WILL THIS GUY EVER LEARN?
Chris Pratt is on the run once again in Fallen Kingdom, Chris Lackner writes.
MOVIES
Big release on June 22: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Big picture: Sorry dinos, it’s Chris Pratt’s world; we only live in it. Fresh off co-starring in Guardians of the Galaxy 3 — err, Avengers: Infinity War — Pratt returns to his Jurassic World role as Owen Grady, a dino trainer and Indiana Jones in the making. Four years after the Jurassic World resort was torn asunder by dinosaurs — and the island abandoned by humans — Owen (Pratt) and the morally reformed Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) return to the island to save the remaining creatures from a deadly volcano — and shady government types with their own agenda. It’s Jurassic World meets Volcano. Owen’s baby raptor, Blue, is also all grown up and now a frenemy.
This sequel will feel a bit long in the tooth but be saved by Pratt’s charm. Jeff Goldblum’s scientist from the original Jurassic Park shows up to occasionally say things in Goldblum’s weird, mildly creepy, always compelling voice. Quips like, “these creatures were here before us and, if we are not careful, they are going to be here after,” “life cannot be contained … life breaks free … life finds a way” and “OK. I confess. I basically played myself in Thor: Ragnarok.”
Forecast: A new era of extinction is unlikely. Jurassic World 3 is already in the works. Owen won’t get trampled, eaten or mummified in lava either.
MUSIC
Big releases on June 22: Jill Barber (Metaphora); Nine Inch Nails (Bad Witch).
Big picture: Barber, Canada’s shape-shifting songstress, tries on her dance shoes and new contemporary pop sound in this album partially co-written by Mother Mother’s talented frontman Ryan Guldemond. “The sessions became part songwriting and part therapy because I was writing about things that felt pretty raw; politics, sexism (the single Girl’s Gotta Do) and being a mother,” Barber says.
Meanwhile, Bad Witch conjured NIN’s first full-length album since Hesitation Marks (2013). In case you thought Trent Reznor was getting soft and sentimental in his old age, the industrial rock legend pens songs with titles like Sh** Mirror and God Break Down the Door. Forecast: Barber’s genre-bending gifts and sultry vocals will continue to expand her fan base.
TV
Big events: The Proposal (June 18, City/ABC); Take Two (June 21, ABC); Cooking on High (June 22, Netflix).
Big picture: If enough of my fellow human beings find themselves watching more than one episode of The Proposal, I’ll find myself hoping Goldblum’s doomsday scenario proves true.
Former Bachelor Jesse Palmer hosts a new dating series from the same people who put his own twisted search for love in front of millions. The “twist” in the new series? Each episode is a rapidfire contest as 10 candidates compete for the love and affection of one hidden suitor — with the bachelor or bachelorette only revealing themselves to the final two contestants, setting the stage for a potential whirlwind marriage “proposal” at the end of only one hour of television.
Meanwhile, the creator and producer of Castle decides to double down with a show about a scandal-plagued actress — who plays a TV cop — who is paired with a real cop to do “research” for a new role. Not surprisingly, New Female Castle is good at real sleuthing, witty banter and having sexual tension with her no-nonsense partner. Rachel Bilson and Eddie Cibrian costar. Finally, Netflix’s Cooking on High is billed as Hell’s Kitchen meets Iron Chef meets marijuana. Ten cannabis chefs — yup, that’s a thing — battle it out for supremacy … and likely future work in the kitchens of Parliament Hill.
Forecast: In promos, Palmer refers to the show as a “soulmate pageant.” That clip alone will make you want to move to the volcano and dino-filled island from Jurassic World.