Rerun Article: The Miraculous Spiral Staircase of Loretta Chapel

Finally, I have some cool stuff to share this week! More news on "Jurassic World 2" and The Good Dinosaur, plus an article from a while back. What a great way to open up the Fall season

Days Till

It is:17 days till Columbus Day
It is: 6 days till Vegetarian Day
It is: 36 days till Harvest Day
It is: 61 days till The Good Dinosaur's release

In the Spotlight

OK, so we know that Jurassic World's sequel will be out on June 22, 2018. Even with the long wait ahead, we already know a couple things about the film. For example, it has been confirmed that Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) will be returning (more romance, perhaps?). We also know that the next film will not take place on one of the previous islands from the movie (Isla Nublar and Isla Sorna), and will also not involve a theme park. Colin Trevorrow is quoted for saying:

"[It will not be] just a bunch of dinosaurs chasing people on an island. That’ll get old real fast...I feel like the idea that this isn’t always going to be limited to theme parks, and there are applications for this science that reach far beyond entertainment. And when you look back at nuclear power and how that started, the first instinct was to weaponise it and later on we found it could be used for energy...And this isn’t something necessarily that was in the book but is a seed that I wanted to plant in this movie, is that might be able to grow in more of these movies if they decide to make more of them, is: What if this went open source? It's almost like InGen is Mac, but what if PC gets their hands on it? What if there are 15 different entities around the world who can make a dinosaur?...And Dr Wu says in the film, when he's warning Dr Mesrani [actually "Mr. Masrani"], 'we’re not always going to be the only ones who can make a dinosaur'. I think that’s an interesting idea that even if we don’t explore fully in this film, there is room for this universe to expand. I shouldn’t use the word universe, because people will think we’re making a Jurassic World universe -- we’re not. (Italicizing is my own doing)." -- Colin Trevorrow

What might happen in this film? Trevorrow's not telling all the secrets, but he did reveal something about Owen Grady and Claire Dearing:

"We know Owen is going to be in it and Claire will be in it and neither are going to be in the same place that we left them in this movie. Even though Claire is the one who evolves the most over the trilogy, it’s her story that mirrors this changing world, Owen has **** to deal with. The two of them opened Pandora’s Box in ‘Jurassic World,’ and each of them are responsible for different elements of it in different ways." -- Colin Trevorrow

In addition to this exciting news, another trailer has been released for a dinosaur movie that will be released much sooner than Jurassic World: The Good Dinosaur. In it, we finally here some of the characters talking. Check it out below:

I gotta say, I'm loving the look of the father T. rex character. I especially like the bite marks on his face; after all, we have evidence that real Tyrannosaurus weren't always playing nice!

Topic of the Week by Joy Hammond, as told to by Lizzy the Lizard

Who constructed these beautiful staircases in the Loretta Chapel in 1872? We don't know, but read more about them in the article below.

A mystery that has plagued people for decades has intrigued me to go with and take a look myself. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Lizzy the Lizard and I've asked Daniel P. Smiwthwater, my boss's photographer to come with me on interesting journey to the Loretta Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Rumor has it that a staircase was built there and that it's maker's identity lays unknown. I've decided to go check out this sight. I asked for a private tour with Nathaniel and asked some questions to our tour guide Bill.

“What makes this staircase famous other than the mysterious identity of it's maker?”

“Well in order to explain that I'd have to take you back to 1872.” Bill exclaimed, “Jean-Baptiste Lamy ordered for a convent to be built for the Loretta sisters.”

“How does that explain anything?” i interrupted,as Nathaniel took some pictures.

“Where's the support beams and all?” Nathaniel muttered.

“Hold a second, listen” Bill stated, “They hired a french architect named Antoine Mouly to build this convent. However he died suddenly and later on after much of the building was complete did the builders realized that a staircase was needed to reach the choir loft. They were in a huge predicament since the the staircases then where too big. One day a carpenter came by and asked if he could build a staircase for them.”

“Saint Joseph!” I interrupted.

“Actually no one know his name,” Bill insisted. “So it is said, the carpenter asked for complete privacy and locked himself up in the chapel for three months. When it was finished, he vanished without a trace. He made a spiral staircase, with no supports beams or anything. He just used his primitive tools and his own two hands. The wood that he used was like nothing seen in New Mexico. No one knows who he is, how he built the staircase, or where he got his wood from.”

“Why did they name him Joseph, if they didn't know who he was?” I asked.

“Good question” Bill said, rubbing his chin. “The sisters of Loretta offered a reward for the identity of the carpenter but no one came. Eventually they believed that it was the St. Joseph that built the impossible staircase.”

“Wow that is an amazing story!” I exclaimed, “boy I wish I could go back in time and found out what happened to him.”

“Don't we all” he chuckled, as I looked at the staircase.

So as we packed up our bags and headed back to New York, I thought about the carpenter and his good dead. How he didn't accept the praise. People like that are rare to find but when they come to your door, you are very blessed. Doing something to help others and not accepting any praise or reward is one of the amazing ways people reveal who they truly are. So the next time you notice a problem that you can fix such as helping someone out. Do a secret good deed and don't let them know. You'll realize you feel good inside and so will the person you helped.

The Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Disclaimer: Some (or all) of the photographs above are not my own; if you own them and would like them taken off this blog, politely make the request and it will be done.

Movie (& TV Show) Characters I Will Always Miss

Hi, everyone! Another week has passed and I've been busy with many things in my life (good things). One of those things was setting up a brand new blog for Connect 180 youth group in St. George. Be sure to check it out here: Connect 180. Now it's time for...

Days till:
It is: 10 days till Labor Day
It is: 26 days till the first day of Fall
It is: 89 days till The Good Dinosaur's theatrical release

In the Spotlight:
Nothing to report on this week. Sorry guys.

Topic of the Week by Christian Ryan
There are plenty characters from certain movies who had untimely disappearances from the series...otherwise known as “deaths”. I personally have a lot of characters I loved from movies and television shows – many of which are some of my favorites – that I kind of miss after their death. So instead of doing an article on dinosaurs or some other “sciency” topic, I want to look at some of my most missed characters from films and TV shows. This should be pretty obvious, but just in case anyone somehow hasn't gotten the hint, this article is a HUGE SPOILER ALERT for loads of movies and TV shows. So read with caution!

Bruton (Dinosaur)

Bruton is an Altirhinus from Disney's Dinosaur

You didn't really think I was never going to mention dinosaurs in this whole blog post? What can I say, I'm a dinosaur enthusiast. In any case, the first most missed character on my list is Bruton from Disney's 2000 movie Dinosaur (a personal favorite of mine). For those, of you who don't know, this film is about a young Iguanodon named Aladar who finds himself stolen from his nest as an egg and ends up on an island inhabited by lemurs, who adopt him as their own. After he grows up among the primates, an asteroid impact destroys the island and the surrounding landscape, forcing the lemurs and Aladar to find a new home. On their journey, they come across a multi-species herd of dinosaurs (from the gigantic Brachiosaurus to the diminutive Microceratus) also on the same quest. The herd is led by the cruel, stubborn Iguanodon named Kron.

Bruton is an Altirhinus (a close relative of Iguanodon) and is Kron's second-in-command. Usually, he is responsible for giving out Kron's orders and is much like Kron in behavior – they're both ruthless, uncaring, cranky, and want only the strongest members of the herd to survive, abandoning those unable to keep up. But after being fatally wounded by a predatory Carnotaurus (think T. rex with bull-like horns, even tinier arms, a mouth full of teeth and a really bad attitude!), Aladar's determination to assist him and Plio's kindness allows him to have a change of heart. Aladar, his lemur family and a few other dinosaurs from the herd and himself find themselves trapped in a cave endangered by a pair of Carnotaurus and Bruton risks his own life to save the others, dying in the process as the cave roof collapses. (John 15:13, anyone?)

Bruton's last minute change of heart makes me want to add him to this list. We don't get to see much of his “kinder” side. Later in the list, we'll see characters meet their untimely demise after we've gotten far more associated with them!

John Roxton (The Lost World)

Lord John Roxton certainly cares more for his traveling companions than he does for himself; this is exhibited when he offers to sacrifice his own life for theirs. (PHOTO CREDITS)

Lord John Roxton is a renowned sportsman (and responsible for helping abolish Brazilian slavery) who makes an appearance in Sherlock Holmes creator, Arthur Conan Doyle's novel, The Lost World (1912). In the novel, he joins an eccentric scientist named Professor Challenger and as they and other members of his team journey to a remote region of South America to find a plateau where, allegedly, dinosaurs have survived the extinction of their kin.

However, as Roxton gets back home to London safe and sound in the novel, I'm not listing him to talk about his character in the novel, but rather his character that appears in the BBC adaptation miniseries of the same name as Doyle's novel. Here, Roxton and the other explorers find residence on the plateau with a tribe of natives. Roxton eventually receives the attention of the chief's daughter and they marry. The tribesfolk and Challenger's team live together in perfect harmony until a pair of allosaurs (presumably Allosaurus or Epanterias, which might actually be a large Allosaurus) attack the village, destroying buildings and killing several natives in the process. Both allosaurs are eventually shot down, but the natives blame the Europeans for this event and chase them into a cave (they superstitiously believe Challenger is the “devil”). Roxton attempts to take his (willing) wife with him through the cave, but a hostile ape once kept captive in the village (upon Challenger's urging) wounds Roxton before he and his wife can escape with the others. As Roxton tries to keep the angry natives away from the cave to allow Challenger's team an escape, he succumbs to his wounds and begins a slow, agonizing death. Upon which, the chief's son (who's father, the original chief, died via an allosaur) has a change of heart, but it seems too late. Though not evidenced in the miniseries, I'm sure London mourned this man's loss when Challenger told them of his death.

Why didn't I put this terrible death further down the list? Because he didn't really die! It is revealed just after the credits roll that Roxton has recovered from his injury and now lives happily married to his wife on the plateau.

Captain Nemo (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea)

Captain Nemo was an amazing genius.

Captain Nemo, son of an Indian Raja, was a scientific genius who patrolled the ocean depths aboard his submarine called the Nautilus. He was created by Jules Verne for his 1870 French science fiction novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. But as with Lord Roxton, I'm not putting him on this list to talk about his character in the book (he survives in the first book; I can't speak for the other books as I've yet to read them). I'm going to talk about his character in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea the movie, which was released in 1954 and the only science fiction film to be produced by Walt Disney himself.

In the film, as in the novel, Captain Nemo is in charge of his submarine, the Nautilus, which patrols the world's oceans in the search of scientific discoveries, virtually unknown to the rest of the scientific world. However, this is only one of his vessel's purposes – the other is to destroy cargo ships that provided supplies for wars and warships. He loathed the concept of war, particularly after his wife and son were tortured to death by a “hated nation” when he had not revealed secrets of his work to them. After sinking a ship carrying Professor Aronnax, his assistant Conseil and master harpooner Ned Land, Captain Nemo allows them to board the Nautilus and they take part in the captain's many adventures through the oceans. In order to shield all of his knowledge hidden in his hideout in the island of Vulcania from surrounding warships, he decides to destroy the hideout with a bomb. In the process, Nemo is shot by one of the soldiers trying to scope out his soon-to-be-destroyed base and after navigating the Nautilus away from the island, he confirms that he wants everyone on board to join him in death; having hit a reef, the Nautilus will soon flood and kill everyone inside. Ned, Professor Aronnax and Conseil don't approve of this and make a bold escape as the Nautilus begins to sink. In what seems to be Nemo's last moments of life, he looks out at the ocean through a viewing window.

Though bearing a corrupt opinion on how to treat humanity, Captain Nemo has been a favorite character of mine and I was saddened by his death. However, as with Lord Roxton, Nemo doesn't actually suffer death. Somehow, he must have managed to survive his dreadful wound and the sinking of his beloved submarine, because he reappears in the film Mysterious Island (1961), inspired by Jules Verne's book of the same name. In this film, Nemo tries a different approach to rid the world of wars – on a remote, tropical island, he has successfully created mutant oversized animals that he hopes will enlarge the world's recourse of food, a common war stimulator. However, before he can accomplish his plan, he “dies” when the island's volcano explodes. Given that Nemo survived his first brush with death, I have little doubt that he might have found a way to survive even this once again. Though no sequels were made of Mysterious Island, we can always hope that our incredible, ocean explorer extraordinaire still roams the sea.

Dr. Laura Sorkin (Jurassic Park: The Game)

Dr. Laura Sorkin allowed her passion to get the best of her...and the creature she was trying to free consumed her.

Technically, this list is for movie and TV show characters, but I couldn't leave out one of my favorite anti-protagonists, Dr. Laura Sorkin from Jurassic Park: The Game, which is considered in the same canon as the Jurassic Park films.

Dr. Sorkin was a geneticist and even though she'd been arrested several times in the past for animal rights-protesting, she still received the job of chief geneticist at InGen. Even though the later-chief geneticist Dr. Henry Wu often gets the credit for figuring out how to recreate the dinosaurs, it was Dr. Sorkin who actually laid the foundations for the plot. She reached a barrier however; in order to create the dinosaurs, she needed a complete genome, but the DNA found in the amber-encased mosquitoes they were using had holes in the genetic code. While Dr. Sorkin wanted to use more research and time to find a way to use dinosaur genes to fill the genome gaps, InGen's Board of Directors wanted a cheaper and quicker method, a method Henry Wu came up with. His plan was to use frog DNA to fill in the genome gaps. As Dr. Sorkin wouldn't comply, Dr. Wu got promoted to her previous position and Dr. Sorkin devoted her time to studying the dinosaurs they were cloning.

Over the course of the game, she is of great help to the other main characters. However, when she learns that Isla Nublar was going to be destroyed via bombing from the US military, she believed the dinosaurs should have the right to live on. So she not only held the rest of her group hostage, but threatened to free the park's Tylosaurus. Unfortunately for her, when Dr. Sorkin fell into the water, the Tylosaurus grabbed and presumably consumed her.

John Hammond (Jurassic Park & The Lost World: Jurassic Park)

"Spared no expense." - John P. Hammond

John Parker Hammond was the founder and creator of Jurassic Park in the movie and novel by the same name. And he was portrayed by a wonderful actor: Sir Richard Attenborough (brother of one of my favorite nature presenters: David Attenborough). He had a dream to bring dinosaurs back to life so that people everywhere could see these amazing animals live again in his wonderful theme park. Unfortunately, as we all know, it didn't quite turn out that way.

He had Jurassic Park built on an island off the coast of Costa Rica called Isla Nublar. But in 1993, a year before the park was due to open, some of the park's more aggressive attractions caused several incidents, resulting in the park's investor's concerned. To ensure everyone that the park was safe, Hammond invited paleontologist Alan Grant, paleobotonist Ellie Sattler, chaoticianist Ian Malcolm and his investor's lawyer, Donald Gennaro to inspect it. But this investigation didn't go as planned either – the dinosaurs escaped and some (mostly the Velociraptors) killed several people. Jurassic Park became indefinitely closed to the public...until the 21st century that is! (But we'll get to that in a minute).

The last time Hammond appears in a Jurassic Park film is in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and we see him suffering from some physical ailments. However, despite this, Hammond decides to forehead the movement to protect the dinosaurs his company recreated on the island where they were cloned – Isla Sorna – and turn it into a nature preserve. (Spared no expense, of course) According to the Masrani Global Corporation website, Hammond died in 1997, as InGen began to face an inevitable Chapter 11. But, before his death, he passed over the company to Simon Masrani of Masrani Global. He took the baton from Hammond to continue his work.

John Hammond has always been one of my favorite characters from the franchise. Though we never saw it onscreen, his death was probably inevitable, as Richard Attenborough died on September 24, 2014. Jurassic Park fans everywhere mourned his loss. Even before he died however, he was pretty ill, that explains why the creators of Jurassic World had him die. I will always miss John Hammond/Richard Attenborough, as will many – the dreamer, the scientist, the man who spared no expense.

Stephen Hart (Primeval)

Stephen Hart risked his life to save the world from an invasion of predators from different eras in history and the future.

Stephen Hart was from the BBC series Primeval, seasons one and two. For those of you who are unaware, Primeval was about a group of people (scientists, government workers and some amateurs) all working together to research strange natural occurrences called anomalies. Anomalies can best be described as rips in the timeline that allow animals from the past and future to infiltrate the present. This team of people is trying to prevent creature incursions and solve the mysteries surrounding the anomalies. It was a popular show, running from 2007 until 2011. Stephen Hart was a main character of the show during season one and two and served as the right-hand man and lab technician to the show's main protagonist Professor Nick Cutter. He was also good friends with several other characters in the show, including Connor Temple and Abby Maitland (who had a brief crush on him at one point.)

Stephen Hart knew Nick from the beginning; they were close friends. However, this is when extinct animals begin to enter the present time through anomalies. The events that follow begin to make their relationship very convoluted. Stephen can be a cold, aloof person, but he's also brave and loyal to his friends, whether he's defending his friends from a dangerous gorgonopsid or taking down a Silurian scorpion single-handed. It is also revealed that he has a complicated relationship with Nick's ex-wife Helen Cutter; they seem to have been romantically involved in the past.

Though he had his character flaws, Stephen's loyalty toward his friends extended even to the end as he sacrificed himself to make sure ancient and futuristic creatures from a creature prison didn't escape into the outside world and threaten the rest of humanity.

Simon Masrani (Jurassic World)

Simon Masrani quickly picked up the baton, right where Hammond left it.

Just before Hammond died, he passed the reigns of his company, InGen, to Simon Masrani, CEO of Masrani Global Corporation (which was passed down to him by his father). Simon Masrani appears in the recently released Jurassic World.

After obtaining InGen, Simon Masrani made it his goal to bring John Hammond's dream of creating a dinosaur theme park a reality. In 2005, he did! The Jurassic world opened and it ran successfully for ten years. By this time, lack of public interest in the park made the company want to create a new attraction – not just any dinosaur, but the park's first genetically-modified hybrid. Masrani assigned Henry Wu to create the hybrid, which was later called Indominus rex. Unfortunately, this proved to be the park's downfall – I. rex escaped and many people died in the mayhem, including Masrani himself.

While trying to subdue the Indominus rex from the air, Simon Masrani piloted a helicopter with two military men inside ready to shoot her down. But the hybrid crashed into the park's Aviary, freeing dozens of Pteranodons into the air. They attacked the chopper and caused it to fall to the ground in a great heap of flames. Because Jurassic Park fans got to know Simon Masrani via the company's website and other sources, I'm sure many of us are sad that Masrani died. As with John Hammond, he will be missed.

Stoick the Vast (How to Train Your Dragon, Dragons: Riders of Berk, Dragons: Defenders of Berk & How to Train Your Dragon 2)

Stoic the Vast appeared throughout the first film and the TV series, which makes it even sadder and unexpected when he dies in the second film, saving his son.

What happened to this character was completely unexpected if you ask me! Stoick the Vast helms straight from the Scottish island of Berk, an island inhabited by vikings in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise. Stoick is the village's chief, and a mighty, brave warrier.

Stoick had a wife, Valka, and a son named Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Valka was abducted by a dragon when Hiccup was just a baby and presumed dead. Hiccup meanwhile grew up to be his father's disappointment until his mid-teens. In fact, Stoick and Hiccup had a rather strained relationship, with Hiccup feeling largely misunderstood by his father and Stoick not feeling Hiccup was a proper viking. This all changed when Hiccup downed a nightfury dragon he later named Toothless. Eventually, Hiccup's love of dragons transformed the entire village, including Stoick and they became closer. In the second film, Stoick's opinion of Hiccup has increased, so much so that he's decided to promote Hiccup to the status of chief of the entire village so he can retire! Hiccup, however, in unconvinced he can do the job properly. Later on, Hiccup and Stoick find that Valka did not die as everyone thought, but had instead been living among dragons for over 20 years, to study their behavior and anatomy. But before the three of them can return home as a big, happy family, Drago Bludvist, a crazed man wishing to take over the world, and his army of men and mind-controlled dragons attack Valka's dragon sanctuary. During the great fight that ensues, Drago mind-controls Toothless via his enslaved Bewilderbeast and just before Toothless fires a deadly blast at Hiccup, Stoick shoves his son out of the way, getting hit by the blast himself. Saddened by his death, Valka, Gobber the Belch (longtime friend of Stoick), Hiccup and his friends conduct a ceremony, honoring the death of this great viking, before going off to defeat Drago once and for all.

I was extremely surprised by Stoick's death, which is why he's so far down on this list! I mean, Stoick was in the first film and two seasons of the How to Train Your Dragon TV series, so I wasn't expecting his death to come in the third. I mean, it's almost as if Mufasa from The Lion King died in, not the first movie, but in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. (In fact, it was me watching Stoick's death on the second film that made me want to do this blog post!) Of course, fans of the series, such as myself, grieve Stoick the Vast's loss, but with Hiccup now filling his father's shoes, it looks like Berk is in good hands.

Professor Nick Cutter and Claudia Brown (Primeval)

Nick Cutter was the head of the anomaly research in Primeval.

 Yes, my most missed now-deceased character in the movies/TV shows I've seen isn't actually one character, but two: Professor Nick Cutter and Claudia Brown from BBC's Primeval. The two may have started out as work partners, but their relationship deepened until the tragic events at the end of the first season took place.

Claudia Brown was a government worker at the Home Office.

Claudia Brown was a Home Office official sent to the Forest of Dean to investigate strange creature sightings. She teamed up with Nick when she realized he was going to the same destination for the same reason. After discovering a living Scutosaurus in the forest at night, along with Connor Temple, Stephen Hart and Abby Maitland, they all teamed up with the Home Office to investigate these strange creatures and the anomalies that allowed them access to the present world. Claudia and Nick were in a love/hate relationship from the start, as their personalities often conflicted. This all changed when a flock of bloodthirsty Anurognathus attacked the hotel the couple were hiding in and after defending her from these pterosaurs, the two of them shared a kiss. The two of them were in love. Aside from Connor and Abby's relationship, my favorite romantic relationship in the Primeval series was the one between Claudia and Nick. But their relationship didn't last – in the final episode of season 1, Nick, his ex-wife Helen and some other team members prepared to enter an anomaly in order to try and find an anomaly leading to the future. Claudia warned him not to go, feeling something was wrong. But Nick assured her everything would be fine. Regardless, the two kissed again just before Nick entered the anomaly. Upon coming back to the present, things had changed. The most notable change: Claudia appeared to have literally been vanished from the time line! Something (still not revealed in the series) had changed in the past, causing the present to alter as well. Claudia had been replaced by her doppleganger, the public relations manager Jenny Lewis. It was almost as if Nick had a second chance at Claudia (he even accidentally called Jenny “Claudia” several times, much to her annoyance), but that's not what fate had in store. Nick's eccentric ex-wife, Helen, seemed convinced that the aggressive Future Predators' existence was Nick's fault. So near the beginning of season 3, she fatally shot him in the heart, leading to a slow, sad death.



Claudia Brown and Nick Cutter are two of my most missed now-deceased characters from any movie or TV show I've seen. I still get teary-eyed occasionally when I think of this cute couple. Gosh, my eyes are getting wet now!

This is their last kiss before Nick enters the anomaly and Claudia vanishes from the time line...I just had to post this.

I hope you enjoyed this look on some movie/TV show characters that are close to my heart that I will miss. They're a great set of characters, but alas, not everything in life is good, right? Bad things and good things happen in life as life continues to forever change and evolve. With all the changes happening in the world today, it can be hard to find something to be happy about. But at times like that, we should remember the one Individual who never changes, no matter how much life fluctuates...that Individual is Jesus Christ. As it says in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” What a magnificent thing to be thankful to God for!

References:
Obviously, this is normally where I'd put my resources for the information presented above, but as I'm talking about characters in different movies and TV shows today, I think putting my sources down here is unnecessary.

Disclaimer: Many (or in some cases all) of the photographs and images above are not mine and are still-shots from the movies, TV shows and games mentioned above. If you own one or more of them and would like them to be removed, politely let me know via my email address.

Rerun Article: The Living Dinosaurs? pt. 1

So today I pulled another one of my ancient articles out of the word works. I hope you all enjoy it.

Days till:

It is: 38 days till Labor Day

It is: 54 days till the first day of Autumn

It is: 117 days till The Good Dinosaur's theatrical release!

In the Spotlight:

Believe it or not, we're already beginning to get tidbits about what Jurassic World II is going to be like. Wired published an article not too long ago in which they interviewed Colin Trevorrow, director of Jurassic World, to see what information he was able to reveal about the sequel. In the interview, he said:

"[It will not be] just a bunch of dinosaurs chasing people on an island. That’ll get old real fast." - Colin Trevorrow

 While I do want the fifth Jurassic Park movie to feature either Isla Nublar or Isla Sorna (preferably the last one because we haven't seen it since Jurassic Park III), I'm not sure it would be a good idea to have the plot focus on one of the two islands. This has already been done twice. But since the fourth movie has been called Jurassic World rather than "Park", the movie-makers a free to carry the plot away from the island. In fact, Trevorrow even suggested that the plot would not take place in a theme park.

"I feel like the idea that this isn’t always going to be limited to theme parks, and there are applications for this science that reach far beyond entertainment. And when you look back at nuclear power and how that started, the first instinct was to weaponise it and later on we found it could be used for energy." - Colin Trevorrow

What should we expect to see in this film? Again, Trevorrow provides us some potential answers.

"And this isn’t something necessarily that was in the book but is a seed that I wanted to plant in this movie, is that might be able to grow in more of these movies if they decide to make more of them, is: What if this went open source? It's almost like InGen is Mac, but what if PC gets their hands on it? What if there are 15 different entities around the world who can make a dinosaur?" - Trevorrow

"And Dr Wu says in the film, when he's warning Dr Mesrani [actually Masrani], 'we’re not always going to be the only ones who can make a dinosaur'. I think that’s an interesting idea that even if we don’t explore fully in this film, there is room for this universe to expand. I shouldn’t use the word universe, because people will think we’re making a Jurassic World universe -- we’re not."

Of course, I have no clue what this sequel is going to be about. But Trevorrow's words definitely sound promising! Jurassic Parkfans have a lot to look forward to on June 22, 2018 when Jurassic World II is released!

Topic of the Week by Christian Ryan

A theatrical poster for The Dinosaur Project (PHOTO CREDITS)

On the 1^st of this month, my latest Netflix movie came in the mail. It was entitled The Dinosaur Project. (I would have brought this up earlier, but I was requested to write on another topic as Easter approached) Now I heard about this movie in late 2012, so naturally I was pretty excited to get it. This film is about an expedition made by about eight people who take a journey to the heart of Africa’s jungles to prove the existence of a large beast that might live there – Mokele-mbembe, “. . . Africa’s Loch Ness Monster, but much more plausible,” as one of the film’s characters puts it, which might be a living dinosaur or dinosaur-like animal. The explorers going on this journey are: the leader, Jonathan Marchant, the medic, Liz Draper, their sponsor organizer, Charlie Rutherford, their local guide, Amara, who is skeptical on the existence of dinosaurs in the Congo. These explorers are accompanied by a two person camera crew, Jonathan’s son, 15-year old Luke, who had stowed away to be on the expedition, and the helicopter pilot. Once they arrive in Africa and start flying over the jungles, everything goes on without a hitch . . . until they run into a huge flock of what they call “birds” (but they aren’t birds, instead they are flying reptiles called pterosaurs). These “birds” swarm the chopper and cause it to tumble down into the jungle below. Now the group is trapped in the jungle. As the group struggles to survive, it turns out that the dinosaurs living in these jungles are weirder than ever, certain people in the group aren’t what they seem, and there’s more than dinosaurs to worry about out there! The interesting thing about this movie was that it was filmed from the perspective of “lost and found” footage of an ill-fated expedition. So many of the shots in the movie are shot from small cameras that are stuck on shirts or backpacks and others are from the camera that the camera crew has. Now here’s my take on this movie: I found the film to adventurous and thrilling. But if you decide to watch it, please note that despite the picture on many of the film’s theatrical posters, there is no T. rex in it. In fact, there aren’t very many of the dinosaurs the general public is familiar with. I have a list of the creatures in the film (in order of appearance):

• Giant “Birds”: (actually a pterosaur called Pteranodon)

Pteranodon

• Unidentified Bat-Like Reptiles: these strange reptiles also go unidentified. Their bodies and wings resemble that of a bat or pterosaur, but their heads look more like a giant weasel. In the film, these creatures hunt in packs and despite being able to fly, they prefer running and don’t hunt over water...
• Unidentified Dinosaurs (“Cryptosaurus”): while these animals are carnivorous, the babies are rather docile, even friendly, toward humans. The younger ones love to play in the water. The neck frill is used to scare away potential predators and if the babies like you, they might “spit” a special liquid on you so their parents won’t see you as food. At first I thought they were ornithopods, but ornithopods probably weren’t as home in the water as much as the dinosaurs in the film and they didn’t have neck frills. The ornithopods I had in mind (such as Leaellynasaurua and Hypsilophodon) weren’t as large as the adults in the movie. This species was probably made up by the movie-makers and so for the sake of names, I have dubbed it “Cryptosaurus”, meaning “Secretive Lizard”.

A few of the film's characters trying to attach a camera to "Crypto"  (PHOTO CREDITS)

• “Mokele-Mbembe”: this large reptile is one of the few animals that actually gets identified in the movie. It has a long neck and is a plesiosaur, probably of the genus “Elasmosaurus”. While the one spotted in the movie can stick its neck high out of the water, real plesiosaurs couldn’t do this. Also, in reality, some scientists actually think that mokele-mbembe, if it exists, is a sauropod or long-necked dinosaur.

A pair of Elasmosaurus

• Unidentified Water Reptile: while on a river, the group is attacked by an unidentified water reptile. The creature isn’t seen from a very good angle, so I can’t really say what it is. All I know is that it has a mouth full of teeth and a bad attitude! During the beginning of the film, it is said that plesiosaurs like mokele-mbembe were often found near pliosaurs, large plesiosaurs with short necks. So maybe this Unidentified Water Reptile is a giant pliosaur such as Liopleurodon.

Liopleurodon

As for the movie itself, there are great actors and the creatures are very realistic. I enjoyed the movie, but I only wish that it were a bit longer (it’s roughly 1 ½ hours long), had more dinosaur scenes with more identifiable dinosaur species and a more conclusive ending. Yes, the ending was a little abrupt. It is also unclear at times if some characters have died or simply disappeared and might still be alive. I found out after I got the movie that it was rated PG-13, but considering the rating, it was very mild for a PG-13 movie. As far as I could tell, there was no “sexual references”, only a few “choisy” words (the only ones I remember are maybe two or three barely audible, "Oh my G*d!" and maybe two da*ns) and not at all gory. Also, a BIG surprise for a dinosaur movie, there weren't many mentions of evolution and millions of years (maybe only a few times). The only blood I saw was just the scares that the characters had, and while they looked realistic, they weren’t gory either. If you consider watching this movie, I’d recommend parents should watch it first before letting their young ones watch it because some of the creatures might scare some kids. Overall though, while this is no “Jurassic Park” substitute, it was still a great enjoyable movie, and I’d recommend it to all dino-lovers!

Disclaimer: Many (or in some cases all) of the photographs and images above are not mine. If you own one or more of them and would like them to be removed, politely let me know via one or both of the email addresses above.

Jurassic World pt. 3: The Dinosaurs

I've had a very interesting time since last Friday to say the least! I saw some awesome fireworks on July 4th, and I've been pretty busy getting ready for my youth group's upcoming "Youth Rally" (more on that a little later). I've also got the final article of my three-part series on Jurassic World. Let's start with...

Days till:
It is: 59 days till Labor Day
It is: 75 days till The First Day of Autumn
It is: 140 days till The Good Dinosaur's release

In the Spotlight:
OK, I don't have much to share about upcoming movies for this week. Hopefully this will change next week!

Topic of the Week by Christian RyanAs promised, after looking at the background for the #1 movie worldwide, Jurassic World, and its characters, I am going to close this three-part series with a little information on all the dinosaurs that appear in the film!

PS. Warning – Spoilers ahead!

Apatosaurus

Apatosaurus is the largest dinosaur in Jurassic World.

The majestic Apatosaurus is the largest dinosaur in Jurassic World, and one of the largest land animals that has ever existed. These Jurassic-habitat long-necked dinosaurs, or sauropods, can reach 75-90 feet in length and weigh up to 36 tons! Thankfully, these behemoths are only herbivores, consuming ferns and conifer branches. As it can't chew, it has to swallow its food whole, using stones the animal swallowed to grind up the food in the gut.

Apatosaurus is one of the dinosaur species to appear in both the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo and on the Gyrosphere ride. With a gyrosphere vehicle, tourists are able to ride up right alongside these incredible beasts. Thanks to their size and long whip-like tails, they are almost immune to attack from predators. However, as is later evidenced in the film, they are no match for the genetically-engineered Indominus rex, who kills five and injures another during her rampage across Isla Nublar.

Apatosaurus has been featured in both Jurassic Park novels by Michael Crichton. However, it was replaced with Brachiosaurus in the first Jurassic Park movie and the eccentrically long-necked Mamenchisaurus in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. So it's nice that Apatosaurus finally gets some limelight, something this species doesn't experience very often in recent movies. (I mean, when was the last time you've seen an Apatosaurus in a dinosaur movie?).

Triceratops

With three horns on its head, Triceratops looks aggressive, but these dinosaurs are rather passive unless provoked.

Even though Triceratops is quite a popular species of dinosaur and one of everyone's favorites, it hasn't played a huge part of any of the previous Jurassic Park films. However, several specimens appear in Jurassic World and could be seen on the Gyrosphere ride and in the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo.

These herbivores can be as long as a school bus – up to 30 feet long – and weigh 10-12 tons! This makes them one of the largest non-sauropod dinosaurs to exist in North America. These animals roamed the Cretaceous plains in herds, grazing on low-growing plants, such as ferns and cycads. In the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo, baby Triceratops could be hand fed special dino-feed by park guests. When they reach adulthood, Triceratops possess three-foot horns above their eyes and a massive shield-like frill on the back of their skull. In the wild, these features were used for protection against predators, such as the infamous Tyrannosaurus rex! Despite their fearsome appearance, Triceratops in Jurassic World are “gentle giants”, not attacking a human being unless provoked, and even like to be petted behind their frills.

Stegosaurus

Prior to the recreation of the species in Jurassic World, scientists thought the Stegosaurus had a second brain in its rump!

The five-ton, 30-foot long Stegosaurus can be found on Jurassic World's Cretaceous Cruise, the Gyrosphere ride and of course, the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo. These herbivores browse on ferns and cycads and are one of the most recognizable dinosaurs thanks to their 17 kite-shaped plates running down the neck, down its back and the base of the tail. For defense, the Stegosaurus boasts four meter-long spikes that would have been used to swing at predators.  The plates of Stegosaurus are not used for defense however; they are primarily used for display, to attract mates and deter rivals and for species recognition.

Ankylosaurus

The heavily-armored Ankylosaurus was the dinosaur version of a tank!

Ankylosaurus makes only a brief appearance or two in Jurassic Park III. Its role in Jurassic World is substantially larger and this dinosaur is even mentioned by name (out of the film's 13 dinosaurs, only six or seven are mentioned by name at some point).

Ankylosaurus can grow 30 feet long and weigh six tons as adults. They feed on low-growing plants and have been called “living tanks” by paleontologists. This is because they are one of the most protected dinosaurs ever discovered. Their bodies are covered in spiky armor and fused bony plates. Even its eyelids are made of bone! As if this wasn't enough, Ankylosaurus also has a rounded club at the end of its tail that was quite capable of breaking the legs and ribcage of even a Tyrannosaurus!

When Gray and Zach are in the a gyrosphere, they venture into the restricted area of Isla Nublar and find a herd of Ankylosaurus in the forest. Unfortunately, it turns out that Indominus rex is hunting here as well and she successfully kills an Ankylosaurus. The fact that I. rex can kill the heavily armored Ankylosaurus goes to show you just how dangerous this theropod really is!

Parasaurolophus

With its long head crest, the Parasaurolophus is capable of giving haunting, beautiful cries.

Parasaurolophus is the most recognizable hadrosaurs, duck-billed dinosaurs, in Jurassic World (the other hadrosaur in the park is Edmontosaurus, which does not appear in the film) thanks to its crested head. The crest on this animal's head is elongated and hollow; the dinosaur uses it to emit haunting, beautiful cries to communicate with other Parasaurolophus. An adult Parasaurolophus can grow up to 40 feet long and weigh 2 tons. They are herbivores and live in large herds in the Gyrosphere area of the park.

Gallimimus
 

Gallimimus can run 30-50 mph if they're ever out in the open.

Don't be fooled by the ostrich-like body, toothless beak and long, skinny legs, because that's where the similarities between the modern ostrich and Gallimimus stop! These dinosaurs have sharply clawed hands and a tail, features the ostrich does not. Gallimimus makes a small appearance in Jurassic World; they are seen running alongside a jeep in Gallimimus Valley, near the Gyrosphere area. These dinosaurs are capable of reaching speeds of 30-50 mph and prefer to dine on soft vegetation found throughout Gallimimus Valley.

Gallimimus is notable for being the very first species of dinosaur ever seen from Jurassic World, as it first made its appearance in the first teaser for the film, all the way back in November!

Pachycephalosaurus

Pachycephalosaurus has a skull up to 10 inches thick!

If you're looking for Jurassic World's Pachycephalosaurus, look no further than the Pachy Arena. These “thick-headed lizards” have an incredibly thick skull, which can be up to 10 inches thick! In the wild, these animals would ram their heads into predators and rival Pachycephalosaurus to protect themselves and to win mates.

This dinosaur is only on screen for a blink, but it's nice to see Pachycephalosaurus return to the franchise nonetheless, as we haven't seen it since The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997.

Mosasaurus

Mosasaurus is the first marine reptile to appear in the Jurassic Park movies!

Unlike most of the creatures at Jurassic World, the Mosasaurus is not a dinosaur, but a species of sea-going lizard. It was similar to modern monitor lizards, but was 50-60 feet long and weighed 15-20 tons! It was one of the largest predators ever to stalk the Cretaceous oceans. Mosasaurus had a fearsome array of teeth to catch just about anything else in its environment – fish, birds, other marine reptiles, and even great white sharks! An extra set of teeth on the roof of the mouth ensures prey does not escape the Mosasaurus' jaws!

In Jurassic World, Mosasaurus can be seen leaping to catch (young) great white sharks in the Mosasaurus Feeding Show, similar to how killer whales might act in SeaWorld. Here, sharks are not the apex predators and Mosasaurus is queen. She has a superb sense of smell and thanks to a powerful tail, she can propel herself forward with ease. Mosasaurus is also capable of leaping from the water to snag flying reptiles, such as a hapless Pteranodon.

Mosasaurus also plays a role in defeating Indominus rex near the end of the film. When the I. rex is cornered against the Isla Nublar Lagoon by Blue and Rexy, this giant marine lizard breaches and catches the hybrid like a killer whale catches a seal and hauls her into the water for consumption.

Velociraptor

Charlie and Blue are two of the park's four Velociraptors. Pound-for-pound, these dinosaurs the most dangerous in the entire park.

One of the most intelligent dinosaurs in Jurassic World are no doubt the Velociraptors. They are swift – capable of running 40-50 mph if they're ever out in the open – agile and hunt in packs. Raptors, which stand five to six feet tall and 13 feet long, are incredibly dangerous dinosaurs and were not yet ready for public display. Instead, a pack of four Velociraptors is being trained and studied by ex-military man, Owen Grady.

The pack consists of: Charlie, the rookie, Delta, the stalker, Echo, the runner-up in the pecking order, and Blue, the beta. Having raised them since birth, Owen has established himself as alpha of the pack. As Owen explains to Claire at one point in the film, he doesn't control the raptors, but instead developed a relationship with them based on mutual respect. The relationship Owen has developed with the Velociraptors is a tenuous one, to say the least, as they still seem quite intent on ripping his guts open.

Velociraptors are wonderfully adapted for hunting and killing prey. They have powerful senses of sight, hearing and sense of smell. Dozens of needle sharp teeth line their jaws. But the most impressive weapon of a Velociraptor is the six-inch retractable claw on each foot. The dinosaur uses them to slash into the prey's body, killing it quickly.

These abilities didn't go unnoticed by head of InGen Security, Vic Hoskins. He was amazed by Owen's ability to “control” the raptors and wanted to use these and similar animals for use in the military. Owen declines the offer. Later, after Indominus rex escapes, the raptors are released and used to track down and kill the hybrid, but instead of attacking, the raptors bond with the larger theropod and accept I. rex as their new alpha. The raptors kill several humans before Owen is able to reestablish his initial bond with these dangerous creatures. Together, and with the help of Rexy and the Mosasaurus, Owen and his “raptor squad” defeat the Indominus rex. Velociraptor truly is – pound for pound – one of the most dangerous dinosaur ever to exist.

Indominus rex

Indominus rex is Jurassic World's first genetically-modified hybrid.

When public interest in the park began to decline, Jurassic World's investors thought genetic modification would up the wow factor – they wanted something bigger, scarier and with more teeth. So Dr. Henry Wu set out to create a brand new species of dinosaur to wow audiences and called it Indominus rex. Though he revealed the base genome was Tyrannosaurus, he refused to reveal what other DNA of other animals was used in the beast's creation.

Indominus rex, meaning “untameable king”, would have been 50 feet when fullygrown and the most fearsome dinosaur ever to be displayed at Jurassic World. She was intelligent, huge and fast, able to run up to 30 mph...inside her enclosure! Though Indominus might bear some resemblance to a T. rex, the park website also revealed this beast to include DNA from Carnotaurus, Majungasaurus, Carnotaurus and Giganotosaurus. Like sharks, crocodiles and other theropods, I. rex would replace teeth throughout her lifetime to ensure she always had a nice set of them ready for the next chomp.

This beast showed her intelligence by tricking several people, including Owen, into entering her enclosure and “assisting” her in her escape. She was able to kill several more people as more of her abilities were revealed throughout the course of the movie. She could camouflage to look almost invisible against her surroundings, she could cancel out her heat exchange to hide from thermal-detection cameras, it seemed she was largely unaffected by bullets, and she was even capable of controlling Owen's raptor squad, causing them to turn on the humans. Through Jurassic World, Henry reluctantly reveals that some of the creatures whose DNA was used to create Indominus rex incuded the tree frog (able to control its thermal exchange), cuttlefish (for camouflaging ability) and for some reason not yet known, the DNA of Velociraptor. After causing many deaths of both human and dinosaur alike, she eventually meets her demise when Blue, Echo and Delta turn on her and Rexy joins the assault. When Indominus rex is trapped against the Isla Nublar Lagoon, she is snagged by the Mosasaurus and pulled into her watery doom.

As everyone found out the hard way, Indominus rex was not a good theme park attraction...because she never was meant to be; she was actually designed to be used as a military weapon. While Masrani wanted a new dinosaur to impress park guests, Hoskins wanted a dinosaur that could be trained and used for war. So Henry Wu decided to kill two birds with one stone and created both. Even after seeing the damage I. rex caused, Hoskins wanted a pack of smaller versions of the same dinosaur. Thankfully, he was unable to meet his desire when he was brutally killed by Delta.

Indominus rex, according to the director Colin Trevorrow, is a dinosaur that embodies human want for more money – greed. No matter how inconvenient, stupid, or in this case, dangerous an idea may be, human beings will be willing to try it for the love of money.

Pteranodon

Pteranodon is an aggressive flying reptile, not a dinosaur.

Pteranodon has gotten increasingly larger roles in Jurassic Park films. While absent from the first movie, this pterosaur, or flying reptile, makes a cameo appearance in the second film, and has an entire scene devoted to it in Jurassic Park III. Now, it has another rather large role in Jurassic World.

The head-crested Pteranodon is Jurassic World's largest species of pterosaur and is housed in the park's Aviary alongside Dimorphodon. These giant pterosaurs have a wingspan of about 18 feet and weigh 70 pounds. Though they normally eat fish, but Pteranodon is also very aggressive and will prey upon humans if the opportunity arises...and it does when I. rex crashes through the Aviary, allowing them to fly out. They soon take down Simon Masrani's helicopter before wreaking havoc in Jurassic World's Main Street, plucking guests up with their powerful talons. One victim turns out to be Zara, Claire's personal assistant. The Pteranodon however accidentally drops her into the lagoon and as it dives to retrieve her, the Mosasaurus leaps from the water and engulfs both Zara and the helpless Pteranodon.

Dimorphodon

For its size, Dimorphodon is rather aggressive.

Just because it's small doesn't mean Dimorphodon is harmless. This pterosaur has a wingspan of about eight feet and primarily feeds on fish and insects inside the Aviary where it coexists with Pteranodon. Once I. rex breaks into the Aviary, the Dimorphodon and Pteranodon swarm across Main Street. Instead of picking people up, the Dimorphodon prefer to attack people with their teeth and foot claws, as Owen Grady soon finds out. He is however saved by Claire, who shoots the pterosaur down and is thanked with what is probably a first kiss from Owen.

At one point in Jurassic World, a Dimorphodon is seen flying above the ocean surrounding Isla Nublar. This individual is shot down by a military solider, but it does raise a question of what happened to the dozens of other newly-freed pterosaurs? Perhaps this is a question to be answered in the sequel.

Dilophosaurus

Dilophosaurus makes a non-physical cameo in Jurassic World.

Though Dilophosaurus doesn't make a physical appearance in Jurassic World, it does have an “appearance” that I believe deserves a mentioning. As many will recall, Dilophosaurus made its one and only physical showing in the first film, where it killed Dennis Nedry as he tried to steal dinosaur embryos. When Jurassic World goes haywire, however, Claire, Owen, Zach and Gray find themselves being pursued by Delta through the Innovation Center. Gray uses the holographic display of Dilophosaurus to distract Delta, giving the humans time to escape.

Tyrannosaurus (Rexy)

Rexy, the true queen of Jurassic World, stands 13 feet tall, 40 feet long and weighs 9 tons!

No visit to Jurassic World is complete without a stop at T. rex Kingdom, which houses not just any ordinary T. rex, but Rexy herself, the adult female Tyrannosaurus rex from the first Jurassic Park. This monster was apparently recaptured sometime before Jurassic World's completion and appeared for a special feeding show every two hours.

Rexy is the largest carnivore yet to appear in the franchise (the Spinosaurus of JPIII wasn't fully grown), standing 16 feet tall, 40 feet long and weighing nine tons. Rexy's species is also one of the largest carnivores ever to stalk the planet. Tyrannosaurus made their home in Cretaceous western North America and were the apex predators of their environment, hunting other dinosaurs such as Triceratops and Edmontosaurus.

Rexy was absent for most of the movie until near the end when she was freed by Lowery and lured onto Main Street to fight the Indominus rex. The two behemoths faced off and Rexy was nearly killed. But before I. rex could make the killer bite, Blue rushed in and attacked her, giving the T. rex time to right herself and continue the fight. Inadvertently working together, Rexy and Blue force the hybrid against the lagoon where she is killed by the Mosasaurus. Having won the fight, Rexy leaves Main Street peacefully. The last time we see Rexy is at the film's climax when she walks onto Masrani's old helipad looking over the park. In the daylight, the scars on her neck from the Velociraptor that she fought in the first film can still be seen. With Indominus rex defeated, Rexy gives a mighty roar, declaring herself official queen of Isla Nublar – Jurassic World!

This ends my three-part overview of Jurassic World. The long wait has been well worth it and I have actually seen the movie twice already! That's how much I fell in love with it, and for good reason. It has great characters, an terrific plot, and an awesome set of dinosaurs. It's pretty much been confirmed that a sequel is in the works. What will happen in Jurassic World 2? Can we really know at this point? I suspect a clean-up operation might be required on Isla Nublar, to ensure the dinosaurs and other “prehistoric” reptiles stay on the island where they're supposed to and not cause havoc on the mainland.

Thanks to everyone who's been reading my blog posts regarding Jurassic World. The time between pre-production, production, post-production and the final product have been some of the best years of my life. I can't wait for Jurassic World 2 to relive the experience again!

Jurassic World was one of the most awesome experiences of my life!

References:
wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cloned_animals_in_Jurassic_Park
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/apatosaurus
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/triceratops
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/stegosaurus
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/ankylosaurus
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/parasaurolophus
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/gallimimus
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/pachycephalosaurus
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/mosasaurus
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/velociraptor
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/indominus_rex
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/pteranodon
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/dimorphodon
www.jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/dilophosaurus
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/tyrannosaurus
Jurassic World (2015)

Disclaimer: Many (or in some cases all) of the photographs and images above are not mine. If you own one or more of them and would like them to be removed, politely let me know via my email address.

* I know this image is crazy blurry, but I couldn't find any others from the Jurassic World movie of Rexy that weren't.

Jurassic World pt. 2: The Characters

The Fourth of July is tomorrow! Can you believe it? On July 4th, as you probably already know, we spend the day celebrating those brave men and women who fought to defend out rights in this country from those who tried to take them away from us.

As usual, I have decided to post a little tribute to independence Day in the form of actress Cozi Zuehlsdorff singing “Star-Spangled Banner” at a recent baseball game in Florida. Please enjoy!

One word: beautiful! I can't get enough of this girl's singing! Cozi Zuehlsdorff is the bomb!

Days till:
It is: 1 day till Independence Day
It is: 66 days till Labor Day
It is: 145 days till The Good Dinosaur's release

In the Spotlight:
Well, now that Jurassic World has been released and no news to share about The Good Dinosaur...I'm afraid I don't really have anything to put here. :-(

Topic of the Week by Christian Ryan

Besides the dinosaurs, the thing that makes this film great is its characters.

Last week, we explored the basic plot of the newly-released Jurassic World. I also gave a brief summary of some of the key points that help the plot progress later in the movie. Today I will spend going through the many characters that make this movie come alive.

PS. Warning – Spoilers ahead!

Simon Masrani

"The key to a happy life is to accept you are never actually in control." - Simon Masrani

Though not playing as large a role in the film as Claire or Owen, I feel that Masrani is perhaps one of the most important people in this motion picture. Simon Masrani, portrayed by Irrfan Khan, is the CEO of Masrani Global Corporation and the owner of Jurassic World. His company bought out InGen in 1998 (saving InGen from going bankrupt) and decided to rebuild the company to its former status. He succeeded. In 2005, he opened Jurassic World as a fulfillment of John Hammond's dream decades earlier. He was good friends with Hammond and admires him greatly, even repeating his catchphrase, “spared no expense”.

In Jurassic World, Masrani cares very much for public and dinosaur welfare. In fact, he cares more that people are having fun and enjoying the park and that the dinosaurs are enjoying life (though Claire asserts that they don't have a method to measure dinosaur happiness). When we first meet Masrani on-screen, he is two day away from gaining his helicopter piloting license, though he doesn't seem capable of keeping his chopper steady!

In 2012, Masrani sought out head geneticist of InGen, Dr. Henry Wu, when the public interest in the park began to decline, or at best, level. Masrani told Wu that he wanted a new breed of dinosaur to impress the tourists, one that was bigger, scarier and had more teeth than even Tyrannosaurus rex. Wu got to work and by 2015, InGen's first genetically-modified hybrid dinosaur was within a few weeks of being unveiled for the public. This hybrid was called Indominus rex.

Of course, things didn't go as planned and when Indominus rex freed herself from captivity, Masrani took it upon himself to help bring the creature down. He piloted a helicopter with an armed soldiers on board, ready to shoot the creature. But when Indominus crashed into the Jurassic World Aviary, freeing two species of pterosaurs, or flying reptiles – Pteranodons and Dimorphodon to be more specific – Masrani was unable to fly the chopper out of the way in time. Pteranodons attacked the helicopter and brought it down, causing it to fall into the Aviary before bursting into flames.

As Simon Masrani was one of my favorite characters in Jurassic World, I am sad that he died. However, fans of this franchise everywhere shall always remember him for his relaxed and wisdom, even in a desperate situation such as the Isla Nublar Incident of 2015.

Claire Dearing

"We have learned more in the past decade from genetics than a sentry of digging up bones." - Claire Dearing

If Simon Masrani was the head of the project, Claire Dearing, portrayed by Bryce Dallas Howard, was the legs, particularly of Jurassic World. As the park operations manager at Jurassic World, it was her job to monitor pretty much everything that went on in the day-to-day life at the park. She tends to be a bit of a workaholic, which didn't allow for many other things to occur in her life. In fact, work kept her so busy she didn't even have time to visit her family much; it had been seven years since she last saw her nephews, Zach and Gray, and even when she did see them, it was when they visited the park and she was still too busy to hang out with them (she doesn't even remember how old they are). Instead, she appointed her personal assistant, Zara Young, to watch them. Despite her busy life, she had a very brief dating relationship with Velociraptor trainer Owen Grady; though she never wanted a second date due to their personality differences.

As Owen points out, Claire seems to view the dinosaurs in the park as nothing more than numbers on a spreadsheet. She even typically refers to these living creatures as “assets”. This all changes when I. rex – one of the “assets” she's monitoring – escapes. When she and Owen go into the park to save her nephews from this dinosaur, they come across a dying Apatosaurus that was fatally wounded by the I. rex. Emotionally bonding with the creature, it appears that she finally begins to change her view on these beautiful living creatures. Over the course of the movie, Claire toughens up a great deal, even to the point of taking down a Dimorphodon that attacks Owen with a gun and going face-to-face-and-flare with a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Owen and Claire rekindle their romantic relationship and they share a kiss. This has been the first on-screen kiss in a Jurassic Park movie, which I was particularly pleased about (I'm a bit of a romance fanatic). Finally! A kiss! Claire was another one of my favorite characters in this film and she successfully (but barely) makes it off Isla Nublar alive with the others, confirming to restart her relationship with Owen, “for survival's sake” and she even reconciles with her nephews and her sister, Karen.

Oddly, during the entire sequence of events Claire wears high-heels, preferring to walk (and run!) in them than go barefoot in the jungle.

Owen Grady

"I was with the Navy, not the Navajo!" - Owen Grady

It's impossible not to like Owen, unless you're Claire Dearing, that is. Owen Grady, played by Chris Pratt, is a bit of a mix between Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ian Malcolm from the first JP trilogy, but given an interesting new twist. Like Ian Malcolm, he's able to see problems with Jurassic World, but like Alan Grant, he still has a fascination for dinosaurs. Once working in the United States Navy, Owen was hired to conduct behavioral research on Jurassic World's pack of Velociraptors that he has raised since birth. He also had an extremely brief relationship with Claire Dearing in the past, but, as mentioned above, the pair split due to convoluted personality differences.

Owen's pack of Velociraptors consists of four females: Echo, Delta, Charlie and Blue, the beta. Owen himself is the pack's alpha. Now the raptors are not at all under Owen's control – they still seem intent on eating his face off and ripping his guts open. However, because Owen has developed a relationship with them based on mutual respect, he is able to study their behavior at relatively close quarters. Owen's tenuous relationships don't only consist of his bond with his “raptor squad”; he also shares a tenuous relationship with Vic Hoskins, head of InGen Security. He is bent on the idea of training the raptors to be used as military weapons, some Owen disagrees with. Later in the film, Owen uses his  raptors to track down the escaped Indominus rex as advised by Hoskins. The plan fails and the raptors turn on him and the others, now claiming the I. rex as their new alpha.

Near the film's climax, Owen reestablishes his bond with Blue, Delta and Echo as the four of them attempt to take down I. rex. He also is able to continue his relationship with Claire and makes it off the island alive.

Zach & Gray Mitchell

"We're safe in here, right?" - Gray Mitchell

Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins portray Claire's nephews 15-year old Zach and 11-year old Gray Mitchell, respectively. Their mother sends them to Jurassic World so they can have an opportunity to spend some much-needed quality time with their aunt Claire, who turns out to be too busy to hang out with them anyway. While Gray is enthusiastic and excited about visiting Jurassic World, Zach could really care less, at least, initially. He does become interested in the park after attending the Mosasaurus Feeding Show. As with all brothers, Gray and Zach's dissimilarities tend to tick each other off – Gray is trying to enjoy the park as much as he can with his brother, while Zach mostly tries to ignore him through much of the movie as best he can.

The two of them are placed in the care of Zara Young, since Claire is unable to be with them. But when Zara takes her eyes off the boys for a moment, they run off to enjoy their park in their own way. They eventually find themselves at the Gyrosphere ride and have a dangerous run-in with Indominus rex. Once narrowly escaping her, they find the old ruins of the original Jurassic Park's Visitor Center and fix up one of the jeeps to drive back to Jurassic World.

By the end of the film, they get reunited with their parents.

Vic Hoskins

"Jurassic World is a global destination and that comes with a certain set of risks." - Vic Hoskins

Reaching his position as head of InGen Security by overseeing the clean-up operation of the Pteranodon that escaped Isla Sorna in Jurassic Park III, Vic Hoskins (portrayed by Vincent D'Onofrio) and Owen do not see eye to eye. He wants to use Owen's raptors as weapons, something Owen sees as nonsense because the raptors are by no means “tame”.

When Masrani dies in the helicopter explosion, Hoskins takes charge of the park, bringing in a multitude of soldiers to kill Indominus rex. Having no better ideas, Owen agrees to Hoskins' offer to use the raptors to track down and kill the I. rex, but the plan fails when the I. rex becomes the raptor's new pack alpha, turning the smaller dinosaurs on the humans.

It is later revealed that Indominus rex was Hoskins' first attempt to create not a theme park attraction, but a military weapon! Early on in the I. rex project, Hoskins convinced Henry Wu to create a dinosaur that could be used in the military. As the I. rex turned out to be too large and uncontrollable, he revealed that Plan B was to create smaller versions of the same dinosaur. He was unable to act upon this plan however, because when in Henry's secret lab, he was cornered by the raptor Delta. Hoskins was brutally killed by the aggressive reptile, never to be seen again.

Henry Wu

"Nothing in Jurassic World is natural, we have always filled gaps in the genome with the DNA of other animals. And if the genetic code was pure, many of them would look quite different. But you didn't ask for reality, you asked for more teeth."  --Henry Wu

The only returning human character from the original trilogy in Jurassic World is InGen's chief geneticist, Dr. Henry Wu, played by B. D. Wong. After the Isla Nublar Incident of 1993, Henry Wu was one of the individuals that returned to the park to document the dinosaurs. He was astonished by his discovery that using frog DNA to fill in the gene sequence gaps of the dinosaurs he and his team cloned and was inspired to begin research on cloning hybrid species. He successfully cloned his own hybrid plant called Karacosis wutansis, or the “Wu flower”.

Masrani was attracted to Wu by his flower hybrid and appointed him to create a new species of dinosaur combining the DNA of several extinct species to impress tourists and encourage them to continue showing interest in the park in 2012. Unfortunately, this is where Vic Hoskins got involved – he convinced Wu to create a “prototype” hybrid that could be used as a military weapon: hence Indominus rex. Henry Wu was extremely secretive when it came to the genetic contents of I. rex, as although he revealed the base gene of the creature to be Tyrannosaurus, he refused to give any information regarding what other DNA had been used in its creation. Masrani later reprimands Wu for creating such a monster.

Hoskins has Wu later evacuated off the island with several dinosaur embryos as to ensure the survival of Wu's research.

Lowery Cruthers & Vivian Krill

"Someone has to stay behind." - Lowery Cruthers

Lowery Cruthers (portrayed by Jake Johnson) plays the important role of overseeing Jurassic World's technical operations, similar to Ray Arnold in the original park. Lowery has deep respect for Jurassic Park, even owning one of the park's shirts that he purchased off of eBay. Claire and Lowery loathe each other due to their different opinions regarding the park. She viewed his Jurassic Park shirt as “distasteful” because it is a reminder of the incident of 1993 in the original park. While Claire believes genetically modifying dinosaurs to meet public demand is the proper direction to take, Lowery disagrees, believing the regular dinosaurs, like the ones Jurassic Park had, were the best.

During the Indominus rex escape, Lowery remains in the park's Control Room long into the night, feeling obligated to help improve the situation in any way he can. He later (finally) proves quite useful to Claire when she demands that he free Tyrannosaurus rex from her pen.

Lowery is friends with Vivian Krill (Lauren Lapkus), another Control Room employee. Vivian has respect for Simon Masrani, whom she's saddened by his death. Just before leaving with most of the park's other employees for the mainland, Lowery attempts to kiss her goodbye before she tells him that she already has a boyfriend. So Lowery hugs her instead.

"Uh, I have a boyfriend." - Vivian Krill

Zara Young

"Can't he [Gray] slow down?" - Zara Young

Zara Young (portrayed by Katie McGrath) was Claire's British personal assistant and charged with tending to Claire's nephews, Gray and Zach. While she was preoccupied at the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo however, the boys ran away to explore the park on their own.

Later, she found the boys on Main Street. She was only with them for a short time however, as she was plucked from the street by one of the swarming Pteranodons. The pterosaur accidentally dropped her in the Isla Nublar Lagoon and as she was re-caught by a Pteranodon, a Mosasaurus swum up from the depths and consumed both of them whole.

This makes Zara the first on-screen, canonical, female death in the Jurassic Park movies, and the second in the franchise (the first being Dr. Sorkin's death, also by a mosasaur, in Jurassic Park: The Game).

Barry

"Something's wrong, they're communicating." - Barry

Last, but not certainly not least on our list of characters is the ever-faithful Barry, played by Omar Sy. Capable of speaking French, Barry is a close friend of Owen and also a Velociraptor trainer, though he does not appear to have developed the deep relationship Owen has with the pack.

Barry also makes it off Isla Nublar alive.

This wraps up my list of Jurassic World characters. In the final part of my Jurassic World overview, we'll be looking at is undoubtedly the most exciting aspect of the movie: the DINOSAURS!!!

References:
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_jurassic_park_characters
Jurassic World (2015)

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