DVD Review: 65

65
(DVD 65)

I’ll have to admit, I’m not really an Adam Driver fan, but that’s mainly because I couldn’t stand him in his Star Wars trilogy. But in pretty much anything else I’ve seen him in, my opinion has been dramatically changing. He certainly doesn’t disappoint in 65, a fascinating and exciting scifi time travel dinosaur film from 2023. Though there are some brief moments with additional actors, 65 is essentially a two-person film, with Driver playing Mills, a futuristic astronaut flying a cargo passengers in stasis, who’s awakened partway into his journey when a meteor storm damages his ship and forces him to crash on a primitive planet in its dinosaur age. Discovering that one of his passengers/cargo has also survived the crash, Mills has to learn to communicate with the young woman, Koa (played by Ariana Greenblatt), and then to travel several kilometers to where his ship’s “escape pod” has ended up. Their travel, by foot, through murky swamps and desolate rocky terrain, is endangered by multiple prehistoric life forms and by the environment itself. Can the two strangers come to rely on each other to reach possible salvation?

 

Both Driver and Greenblatt turn in excellent performances in 65, and the atmosphere of the film is well-created. If you like dinosaur action, you’ll definitely get it here. Attempts by the film to explain that the planet they crashed on is actually Earth in the distant past are muddled, and ultimately unnecessary, as this is a film about the experience of survival. Well done!

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Customer Review: Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park
by Michael Crichton [Crichton]

I thought this book was amazing because the story just kept on going and there was no part in this book where it was boring. The characters feel so real to the reader, you don't ever want to forget them. The dinosaurs themselves are so terrifying, you feel like they've been brought back from the dead. Once you close that book, you feel like your putting the dinosaurs back into ancient time. I recommend this book to anyone who has a love and appreciation for science and adventure. -- review submitted by Felicity N. - a customer of the Gere Branch Library

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New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site, particularly during the Summer Reading Program. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

Dinotopia

Dinotopia
by James Gurney [j Gurney]

This is an illustrated children's novel which begins when a father and son find themselves shipwrecked on an island called Dinotopia. They soon discover the island is inhabited by humans and dinosaurs who live together in the same society. The father and son meet a number of new friends, humans and dinosaurs, on their travels on the island. At first they both hope of returning home, but after a while, the son becomes so engrossed in the culture and way of life on the island, that he doesn't want to leave. The father becomes more comfortable and adventurous but unlike his son, he is more often homesick and desires to return home. The book reminded me of the film (based on the book of the same title) Lost Horizon. Both are stories of travelers who stumble upon a hidden dream like society. Some members of the travel party are content to stay and others seek an impossible way home. I think this book would appeal to readers of any age who enjoy fantasy, adventure, dinosaurs, or coming of age stories. -- recommended by Kristen A. - Gere Branch Library

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Dinotopia: The World Beneath By James Gurney, The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Pre-Historic Creatures By: Barry Cox or Lost Horizon By James Hilton.]

[ official Dinotopia web site ]

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

The Dinosaur Hunter

The Dinosaur Hunter
by Homer Hickam

Who knew that the tedious work of digging for dinosaur bones could create such mayhem? Square C ranch foreman, Mike Wire, narrates the story of the time that a paleontologist, Dr. Norman "Pick" Pickford, asked for permission to dig up Blackie Butte. What started out as simply brushing away the dirt from a T Rex skeleton turned into a battle with members of the Russian mob. It all started innocently enough when Ray Coulter wrote a paper for his high school English class about the fossils that his father found years before. Ray's teacher posted the paper on the school's website. It was anonymously emailed to the paleontologist. Pick charms Jeanette Coulter, a hard-as-nails widow, into allowing him to search her land for these extinct reptiles. This engaging thriller introduced me to the world of dinosaur hunting and the black market that thrives around the search for these relics. Hickam set this book in eastern Montana where he has hunted for dinosaur bones for more than a decade. During his excursions Hickam became acquainted with the ranchers and farmers who call these grasslands home. These hardy, independent folks are the basis for his colorful characters. Homer Hickam has written a number of books. His memoir, Rocket Boys was made into the well-acclaimed movie October Sky. -- recommended by Donna G. - Virtual Services Department

[ official Dinosaur Hunter page on the official Homer Hickam web site ]

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.