Jurassic Park III (PG-13, 2001)

Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), now assisted by Billy (Alessandro Nivola), is tricked into flying over Isla Sorna by Paul and Amanda Kirby (William H. Macy and Tea Leoni). Unbeknownst to Grant, the Kirbys are searching for their son, who fell onto the island when he was parasailing. Grant's plane ends up crashing on the island, and Grant and company discover the resident dinosaurs are more advanced than previously thought.

It may seem odd to speak of a made-to-be-blockbuster as unpretentious, but the aspirations of JURASSIC PARK III are remarkably -- almost endearingly -- modest. It does not waste time with chaos theory mumbo-jumbo or dumb "dinosaurs come to America" plot twists like the second episode, "The Lost World." It just gets right down to business in 90 quick minutes of little people being chased by great big scary things, with just enough plot and character to provide breathing space and a reason to care who survives. It is not art, but it is fun

There are few surprises. Two good things to have when fighting smart dinosaurs are opposable thumbs and a cell phone. When a man's ex-wife says that he never takes chances, you know what's coming, and you will probably be able to guess as we meet each character which ones will survive to the end of the movie. But the script it has clever moments, including some sly digs at "The Lost World." There is a delicious variation on "Peter Pan's" crocodile that once swallowed a clock, so Captain Hook can always hear ticking when he is approaching. And there is a nice "Blair Witch" moment when some characters find a video camera dropped by another character and replay the footage to see what happened to him. The dinosaurs are bigger and better than ever. This time, they swim, they fly, and they fight each other. They appear to play a sort of kick-the-can with the downed plane's cabin. They also work together to trap the humans, so it is a war of brains, not just brawn.