, Claire and Owen find that they are being used for a much more sinister purpose.

This is the fifth film in the Jurassic Park movie franchise, inspired by Micheal Crichton's 1990 novel.  It's an enjoyable action packed adventure, full of spectacular set-pieces and eye-popping special effects.  It starts out as a familiar Jurassic Park adventure, escaping marauding dinosaurs on the tropical island, and then makes a sharp turn becoming something very different, dealing with the franchise's constant moral quandary about the rights and wrongs of cloning extinct animals.  The performances are fine, Chris Pratt is perfect as the roguish but lovable hero, and he makes a great double act with Bryce Dallas Howard, who really carries the weight of the film and does it well.  The bad guys however tend to be one-note villains, and the other character tend to get lost amongst the dino-action, including Jeff Goldblum who, despite prominent billing has little more than a featured cameo.  It holds the attention throughout it's run-time and fans of the franchise won't be disappointed, there are also enough changes in the story to keep it intriguing and surprising enough, while setting the stage for more to come. 

     Jurassic World:  Fallen Kingdom

Captain America: The First Avenger

Year: 2011
Director: Joe Johnston
Screenplay: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, based on the comic book Capatin America created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
Starring: Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Neil McDonough, Derek Lake, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones
Running Time: 124 minutes
Genre: Superhero, action, fantasy, war

Summary: In the present day a team of researchers in the Arctic discover a strange craft buried in the ice. Investigating it they discover a circular metal object with a distinctive red, white and blue insignia.
New York, 1942: Steven Rogers (Evans) is a frail, sickly young man who is nonetheless desperate to sign up for the Army and fight in World War II, like his friend Bucky Barnes (Stan). Unable to back away from a fight, which results in him frequently being beaten up, Rogers persists on trying to join up, even though he constantly fails the medical. His perserverance and strong code of honour attracts the attention of Doctor Abraham Erskine (Tucci) who allows Steven to join up as part of an experiment run by the US Military's Special Scientific Reserve to create a "super soldier". The operation is being run by Colonel Chester Phillips (Jones) and British agent Peggy Carter (Atwell). Steven's bravery marks him out as the right person for the procedure, which consists of him being injected with a special serum and doused with "vita-rays". The experiment leaves Steven with superhuman strength, agility and speed.
Steven becomes a public hero after catching a murderous spy. As a publicity stunt for the war effort, Steven is sent to tour the US in the guise of costumed super-patriot "Captain America". The Captain America character is an instant hit and he soon becomes the star of movies and comic-books.
However, Steven Rogers was not the first person to try the "super-soldier serum". Johann Schmidt (Weaving), head of the sinister HYDRA organisation, underwent an imperfect, experimental version of the serum and suffered horrific side-effects which earned him the sobriquet of "Red Skull". Schmidt is searching for a mysterious tesseracht which is rumoured to contain vast supernatural powers.
Soon Steven Rogers is forced to become Captain America for real in order to save the world.

Opinions: This is an entertaining blend of superhero action and war movie. The World War II setting not only works for the character, who was originally created in 1941 and usually pitted against the Axis powers of World War II, but helps to set it apart from many of the current superhero movies. The film really goes back to basics with a storyline which harkens back to the early days of comic books and their roots in pulp fiction, and provides plenty of action.
In many ways this is a companion piece to Thor (2011), Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010) and The Incredible Hulk (2008), for example Dominic Cooper plays Howard Stark (father of Iron Man Tony Stark) and the object which the Red Skull seeks in this film references Thor. All the films also feature appearances by Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Fury is scheduled to unite Captain America, Thor, the Hulk and Iron Man in The Avengers which is due for release in May 2012.
The Summer of 2011 has featured so many superhero movies that there is real danger of overkill. However, this one is still worth checking out. The film features some great performances from a very strong cast and the whole thing is played seriously enough to be dramatic while still maintaining a sense of playfulness and humour. It also features some spectacular action scenes.
The film suffers from being fairly predictable, and the contemporary bookends, while understandable from a narrative sense, feel slightly redundant.
By the way, stick around until the end of the closing credits for an additional scene and a trailer for The Avengers.


"Why someone weak? Because a weak man knows the value of strength, the value of power..."
Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) explains his choices in Captain America: The First Avenger




Chris Evans is Captain America: The First Avenger