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Here's a look at the new movies I saw this week. Spoiler: one was great, one was not.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Rafe Spall
Synopsis: This is the one that was not. And it's a bummer for me because I was looking forward to this as, perhaps, the film of summer. But it just didn't pan out. Those who've read me for a long time know the special place that "Jurassic Park" has in my heart. I was 12 when I first saw it in the theater, and it was a game-changing experience for me. I love the story (and have read the novel), and it's always been a Top 10 film for me, personally. I was skeptical of "Jurassic World" when it bowed in 2015, and though I initially struggled a bit with some of the plot points, it's come to be a movie I also love. I saw it four times in the theaters the summer it was released. But in the same way "The Lost World" was a huge come down to me from "Jurassic Park," "Fallen Kingdom" was a big blow to my enthusiasm for the franchise. It's also clear "Fallen Kingdom" was a film that seems to exist solely to advance a larger narrative to be paid off in a future film, which is a modern trend I intensely dislike. Colin Trevorrow wrote the script here, but didn't return to direct. Still you have to assume this part of a larger vision of a story he wants to tell. And while that worked for me on some level in the 2015 re-boot, the wheels fell off the bus here. The film picks up years after the events of "Jurassic World" and finds Claire (Howard) heading a non-profit trying to save the dinosaurs, Owen (Pratt) trying to build a house, and a volcano threatening to destroy the island and make dinosaurs extinct yet again. But both Claire and Owen are recruited by a non-profit foundation run by Eli Mills (Spall) using the fortune of Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell). But, surprise, the foundation has more extensive, and self-serving, plans than what they've shared with well meaning rube Claire. And so the adventure begins. There are still things I like about this film and world. I like Howard and Pratt, and I think they are good together. I was more than mildly annoying that the arc for their characters here almost seemed to be the exact same kind of will-they, won't-they romance that occurred in the first film. Hopefully we're past that if this continues. I would also say the plot here feels like a poor man's "Lost World," including a stint on the island and an ill-conceived stint where the dinosaurs are brought the mainland in California. And let's not forget some of the giant plot holes in all that. J.A. Bayona took over the directing reigns here, and I'm not sure what to make of it. In part he's dealt a kind of lame story judging by the plot narrative. On the other hand, there was little dynamic in the visuals or in the direction here. A lot of the pre-release talk was about how much this film had a horror-like quality. And Bayona drew praise for the thriller/horror film "The Orphanage" and on the small screen in "Penny Dreadful." That doesn't come through in this film, in my opinion, and instead we're left with a flat and predictable film that feels like it runs well past my interest in it. For that reason, this might be the most disappointing film of the year for me.
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of science-fiction violence and peril.
Verdict: One star out of four.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?
Synopsis: This was the good one. And this is another film that touches on my childhood. I was born in 1981. I am part of that generation of people for whom "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood" was an integral part of growing up. Sure, the effects and production values weren't the highest. But that wasn't the point. Mr. Rogers gave us a place we wanted to visit. He spoke to us. He tried to build us up and encourage us. And the time spent watching his show was often the TV equivalent of a warm hug. When you watch "Won't You Be My Neighbor?," the new documentary from Morgan Neville brings all those feelings back. And better yet, it tells the inspiring story of a man who had a vision and a calling, and tried to live into both. A man who was as warm and kind off carmera as he was on it, and was more of a risk taker than his young audiences could possibly realize at the time. Fred Rogers is a hero. The world is better for having gotten to experience his passion and calling, and the world would be a better place now if there was a Fred Rogers out there advocating for and loving kids. He wasn't perfect, and the documentary touches on the good and the bad in his career, but it's also a celebration of his career and his calling. And his work on "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood" was nothing short of a calling. Documentaries aren't the biggest draw for mass audiences and the Box Office, especially during the summer season. But I hope you'll take some time to watch this film. It's a beautiful experience, and one that is full of inspiration and joy. This is my favorite film of the year so far, and one that should be a lock for Best Documentary at this year's Academy Awards. It's well worth seeking out.
Rating: PG-13 for some thematic elements and language.
Verdict: Four stars out of four.

Upcoming Releases:
Friday, June 29: "Sicario: Day of the Soldado," "Uncle Drew"