The Lost World: Jurassic Park

The Lost World reunites the inimitably goofy mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm (Goldblum, nicely twitchy, as always) with a whole new passel of big, scary monsters. Fans of Jurassic Park won't be disappointed. The Lost World leaps head first, rushing, it seems, to get the film's real stars -- the dinosaurs -- to the screen within the film's first 30 minutes. From that point on, it feels like less of a movie than it does a carnival ride -- all precipitous highs and nerve-jangling lows. Just when you're tempted to think it's all much ado about nothing, a T-rex eats someone whole and your gut drops out from under you and the ride continues, unabated and wild. Much of the fun (and there's a lot of it) relies on gory black humor. Considering this, parents might want to think twice before allowing younger children to catch the matinee. Film buffs will get a kick out of the many in-jokes. Schindler's List it's not, nor is it even Jaws, but it is pure Spielbergian fantasy.