Bryce Dallas Howard

Deep Cover

by
Orlando Bloom, Bryce Dallas Howard and Nick Mohammed

Dumb fun, but definitely fun, Deep Cover is written by Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow, of Safety Not Guaranteed (love that film), plus Ben Ashenden, who presumably injected the British sensibility here and there. Knockabout entertainment, it takes most of its inspiration from 1990s action comedies about inadequate characters in hazardous situations. Who knew Orlando Bloom could do comedy? In my darker, more misanthropic moments I have wondered just what exactly Bloom was for after he outgrew elfhood (Legolas, son of Thranduil etc). He’s genuinely funny here, as Marlon, one of three useless would-be improv comedians recruited by an undercover cop (Sean Bean, in full Northern British, “Go on, fuck off” mode). Joining … Read more

Jurassic World Dominion

by
Group shot of the cast of Jurassic World Dominion

Going into production, the makers of Jurassic World Dominion knew they had to deal with a raft of problems that most franchises don’t have to deal with. They couldn’t change the villain – one of the key ways that long-running franchises refresh their offering. In Jurassic Park movies the bad guy remains the dinosaur no matter how many crazed megalomaniac humans are injected into the mix. They also couldn’t really change the location. This isn’t a story of a world taken over by dinosaurs but of a theme park (essentially) going wrong. James Bond gets sent to Bermuda, or Brazil, or Baluchistan, or into space orbit or beneath the waves to ring the … Read more