Reel News: Week of June 12 — Jurassic World, Project Almanac, The DUFF

Upcoming Theatrical Releases

Jurassic World
Director: Colin Trevorrow
PG-13; 2 hr. 3 min.
Trailer

Twenty-two years after the events of Jurassic Park, Isla Nublar now features a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World, as originally envisioned by John Hammond. After 10 years of operation and visitor rates declining, in order to fulfill a corporate mandate, a new attraction is created to re-spark visitor’s interest, which backfires horribly. (Synopsis by IMDB)

A full-throttle popcorn flick that relies heavily on action to cover up faults in the script. It is meant to be fun, but the writing goes out of its way to be overtly dumb at points. Still, this is going to be one of the better summer blockbusters, so you might as well enjoy the ride. See it.

Upcoming DVD Releases

Project Almanac
Director: Dean Israelite
PG-13; 2 hr.
Trailer

A brilliant high school student and his friends uncover blueprints for a mysterious device with limitless potential, inadvertently putting lives in danger. (Synopsis by Paramount)

Exactly what you would expect from a MTV-produced film targeting their demographic. This is fairly standard time-travel fare that struggles to compete in a market with far better genre pieces such as “Looper” and “Primer.” Ultimately this suffers from too much “found footage” camera movement and no real plot development. Skip it.

The DUFF
Director: Ari Sandel
PG-13; 1 hr. 40 min.
Trailer

Bianca (Mae Whitman) is a content high school senior whose world is shattered when she learns the student body knows her as ‘The DUFF’ (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) to her prettier, more popular friends (Skyler Samuels & Bianca Santos). Now, despite the words of caution from her favorite teacher (Ken Jeong), she puts aside the potential distraction of her crush, Toby (Nick Eversman), and enlists Wesley (Robbie Amell), a slick but charming jock, to help reinvent herself. To save her senior year from turning into a total disaster, Bianca must find the confidence to overthrow the school’s ruthless label maker Madison (Bella Thorne) and remind everyone that no matter what people look or act like, we are all someone’s DUFF. (Synopsis by CBS Films)

Previously reviewed by The Dagger.