whitehart_designs

I have finally successfully got my head around when the local supermarket reduces the prices on its pastries, which means that we are now well-supplied for doing a batch of pistachio croissant strata to get us most of the way through the coming week. It is not going to be a tomorrow (Sunday) morning breakfast, though, because we have half a cherry clafoutis from this morning, made using allotment cherries.

( Read more... )

redbird

Sometime in the last couple of months, someone posted a link to a site that had interesting looking shirts made of linen, for lower prices than most places charge. I forgot to bookmark it. Can anyone point me to it? or to something else that fits that description, even if you didn't see it here?

Edited to add: A the shirts were less expensive than I expected, which is a large part of why I'm interested. Those may have been sale prices, I don't remember.

Also, the were made of either linen or a linen blend, not "line".

sanguinity

Been reading a lot of Herodotus lately. The flight of Hegesistratus made me think of Ewen.

Hegesistratus (100 words) by sanguinity
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Jacobite Trilogy | The Flight of the Heron Series - D. K. Broster, The Histories - Herodotus
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Ewen Cameron
Additional Tags: Missing Scene, Drabble, Angst
Summary:
Ewen Cameron, lame and hunted after his escape at High Bridge, remembers his childhood daydreams.

...now back to finishing Book IX before book group tomorrow!

primeideal

I'm not really a horror person but I kickstarted this anthology to support short fiction presses, it would definitely count for bingo, and I was going to send a submission anyway so why not. If that sounds familiar it's because it is. While I don't have a story in this book, I did find more highlights here than the last anthology!

My favorite story was "The River's Revenge," by Jen Mierisch, about monstrous two-headed eels appearing in the Chicago River and wreaking havoc. It's a delightful mix of humor with horror.

“We might get to name it, huh?” Suki said. “How about Wriggly Field?”

Was that a smile? “I’m thinking Muddy Waters,” Ron said.

“No, wait! I’ve got it. Eel Capone.”
***

Last night, Suki had gone to Navy Bier, the closest bar to the Chicago Sun-Times office and therefore its reporters’ logical happy-hour spot. It was incredible how much gossip you could overhear while nursing a Scotch and scrolling Instagram.

Yes, the location mentioned on Wabash Avenue is real, and yes, you should look it up after you finish the story. Lest you worry that this is mere one-sided political ranting, be assured that the the RL Mayor Johnson makes a cameo to be like "everything is fine and under control" when everything is not fine or under control, Chicago's political machine is a thing. ;)

All of the authors are people who currently and/or formerly have lived in and around Chicago, so all the little place names and bits of local color were great. In the first paragraph of "Pedal to the Floor into Darkness," K. A. Roy shows off both the very Midwestern dialect of using "pop" for any generic soft drink (where other parts of the country might use "cola" or "soda,") and the obvious double entendre associated with Lake Shore Drive.

The first thing you need to know is that my sister died when I was fifteen and she was nineteen. Story goes that Lisa was driving too fast through the bendy part of Lake Shore Drive, you know the one, smack dab between Grand and LaSalle. She took that s-curve doing seventy, like she was running from something in her rearview mirror. Spun out. Hit the median like a spinning top, front passenger bumper crumpling like a stomped pop can. It was past eleven, which if you’ve ever driven down LSD at night, with all the lights and the trees and city on one side, the lake on the other, is something you never forget.

"Lives Matter," by Jotham Austin II, is set in Hyde Park, on the South Side. Over the decades, Chicago has been de facto very segregated; the North Side is predominantly white, the West Side Hispanic, and the South Side black. The University of Chicago (where Barack Obama was once a law school professor) is in Hyde Park, which is a comparatively affluent and highly-educated area amidst the surrounding South Side. I know and love this area, and Austin brings out the little details (the Carl Von Linné statue!) Turns out he's also a UChicago professor and specializes in electron microscopy!

Walking slow. Crossing 55th street. Down Lake Park toward MSI. Fast walking. Sirens scream in the distance. Stopping under the Metra station bridge. Stopping to catch my breath. Think.

Bigmom’s maxims reciting in my head. Pull that hoodie down, so you can hear and be heard. Show respect. Yes sir. No mama. No talk back. If you can, send an SOS text.

"A Good Kid," by Nick Medina, is about a Lego nerd and the mysterious murals in his neighborhood.

The shapes and sizes didn’t matter. The colors didn’t either. Whether he ended up with twenty 2x2s, thirty 1x1s, an equal mix of 2x3s, 1x4s, and 1x2s, or any other of the seemingly infinite combinations he could pull from the box, he trusted his fingers to build something worth bragging about.

There are several stories that lean into themes of discrimination and police brutality, etc. What I liked about this one was that it acknowledged the horror of, even in a great city in the wealthiest country on Earth, there are still people killed by violence that wasn't targeted at them, just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There aren't easy fixes, but it's good to acknowledge that the police aren't just cartoon villains being evil for evil's sake, they're responding to real forces.

Speaking of police brutality, though. "Body Cam" by TJ Cimfel is an excellent use of form. It starts as a contrast between the supernatural horror of an unexplained Something, and the mundane horror of police officers manipulating evidence at black ops sites. We see an officer slowly watching a timestamped loop of bodycam evidence from a fatal incident three months prior, and at first it just seems to be bad guy cops trying to suppress the truth. Then it gets weird. A great example of what you can do with text that you can't necessarily do in another medium.

It’s at this point the impound lot camera footage jellies, smears to gray. A nebulous conspiracy has naturally formed around this. The CPD got ahold of the impound lot’s drive, wiped out Jackson’s involvement. Like there isn’t enough incriminating footage as it is. Besides, Campos had nothing to do with that. Not that he’s above such moves. Hell, those moves are why they hire him.

He could only stonewall for so long. The prying journalists and their relentless FOIA requests. The family, crying on the news every other day. Woke mobs spitting vitriol outside City Hall, shutting down traffic in the Loop. All of it so tiresomely predictable, so tiresomely effective.

"Lucky Charms," by Sandra Jackson-Opoku, depicts an interaction between the eighteenth and twenty-first centuries. A kid overhearing an "as you know, Bob" conversation for the readers' benefit is a little annoying, but what I like about this is that it doesn't just depict contemporary people reacting to something from the past (including an allusion to "Leprechaun in the Hood," and if I have to know that that is a thing that exists, then so do you), but also characters from the past trying to make sense of the present.

Suzanne heard a rumble from the other direction, the stomp of marching feet. She turned to see a group from the opposite end of the road approaching in military formation. They were men and women in identical blue clothing carrying weapons and see-through shields.

One voice was magnified by the large cone he carried. “This is an illegal gathering. You are not allowed to advance beyond this point. You must disperse. I repeat, you must disperse.”

Suzanne could differentiate the groups by what they carried—their signs, their weapons, their manner of movement. Could these be the Yankees and British at war once again?

Not every story was a winner for me, but overall, I think if you love Chicago as much as I do, you'll probably find something to like in here!

Bingo: Published in 2025, Five+ Short Stories, Small Press, presumably will still be Hidden Gem for a while (the Kickstarter e-books just came out, so right now no one has rated it on Goodreads yet!)

sholio

hurtcomfortex released today! I happened to be driving a backcountry highway with no cell service at the time (coming home from Mom Things), but it was lovely to find my gifts waiting for me when I got back.

Hold a Candle To (MASH, 3400 wds, gen) delivered some lovely Charles drug withdrawal h/c with teamy affection, and A Way Out (Biggles, 4400 wds, gen) let me roll around in excellent Biggles & von Stalhein enemies-era reluctant cooperation and sympathy. Truly a lovely haul!

fred_mouse

I need some down time this weekend. I have any number of things I want to have done, but I'm restricting myself to things that can be done sitting on the bed, minimal movement. To whit:

Finish reading The Dictionary of Lost Words - DONE! Highly recommended fictional account of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary
Read Attached - book on romantic relationships. in progress (started Saturday)
Finish Creating a Second Brain - collected from the library yesterday, read a chapter on the bus
Finish Library of the Dead - this one is due back on Monday, and being Libby, will get autoreturned.

Which, not actually outside the bounds, as long as I am actually doing those.

stretch goals, of which I'm hoping to achieve at least one

close tabs (current: 526, goal: <500) in safari
finish reading the fic I'm part way through (there might be more than one of these.
progress Eldest's quilt (this is not an 'on the bed' activity; it is added so that if I need to get up and move around, I have a task)
write up my goals for the next 6 months
blog post about how the study is going.

aurumcalendula

I'm at the annoying vidding stage where I have an idea but not a song yet (and all the potential ones I've listened to feel not quite right).

jadelennox

I've been trying very hard to cheerful!post this week because I'm frequently struggling to breathe, as one does these days. You all know how it is. I was planning on posting from the perfect 4 July book (The Westing Game). But when I looked at the exact words of the quotation, it felt much too on the nose:

The sun has set on your Uncle Sam. Happy birthday, Crow. And to all of my heirs, a very happy Fourth of July.

So, okay, I thinks to myself. I'll quote my other favorite Fourth of July bit from the end. But when I looked it up, uh. That didn't feel any less apropos to the moment?

Turtle?"

"I'm right here, Sandy." She took his hand.

"Turtle, tell Crow to pray for me."

His hands turned cold, not smooth, not waxy, just very, very cold.

Turtle turned to the window. The sun was rising out of Lake Michigan. It was tomorrow. It was the Fourth of July.

Ah, well. Ready for a nice game of chess?

kaberett

Freegle has both provided (a 4'x8' piece of 6mm plywood, which I am intending to press into service as A SHED FLOOR) and taken away (a bag of used Jiffy Green padded envelopes).
I have discovered to my delight that I do not have to wait for a submitted indexed recipe book to actually be approved before I can ask for (and be assigned) the next one. My submitted queue is currently two deep; I'm working on another of the very short books now, and will be entertained if I manage to get it three deep. I am finding this data entry very soothing. (Though I am also having an entire moment over the vegan cookie recipe entitled "Rrraw", developed in collaboration with the Rrraw Cacao Factory, featuring raw chocolate and raw cocoa powder and raw cacao nibs, that is then baked at 160°C.)
........... the internet just Provided someone's photo of a pet rabbit with googly eyes along its side. This is so perfectly engineered to A's interests that I'm kind of surprised it showed up in my feed because someone I actually know, who is not A, shared it.
I think I had somehow not previously ever spent a significant amount of time removing dried peas from their pods? But one of this evening's ~~distractions~~ jobs (while A was removing the ratchets from the plywood in service of removing the plywood from the roof bars) was removing the pods from all the extremely dried-out peas for the purposes of being able to sow more of them next year, and... they go ping and twirl themselves up into neat little curls for broadcasting purposes? if you just look at them a bit funny? I somehow had NO IDEA about this and it's GREAT. (Somehow: all my attempts at growing significant quantities of drying peas have thus far failed dramatically.)
While double-checking the series-internal order for Murderbot because I needed to remind myself which novella came next, I discovered the existence of another short story I had inexplicably been entirely unaware of... because apparently it's being published on the 11^th (and possibly in Reactor Magazine on the 10^th? According to at least one misc website...).
A, eating tonight's curry, suddenly went "... oh :( I meant to stop off at the supermarket opposite the pharmacy and get some lassi :(" (the last several places they have expected to be able to get salt lassi from having Not Provided). I, who had been aware of the Why Will Nobody Sell Me This problem, had been vaguely intending to get around to just making some and, up until this sad oh-ing, had been singularly failing to actually, you know, do so. But five minutes later A had acceptable salt lassi, and it was really nice to be able to Just Produce a Treet.
First couple of really good blackberries, and lots more raspberries, while at the plot. (There have been blackberries for a week or so now provided you didn't mind that despite the fact they were black they weren't actually quite done ripening... but apparently Just Enough more time has now elapsed!)
Facebook showing me the Mayor of London emphatically posting, as a caption to a photo containing at least 44 Progress Pride flags, "In our city you are free to be whoever you want to be, and love whoever you want to love. We must take a stand against those seeking to roll back hard-won rights."
Tomorrow morning's elaborate breakfast plans are cherry clafoutis, with allotment cherries. (And then while the oven's on I'll bake the bread.)
We are doing a pretty good job this week of remembering that mutual social grooming is good for us, and therefore actually managing brushing each other's hair first thing in the morning. Which for bonus points I am attempting to actively engage with as somatosensory rehabilitation, because I am having Thoughts about my constant background headache, and doing science on myself is my idea of a good time.

Bonuses (oh hey this practice is working): pink gooseberries -- plus yoghurt and hazelnuts, but also by themselves. tomatoes setting fruit. Murderbot novellas. fiddling with pens as fidget. The Fan made this afternoon's 28°C (or at least the bits of it I was awake for) much less unpleasant. A has just set the bat detector up and it's Detected A Bat!

redbird

Jay Kuo takes a break from chronicling the regime's crimes to share some honest hope for today, and the days and months ahead:

https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/celebrating-independence

reactor_feed

Posted by Emmet Asher-Perrin

https://reactormag.com/tv-review-murderbot-episode-9-all-systems-red/

https://reactormag.com/?p=817338

Movies & TV Murderbot

Murderbot Makes the Sacrifice Play in “All Systems Red”

Also Sanctuary Moon references have finally hit their credibility limit.

By Alex Brown

Published on July 4, 2025

Image: Apple TV+

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<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Emmet Asher-Perrin</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-murderbot-episode-9-all-systems-red/">https://reactormag.com/tv-review-murderbot-episode-9-all-systems-red/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=817338">https://reactormag.com/?p=817338</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/movies-tv/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Movies & TV 0"> Movies & TV </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/murderbot/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Murderbot 1"> Murderbot </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1"><i>Murderbot</i> Makes the Sacrifice Play in “All Systems Red”</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">Also Sanctuary Moon references have finally hit their credibility limit.</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/alex-brown/" title="Posts by Alex Brown" class="author url fn" rel="author">Alex Brown</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on July 4, 2025 </p> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-vertical [&_a]:link"><p>Image: Apple TV+</p> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-murderbot-episode-9-all-systems-red/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 1-.9-.9v-2.7H1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 0 12.6V1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 1.8 0h14.4A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 18 1.8v10.8a1.8 1.8 0 0 1-1.8 1.8h-5.49l-3.33 3.339a.917.917 0 0 1-.63.261H6.3Z" /> <path stroke="#000" d="M5.9 14.4v-.5H1.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3-1.3V1.8A1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.8.5h14.4a1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.3 1.3v10.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3 1.3h-5.698l-.146.147-3.324 3.333a.417.417 0 0 1-.282.12H6.3a.4.4 0 0 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https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-allsystems-2-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-allsystems-2-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-allsystems-2-2048x1152.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-horizontal [&_a]:link"><p>Image: Apple TV+</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>On this week’s episode, our intrepid galactic explorers face a murderous enemy, Murderbot’s love of <em>Sanctuary Moon</em> becomes a liability, and Mensah makes a grave miscalculation.</p> <p><strong>Spoilers ahoy!</strong></p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots" /> <p>Half of PresAux is headed toward the rendezvous point where GrayCris lies in wait, and things are a bit tense in the hopper. Of course it’s Gurathin who assumes they’re all going to die. When Mensah asks Murderbot’s opinion on their success rate, it hems and haws. I don’t blame it. The last few times Murderbot gave them its honest opinion about their imminent death, the humans acted like it was being unfathomably callous. (When Gugu does it, however, it’s just a frustrating quirk of personality.)</p> <p>As is her habit, Mensah keeps her feelings to herself. Come to think of it, the only times we’ve seen her really open up and be Ayda the woman rather than Dr. Mensah the planetary leader is when she snapped at Ratthi in the last episodes and the two times she was chatting about her family to Murderbot or doing breathing exercises to a space soap. Murderbot pulls a similar stunt of keeping things close to its chest. After having its most personal thoughts and feelings—what Captain Hossein, long may he reign, called “commands from inside”—exposed for everyone to see and scorn, Murderbot is back to its old SecUnit ways. It deliberately lies to PresAux about what SecUnits are capable of and its risk assessment. Its affectation is flat and face expressionless. Both Mensah and Murderbot are playing their parts, her of the strong leader and it of the robot with guns in its arms. Mensah can’t do what needs to be done as Ayda the mother and friend. I don’t think Murderbot has retreated into the SecUnit role because it needs to do the job at hand; I think it’s protecting itself from further harm. After the way the people that claimed Murderbot was part of their team reacted to learning its most private secrets, it’s no wonder it has pulled in on itself. It had to hurt to be rejected by so-called friends. (More like fairweather friends.)</p> <p>Ratthi, Bharadwaj, and Arada are back at base camp. Once the hopper lands, Murderbot heads off to meet GrayCris while Mensah stays behind to coordinate. Pin-Lee and Gurathin wander through the woods looking for a good place to launch a transponder to hack into GrayCris’ HubSystem and launch their emergency beacon (inspired by episode 599 of <em>Sanctuary Moon</em>). Except, this is a fake plan; Murderbot pitched PresAux on it to get them to do what it needed for its real plan. What it really decided to do was tell GrayCris it has no governor module. That’s surprising! Even more shocking is that it pulls out the head of the evil SecUnit Hostile One decapitated in episode 7 and claims it killed the only human who figured out it was rogue: Gurathin. Murderbot claims it’s betraying PresAux in exchange for being marked as destroyed inventory and getting a ride off planet on their ship. Bold move, Seccy. </p> <p>Redhead GrayCris says “It’s just one bot. We can dispatch it later.” In the comments for <a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-murderbot-episode-8-foreign-object/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">last week’s episode</a>, I touched on this a bit, but I’m enjoying the way the writers are playing with the terms “bot” and “construct.” SecUnit has been clear that it’s a construct, not a bot. But the humans, both Preservation Alliance and Corporate Rim alike, are less clear. <em>Sanctuary Moon</em> calls its construct a Navigation Bot (in the books, navigation bots are a thing, if I recall correctly, but they’re just a bot. Bots can think, but they’re much simpler than a construct) but it’s really more of a construct like Murderbot. Murderbot’s very name is a play on this blurriness. Humans treat SecUnits like talking equipment rather than sentient beings. The combat module override serves to basically render constructs into bots. Murderbot can’t get any of the other evil SecUnits to respond to its pings. They are the real murder bots in this situation. Murderbot plays into GrayCris’ misunderstandings about constructs and bots, as well their assumptions about rogues, to convince them to go along with its plan.</p> <p>Except! There’s a third plan! On a separate channel, Murderbot instructs Bharadwaj to let GrayCris into their system. It’s the only way to get GrayCris to let down their guard enough for it to get into their channel for the beacon launch. It’s a nice touch to see Ratthi, Bharadwaj, and Arada push the button together. There’s no time to talk about it or do their whole consensus humming thing. They have to not only trust Murderbot but also trust themselves. Here’s when things get convoluted, to say the least. The more Murderbot talks, the deeper a hole it digs itself into. It makes up “a highly advanced augmented human” named Shagamin, of all things (after Flight Corporal Shagamin from season 7 of <em>Sanctuary Moon</em>). Meanwhile PresAux figures out Murderbot is trying to lure GrayCris to the emergency beacon so when it launches they’re burned alive. Mensah doesn’t want any more deaths, but Murderbot insists there’s no other way.</p> <p>Time for yet another plan. When the transponder drone is eaten by an alien bird creature, Gurathin and Pin-Lee sneak into GrayCris’ base to trigger it from inside their own system. Too bad Murderbot doesn’t know this since the communication channel was severed when the drone was lost. I was cringing through that whole stalling scene. I’m glad we couldn’t see Murderbot’s face during that or I might not have survived. And that little run jump duck for cover? So embarrassing. Maybe not a good idea to shout “Boldness is all.”</p> <p>Mensah is also cut off from access and formulates her own plan. She takes the hopper to meet GrayCris. That means if Gura and Pin-Lee are successful, now Murderbot <em>and</em> Mensah die. But when Pin-Lee and Gurathin get comms back up, Mensah changes her plan yet again to try and get away before things go boom. Murderbot offers to torture her but its love of “premium, quality entertainment” (or “crappy show,” either or) makes it careless. Beard GrayCris figures out they’re being scammed due to all the <em>Sanctuary Moon </em>references.</p> <p>Murderbot says two things tonight that really stuck with me. First, it tells PresAux “you get what you pay for,” but honestly if they had shelled out for that “more sophisticated model” they’d all be dead. It would’ve killed them all at DeltFall and that would’ve been that. The only reason any of them are alive now is because they cheaped out on a piece of equipment that as luck would have it had already hacked its governor module. Second, when Murderbot holds Beard GrayCris hostage, it tells the evil SecUnits, “We can talk about this. You don’t have to follow orders. I can teach you how to hack your governor modules.” Even when things are bleakest, Murderbot offers a hand to its compatriots, using the language of Preservation Alliance, no less. It can’t work, not with that override still going, but I love that it tried.</p> <p>Predictably, everyone’s new plans go awry. GrayCris kills two of their own instead of doing any damage to PresAux. Pin-Lee brains one of the GrayCris guys, but Gurathin is able to trigger the emergency beacon launch sequence. Murderbot can’t convince the evil SecUnits to join it, but it does manage to explode yet another head by dumping its entire entertainment stream downloads folder all at once into one of the SecUnits. Mensah tries to find another way to solve this conflict and ends up shooting the GrayCris leader. Murderbot drags Mensah over the edge of the cliff, twisting and turning to land in just the right way so that Mensah has the greatest chance of survival. Murderbot’s helmet is smashed to bits, the corporate logo gone completely. It really is rogue now. Everything it has done in this episode has been of its own accord, based on its own knowledge and desires. It chose to do all of the things it’s doing. It keeps choosing to sacrifice its own life for PresAux. The last thing it says as it suffers a catastrophic systems failure is “My clients… my clients… are the best clients.”</p> <p>Is Murderbot dead? We have a whole ‘nother episode left, so I’m guessing not. But come back next week to find out!</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots" /> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="550" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-allsystems-3-1100x550.jpeg" alt="Gurathin and Pin-Lee hug Mensah in season 1 episode 9, "All Systems Red"" class="wp-image-817341" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-allsystems-3-1100x550.jpeg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-allsystems-3-740x370.jpeg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-allsystems-3-768x384.jpeg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-allsystems-3-1536x767.jpeg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-allsystems-3-2048x1023.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image: Apple TV+</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>Final Thoughts</strong></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Episode 9 covers most of chapter 7 in <em>All Systems Red</em>, including some scenes invented or heavily modified for the show.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Are the other SecUnits aware of what’s happening to them? I kind of hope not. </li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>The landscape got me curious, so I looked it up. Apparently the show was filmed in and around Toronto and the Ontario region. </li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>There are apparently 2,797 episodes of <em>The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon</em> and I am losing my goddamn mind.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Hey, Hollywood, it would be super cool if I never had to see the “facial scars mean evil” trope again, please and thank you.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Important to note that it’s Gurathin who first notices Murderbot is dying and rushes to it.</li> </ul> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="598" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-allsystems-4-1100x598.jpeg" alt="GrayCris team looking suspicious in season 1 episode 9, "All Systems Red"" class="wp-image-817342" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-allsystems-4-1100x598.jpeg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-allsystems-4-740x402.jpeg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-allsystems-4-768x417.jpeg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-allsystems-4-1536x835.jpeg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-allsystems-4-2048x1113.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image: Apple TV+</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>Quotes</strong></p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“I want you all to know that I… I copy.” Awwwww! </p></blockquote></figure> <div style="height:5px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“It was ironic to spend my last moments hugging a human, when all I’d really wanted to do was to be left alone to watch my shows. Well… whatever.”</p></blockquote></figure> <div style="height:5px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <p>Next week, our finale.[end-mark]</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <p>Note: Comments will be closed through the weekend, and will re-open on Monday, July 7th.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-murderbot-episode-9-all-systems-red/"><i>Murderbot</i> Makes the Sacrifice Play in “All Systems Red”</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-murderbot-episode-9-all-systems-red/">https://reactormag.com/tv-review-murderbot-episode-9-all-systems-red/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=817338">https://reactormag.com/?p=817338</a></p>

sholio

This show is such a freakin' delight.

( Spoilers )

jadelennox

The full case name is "City of Eugene v. Debutante Society of Oregon", but the abbreviated version is fine too.

-- tahnan

aurumcalendula

Any idea if the Arrow Video 4K bluray of The Long Kiss Goodnight has color grading closer to the original DVD release or the older blu-ray? I'm thinking about getting (once I check my blu-ray player's specs, but if it doesn't look like the DVD release I'll pass on it (imho the earlier blu-ray omitted color grading from scenes and gave everything a kinda washed out look like the Bourne films).

kaberett

( Read more... )

reactor_feed

Posted by Leah Schnelbach

https://reactormag.com/movie-review-jurassic-world-rebirth-is-more-of-a-retread/

https://reactormag.com/?p=817444

Movies & TV Jurassic World Rebirth

Jurassic World Rebirth Is More of a Retread

We’ve had seven movies and still I must ask: WHEN WILL IT BE ANKYLOSAURUS’ TIME TO SHINE??

By Leah Schnelbach

Published on July 3, 2025

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<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Leah Schnelbach</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/movie-review-jurassic-world-rebirth-is-more-of-a-retread/">https://reactormag.com/movie-review-jurassic-world-rebirth-is-more-of-a-retread/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=817444">https://reactormag.com/?p=817444</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/movies-tv/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Movies & TV 0"> Movies & TV </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/jurassic-world-rebirth/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Jurassic World Rebirth 1"> Jurassic World Rebirth </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1"><em>Jurassic World Rebirth</em> Is More of a Retread</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">We’ve had seven movies and still I must ask: WHEN WILL IT BE ANKYLOSAURUS’ TIME TO SHINE??</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/leah-schnelbach/" title="Posts by Leah Schnelbach" class="author url fn" rel="author">Leah Schnelbach</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on July 3, 2025 </p> </div> </div> <div class="quick-access 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6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </g> <defs> <clippath id="clip0_1051_121783"> <rect width="17" height="17" fill="white" transform="translate(0.678711 0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="329" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-6-740x329.jpg" class="w-full object-cover" alt="The T-Rex would also like some attention in Jurassic World Rebirth." srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-6-740x329.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-6-1100x489.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-6-768x341.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-6-1536x683.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-6.jpg 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p><em>Jurassic World Rebirth</em> is a standalone sequel to 2022’s <em>Jurassic World Dominion</em>—a film I did not see. This iterations was directed by Gareth Edwards, and written by screenwriter David Koepp, who co-wrote the original <em>Jurassic Park</em>, and its sequel <em>The Lost World,</em> also wrote two of my favorite films of the year so far, <em>Prescence</em> and <em>Black Bag</em>, both with director Steven Soderberg.</p> <p>Scarlett Johansson plays Zora Bennett, the guide protecting the mission paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis, and the slutty little glasses he bears on his adorable face. Dr. Loomis is played by Jonathan Bailey, the glasses are played by an excellent pair of glasses. Mahershala Ali, who will always be Blade in my mind even if he never gets to play him onscreen, is Duncan Kincaid, Zora’s right hand person, and Ed Skrein, Philippine Velge, and Bechir Sylvain round out the team as Bobby, Nina, and Leclerc.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="568" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-4-1100x568.jpg" alt="Dr. Henry Loomis in Jurassic World Rebirth." class="wp-image-817569" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-4-1100x568.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-4-740x382.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-4-768x397.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-4-1536x793.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-4.jpg 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">(The syringe? Big. The glasses? Captivating.) Credit: Universal Pictures</figcaption></figure> <p>The mission is set in motion by ParkerGenix wonk Martin Krebs, who is played by Rupert Friend, thus providing a physical manifestation of the question “If not friend why Friend-shaped?” (For a friendlier Friend, allow me to direct you to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn59j75Q1Mc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">this recent Wes Anderson fountain pen ad</a>, of which he is the star.) </p> <p>Manuel Garcia-Rulfo is Reuben Delgado (more on him in a minute), whose family is rescued by Duncan after a totally avoidable shipwreck that is entirely Mr. Delgado’s fault. Mr. Delgado is joined by his two daughters, teenage Teresa (Luna Blaise), and very small Isabella (Audrina Miranda). Teresa’s boyfriend Xavier (David Iacono) is along for the shipwrecking as well, for no reason I can understand, and soon became my second favorite character in the film. </p> <p>I often really love it when a movie is multiple movies in one. I like big swings. I like dissonant tones and jangling character work and mood shifts and weird subplots and tonal cul de sacs.</p> <p>…when they work.</p> <p>Parts of <em>Jurassic World Rebirth </em>work quite well. Jonathan Bailey’s Dr. Henry Loomis is now my second favorite character in the entire franchise, after Dr. Ian Malcolm, and he and Scarlett Johansson develop decent chemistry over the course of the film. The adventure aspects, when all the characters have to troop through the jungle while all manner of dinos surround them, are fun. And best of all, there are a few moments that reach for the transcendent joy of Drs. Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler first staring awestruck at a herd of dinosaurs all the way back in <em>Jurassic Park</em>.</p> <p>Also, and this might be the bit I appreciated the most, almost everyone in the film is on the same page that the dinosaurs are living, feeling creatures, who deserve to be left alone to live their lives. No one’s here to hunt. There was an almost elegiac undertone here, a feeling that these people, decades after Isla Nublar, know that we shouldn’t have dragged the dinosaurs into our time, and know that the environment is too important for human tampering. This is underscored by the idea, repeated a few times, that most people simply don’t care about the dinosaurs anymore. Bringing them back led to about a decade of excited theme park visits, but now everyone’s Over It.</p> <p>Which is interesting as a springboard for worldbuilding, but I’m forced to ask question: Have any of the writers met a four-year-old, ever? As long as humanity keeps producing four-year-olds, I can think of a way these kooky parks might just stay in business.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="565" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-1-1100x565.jpg" alt="Rupert Friend in Jurassic World Rebirth." class="wp-image-817566" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-1-1100x565.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-1-740x380.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-1-768x395.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-1-1536x790.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-1.jpg 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">He’s great here, but you have to see him in <em>The Phoenecian Scheme</em>. Credit: Universal Pictures</figcaption></figure> <p>BUT. For the purposes of the film, interest has waned. This is about to leave Dr. Henry Loomis out of a dino job. But the untrustworthy Mr. Krebs has a project: the scientists at his company have discovered that they can synthesize a miraculous heart treatment from the blood of dinosaurs. For some reason that is not adequately explained, they need to get samples from a Land Dino, a Water Dino, and an Air Dino. (I’m assuming this is story takes place before the Fire Dino attacks.) He collects a team to travel to the Caribbean to retrieve blood samples, with Loomis acting as dinosaur expert, Zora Bennett acting as security, and Zora’s ragtag team of misfits and mercs getting them in and out of a region that is <em>technically</em> legally off-limits to any human, of any nation, for any reason.</p> <p>Obviously nothing’s gonna go wrong.</p> <p>After way too much exposition, and a scene of trauma-info-expo-dump that Johansson and Ali somehow made almost palatable, they’re all underway, and for a little while the film just about works.</p> <p>Meanwhile, the Delgado family are sailing through this off-limits area for reasons that defy reason, and they are on a collision course <s>with wackiness </s>CERTAIN BLOODY DINOSAUR-BASED DEATH.</p> <p>I’m going to do my best not to spoil the film, as I’ve said, but I do have to talk about one thing,  and that one thing is that this family, who end up crossing paths with our expedition and becoming co-leads, <em>are being led by the worst cinematic dad I have ever seen</em>. Not the actor! Manuel Garcia-Rulfo does a fine job with the role. But this Dad needs to seriously rethink his Dadding.</p> <p>He’s worse than Sarik. Worse than the dad from <em>East of Eden</em>. Worse than Darth Vader.</p> <p>You have to work your way down the list to King Triton and <em>Leland Palmer </em>to out-do this Dad.</p> <p>The <em>only</em> way his decisions make sense is if he’s actively trying to lose his kids in an “accident” for insurance purposes.  </p> <p>This man decides that in order to celebrate the last summer before his teenage daughter goes off to NYU, he needs to sail across the Caribbean with her <em>very</em> small younger sister, and, INEXPLICABLY, her boyfriend, whose only character trait for the first 1/3 of the film is “this boy is so lazy and sleepy all the time it’s <em>incomprehensible </em>that he got off the couch to join them on this trip.” (As I said, he gets better, provides some of the best laughs in the film, and became my Second Favorite Character by the end.) The introduction of the family is mostly just Mr. Delgado being angry at Xavier for not helping out on the boat, but I missed a lot of the nuance because my entire brain was screaming “Why is he on this family trip? Why have you brought your tiny daughter who doesn’t even know how to tie knots yet?? Why are <em>any</em> of you on this trip through the forbidden dinosaur ocean???”</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="458" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-11-1100x458.jpg" alt="A Mosasaurus does her best impression of an anti-yacht Orca in Jurassic World Rebirth." class="wp-image-817572" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-11-1100x458.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-11-740x308.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-11-768x320.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-11-1536x640.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-11.jpg 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Mosasaurus has long been known as the Orca of the ancient world. Credit: Universal Pictures</figcaption></figure> <p>And like, <em>what are the sleeping arrangements on this small boat</em>????? On this trip that consists of Dad, Teenage Daughter, Tiny Innocent Daughter, and Teenage Daughter’s Teenage Boyfriend!!!!! This is not a yacht, this is a mid-size sailboat, and <em>there is no privacy</em>.</p> <p>I just…I can’t think about this anymore, let me get back to Dad’s incompetence.</p> <p>Naturally things go sideways, (“things” = their tiny, tiny boat, and, eventually, Dad’s leg) which means they have to join up with Zora, Dr. Loomis, and their whole crew. But at one point all the people have to split up and trek across Ile Saint-Hubert, where the poor little girl is terrorized into a night catatonic state. And here’s where the dad’s other fuckup lies: he keeps telling them all “It’ll be OK”, “You’re OK”, “The [place I’ve never been to] is only a mile away”—stuff like that. And maybe this is simply my abrupt and unexpected passion for <em>The Pitt </em>speaking, but DON’T MAKE PROMISES YOU CANNOT KEEP. <em>Especially</em> not to terrified children. If you’re in a life-threatening situation, you don’t tell the kids “You’re ok” when they’re obviously NOT, and you don’t tell them places are a specific distance when you have no clue how much they’ll have to walk. Of course you need hope in a situation like that (ummm a situation where you’re on the run from dinosaurs who have been brought back to life WHY WERE YOU SAILING THROUGH THESE WATERS THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER DINO-FREE WATERS) but false hope is just going to be demoralizing in the long run.</p> <p>OK.</p> <p>Thank you for letting me get that out of my system.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="543" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-5-1100x543.jpg" alt="Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) in Jurassic World Rebirth." class="wp-image-817570" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-5-1100x543.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-5-740x366.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-5-768x379.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-5-1536x759.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-5.jpg 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Just imagine how cool this character would look in a black leather duster, wielding a sword, killing vampires. Credit: Universal Pictures</figcaption></figure> <p>As I said, once everyone’s on Ile Saint-Hubert, and they’re evading being a dino charcuterie board, this film can be a fun watch. But even here it’s so tonally jarring that I was pushed out at times. One second we’re fully invested in Dr. Henry Loomis’ awestruck wonder at seeing live dinosaurs in their natural habitat, the next we’re watching little Isabella get menaced by a T-Rex in a scene that verges on trauma porn, and finally tips into emotional manipulation, and I say this as someone who can’t keep the grin off my face every time I see the “Tim and Lexi are trapped in the car by the T-Rex” scene in the original. But then they have to climb down to a <em>Quetzalcoatlus</em>’s nest, or a Raptor Pack makes an appearance, and all is forgiven again.</p> <p>My biggest issue with the film, other than the inclusion of the Delgado contingent, is that the writing is too expository and repetitive—if it turned out that this was two separate drafts, outlining two separate directions for the franchise, that were then mashed together into one script not unlike an ungainly mutated dinosaur, it would not surprise me. I ended up feeling like we were told almost everything at least twice, but in slightly different way. The same dinosaur is described as being the size of a school bus <em>and</em> the size of an F-16—just pick one! And only tell us once! This is a movie, we want to be surprised when we see it! People repeat their traumas multiple times while different slowed-down variants of John Williams’ classic theme plays—we get that they’re traumatized! Let us stay in the moment! Reuben Delgado tries to act vaguely Father Figure-ish to Xavier multiple times, which like, no! He can do better! Let Dr. Loomis parent him! The film is also at least a half an hour longer than it needs to be. I kept imagining a stronger version, that was simply about a scientific expedition to the island with way less tragic backstory and way more dinosaurs. </p> <p>One thing that works really well, and maybe brings this closer to being a horror film, is that multiple times the audience realizes that there’s a dinosaur lurking near a human long before the human realizes it. This creates an effective sense of dread and menace—there are a few actual jump scares, but a lot of these scenes are just hammering home the idea that <em>the humans do not belong there</em>. They are in someone else’s home, and they need to be polite and get out as fast as possible.</p> <p>We get some greatest hits: <em>Dilophosaurus</em> (The One that Ate Newman) <em>Compsognathus</em> (The Vicious Little Suckers from the opening of <em>The Lost World</em>), <em>T-Rex </em>of course, some <em>Velociraptors</em>, and one way-too-brief appearance by the Objectively Best Dino: <em>Ankylosaur</em>. (Don’t worry, she doesn’t get hurt.) We’re treated to star turns from four newer ones: <em>Aquilops</em>, <em>Mosasaurus</em> (who made such an, um, impression in <em>Jurassic World</em>), a <em>Titanosaurus</em>, and a <em>Quetzalcoatlus</em>.</p> <p>There’s one more dinosaur who gets a big role, but to discuss her <strong>I’ll need to get a little more spoilery, so please skip down a paragraph if you want to go in cold</strong>.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="532" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-3-1100x532.jpg" alt="Things are not going well at the lab in Jurassic World Rebirth." class="wp-image-817568" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-3-1100x532.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-3-740x358.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-3-768x372.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-3-1536x743.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-3.jpg 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Arrival sequel takes a dark turn. Credit: Universal Pictures</figcaption></figure> <p>This movie’s big reveal is a mutated creature called a D-Rex, and my question here is a simple one: WHY. WHY WOULD SOMEONE CREATE THIS. WHO SIGNED OFF ON IT. WHY DID NO ONE EVER SAY NO. It’s literally a supersized T-Rex, <em>except with a fucking Xenomorph head</em>. I’m not kidding. I often mention in my review of horror movies that nothing scares me, but, well, we might have found the thing.</p> <p><strong>Spoilers are now extinct! It’s safe to rejoin the review!</strong></p> <p>But by far the best aspect of the film, as I said, is just how much it’s #TeamDino. At one point a merc shows off the neurotoxin darts he’s brought along for protection, and when Dr. Loomis is horrified at them, the merc says “Is this the part where you tell me it’s a crime to kill a dinosaur?” and he snaps back with “No, it’s a <em>sin</em> to kill a dinosaur.” The other mercs smile at that, but it quickly becomes clear that they agree with him more than Mr. Neurotoxin. Dr. Loomis is a proud, enthusiastic nerd, and no one ever barks at him to “Speak ENGLISH!” or rushes him along when he finally comes face-to-face with creatures he’s only seen in books.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="516" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-2-1100x516.jpg" alt="Dr. Henry Loomis is awestruck while Zora Barrett is pretty nervous in Jurassic World Rebirth." class="wp-image-817567" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-2-1100x516.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-2-740x347.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-2-768x360.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-2-1536x720.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-2.jpg 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Look how happy he is! Why can’t the whole movie be this? Credit: Universal Pictures</figcaption></figure> <p>At one point he tells the others, “I want to die in a shallow pool and be covered by silt,” one of the grizzled jacks-of-all-trades sincerely replies with “That’s beautiful, man,” only for Loomis to follow up with “that’s the best chance of fossilization.” Which is a really funny bit, but he means it, and no one makes fun of him for it. Later, when he explains that humans probably won’t last as long as dinosaurs did, and that “Earth will shake us off like a summer cold” everyone just listens to him and accepts it. His nerdery is appreciated and respected, and he and Zora develop a really nice bond over the course of the film that I suppose could become romantic if they make more of these, but as it stands they become two coworkers who like each other as people, and have each others’ backs. Of course, Zora’s own personality and motivation is all over the map, but at least she’s a bad ass without being a bully for no reason. (There’s also no weird subplot implying that any of the women in the movie need to get cracking on the childbearing—a plus after <em>Jurassic World</em>!)  </p> <p>Does the film stick the landing? Parts of it. The action all culminates in a series of pretty intense, <em>Alien</em>-ish chase scenes, with characters either acting in their own or each others’ interests in ways that make emotional sense, even if they do become a bit ham-fisted. And don’t worry, just as in all <em>Jurassic</em> films, a couple people make truly idiotic decisions that might lead to sequels. </p> <p>But at the same time , does the film really need to exist? Not really. It’s much, much better than <em>Jurassic World</em>, but that’s not much of a bar to clear. I just hope that, if filmmakers are going to keep bringing these poor creatures back from extinction, they’ll come up with more interesting stuff for them to do.[end-mark]</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <p>Note: Comments will be closed through the weekend, and will re-open on Monday, July 7th.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/movie-review-jurassic-world-rebirth-is-more-of-a-retread/"><em>Jurassic World Rebirth</em> Is More of a Retread</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/movie-review-jurassic-world-rebirth-is-more-of-a-retread/">https://reactormag.com/movie-review-jurassic-world-rebirth-is-more-of-a-retread/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=817444">https://reactormag.com/?p=817444</a></p>

aurumcalendula

The Old Guard 2 (2025):

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fred_mouse

..look at the underlying code or moth...

me, describing someone else's approach to understanding large language models.

kaberett

(Yeah I'm struggling with the ukpol news at the moment, and feeling especially bleak about this FOI response in particular. Maybe I will manage to pull together a post of useful "please write to your MP about the UC/PIP bill" tomorrow, given I've got them all open in tabs to do so anyway.)

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mrissa

My friend J.R. Dawson is launching their second book, The Lighthouse at the End of the World, and I get to be part of the festivities! We'll be at Moon Palace Books at 6:00 p.m. on July 29, having a lovely conversation about this book and the previous book and other stories and life in general, and you can come join in the fun!

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Jurassic World Rebirth Is More of a Retread

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